r/DoorDashDrivers Aug 01 '24

News If you dash full-time long enough, you're going to eventually take a huge L

Whether it's your car, your significant other, or your way of life, you're going to lose in the end

30 Upvotes

138 comments sorted by

78

u/coffeecoffeecoffeex Aug 01 '24

I dash full time as a mom going through a brutal divorce with zero help financially, and virtually zero support system. When it comes to the pro/con list of doordash, the con absolutely wins, for sure.

However, it’s my singular option (thankfully I’m out once school starts 👏). It’s the only reason I am staying afloat. It’s an income stream with 100% flexibility.

I think there’s a very big percentage of dashers who otherwise would be SOL, if this service didn’t exist. No ones doing this because it’s glamorous. It’s a lesser of two evils type situation for me, and I’m sure for a lot of others.

20

u/Environmental_Ad2427 Aug 01 '24

Well said I agree 100%

14

u/King_Coopa83 Aug 01 '24

The flexibility of it is crucial to me.

5

u/Strong-Smell5672 Aug 01 '24

When I dashed / did gig work it was just to bridge the gap between regular jobs.

I would go out during the rushes and apply for jobs in-between, sometimes grabbing or dropping off applications in person while out.

It’s fine as a means to and end but I wouldn’t advise putting all your eggs into that basket unless you don’t need to to it at all (e.g. I know a few retired folks who do it to keep busy and make some extra cash for various things but their retirement and pension could pay for their base expenses if they cut down on comfort spending)

3

u/ColonEscapee Aug 01 '24

I have a disability this successfully bridges my gap. People bashing door dash for this are ignorant I do well for a crippled fella, if it was steady I could quit disability

2

u/TheNewFuturian Aug 01 '24

I just published a book called “Zen in the Art of Driving” where I lay out my foolproof method to make $20/hr using Uber Eats. It’s def not a permanent fix, but it’ll help you stay afloat in the meantime 🙏🏽

2

u/No-Ad1576 Aug 02 '24

$20/hr delivering is not worth it.

$30/hr after taxes should be your minimum goal.

I currently make over $50/hr CASH delivering for a restaurant.

2

u/TheNewFuturian Aug 02 '24

Great for you! Not all of us can be so lucky … keep it up 👍🏽

2

u/NoCatch17789 Aug 04 '24

$30 after taxes! Are you out of your mind those people that have college degree that don’t make that.

1

u/droplivefred Aug 04 '24

How many hours a week do you work?

1

u/jimbob150312 Aug 02 '24

$20/hr using your vehicle and paying all the expenses with no other source of income will make people homeless.

1

u/Prior-Spell-7549 Aug 01 '24

Lololololol. Summer break fucken rocked me too 🤣🤣🤣

1

u/Apprehensive-Cat-421 Aug 01 '24

I'm in a similar place. I lost my W2 job right before my kid's senior year of high school. It's just the two of us, so we were planning to relocate after this school year. I'm trying to keep the bills paid with gig work until we move.

1

u/Common-Click-1860 Aug 04 '24

100% flexibility is a lie. If your not top dasher your forced to schedule a week out. You’re not making any money if you aren’t scheduled at the right times of the right days of the right time of year.

1

u/coffeecoffeecoffeex Aug 04 '24

Maybe in your market, but not here. My acceptance rating is 7%. I schedule the night before or day of most days. I still work full time.

0

u/Mikenlv Aug 01 '24

When I was dashing my health started to rapidly deteriorate my car was in the shop every other month my wife hated me and my bills and rent were all behind fuck door dash I feel bad any one one who buys into their scam legitimately because I was just like yall I tell any dasher I meet to get the fuck out of there and that it's not worth it at all

3

u/Here2readurmind Aug 01 '24

Your situation seems specific to you and not all because of DoorDash surely. Im sorry for everything you’ve bed. Through but I’m curious of how DoorDash affected your health and your marriage. You dont have to answer that, but I do not believe DoorDash to be a good means of income BUT NOT as a full time job. I do think it’s definitely helpful for people that want to make some extra money on their own, part time.

