Dasher Diary: Delivery Pays Extra on Chipotle Run in Amarillo—Why?

I love it when there is a delivery in Amarillo that makes me scratch my head in confusion. Having been a delivery driver for almost two years, I've seen a lot. I have met a lot of people and delivered a lot of food.

There are some deliveries that just make no sense. It happens. The delivery service sends me to a far-away restaurant for pickup when there is one that is closer to the customer and would get them their food sooner. Those always make me wonder what they are thinking.

Tip-Baiters and Low Tips: A Constant Frustration

There are customers who not only don't tip, but lie about tipping. They tip-bait. They want you to think that the delivery will be great, with promises of a good tip, and then they don't tip at all. I don't get people who do that. How do you sleep at night?

Read More: Where do you want your food delivered in Amarillo? |

Then there are some orders that you really wish you knew the back story and why it happened the way it did. I usually try to deliver by time since I am given a set pay of $14.25 per hour and tips. It just usually works better for me.

So that is how this delivery started for me. I couldn't get paid by time, so I had to do it by offer. Those deliveries are usually a two-dollar pay by DoorDash, and then a tip. So sometimes they are a good order and sometimes they are not. I received one that was great.

The Allure of a $25 Chipotle Delivery

It was going to pay me $25.11 to pick up from Chipotle and deliver near the mall. That was not a far delivery at all. So I thought this customer really wanted his Chipotle to tip so well. I was excited to make that much on one delivery. I thought this was going to be a good day in Amarillo.

credit: Melissa Bartlett/DoorDash

The $21 DoorDash Bonus that Caught Me Off Guard

I picked up the food and delivered it. I was hoping that this was a real order and I would see the $25.11 pay as soon as I hit the order being confirmed. Which I did. This was real. The thing that left me confused was that what I thought was a huge tip from the customer was not. It was a good tip, but it was $4.11. The rest is what DoorDash paid me.

credit: Melissa Bartlett/DoorDash

A Gift from the Platform — Rare but Appreciated

I have no idea what made DoorDash pay me twenty-one dollars to make that easy delivery. I don't know if they had trouble with deliveries to this customer before. Don't know if a delivery driver had accepted the order and then stolen his food, so now DoorDash was ensuring he got the next delivery.

Whatever the reason was, I appreciated the over twenty-five-dollar payout. I promise you, those don't happen very often. It's a blessing when it does.