Doordash Drivers - Do you communicate with customers?

As a Doordash driver, we have the ability to communicate with customers via text or phone call. Usually, there is no reason to communicate with the customer, but there are times when communication can be very useful. It's true that you are never required to contact the customer, but there are many situations that may arise while dashing, and in these situations, it will always be beneficial to contact the customer. Off the top of my head, I am going to list the three main reasons that you may want to contact the customer.

1. You are going to be late with the customer's order

To customers, this is the worst possible Doordash driver offense. A customer can be quick to leave a bad rating for a driver when their food is late. As a driver myself, I know, and you know that it is not always our fault, but all we can do is try to diminish the odds of a customer leaving us a bad rating.

To do this, it is always wise to text the customer and give them an estimated time of delivery. If their food supposed to be delivered at 2:30 pm, and you find yourself sitting around the restaurant waiting for the food for a long time and see that it is almost the delivery time, you definitely want to let them know that there is going to be a delay. They will appreciate you letting them know the situation.

 

Customers can see from the customer side of the app that you have been sitting at the merchant for a while. They do not know why, but they will appreciate an explanation. Most customers will text you back and appreciate your courtesy. Even though you may want to, never bad mouth the restaurant in your text as that would serve no purpose. You might just want to say that the restaurant is very busy, but you will give every effort to deliver their food as soon as possible.

2. Question about the customer's order

There are times when a customer's order may be a bit confusing or not clear. This is especially true when you have to place the order yourself. I have had orders when the restaurant did not have what the customer ordered. Usually, it is because they have ran out of the item. What I will do is contact the customer via text, and let them know if they want to replace the out of stock item with something else. Usually, they will want to replace the item with something else, although there are times when they will tell you to just forget about the item.

 

Flavor can also be an issue. If a customer orders a chocolate shake, and the restaurant no longer has chocolate, you are going to want to text the customer. Find out what flavors are available and relay that information. If strawberry and vanilla are available, let them know that they have those options. They will usually respond quickly and let you know their alternative choice.

Even though this may not seem very important, and it basically has to do with a cheap toy, I have had McDonalds orders for kid's happy meals and did not know if the food was for a boy or girl. Again, a simple text to the customer is all it takes to find out. If I do not receive a reply quick enough, I will just guess as there is nothing else that you can do in a situation like this. Again though, a text should be sent to the customer to give them the opportunity to respond.

3. Cannot find customer's location

It is very rare that I cannot find a customer's address, but it has happened a few times. Difficult addresses to find are usually apartment buildings, and although with full effort, I will find almost any address, there are times when I do not want to spend a half an hour doing so. When I see that it may be time consuming to find a customer's address, I will send them a text and let them know that I am at their apartment building, and describe to them my exact location at the vicinity. Most customers will come outside and meet you, although you may have a customer every once in a while that refuses to take a step at their house and wants royalty treatment. These people are not the norm, but they do exist.



In Closing:

Communication with customers is very important. This is especially true is you are running late on an order, or there is some other kind of problem. Always remember that whenever you are in doubt about anything, never hesitate to contact the customer. There are some dashers that never communicate with the customer no matter what the situation is, and that is never a good thing. It only takes a minute to contact them, and it can really save your ratings from taking an undeserved negative hit. Keeping our ratings high are difficult enough, and a lot of those negative ratings by customers can be avoided by just contacting them and communicating.

You can contact the customer by either calling them or texting them. It is highly advisable to always try texting first and only call them only if absolutely needed. There is never a reason to worry about the customer getting your phone number or any other information that you do not want them to have. All communication between the Doordash customer and Doordash driver are sent with masked numbers through the Doordash system. One thing that I did find odd was that customers can sometimes still contact you after you mark their order as delivered. I always thought that once you marked delivered that communication was cut off. That is another subject for another time.