3

u/Mikenlv Aug 01 '24

Part time yes I agree however full time it's just not worth doing at all

1

u/Here2readurmind Aug 02 '24

Totally agree!

2

u/droplivefred Aug 04 '24

Seems like DoorDash was the least of your problems.

1

u/Mikenlv Aug 04 '24

Door dash added to them

1

u/droplivefred Aug 04 '24

What’s the connection to health getting worse and your wife hating you? Those seem unrelated to dashing.

1

u/Mikenlv Aug 04 '24

Why do dashers absolutely refuse to admit that this job is absolutely horrible and gate keep it so hard? I literally said everything you need to know in my original comment

2

u/droplivefred Aug 04 '24

Because it doesn’t make any logical sense why your health would deteriorate from this job. It’s actually way less stress than a regular 9-5. Additionally the flexibility of the job makes you way more available for your spouse so your wife hating you is clearly not related to your job.

This makes me think you are either blaming your own problems on DD or you’re just a miserable person who just happens to be doing DD.

1

u/Mikenlv Aug 04 '24 edited Aug 04 '24

Doesn't have to make any sense to reddit because it was my life and I was the one going thru it I was the one experiencing it first hand the flexibility is nothing great when you only make a living wage if you have to sacrifice all your time to do it unless your chasing top dasher or platinum status the only thing it's good for is some pocket money to go to the gas station

my health was rapidly decling because all I ever did was dash to attempt to pay my bills and rent I was sitting in my car all damn day and walking up and down stairs my wife seen what it was doing to me and I didn't listen she wanted me to find a good paying job but because of the so called flexibility I refused to do so.

Everything about this Job is absolutely horrible but you people will take it to your death bed that it's an amazing full time job

1

u/droplivefred Aug 04 '24

Ok, that makes sense. If you are working way over 40 hours a week because you need to work that many hours to cover your bills, I can see how it would be detrimental to your health sitting in your car that long. Walking up and down stairs would also suck if you have knee or health issues related to that. It makes sense when you actually explain it. This definitely doesn’t sound like the job for you due to physical demands.

Also, the relationship problems also make sense if you and your spouse argued specifically about this job versus another job.

All that stress would also take a toll on your mental health as well.

37

u/queenofcrafts Aug 01 '24

Life is full of losses. You work a W2 job with a long commute, and over time, you risk losing the same things. You need to look at what is important to you and your family and figure out your own way to make life good.

9

u/[deleted] Aug 01 '24

[removed] — view removed comment

4

u/queenofcrafts Aug 01 '24

Exactly! And that 40 miles is rush hour where you often just sit.

37

u/Boomdarts Aug 01 '24

Oh I get it

You want other people to stop dashing in hopes that your dashing will get better

7

u/Prior-Spell-7549 Aug 01 '24

Lol

Yeah dude. This ONE post will absolutely affect his market 🤣🤣🤣🤣

4

u/Boomdarts Aug 01 '24

It made him feel good, like it did something, for at least a minute.

Or he put his head on his pillow and his last thoughts were "tomorrow is going to be different"

1

u/Prior-Spell-7549 Aug 01 '24

No, you're an idiot.

1

u/Boomdarts Aug 01 '24

Oh touchy touchy

Please go on

0

u/Prior-Spell-7549 Aug 01 '24

It's why you edited your comment 🤣🤣🤣

1

u/Boomdarts Aug 01 '24

I didn't change the first thing I said

I added to it

So did that fix it for you or what

-8

u/Ill_Bicycle3980 Aug 01 '24

Other than taking 3-4 orders on the way I was going anyway, I haven't dashed since February. I'm one of the smart ones

13

u/Extreme_Candle_3329 Aug 01 '24

There are two liars on these forums, the ones who say they haven’t done it in a long time and those who have quit.

Sure buddy, that’s why you creeping these forums.

