How often do you get Cash Tips with Doordash?

When I first began driving for Doordash, cash tips was something that I never expected. The reason being is that at the orientation, they explained that Doordash customers have a tip option available to them during check-out when they order their food. This seemed kind of strange to me as I am used of tipping after a service is provided and not beforehand. Anyways, the message that I got from the orientation even though it was not said directly was not to expect any cash tips from customers.

How often should I expect a Doordash customer to leave a cash tip?

A dasher should never expect to receive cash tips because even though it does happen from time to time, most of the time it does not. I would estimate that maybe one in twenty customers will leave a cash tip. If a dasher gets three or four cash tips in a day, they should consider themselves very lucky. With that said, sometimes there are streaks when a dasher can go a week without a cash tip.

I can remember my very first day dashing. I delivered to three customers and thought it kind of strange that not one of them gave me a cash tip. I just thought well that's the way things are I guess. It seemed exactly as I had been told at the Doordash orientation. All I knew was that during my whole life whenever a pizza delivery guy came to deliver, I would leave him or her a cash tip. I even did this as a kid. It was just something that you were supposed to do.

I spent more time dashing my second day and made eight deliveries. Again, I did not receive a cash tip. This seemed foreign to me, but I was getting used of it. During my entire first two weeks of dashing, I did not receive a cash tip from anybody.

My first cash tip came during my third week of dashing. A customer handed me two dollars in cash. It was certainly a nice feeling receiving a cash tip. It made me feel like the customer really appreciated the service that I provided for them. This did not become a normal thing though, and as any dasher out there knows, cash tips do not come very often so appreciate it when it happens.

After dashing for nearly a year, I will tell you that during an average week, I will get one, two or maybe three cash tips. This is from doing about 100 deliveries during the week. You just never know when it is going to happen. The tip amounts will vary. Some people will tip a few dollars while others will tip five or ten dollars. The largest cash tip that I have ever received was $15. I have read about other dashers receiving $20 tips and even more than that, but unfortunately for me that has never happened. I remember one day when I received three cash tips. Two of them were for $5 and the last one was for $10. Like the old school rapper Ice-Cube used to say "It was a good day."

What kind of customers leave cash tips?

Most of the time the Doordash customer that leaves a cash tip is of the old-school nature. They will usually be 40 plus years old and most likely prefer to leave a cash tip as that is how they have always done it. It seems ridiculous to these people to leave a pre-tip for their dasher on the app before service is provided. It may even seem a bit strange to them to leave a tip on an app at all. Nope, instead they are going to hand over cash to their delivery driver and thank them.

Sometimes young people, teenagers and even small children themselves will leave their dasher a cash tip. These customers are usually those that have been taught by their parents or elders to tip their delivery drivers with a cash tip. It's all just part of the morals and values that they have been taught.

Then there is the party guy that is feeling good and will leave their dasher a nice $10 or so cash tip. This customer is excited when the dasher arrives and isn't afraid to show it. A dasher shouldn't even be surprised when this customer invites them into the party.

Why would a Doordash customer leave a cash tip?

Basically it is because they want to tip based on the service that they received. As I have already mentioned, they generally don't believe in pre-tipping. It also just seems more personal when tipping in cash and some people prefer things to be that way.

I do not want to compare Doordash to other food delivery services, but I have done some deliveries with Postmates during the past few months. Even though Doordash is my main food delivery company,  Postmates recently moved in to my area, and I have been testing the waters with them.

During the past couple of months, I have done 42 deliveries for them. Out of those deliveries, I have received nine cash tips, and all of the tips were good tips. They were all for either $5 or $10. I don't know if Postmate's customers are just better tippers, or if all of this is just a coincidence. Whatever it is, I am going to keep a good eye on this as those cash tips really help me out.

To sum everything up here, a Doordash driver should never expect to receive cash tips on a regular basis. When a customer does leave you a cash tip, thank them and appreciate it. What has your experience been at getting cash tips? Do you get a lot of cash tips? How often does it happen? Feel free to comment.