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So Doordash often brings up different pilot programs in different markets. This time, we have a new addition to the Dasher Ratings System which is the Overall Dasher Rating and I am kind of on the fence about it.
So in this article, We are talking about:
EVERYTHING You MUST Know about the Overall Dasher Rating System
What they are telling you vs how it ACTUALLY is
Everything in between!
Disclaimer: The content of this article does not contain and is never intended to be legal, business, financial, tax, or health advice of any kind, This article is for entertainment purposes only. It is advised that you conduct your own research and consult with qualified professionals before applying anything you find online.
I also want to be clear that everything we are going to go over is very market dependent, and what applies to me and my market may not apply to you.
Doordash: To introduce more flexibility into the Dasher Rewards program, we are introducing the Overall Dasher Rating. It’s a new qualification method designed to give you more flexibility to unlock rewards on your own terms. Select Dashers in the Dasher Rewards program will be eligible to earn rewards based on the Overall Dasher Rating starting on December 18, 2024. Please note that Dashers must have completed 50 or more deliveries to be eligible for the Rewards program.
This is an interesting addition to the Dasher Rewards Program because for most of us we have this expectation that Doordash will push every rating to “matter” but not every rating ACTUALLY matters, this would solidify their position on that front.
What is the Overall Dasher Rating?
Doordash: The Overall Dasher Rating combines points you earn from your Acceptance Rate, Completion Rate, Customer Rating, and On-Time Rate. This new Overall Dasher Rating will be the new way to unlock Silver, Gold, and Platinum levels.
We will go into the details of each of the ratings in a bit, but what is most intriguing about this is that Doordash is bringing back some ratings that were normally broken and shady in the past, and fixing them to matter now.
Also taking the pressure off of needing a specific amount of Acceptance Rating in order to qualify, but more on that later.
What does this mean for you?
Doordash: If you’re part of the pilot, you’ll qualify for a rewards tier based on your Overall Dasher Rating. This means that there are now more ways to deliver high-quality service to unlock the same level of Rewards.
Now Doordash Provided some examples but it was cut off for some reason on their help page, so I pulled from their newsroom article for it.
Examples | Dasher A | Dasher B |
Acceptance Rate | 70% (15 Points) | 40% (3 Points) |
Completion Rate | 98% (30 Points) | 100% (35 Points) |
Customer Rating | 4.82 (7 Points) | 5.00 (10 Points) |
On-Time Rate | 90% (20 Points) | 95% (24 Points) |
Overall Dasher Rating | 75 Points (Platinum) | 75 Points (Platinum) |
Now they don’t have a paragraph going over the tiers and the points needed to achieve each of them, and the graph is slightly cut off on the website so I am going to go over what I can.
Tiers | Overall Dasher Rating | Rewards That You Unlock |
Silver Tier | 60-64 | Priority access to high paying offers Early access to scheduling |
Gold Tier | 65-74 | Higher priority access to high paying offers Early access to scheduling VIP Support |
Platinum Tier | 75-100 | Priority access to Dash Now Top priority access to high paying offers Early access to scheduling VIP Support Priority access to Large Orders Discounts on DoorDash |
FAQ
Doordash: Q: How is the Overall Dasher Rating calculated?
A: Your current Acceptance Rate, Completion Rate, Customer Rating, and On-Time Rate will help you earn points towards the Overall Dasher Rating. As each rating changes, your Overall Dasher Rating will update as well.
Acceptance Rating
Range | Point Value |
|---|---|
Very high (90%-100%) | 24-25 points |
High (71%-89%) | 15-23 points |
Moderate (51% - 70%) | 6-15 points |
Low (26% -50%) | 1-6 points |
Very low (0% - 25%) | 0 points |
Completion Rating
Range | Point Value |
Very high (99%-100%) | 33-35 points |
High (96%-98%) | 22-30 points |
Moderate (90% - 95%) | 1-18 points |
Very low (0% - 89%) | 0 points |
On-time rate
Range | Point Value |
Very high (96%-100%) | 26-30 points |
High (86%-95%) | 16-25 points |
Moderate (71% - 85%) | 6-15 points |
Low (61% -70%) | 1-5 points |
Very low (0%-60%) | 0 points |
Customer Rating
Range | Point Value |
Very high (4.96-5.0) | 10 points |
High (4.86-4.95) | 8-9 points |
Moderate (4.71-4.85) | 5-7 points |
Low (4.21-4.7) | 1-4 points |
Very low (4.0-4.2) | 0 points |
Now keep in mind, to get to platinum you need 75 points right? At least from the point of this recording. So let’s do some quick math on how much acceptance rating ACTUALLY Matters here.