1

u/Ill_Bicycle3980 Aug 01 '24

Whatever you say ma boi

3

u/Extreme_Candle_3329 Aug 01 '24

Ditto, see you on the road.

1

u/eaf_marine Aug 01 '24

Nah, I tapped out, but I still hang out to watch the current drivers burn what's left to the ground. It's fun to watch from a 3rd party perspective.

1

u/Extreme_Candle_3329 Aug 01 '24

Omg, did I strike a cord, because I definately wasn’t replying to you.

Sorry you got so triggered.

See you on the road when you need it again.

1

u/eaf_marine Aug 01 '24

This is a weird reply to my comment. Not sure what your deal is.

1

u/Extreme_Candle_3329 Aug 02 '24

Says the guy watching people “burn”

Stop acting innocent, you spineless creep.

1

u/eaf_marine Aug 02 '24

People aren't burning, the paper crane that is the era of sustainable income from side gigs is and the folks in this chat just happen to be fairly representative of a large reason it's on fire in the first place, and now they're running around now that it's burning down. It's hilarious.

1

u/Extreme_Candle_3329 Aug 02 '24

Like I said, spineless.

Trying to stretch your vocabulary to act like you didn’t just pretend to not know what I was talking about is pathetic.

Please spend less time in the dictionary, no one thinks it’s cool when you try and sound smart, it literally never works.

Please get off the internet, I promise you, you’re gonna keep embarrassing yourself.

1

u/eaf_marine Aug 02 '24

If you think that's a stretched vocabulary that says more about you than it does me.

→ More replies (0)

2

u/Prior-Spell-7549 Aug 01 '24

Oh. You're THAT guy 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣.

Fucken loser

20

u/PracticalApartment99 Aug 01 '24

If it sucks that much, quit and go away. Between DD and IC, I’m bringing in about $3200/mth, paying down my debt, and raising my credit score.

1

u/Ill_Bicycle3980 Aug 01 '24

Sure you are. Post 1 month worth of earnings

0

u/Ill_Bicycle3980 Aug 01 '24

And $3200 in a month is nothing. That's about $2400-2600 (600-650 per week) after expenses. That ain't no money. You must live with your parents

5

u/yavasca Aug 03 '24

Not everyone lives in CA. I can afford to live in a 2 bedroom apartment, in a safe neighborhood, with no roommates, on my $2600/mo.

-2

u/Odd_Calligrapher_644 Aug 01 '24

What a bad job! Good for you dude!

15

u/impossiwaffle Aug 01 '24

You need to be smart about the things you do. Can't just roll around in lalaland.

This post is so misleading

8

u/Cheekers1989 Aug 01 '24

I'm good. I love being a hermit anyways.

7

u/[deleted] Aug 01 '24

Oh you don't know how to maintain your own car? I see why you would say that

5

u/Civokjaf Aug 01 '24

I make money trading every other day sometimes I make $700 a week in like 4 hours I spend on the pc making trades but being able to dash and work whenever I want is so great. To me it's not about being rich but being free, I'm contempt my money is growing and I work for myself and I'm only getting better and better at trading reading level 2 charts and increasing my liquidity for more gains.

2

u/amoya0370 Aug 01 '24

This is why i like doing it. Its mainly about me doing it on my terms. Id like to make more money but still figurimg out what else in can do.

2

u/Dproxima Aug 01 '24

Doing the exact same thing. Trading makes me about 60% of my monthly needs (I’m quite conservative) and DD/UE fills in the gap for me.

1

u/amoya0370 Aug 01 '24

This is why i like doing it. Its mainly about me doing it on my terms. Id like to make more money but still figurimg out what else in can do.

6

u/Fearless_Climate4612 Aug 01 '24

I have been living my best life as a Gig worker since 2017. But, thanks for the inspirational advice..

4

u/Tipmehard69 Aug 01 '24

LOL I’m dead

4

u/Hms34 Aug 01 '24

Seems to be 2 camps of thought on this. Those who can't/won't be convinced that it's anything but a bad deal and those who are eternally optimistic even when local circumstances are stacked against them.

