How Does Doordash Work?

Doordash is a popular food delivery service that delivers food from restaurants that do not necessarily serve or deliver in your area. The service brings many of the conveniences, like order tracking and online payments with tipping, that you'd find from large chains or popular local eateries.

How Does Doordash Work?

Doordash is a unified web interface that you can use to order a wide array of menu items from local restaurants. The company can make door-to-door deliveries from most restaurants that offer take-out. After you place an order, a Dasher picks it up and delivers it to your door.

1. Open your web browser and navigate to Doordash. Select Sign Up in the upper right-hand corner of the screen, or Sign In if you already have an account.

   

2. The Doordash website will take you to the registration form. Fill in the registration form or connect your Facebook or Google account.

   

3. Next, enter the address that you want your order to be delivered to in the search box, then select Search.

4. Doordash displays a list of restaurants in your area that are eligible for delivery to your address. Many of these businesses work specifically with Doordash to provide delivery services that would otherwise be takeout-only.

   The results at the top of the page are often advertisements for national chains that have partnered with Doordash. Scroll down for a complete list.

   

5. Doordash presents your options in a grid, with the restaurant's logo, name, food style, delivery charge, and estimated delivery time. Select a listing to view their menu.

   

6. More information is provided at the top of the menu page, including the restaurant's hours of operation, its star rating, distance from your address, and delivery time.

   Below the restaurant listing, the menu is broken down into categories with links for easy navigation. The top sections feature the most popular items. Scroll through your restaurant's menu and click the items you would like to order.

   

7. Some items have options to customize your order or add special instructions. Make a selection, choose any add-ons or special requests you'd like, then select Add to Cart.

   

8. You will see the item you selected in your cart on the right side of the screen with your current total on top. After you've added everything you want to order, select Checkout.

   

9. Now you'll see your order summary on both the bottom and right side of the page, with a complete breakdown of your items and the total. You can schedule the delivery for a specific time or have the food delivered as soon as it's ready.

   Select Add a payment card. Enter the details; you can save the card to your account for later use.

   

10. In the order summary on the right, there's a space to add a tip for your Dasher (the delivery person), which gets charged to your card. Check that your delivery address is correct, then select Place Order.

11. You will see a screen with a large map, displaying both your and the restaurant's location. To the left is the estimated delivery time and a tracker that updates in real-time to show the progress of the order.

    

12. After your order arrives, the completed order page allows you to review both the restaurant and the Dasher who delivered your food.

    

13. When you're ready to order again, sign in to your account and start the process over.

Who Are Dashers?

Dashers are the contract workers who deliver for Doordash. They use their own vehicles to make deliveries, much like Uber or Lyft but for food (like Uber Eats). You can sign up to be a Dasher on Doordash's website. They'll review your application, and if you're approved, you can start accepting orders via the Dasher app.

Dashers earn the tips that customers leave when placing your orders and are paid directly by Doordash. Being a Dasher is a decent side gig or part-time job since they can set their schedules and choose which deliveries to accept.

Just remember to tip!