This pandemic has had a big impact on our lives in so many ways — including how we make money. With the rapid drop in requests on both the Uber and Lyft rideshare platforms, we have had to shift to UberEats, GrubHub and more. Since this has been a new shift for many of us, we are bound to make some mistakes along the way.
So what are the 5 biggest mistakes that food delivery drivers make?
- Parking illegally – You are trying to be efficient with your time because there is nowhere to park. You think to yourself, it will just take a minute to run into the restaurant to pick up the order or to drop it off to your customer. You get back to your car and ouch, there’s a ticket on the windshield for parking illegally. This one ticket may be all of the money you make for the day. Stop taking chances, find a proper spot to park. If you are dropping off your order it might be worth it to text your customer. Say, “This is your UberEats driver, there is no where to park that I can see, do you know of a spot?” It is surprising how often they do!
- Forgetting to pick up the sauce (picking up extra is always good), plastic utensils and napkins – Your customer is hungry and there’s no sauce or anything to eat it with. Nothing says “No tip” like no sauce!
- Not using the hot bag especially, in front of the customer – When you are delivering hot food make sure you have your hot bag to transport the food in. Also, when you do deliver it, make sure you remove the food out of the hot bag in front of your customer. This will show them you did your part in keeping their food hot! Be careful not to let any drinks you were carrying spill along the way.
- Not sending your customer a text message when you are on your way – This little extra communication is a great way to show you are on top of things. Quite often I find that the customer is waiting outside for their order because they got the text. It is also a good idea to send your customer a quick thank you text after you drop off their food. The real money in doing food delivery is in the tips. Every little extra thing you do will often lead to more tips.
- Working at the wrong time of day – The reason you are doing this is to make money. Plan your day around the best delivery times, especially dinner time. Evening delivery orders tend to be larger and more expensive. More often than not, the larger the order the larger the tip.
Even in food delivery, you’ve got to be on top of your game to make the money you deserve!
*Previously posted on July15th
Tomorrow: Uber Connect