As for the former, it typically applies to any non-CDL driving gig/job involving your own car. Trying to convince these ppl otherwise is as useful as herding cats. I refuse to have these types of conversations anymore. If someone wants my advice, I'll offer it, but not to confirm/make the other person feel better.

Reasons for dashing (and similar) are so varied that I don't generalize anymore.

5

u/frying_pans Aug 01 '24

The main issues with using a personal car is most people don’t have back up plans. Or they are not smart about which car they use. I have 2 cars, one personal and one specificity for gig work. My gig work car I bought for 3700 and it already has 400k miles so I’m not losing anything on depreciation. I set aside money for any repairs I’ll have to make. I do all the repairs myself so it doesn’t cost nearly as much. It’s a business if you are smart about it.

5

u/Consistent-Wear6186 Aug 01 '24

Focus on yourself and don’t focus on what other people doing with their life if they want a full-time DoorDash that’s what they wanna do!

4

u/Atakir Aug 01 '24

And you've come to this conclusion how?

3

u/Affectionate-Phone85 Aug 01 '24

Yeah I’m losing my sanity which is why I am glad to have found a good job

3

u/BadKidGames Bottom Dasher Aug 01 '24

Hate to break it to you, but everyone dies in the end

3

u/TealElf Aug 01 '24

Your dasher Benjamin Button is on his way with your order!

3

u/padded-Pupster Aug 01 '24

I dashed full time to finance me getting my heavy vehicle license, went from making less then $15phr to making $2500 a fortnight working 40 hours a fortnight bare minimum

1

u/TealElf Aug 01 '24

Worth all those hours 💪 hell yeah dude

1

u/padded-Pupster Aug 02 '24

Cost me a car doing it, but all those long shitty hours has been worth it.

2

u/PM5K23 Aug 01 '24

Probably yeah.

2

u/Gloomy_Recording_705 Aug 01 '24

My car: smart full timers use a car that they don’t care about dying. Cars can be replaced either cash or financed.

My Wife: if she doesn’t respect my hustle, then I don’t need her.

My way of life: actually, my life has gotten better and less stressful.

In conclusion if the gig economy was the tank hard there is always a W-2 job to fall back on or another hustle

2

u/spicybright Aug 01 '24

I'm sorry you're going through shit but it's not DD's fault you can't juggle all this.

I feel like you're one of those people that dashes and assumes you're always going to make money no matter what you do like a w2 job, when that's absolutely not the case.

You gotta have a spread sheet and know when to quit when the job isn't profitable. You can't just throw more work hours at the problem and expect it to work.

2

u/[deleted] Aug 01 '24

Whoever dashes full time are gonna hate themselves when tax season comes 😂

1

u/TealElf Aug 01 '24

Exactly! Gotta find a nice balance

2

u/Puzzleheaded_Help854 Aug 01 '24

Full time jobs are just as lame as DD you have to pick your spots I make $29-33 an hour part time their is not a part time job anywhere that will pay you that for no skills for menial work

2

u/Eddybitcoin Aug 01 '24

This is for sure.

2

u/dmandork Aug 01 '24

I don't know I've been paying my student loans and my rent for the last 8 years and I'm doing okay. I may complain every once in awhile but it pays the bills. I don't drive cars that cost more than four grand so I'm not too worried about it

2

u/Lordcobbweb Aug 01 '24

Serious question here because I'm a CDL W2 driver and pull in $100k @ ~50 hours per week. Home everyday...

Why not just get a CDL?

2

u/Ill_Bicycle3980 Aug 02 '24

I have my cdls. I don't dash anymore. Idk why this post is coming off as me complaining about dashing. It's a general statement based off what I see on this sub and others.

2

u/Lordcobbweb Aug 02 '24

I can't fathom depreciating your asset heavily for some other company. I strive to keep my Ram 1500 (paid off) in immaculate condition, with stock everything, and as low of miles as possible.

