Doordash Waitlist (Expert Guide)
Doordash is among the largest food delivery companies right now! If you’ve landed here, you must know about this company.
When Covid 19 pandemic hit, it birthed other baby pandemics like massive loss of jobs, among others. You may have lost your job, but just as you were about to despair, a friend told you that you could try driving for doordash.
So you logged in and applied to be a dasher, only to get a disappointing message from doordash moments later that says,
“Unfortunately, we are not accepting new dashers in your area at the moment….”
So just like that, Doordash put you on a waitlist and said that the situation is temporary. But it has been six months down the line, and you are left wondering what to do.
Today I’m here to tell you not to give up hope! We shall get to know the Doordash waitlist and how to deal with it if you find yourself on it.
What is a Doordash waitlist?
Doordash’s waitlist is no different from any waitlist that exists. It simply means that the number of people that have shown interest in driving for Doordash is more than the available slots for dashers at that moment but may be available in the future.
What causes doordash to put you on a waitlist?
Doordash will tell you that they are not accepting dashers and say that it’s only temporary, with a promise that they will get back to you via email once it opens up. But do they?
One obvious reason is that the number of orders coming through can be satisfied by the current dashers. If Doordash adds more drivers, the current dashers will not earn decently from the deliveries made.
I believe Doordash will not want to disappoint their current dashers only to satisfy those on the waitlist, and when they start receiving orders, they find that Doordash is not as lucrative as they thought it was due to peanut earnings!
The other reason is fewer orders. The coronavIrus pandemic led to many people losing their jobs. Therefore, they lost their disposable income, meaning ordering out came as a luxury they couldn’t afford.
The loss of jobs meant that most people would get into the gig economy, which saw most people sign up as Doordash drivers. However, the influx in the ‘paid to drive’ market created a bottleneck, which meant that there would be limited slots.
So, if it helps you, you can blame the waitlist nightmare on a failed economy due to the accelerated pandemic!
Sometimes you could be on the waitlist because doordash needs to run some background checks. Background checks have become common because companies need to be sure that they are not dealing with crooks but civilized humans.
How to check for Doordash waitlist
Once you sign in to drive, Doordash will notify you whether you are in as a dasher or have to chill on the waitlist a little longer. Unfortunately, Doordash will notify you through email that you’re on the waitlist. If you get off the waitlist, you will get to know me through email.
My advice, look out for new emails.
How long is the Doordash waitlist
So, how long will you wait on the waitlist before you dash?
Different drivers have different experiences on the waitlist. For example, the wait for some dashers on this Reddit thread ranges from 5 minutes to even six months.
Deliverycourier said, ‘no one but Doordash knows.’
Effkroger said, ‘it depends on the market’s need for drivers or not
BuckteeFrmJnf said, ‘it took me 5 months
TSMSALADQUEEN said that ‘they care about doordash or want to be on it, you’ve gotta check 2 times a day because Doordash will not send you an email saying that they are hiring.’
As you can see, it is not uncommon for one to be on the waitlist. But, take heart; you aren’t alone. Some say that you could dodge the waitlisting by using the referral of one who got in without dodging it. Whether it’s true or not, you can only try it.
Some dashers recommend that you keep checking your notifications to see if Doordash has accepted you.
How can you Get Off Doordash Waitlist?
Most of the people who have been on the waitlist suggest that you wait it out. But if waiting is not your forte, you could try calling Doordash.
I know of a friend who decided to call Doordash when they waitlisted him. They told him that his area had an oversaturation of Dashers and that he should try a different one.
When he did, he got in.
Well, this worked for my friend; you could try this too. Maybe changing the zip code is all you need to do to start dashing.
You could be on the waitlist because Doordash services are unavailable in your area. So, wait for Doordash, or you could call to ask when their services will be available in your area.
The other way to get off the waitlist is to deactivate your account. If you can’t do it alone, ask Doordash to deactivate it, so you get off the waitlist. Then, start the whole application all over again. You might get lucky!
What to do if you get waitlisted
To be on the waitlist is not the end of the road. Even if you’ve tried all the tricks up your sleeve to get off the list and nothing has worked, there is still hope. Here are a couple of things you could do if you are still on the wait list:
1. Try Another Delivery gig
As much as Doordash is one of the best food delivery gigs, it is not the only option. Have you heard of Ubereats, Postmates, and Instacart, among many others?
Ubereats, for instance, has a far reach, covering up to 6’000 cities worldwide. The downside to Ubereats is that it has a terrible reward program compared to doordash.
You could also do grocery delivery with Postmate or Instacart. They are both very popular. Shipt also allows you to earn by delivering and picking items.
In addition to groceries and food, you could deliver packages using Amazon Flex and earn up to $25 per hour. Lugg delivery allows you to help people move and earn up to $2.5K per week.
2. Wait
Yes, you heard right; wait.
Did you know that the patient receives excellent stuff? You could hold onto that. For example, you might wait to see if Doordash expands to your area if you are on the waitlist because the service is still unavailable there.
Once the demand for food deliveries increases and the current pool of dashers is insufficient, doordash will take those on the waitlist to start working. So wait a bit.
Numerous factors can cause the pool of drivers to differ considerably. For example, if the road is impassable because of snow during winter, some drivers might avoid doing deliveries.
3. Checkout other markets nearby
So, instead of waiting to get off the waitlist, you could try signing up under a different market. You will need to enter a different zip code to see if you can get accepted.
Additionally, Doordash enables you to dash to another city while travelling if it offers that service there. What better way for you to compensate for Gas expenses than by doing a gig in that city?
FAQS
How do I know the doordash zip code that is hiring?
If you find yourself on the waitlist, your area is not hiring at the moment.
You could search on Google for areas that doordash is hiring. For example, Snagajob shows that Doordash is hiring in East Boston.
Alternatively, check on Doordash for areas where Doordash services are and apply in those areas. Unfortunately, Doordash does not list the hiring zip codes unless you call Doordash support to confirm.
Why does Doordash have a waitlist?
Doordash will add you to a queue until there is an opportunity to onboard new drivers if there are more Doordash drivers in a market than deliveries.
The chance arises if some of the current drivers stop delivering or there are more orders than the current drivers can meet.
How long does doordash take to onboard drivers?
If you successfully sign in as a driver, you will receive an email confirmation that you are ready to dash within 24 to 48 hours. So, lucky chap, you evaded the waitlist.
The onboarding is only possible once they complete a background check and review all your details. Therefore, the whole onboarding process can take up to 2 weeks.
Finally
Any waitlist sucks, worst of all, one that is gig related. I hope after reading this, your mind is now at ease and your spirit up. The waitlist that seems like a nightmare could be a silver lining in disguise; This could be a time to try the many options in the gig economy to earn money.
All the best as you explore them!
