Driving and Delivering for Multiple Apps at the Same Time

With so many on-demand food delivery companies out there, it may be a bit confusing for an individual to decide which app they want to work with. In most major metropolitan areas, there is at least a handful of companies to contract with. Some people prefer one over the others for their very own personal reasons and are somewhat loyal to a particular company. I think that loyalty is a rarity though and that most drivers are going to go where the money is. If they are not working where the most money is at, it is usually because of ignorance of them not knowing what the other companies offer. In most metropolitan areas, one app can keep a person fairly busy most of the time, but in smaller markets, it is almost a necessity to work multiple apps at the same time to make any decent money.

Should a driver run multiple apps at the same time?

It is not absolutely necessary, but experienced on demand food delivery drivers will usually come out ahead and make much more money by running multiple apps at the same time. Those working in smaller markets will benefit more from running multiple apps than those in large metropolitan markets. This does not mean that those in large markets shouldn't ever run multiple apps. I have worked in one of the largest metropolitan cities in the United States, and trust me when I say that there are times when even large markets get a bit slow. If you are running one app like Doordash for example, there may be times when you go 30 minutes or an hour without a call. If you have another app on then you double your chance of getting a call. Three apps on? Good, now you triple your chances of getting a call.

Running multiple apps will increase the likelihood that there is never any down-time. Chances are that the driver will always be working and making money. There is nothing worse than sitting around in a parking lot for an extended period of time waiting for a call. If a driver has any combination of Doordash, Grubhub, Uber Eats, Caviar, Uber Eats or other on-demand food apps on at the same time, there should always be plenty of work available. 

How to run multiple apps at the same time

Many drivers simply turn on all of their apps at once and wait for the first call to come in. Once they accept that call, they will turn off all of their other apps. After picking up their order and being minutes from delivering, they will turn all of their apps back on.

All of this sounds simple, but it must be understood that all on demand food delivery apps have their own set up rules. For example, Doordash has schedules that a driver sets where as a company such as Postmates does not. With Postmates and some of the other major companies, you are able to log on and log off anytime you want. With Doordash and some others, you will only be on during your set schedule. You are not able to log on and off whenever you want.

This can be a bit problematic if the first call that you accept is a Postmates call. You can log off of some of your other apps, but what about a company like Doordash? If you log off you will lose your whole schedule. The only thing that you can do in this situation is put Doordash on pause, but you only have a combined total of 35 minutes of pause time so if you use it all you are going to lose your whole dash. If you don't care about your Doordash acceptance rate all of this could be much easier for you. I knew a guy that would just reject everything to stay on. Sure, his acceptance rate was 15 percent the last time he showed me, but his system has worked fine for him.

When running multiple on demand food delivery apps at the same time, a driver must also be very careful that they do not get themselves in to bad predicaments. What I mean by this is by being tempted to accept two calls from different companies because the pick ups are very near each other or may even be at the same merchant. This may seem like a good deal, and sometimes for the experienced driver it is, but when a novice driver does not pay attention to the offers thrown at them, they may have a big problem on hand when they discover that the two delivery points are in complete opposite directions. Their Doordash order may be 6 miles east while their Postmates order is 8 miles west. A choice must be made, and the customer that receives their order last is not going to be very happy for having to wait so long for their food. A bad review or bad rating may also come. This is why it is very important to pay attention to not only pick up locations but also delivery locations. Another thing to remember is that some companies such as Uber Eats do not even show you the drop off location until after the food is picked up.

Strategy when running multiple apps such as Doordash, Postmates, Uber Eats, Grub Hub and others

There are different strategies that drivers use when using multiple apps, and only you can decide what is best for you. You should know your region well enough to help you decide how you are going to work the system. The way you do this is very important as it can cause a major difference in the amount of money you make. I am going to share my own personal strategy, but I must say that I only do this is areas that I know very well. If I do not know an area very well, I would not use this strategy.

Let me give you an example of the strategy that I use. Where I live, it is a Doordash dominated market. Postmates, Grub Hub, Uber Eats and two other small companies all have a presence, but Doordash gets way more calls than the others. Also, in this market, Doordash actually pays decent so I do not mind making Doordash my main app. Many times, I'd say about half the time, the calls are $8 or $9 which is a very good thing for Doordash deliveries. There are many markets where almost all Doordash calls are $5.50. Personally, I would not make Doordash my main app in one of these $5.50 markets, but that does not mean I wouldn't take advantage of using Doordash somehow in that market.

When it's time to work, I put three apps on which is always enough. On a regular day hopefully I have a Doordash schedule; which I usually do. Then I will put on a couple other apps. I am also registered with a few other smaller companies that I sometimes fiddle with, but I'm usually delivering with the majors.

I usually will have two calls at the same time from two of the apps. I don't just accept anything though. Let's say that the first call that comes in to me that I accept is a Doordash call. After accepting, I do not turn off all of my other apps. As I am on my way to the Doordash pick-up I am hoping that I receive a call from another app. Let's say Postmates sends me an offer as I am driving. I will analyze where the Postmates merchant is and where the customer is. If the Postmates merchant is near the Doordash merchant, or is in route to the Doordash merchant and the Postmates delivery point is going the same way as the Doordash delivery point, I will take the call. Once I have two calls, I will usually turn off any other apps that I have on until I eliminate one of these calls.

 

When I have multiple calls on different apps at the same time things usually run smooth, and I do not have any problems, but things don't always go perfect. This is something that a Dasher, Grubber, Mater, Eater or anybody else will have to be careful with. For example, many times with a Postmates order, you will have to place the order yourself. This can be very time consuming. If you have a second merchant that you need to get to such as a Doordash order, they may have a long wait if the Postmates merchant is slow. This calls for cancelations sometimes. It is no big deal to cancel orders once in a while no matter what app it is. Problems do not happen frequently enough to have any major issues with your statistics on any of the platforms.

All apps are different, but as far as Uber Eats is concerned, I will never accept an Uber Eats call if I am already on a call from another app. Why? Because Uber Eats does not let you know where the customer's location is until you pick up the food. If I have an Uber Eats call first though it is a different story. If I have just picked up my Uber Eats food from a merchant I am open to accept an offer from another app. If the merchant is going the same way as my Uber customer I just may make that stop. It all depends on what merchant it is. This is why I say that you must know your area. In my home area, I know everything about every restaurant. I know which ones take long, which ones are fast, which ones I will have to order if it's Postmates and so on. When you have this mastered you can easily run multiple apps. 

 

How many on-demand food delivery apps should I run at one time?

When I am working in my home area, as I have already mentioned, I will usually turn on three of my apps. Turning on four apps usually just seems like too many to me as three always serves the purpose. Please keep in mind that my home area is not a metropolitan big city or anything like that. It is not even the suburbs. It is more of a rural area. If I just worked one app, no matter which one it was, there would be way too much time wasted siting around waiting for a call. When I have three apps on, I am always busy with a call. There is rarely a time when I am sitting around for more than five minutes.

Those that want to start out working multiple apps at the same time to make the most amount of money possible while delivering food should start out by juggling two apps. Once a driver gets better at it and used of it, they should add a third. Also, if I haven't said it enough, get to know your area. It is very important. When you can navigate around town easily without much thinking and know every restaurants habits you can run everything smoothly.