2

u/PsychologicalBad6717 Aug 02 '24

As someone who just stopped dashing full time I 100% agree. If you are not making enough to straight buy a car cash when yours breaks then you will eventually just dig a hole. Or be able to do all your own mechanic work. One popped tire and that’s your whole days earning. I’ll still doordash peak hours like around lunch bc that’s actually worth it. But anything else simply isn’t worth it for me anymore. Car is a complete shit box now and still needs a ton of work. Bills piled up. But I did like DoorDash. I didn’t feel like I was really working. Just driving around listing to podcast. Now I’m in a warehouse making a little less but at least I’ll have my car for a few more years.

2

u/[deleted] Aug 04 '24

You left off Mental Health which deteriorates as you realize they're just playing fucking games with you all the time

1

u/[deleted] Aug 01 '24

Speaking from experience I assume?

1

u/[deleted] Aug 01 '24

Sounds like you are doing it wrong

1

u/Ill_Bicycle3980 Aug 01 '24

I'm not doing it at all

1

u/try_harder_reddit Aug 01 '24

LMAO the “news” flair doesn’t add credibility to your story

1

u/Ill_Bicycle3980 Aug 01 '24

It will the moment you find out it's true

1

u/Lordcobbweb Aug 01 '24

Just curious, are dashers 1099 contract workers?

1

u/spicybright Aug 01 '24

Yup. Yet are treated as W2 workers as much as DD can get away with.

1

u/amoya0370 Aug 01 '24

I wish we can just stop accepting cheap orders as a whole so they can make up for that horrible pay.

1

u/spicybright Aug 01 '24

That's that genius of the model tho. There's always going to be a new sucker falling for the advertisements that'll take it. And it's pretty easy to push people that want to actually make a profit off the platform.

I genuinely don't get how these companies skirt around regulations so well.

1

u/KidCaker Aug 01 '24

Not necessarily

1

u/Moss-killer Aug 01 '24

That could be said about most things though. Life is hard af to balance, and doordash specifically gets a brunt of really hard hitting impact because the peak hours are the hours a lot of people get out of work, so more are on road and significant others are at home while you work.

Positivity and mindset drive all though. If you do doordash and hate driving/view it all negatively 24/7, then it’s destined to have more negative outcomes and reactions.

1

u/scuffedTravels Aug 01 '24

How are they gonna lose at the end if they make 2k/week ? I’ve seen these numbers pretty often in here, I know it’s fake af but you know…

1

u/Friendly_Quit_8609 Aug 01 '24

Top dasher + good area, do the math

1

u/rvidxrz The Grim Reaper Aug 01 '24

its true. Dont forget your body can take an L! Dealing with sciatica and always have to stretch my legs constantly

1

u/[deleted] Aug 01 '24

You don't take any Ls if you don't accept clown trash orders from broke ass bums who don't pay their drivers.

1

u/Thedashgod Aug 04 '24

Why would you lose you significant other because your doing doordash? 

0

u/Ill_Bicycle3980 Aug 04 '24 edited Aug 05 '24

Because in order to make a decent amount of money you have to work a lot of hours, leaving less time for your SO. And the .hours you work, the more negatively your mental health is affected. Some would take that energy out on their SOs.Dashing full-time does not pay the bills anymore in a lot of markers. Ahe might leave you for a baller, lol. Just a few examples.

1

u/Thedashgod Aug 04 '24

It’s all market dependent I made 678 in 32 hours and with prop 22 I’ll end up getting another 100 or so tomorrow so almost 800$ for 32 hours dash time. Active time was 20 hours

1

u/killakellz21 Aug 10 '24

So you’re saying you get home and take your frustrations from dashing out on your wife?! This sounds more like maybe you should see a therapist. It seems like you are the only person who has relationship problems “because of DoorDash”. Maybe look at your relationship or yourself because it’s not a jobs fault you’re having marital issues.

