Lots of places have a story, and all stories have a place. Much of driving is about getting to someplace. One mile or two hundred miles, the journey always ends somewhere. A couriers work is mostly about finding, not just anywhere, but somewhere. And, at times, multiple somewhere’s in the same trip. That’s why it’s important to work on avoiding the stack attack trap.
It goes by different names depending on the app or company one is driving for at the time. Doubles, triples and stacks, all refer to multiple somewhere’s in a single run, or trip. They come in regularly during a rush, and that’s when watching things closely matters. A lot.
While it’s true that most opportunities dispatch when traveling, the stack usually happens after accepting the first dispatch. It’s busy, the light ahead is about to get red, that car might cut in front, and bam! Time to scan the offer, oh and keep track of the road. You have forty five seconds to decide. Hard to catch those details on the fly sometimes.
Double Down
Adding to the first dispatch. Another offer, and it looks okay, at a glance. Quick look at the total offer, some fast addition, and the overall total of both runs looks fair. Punch that yes button. This works okay, and is about the norm depending on how bad the rush is at the current time.
A more detailed look at the additional offer. The first dispatch had a total of seven miles traveled, after the cargo is picked up. Guaranteed payout $11, second dispatch is an additional 2.1 miles from the first drop off location, for an additional $5. Now the total payout for both runs is $16, with 9.1 miles traveled.
Quickly studied this appears fair, and is a fair benchmark. It’s some of the finer details that are important in this example. Let’s see if it’s possible to find those details and use them to improve the quality of the accepted offers. Having a good idea of what to look for helps in avoiding the stack attack trap.
One detail to keep in mind is the distance traveled to that second pick up location, from the first cargo pick up location. And what night is it? If it’s Friday night chances are the rush is hitting hard and all pickups are running behind, so additional time for cargo pick up is a given. Waiting in line for eleven bucks is okay, it’s not as great for five bucks, especially if waiting for the five costs an opportunity to grow the eleven.
Accepting additional offers when one is familiar with the merchant and can safely estimate wait times goes a long way towards balancing difficult double offers. And the decision of accepting them.
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Another factor to consider, is the overall offer again. Not the overall, overall offer. Let’s just pull the two offers apart, and view them separately, each on their own merits. The first offer was seven miles, and we pocket eleven bucks, and we do it in forty minutes. Good metrics, not high profitability, but fair business.
The second offer is an additional 2.1 miles, on top of the first seven, for 9.1 miles overall. Estimate 1.5 more miles for the distance between first pickup and second pickup, and the overall is roughly 10.6 miles. For an hour and fifteen minutes of time. Much of the time the second dispatch pick up is at least close in proximity to the first.
Second offer payout guaranty $5, for 10.6 miles traveled. Overall. The 2.1 additional, has some drawbacks that aren’t visible on the fly. It works when combined with another offer, but when examined on it’s own, it has some sticking points. These are a couple of key points to consider when accepting stacks.
Practice makes perfect in some of these scenarios. It’s a matter of accepting an offer or two or three, and learning from the outcome. A good rule of thumb is to consider the stack offer as a standalone and decide based on those merits, before accepting the offer.
The time it takes to complete a stack can have an impact on the total earnings of an entire shift. It’s possible to get pulled so far away from an area, that it takes most of an hour to return. Meaning missed opportunities and decreased earnings. Gauge those stack attacks on time for return trips, as well as money, it could make and save some money. Stay safe out there, zoom zoom.
