Everything About Doordash and Its Benefits for Restaurant Business

DoorDash is an on-demand logistics set-up. It is an intermediary that works as a liaison between sellers and buyers who want products to be door delivered. DoorDash was founded in 2013. At present, it works only on food delivery.

DoorDash’s business model is designed in such a way that it benefits both restaurants selling quality food and the ones looking to enjoy them. On one hand, DoorDash facilitates users to find restaurants of their choice and order food. On the other hand, it opens a profitable avenue to restaurants and helps them gain access to a wider customer base. Apart from this, it also provides several employment opportunities to freelance agents delivering food.

DoorDash has successfully raised a considerable amount of funds ever since its inception in 2013. It has now tied up with several leading restaurant chains situated in major cities across the USA. It is always advisable for restaurants to rely less on third parties and use a restaurant website builder to manage digital business on its own.

DoorDash has introduced an innovative rating system known as the ‘Delight’ score. It is a rating scale with maximum 10 points. Factors like delivery quality, customer satisfaction and restaurant popularity are included in this rating scale to achieve an accurate estimate of how customers can be delighted. This score will aid the app users to select a restaurant for placing orders. In due course, DoorDash aims to become an authoritative source in this domain.

At present, DoorDash is concentrating on food delivery alone. But, it is expected to soon set foot into other spaces, providing tough competition to other players in the on-demand logistics platform. 

Restaurants can enhance the efficiency of takeout operations by creating a streamlined menu that features only a limited number of items. Popular items can be included. But, only those items that will not turn soggy during packaging must be chosen for the delivery menu. Sauces must be packaged and sent separately so that the order does not turn into a soggy mess by the time it is in the customer’s hand. Hot and cold items must be sent in separate packages and hot food containers must be provided adequate ventilation. The fleet of ‘Dashers’ will transport food in insulated delivery bags to maintain the temperatures of hot or cold food.

The menu must be updated to include only high-margin, best sellers and dishes which can be cooked in advance. This will ensure an effective off-premise operation. Upselling techniques can be undertaken by offering add-ons like extra toppings to salads, burgers, health bowls and more.

If restaurants do not have a POS integration system, then it must have a staff to keep a close eye on incoming orders. In this way, the restaurant can ensure that new orders are quickly noted and sent to the chefs in the kitchen for preparation.

Joining DoorDash enables restaurants to gain access to a wide range of marketing promotions to elevate the business. ‘Try Me Free’ and ‘First Order, $0 Delivery’ are very popular promotions of DoorDash which restaurants can use to attract new customers by promising them free delivery on the first order. Using the ‘Order Again And Save’ option, restaurants can also offer incredible discounts to their patrons by getting a prime placement on the app’s home screen. Restaurants can also enjoy an added advantage by joining DashPass – a subscription service of DoorDash that caters to the needs of the most frequent customers.

Smooth Dasher hand-offs will ensure successful delivery operations. Once the food order has been prepared in the kitchen and packed appropriately, the restaurant must create a permanent or prominent spot from where Dashers quickly pick up the order and make a head start towards their delivery destination. This will once again not disrupt operations. DoorDash enables the restaurant and the customer to track the order in real time – keeping both of them informed about the status of a food order.

DoorDash theoretically operates round the clock – that is, 24 hours in a day and seven days of a week. But, delivery mostly comes to a stop at 11 PM as DoorDash depends on the local restaurants and their operational hours. Whether one can receive orders beyond 11 PM also depends upon whether the drivers are willing to accept orders and travel to the customers’ doorstep. In smaller areas with less dense population, it is much earlier than 11 PM.

Dashers (delivery agents) are given a prepaid card that has funds. They use it for every purchase. In some cases, DoorDash also maintains a separate account with the restaurant wherein the restaurant directly transfers the money to DoorDash.

It is up to the customers to tip the delivery agents or not. But, Dashers can be tipped as a mark of your appreciation for the efforts that they diligently take to get your food ordered in a compact manner. Customers need not do this in advance. Dashers can be tipped in cash after the food has been delivered as expected. Tipping them in cash makes it more valuable, viable and also practical for the dashers as they keep dashing between one order and another.

Both the apps have fantastic features and offers. While UberEats secures a winning edge due to its simplicity and user-friendliness, DoorDash is renowned for its flexibility. Since DoorDash does not have exhaustive qualifications and regulations for its Dashers, those willing to become one can definitely choose DoorDash for a rewarding experience.

This blog must have been really helpful for those restaurants looking to make an impactful tie-up with third party food delivery apps, particularly DoorDash. If you are a restaurant owner looking for assistance in other digital marketing platforms, contact Restaurantify.