DoorDash Tip Policy Explained in detail

Ordering food through DoorDash has become as common as deciding what to wear in the morning. It’s simple, convenient, and it brings the world of cuisine to your doorstep.

But have you ever stopped to consider how tipping works on the platform? Or better still what DoorDash tipping policy is? This article will explain everything you need to know.

How Tipping Works On DoorDash

For most people in the US, tipping is not a new concept, as it’s common in several industries across the country. Say in the Restaurants, Saloons, Hotel, Home services, and the list goes on.

And the idea is pretty much similar to DoorDash, perhaps with a few exceptions.

You tip to show a sort of appreciation, a monetary thank you. However, on DoorDash, by default, tipping is done “before” the service begins, unlike other industries.

Now, whether you can choose to make your tipping only after delivery would be discussed exclusively in the next section (where we talk about the platform’s actual tipping policy). But it’s possible.

It’s also important to make mention that your tipping goes 100% to the driver — that’s in fact the only fee that goes to drivers in 100%.

Bombshell: The delivery fee DoorDash charges customers doesn’t 100% go to drivers, even though the company collects service fees. The pay dashers receive is a fixed fee, independent of all these.

So how does tipping work?

When you place an order, DoorDash gives you the option to tip your Dasher right there during checkout. There’d also be a prompt with a suggested tipping amount based on the price of your orders.

You can either choose that or add a custom tipping amount. Keep in mind there’s no limit. So do what works for you, while following the standard ;).

Now, let’s get into the nitty gritty — what’s DoorDash tipping policy?

DoorDash Tip Policy (Everything you need to know)

Now to the nitty gritty of this article…

Tip goes in fullness to drivers

Just as we mentioned earlier, when you tip a driver, DoorDash doesn’t share a percentage of this. It goes 100% directly to the driver.

This is a policy, brought official after the company was sued in 2019 for allegedly fluctuating drivers’ earnings based on how much tip they receive from customers.

2/ But it’s clear from recent feedback that we didn’t strike the right balance. We thought we were doing the right thing by making Dashers whole when a customer left no tip. What we missed was that some customers who *did* tip would feel like their tip did not matter.

— Tony Xu (@t_xu) July 24, 2019

Tipping is not Mandatory

As it has been mentioned severally by DoorDash, tipping is not mandatory.

In other words, a customer could either choose to tip or not tip. They also have control over the amount they want to tip.

However, it comes with a con…

While Tipping is not forced, it’s very much required.

Firstly, not tipping can affect how fast your order gets accepted by DoorDash drivers.

Ever tried making an order and it kept on searching for a driver nonstop? Or perhaps you were lucky to get your order accepted after a while but eventually got faced with the notification “DoorDash is stuck preparing orders“?

Well, all these are common repercussion that comes when you don’t tip, or even surprisingly tip relatively little to the stress of your order

You see, Tipping is more like a standard in food delivery, at least in the US. Why? Well, because this is the only way, drivers are able to cover up and make money driving.

The money the food delivery companies pays? Unfortunately, it’s nothing to write home about.

The moment you don’t tip or tip relatively lower than most drivers will accept, you’ll have your order take time before being accepted. This is just the sad reality.

Again, this is because tipping makes up the majority of what drivers earn.

You need to Tip your Driver Before

While not necessarily a policy from Doordash, this is something you should know why tipping on DoorDash.

Firstly, it’s important we make mention that you can actually tip both before and after delivery.

However, as we said earlier, the idea of tipping is to make a delivery worthwhile for drivers.

If a driver can’t tell whether a delivery is worth it (of course, he can’t tell whether you’d tip him after the delivery or not), the main purpose of tipping won’t be met. You’d still probably have a hard time finding drivers for your orders.

Hence, in that sense, your tipping can only be effective when you tip a driver before delivery.

Editors note: Tipping after delivery is not necessarily bad. If you decide to tip EXTRA after delivery for a service well done, why not? You’re always free to.

Tip In Cash

Aside from the normal tipping system available on the platform, DoorDash allows customers to tip in cash.

In reality, this doesn’t make any significant difference, since drivers would always get 100% of the tips sent, whether through the platform or by cash.

So it’s always welcomed. However, keep in mind that tipping before delivery is still the most effective in relation to the scenario we made earlier.

Drivers pay tax for Tips

Lastly, it’s important to make mention that as a DoorDash driver, you’re required to pay tax over the tipping you receive from the platform. Yes.

The only exception to this would be tips you receive through cash — which can easily go under the table.

Final Thoughts

And that’s it! A long list of things and policies you should keep in mind while tipping on DoorDash. I hope you find this article helpful!