Delivery Apps – The Nitty Gritty on the Sidehustle
There are many fundamentals to cover with delivery apps. Experienced drivers and couriers, will already know much of this, but if you’re just starting with a delivery app, or are considering it as a side hustle, everything that can give an advantage is the fastest way to money in pocket.
Working with an app for pay is rife with opportunity. However there are challenges to using an app in real time, and earning money while doing so.
There’s a fine line between making money and losing money. It’s great to make 30$ in a couple of hours, but if it took 25$ to do it, not so much. Also, spending all day to make that same 30$, not so great. We want that 30$, as fast as possible, with little to no cost.
If you are a driver working as an employee with a restaurant, your delivery area will be a dedicated zone. Most establishments running a dedicated delivery crew, keep deliveries within a 5 mile radius of the store.
Any further and there’s the risk of all drivers being away when the rush is roaring.
Sidehustle
This strategy also works with app driving/gig-work. Think about a restaurant in your area that everyone loves, including you. Keeping this restaurant at the center of a zone is the game plan.
Only consider deliveries that keep you within a 5 mile radius of your restaurant, unless you get an offer you can’t refuse. Several driving apps will allow the driver to view the complete details of a delivery, before accepting the delivery. Ubereats is an excellent example.
Another type of delivery that comes from gig-work, is the shop and deliver model. This type of delivery can be lucrative, but time consuming. Typically the driver will have a credit card from the delivery app, to purchase items that are listed in the app for that delivery.
A pitfall of this type of delivery is unavailable items. The App will have a process for alerting the customer and substituting the item, it is important to follow each step closely before marking it complete. In some cases the form of payment (app issued card) will be declined if every step isn’t fully completed.
Nitty Gritty
There are many things that can influence a series of deliveries. One of the best examples of this, is a stack. Stacks are multiple deliveries in one trip. Sometimes called, doubles or triples, it’s a way to increase the potential for one trip to be more profitable.
Careful and deliberate consideration is very important when accepting this type of run. Not every stack is sensible or profitable, for example, passing a drop off point to get to another, only to turn around and backtrack to the point you passed earlier.
Stacking deliveries that are time sensitive, such as smoothies or ice cream, with deliveries that require more time at pick up, can be a disaster. A melty, sticky disaster. These are some of the things to consider when stacking. Stacked offers can be declined at the courier’s discretion.
The app will handle the proximity of the pick up and drop off locations for expediency and convenience. But the app doesn’t know how fast ice cream can melt, or how quick the whipped cream atop a milkshake, can become just cream.
As always experience is the best teacher, and the only way to experience is getting a hustle on, a sidehustle that is, stay safe out there!
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