Should I Deliver on Christmas for Doordash, Uber Eats and others?

Is it a good or bad idea to deliver for Grubhub, Doordash, Uber Eats, or others during a holiday like Christmas? Can I make money Dashing through the holidays? Should I do it?

There's no right or wrong answer to this. It all boils down to making personal and business decisions for yourself. Your market can also be an essential factor.

I personally stay home on the holidays. It's a special time for me, where I choose to spend it with family and friends.

But whether it makes sense for you is a different story. Ultimately, it comes down to your personal preferences and whether the opportunities are worth the time.

While I won't tell you what you should do, I can give you a few things to think about.I'll talk about:

• The two most important factors as to whether Christmas delivery makes sense
• Six helpful tips if you do decide to deliver on Christmas or Christmas Eve

Before I Go Any Further:

Merry Christmas! I understand you may not celebrate Christmas, and I don't intend to tell you what you should do here.

I say it because I sincerely want to wish you peace, joy, and goodwill. Whatever your take on Christmas, I really desire that these are days you can enjoy.

The two most important factors about whether Christmas delivery makes sense.

Does delivery for Doordash make sense on Christmas Eve? Should you consider going out for Uber Eats?

In the end, the answer depends on two things:

• Does it make personal sense?
• Does it make business sense?

Let's look at each of those.

Does it make personal sense to deliver on Christmas?

In my opinion, this is the most important question to ask yourself: How does holiday delivery fit within what is most important to you?

Does going out on deliveries fit within your why?

Here's what I mean: There's a bigger picture involved here. It's not just about the money you make.

That picture includes the reason you're going out there in the first place. Why do you Dash? What's your purpose behind Uber Eats, Grubhub, Instacart, or any other gig work?

Once you've asked that question, ask whether delivering during the holidays fits within that why. 

I discuss more deeply having a sense of purpose behind your business. Understanding your “why” can be one of the best business things you can do. There are moments when you're ready to hang it up, and a sense of purpose can keep you going.

But sometimes, you have to dig deep. I deliver to make money. But WHY do I want to make money? For me, it's about my family and liv

I say this because sometimes we get so caught up in the what that we can forget the why. In other words, if I'm doing this for my family, I would rather be present with my family during special times like this.

For that reason, I choose to stay at home. You may have different circumstances or see things differently.

My point isn't to tell you how you should do things. Instead, I want to encourage you to start with what is important to you. If delivery during holidays fits within your purpose, go for it

Does it make business sense to Deliver on Christmas?

If you follow this site much, you'll notice a recurring theme. You're running a business here. Doordash, Uber, Grubhub, Instacart, and others are not your employers.

You're the boss. Your success revolves around your business decisions. You choose the best times to deliver and when it makes sense.

Delivery can be very profitable on Christmas for some. It can also be a complete disaster. 

There are four questions you have to ask yourself:

• How many restaurants are open?
• How many customers are ordering for delivery?
• What kind of competition will you have (how many other drivers will be out there)?
• Will deliveries happen more quickly or slowly?

How many restaurants will be open?

You may have seen the Christmas classic, A Christmas Story. You might remember that dogs destroyed the family Christmas dinner, and the only place they could eat was a Chinese restaurant.

While the movie is from the early 80's, a lot has stayed the same. Christmas is the one day when more stores and restaurants close up. Many close early on Christmas Eve to give their staff time with families.

Some markets may have a higher percentage of restaurants open than others. There are many factors involved.

How many people will order from Doordash, Uber Eats, Instacart, and others?

I was a little confused when I saw this article from Doordash showing Christmas was the busiest delivery day of all. 

However, I took a closer look. Christmas had the highest number of orders per open restaurant. 

This points out two important things: First, it reinforces that only a few restaurants are open. But the other one is more and more people want to order in, even on Christmas. The few open restaurants may be busier.

Are there other drivers out there?

Driver saturation is an issue to consider any time you want to deliver.

You will make less on nights when fewer drivers are out there. However, a driver shortage can lead to significant earnings.

Will holiday conditions slow down deliveries?

Here's an example to consider: Think about how crowded grocery stores are with last-minute shoppers on Christmas Eve. You know that shop-and-deliver orders will take a lot more time than usual.

If restaurants that do stay open have far more deliveries than usual, will that mean they'll be slower getting food out to you?

If a normal delivery takes 20 minutes, are you looking at 40 minutes to an hour on Christmas day for the same pay?

What if a restaurant closed but didn't inform Doordash, Grubhub, Uber Eats, or others? How much time do you lose with orders from restaurants that aren't open?

Six tips for those who do decide to deliver:

Here are a few things for you to think about.

1. See which restaurants are open.

Open up the customer app or go to the website for the delivery companies you deliver for.

Browse through the restaurants that are taking orders. How many restaurants appear to be open?

This gives you two valuable pieces of information:

• Are there enough restaurants open to be worth going out there?
• What part of town are the open restaurants? This will help you know where to position yourself.

Of course, restaurants don't always communicate well with delivery platforms. Just because they're listed as open doesn't always mean they ARE open.

Is there a Facebook group or other online forum for delivery contractors in your area? A lot of drivers share information about where they run into problems. It may be worth monitoring those pages.

And then maybe Google it. “Which restaurants are open on Christmas?” In many cities someone puts out a list of open restaurants.

2. Pay attention to current delivery fees.

Sometimes in unusual circumstances, a delivery app is going to crank up what fees they charge. Is it more than normal?

This is important for a reason: Customers often assume higher delivery fees mean we're getting paid more. They may be less likely to leave a tip. This could indicate that there are actually more low-paying deliveries than usual.

3. Pay attention to incentives (Peak Pay, Surges, etc.)

Here's the thing you have to understand about incentives from delivery companies:

Doordash will never give you a Christmas bonus. Uber Eats won't pay more on Christmas Eve because they're looking out for you.

Those incentives are strictly to entice drivers to get out there. If gig companies think they'll have enough drivers for the demand, they won't offer additional pay.

A lack of peak pay, surges, and other extra pay could indicate the market will be saturated.

4. Understand your own expectations

What do you want to earn?

What are your goals?

Do you have a level of expectation for the time you are driving?

If you are like me, you might gauge your success by your hourly rate. I usually have an expectation of $30 per hour (or 50 cents a minute).

Personally, if I'm going to work on days I might normally stay home, I expect to make more. So for me, I'm going to raise my minimums.

On the flip side, you may not care at all how much you make. Maybe driving around is in itself therapeutic.

Maybe you're just in a spot where just bringing in money is good. If that's you, go for it.

My advice is if you do decide to go out and deliver, do so with the understanding that it may not go as well. Be prepared for it to fall below expectations.

Decide ahead of time what you will do if things tank. If the money sucks, will you keep going, or wrap it up early? I suggest that because it helps avoid a more emotional decision later. If you're ready for a potentially bad night, it may be less disappointing if it is that bad.

5. Work multiple apps

This might be the ideal time to turn on more than one app. If things are slow, you'll have longer waits between offers. That can be mitigated by having multiple apps on.

You also know you are more likely to have significant wait times at restaurants.

You may be in better condition to deliver for someone else between those deliveries. If it's slow, it also becomes less chaotic trying to manage offers from multiple apps.

6. Do “you.”

This is the most important thing. Make your decision based on what is important to you and what you want to accomplish.

Understand that the possibility is real you can make less money if you do deliver, and prepare yourself to be okay with that.

Don't let anyone else dictate how you should decide.

I'll choose to stay home. That's the right decision for me. You may choose to give it a go and if that fits your approach and your priorities, that's the right decision for you.

Do what you feel is best and right, and you can't go wrong.