If you had the absolute highest rating on every category except acceptance rate where you have 0, then you would squeak in 75 points, but let’s be honest nothing EVER works that perfectly.
You get 1-6 points on Acceptance. You have a bit of room for error but not a whole lot. If that’s all you need though, then awesome!
6-15 points, you have more room for error and you’ll experience more of the crappy customers no one likes, or the restaurants that no one wants to work with, but you will have room to maintain platinum.
15-23 points, pretty much nothing has really changed for you. You still have over 70% acceptance rating and will have the same ratings you had since before this was implemented, same with the highest tier which is only a 2 point difference.
In reality, until things change (and they will), the sweet spot seems to be with the second to lowest acceptance rate because it allows for room for error without losing too much money.
Doordash: Q: Will there be any changes to the rewards at different tiers?
A: No, as part of this pilot, there will be no changes to the rewards being offered in the program. You’ll continue to have access to the rewards that you love.
Usually with Doordash, they don’t add rewards. They just take a good thing they already have and make it worse. All of the programs with Early Access Scheduling, Large Order Program and some of the best opportunities on the platform were all their own programs without acceptance rating.
Then smart drivers stayed smart and they either drove them out or knocked them down a peg over and over again. If they actually add benefits that help, I would be SHOCKED!
Doordash: Q: What happens to my Overall Dasher Rating if I dash outside of my area?
A: The Overall Dasher Rating pilot will remain active and determine your eligibility for the Rewards program as long as you primarily dash in this area. If you dash frequently in multiple areas, your Rewards qualification may revert to the qualification criteria in another area. Check the Ratings tab in your app anytime to stay updated.
So if you are a traveling dasher or Budsoda in 3 different markets, then you have different problems and this won’t apply to you YET!
Doordash: Q: Once I qualify for a level, how long will it take for me to begin to receive those rewards?
A: Once your Overall Dasher Rating qualifies you for a new tier in the Rewards program, your new eligible rewards will instantly be unlocked and will remain active as long as your Overall Dasher Rating stays within the requirements for that level.
Keep in mind the way they said that. That means it can be unlocked as quickly as it is lost. So if you are the kind of driver who kind of teeters on the edge of staying platinum across the board, I suggest one of two things:
Either build a buffer with your ratings or do what I constantly preach like a broken record and diversify your gig portfolio, but more on that later.
Doordash: Q: What happens if my Overall Dasher Rating drops below the minimum to qualify?
A: If your Overall Dasher Rating drops below the minimum to qualify for rewards, you will still be able to dash but will no longer qualify for the rewards in the Dasher Rewards program. You can always check the Ratings tab in the Dasher app to see how many points you’re getting for each of your ratings and identify areas to increase your points.
If you do take the full ratings approach, most of the areas are going to be simple.
Completion rating is just fulfilling the orders you accept in a timely manner.
On-time is getting there on time without dirty multi-apping or getting delayed by nonsense.
Customer rating is beyond your control in most cases but holds the least weight.
Your real challenge is going to be maintaining a high enough acceptance rating without compromising other areas of your ratings like accepting customers that suck.
That said, this is also going to be a market dependent issue, what applies to me isn’t going to apply to you, so make sure you study your market and find what works best for you.
Doordash: Q: What if I have completed less than 50 deliveries?
A: For Dashers who have completed less than 50 deliveries, we understand that it takes time to learn how to use the platform. To help you get off to a great start, new Dashers like you will have access to special perks on your first 50 deliveries, regardless of what your Overall Dasher Rating is. As you continue to dash, you will start to see an Overall Dasher Rating score based on your current acceptance rate, completion rate, customer rating, and on-time rate. After you’ve completed your first 50 deliveries, you’ll then be eligible to qualify for the Dasher Rewards program based on your Overall Dasher Rating. With Dasher Rewards, you’ll be able to unlock multiple levels of those same perks and more.
You know, I am glad they are acknowledging that they do have special benefits for new people because that was often speculated. New drivers usually had certain benefits that seemed like they got a boost in the beginning.
Some say it is to give the New Dasher a chance to understand the platform, some say it is to give the Dasher a chance to get used to the work, get a hang of the platform, etc.
When you stopped being “new”, which for the longest time had no real definition in terms of how the platform defined “new”, you would lose those benefits and a lot of drivers would start to wonder why they weren’t getting as many orders, and so they assumed it was ratings or something.
Although, I will say 50 seems low, I remember when I was Dashing full time as a Cherry Picker, I was averaging 75 a week, and the “New dasher” boost lasted for two weeks, so I wonder if that is still a thing or if they workshopped it at all, but who knows.