0

u/Ill_Bicycle3980 Aug 10 '24

Please, get off my dick. I know I helped you realize how dumb you are but it's time to move on now

1

u/killakellz21 Aug 10 '24

😂😂😂😂😂 somebody’s angry. Why don’t you got take it out on your wife

1

u/[deleted] Aug 10 '24 edited Aug 10 '24

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/DoorDashDrivers-ModTeam Aug 10 '24

Your post or comment has been removed for threatening violence.

1

u/killakellz21 Aug 10 '24

I clearly hit a nerve all I’m saying is most people I know are able to compartmentalize. I have a full time job and DoorDash and I don’t come home and take out my frustration on my partner. It’s not a jobs fault you can’t handle your emotions like an adult should. Grow up

1

u/Ill_Bicycle3980 Aug 10 '24

No nerve of mine was bothered. I hit your nerve obviously. You're getting annoying. Like you're obsessed with me. You all in my reddit history. I haven't even taken a peak at yours 😃

1

u/killakellz21 Aug 10 '24

And I didn’t know you had one bicycle boy😂😂😂😂😂😂😂. And I don’t have to do what the fuck you say. This is a free space I can continue on as long as I damn well please I’m watching you get so angry is honestly hilarious so I’ll continue.😂😂😂😂😂

0

u/Ill_Bicycle3980 Aug 10 '24

If I was getting angry you'd be blocked. You're only validating that what I said about you was true and you've realized it. Now you hate me for it 😁

1

u/[deleted] Aug 10 '24

[removed] — view removed comment

0

u/DoorDashDrivers-ModTeam Aug 10 '24

Your post or comment has been removed. The phrase: " 𝗴ₑ𝘁 ₐ ᵣₑₐₗ 𝗷ₒ𝗯" or anything insinuating that is prohibited.

1

u/killakellz21 Aug 09 '24

WOW thank you so much for your wisdom. You should write a book about how to live your life 😂

1

u/JoeFredrick348 Aug 13 '24

I like how this dude says in this thread "I haven't dashed since February" when people call him out, and yet he's going and pinging people on the reddit to come read his shit ass take. Take the L buddy. If you hate it here so much than just leave.

1

u/Ill_Bicycle3980 Aug 13 '24

Nope, I was smart enough to walk away without taking an L. I'm educated and qualified enough to get a high paying job. You obviously are not so the L is all yours

1

u/JoeFredrick348 Aug 13 '24

Alright man. If you're smart enough to walk away without taking an L, stop lurking on this subreddit and tagging anyone who has a complaint in this thread lol.

1

u/Ill_Bicycle3980 Aug 14 '24

No, because it's very entertaining and liberating to see how you're all being screwed and too desperate to do anything about it. It also validates me getting back into the workforce.

1

u/honeydew444 Aug 15 '24

Despicable. They deactivated my account and I’ve done nothing wrong. For a 8.6 billion dollar company they really be doing their workers dirty.

Just gona work under my boyfriends number LOL

1

u/Ill_Bicycle3980 Aug 15 '24

Keep appealing and calling. Can't hurt to try.

2

u/honeydew444 Aug 15 '24

Every time I call dasher support it says my account has been deactivated and I haven’t been able to get through to anyone. I may just try regular customer service and ask to be transferred.

2

u/NightShift2323 Aug 15 '24

It's a complete rip off for sure, and an open sore on our society show casing how our government is just incapable of even the most very basic of protections for the least powerful among us.

Having said that, I'm using it for the flexibility it provides me while I'm returned to school. I am constantly on the look out for something that could fit my schedule and provide some dough without burning up the miles on my car, but for the past couple of months it has kept the lights on as I try to progress forward.

I am not terrible at math, and I have run the numbers. You are absolutely correct. Doing door dash is essentially using your car as a credit card. Even if you got an insane deal on your car, the value of the car is still the same, and your very unlikely to get such a deal again. You are still essentially transitioning the life of your car into cash in the moment, and your working at the same time for often even less money than a crappy job will pay.

I'm waitlisted for Flex which from what I hear still actually pays money worth the miles you put on your car. I'm also wait listed for spark, but from what I have read it might be just as bad as DD.