Doordash: Q: How often will the Overall Dasher Rating update?
A: Any changes in your ratings (Acceptance Rate, Completion Rate, Customer Rating and On-Time Rate) will be automatically reflected in your Overall Dasher Rating. I.e. If your completion rate drops from 99% to 97%, your Overall Dasher Rating may decrease by 2 points as your new Completion Rate is worth 32 points instead of 34 points.
Seems like most of what Doordash does now in terms of ratings operates in real time, so that’s interesting I guess.
Doordash: Q: Can I still decline offers?
A: Dashers can accept or decline offers based on their personal preferences.
Literally one of the few things that are keeping us independent contractors.
Doordash: Q: Do I still have to complete a certain number of deliveries in a thirty day period to qualify for the Rewards program?
A: No, as part of this pilot, you no longer have to complete a certain number of deliveries in the rolling 30 day period to unlock Platinum. However, you must still have completed 50 or more lifetime deliveries to be eligible to qualify for the program.
This is an interesting update and one that I am kind of annoyed about to be honest. I am a firm believer that the active drivers on the platform should have the most access to the benefits of the platform.
This will make it so people who are on and off or people who are super part time can hop on and access those benefits, which doesn’t sound like a bad thing until you think about the kind of drivers who are ACTUALLY like that.
Do they have a business owner mindset? Do they cherry pick the way they should? Do they ACTUALLY know what they are doing to profit properly? Probably not.
Now I know what you're thinking: "OH c’mon Joe, I know so many Dashers that aren’t doing that already and they are definitely full time!"
I am not saying there aren’t people who are full time and doing unprofitable things, I am saying you are more likely to find them among those who are not as serious about treating this as a business.
Doordash: Q: Are you planning to make changes to the Overall Dasher Rating during or after the pilot?
A: We want to ensure that the Overall Dasher Rating delivers on our goal to make qualifying for Dasher Rewards more flexible on your terms. As such, we may modify the Overall Dasher Rating, including the ratings that count towards it and their point values, at any time. We’ll let you know if we do.
Remember Doordash has a very common M.O., when they release a program good or bad, it will become worse overtime.
They ACTUALLY Had Help Pages
In most pilot programs, they normally don’t have help pages dedicated to stuff like this. So when they do have them it is assumed to be solidified for the most part, so it may be in its pilot stages but it is most likely here to stay, or be reevaluated and reapplied, whichever comes first.
Ranges vs Hard Metrics
Now what I am noticing in how the point system overall works, they have ranges for the points as opposed to setting a hard metric. It is safe to assume to simplify the explanation but nevertheless, it is still vague.
The metrics are out there, and you can infer a lot but I can also see how Doordash can tinker with this in quite a number of ways to make it harder to get to platinum without having a higher acceptance rating.
I am sure it is going to be straightforward initially but I can imagine games being played here, and problems being blamed on “glitches”.
Is This a Test?
So one of the things I was thinking about with this is wondering why they were doing this really.
On paper, it looks like we can maintain a pretty low acceptance rating and still stay a platinum driver. That said, nothing a company does is free, so why would Doordash give us a way to have a lower acceptance rating now?
Well, I can’t prove it, and I wouldn’t be surprised if I was off base completely, but here is my theory:
One of the things that makes this business model good is not simply the fact that it is tips, although it helps. It is the fact that some of the gigs for the same amount of work are much higher price than others.
One of the rules of negotiations is never be the first to say a number because they can be thinking of paying you much more and you just gave them a lesser offer.
Now instead of having a “must maintain a 70% acceptance rate” rule, you have a variable system where some people are going to look to just keep over 70 points which may lead to having less accepted orders, but higher quality work.
Or they can swing back next month claiming they are changing the point values and reveal their hand more like they did with Top Dasher when it first launched.
Either way, I am looking forward to what this will do in the future.
Still Not as Good as Multi-Apping
I have said it once and I will say it again, no matter what a company tells you, it is never as good as multi-apping and having a well diversified gig portfolio. Are you on multiple platforms and ways to make money with them?
Have you worked on an exit strategy? The gig economy is an income bridge to what would be a long term goal, and not the goal. Are you working on a business, are you investing into something, are you educating yourself into a long term career?
There are a lot of things to think about with this which is why it is vital to work with people who are like minded and can help you reach your long term goal, such as those you can find in the Driven Wyld Discord Server.
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Join here and get started on making the most amount of money in the least amount of time in the safest possible way, we are looking forward to helping you secure your financial future!
If you would like to add some other perspective to Overall Dasher Ratings on Doordash, feel free to email me: drivenwyld@gmail.com and who knows? Maybe your email or perspective and be featured in a post as well!
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