Dasher Diary: Is the Love Affair With Delivering in Amarillo Over?

Delivering food and items in Amarillo has been a way of life for quite some time. Long gone are the days when you could only get pizza delivered. We are now to the point in life that whatever you want or need can be delivered to you at work or home.

Have a day when you are sick as a dog and you don't want to leave your house? You don't have to anymore. You can have medicine conveniently delivered to you. Will soup make you feel better? Maybe ice cream will help that burning throat of yours.
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Whatever you want can now show up at your doorstep, and you don't even have to get out of your pajamas. It is so nice. The problem that I have heard a lot about around Amarillo is how the money has not been as great as it used to be.

Is Delivering Food Around Amarillo Really Worth It?

I, for one, have felt the sting when it comes to less money. I have been delivering for about two years now, and I had a system where I would easily make $500 per week. That money was made without working my life away. It was a great way to supplement my salary.

That is no longer the case. I blame it on a few things. Of course, the economy is not as strong as it has been. The price of anything and everything has gone up. So a lot of people are not tipping as great, if they tip at all. That is frustrating.

We also had a promotion not that long ago through DoorDash, where they offered a good bonus to get more drivers. So I feel the market is oversaturated with drivers. Now the same number of deliveries is divided between more people.
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DoorDash has caused that issue, but it is not the only one. They have made it difficult to obtain and maintain Platinum Dasher status. With this status, you can deliver any time you want without scheduling. That used to be true with both options of delivering by time, which is an hourly wage plus tip, or by order, which is a small payment from DoorDash plus the customer tip.

Now, as a Platinum, you can pretty much deliver by order at any time if you keep that status. It is tough to get on and deliver by time. That has been frustrating. What else is frustrating? Amarillo Dashers have to maintain an 80 percent acceptance rate (how many orders out of the previous 100 you accept), whereas most other markets have to have just 70.
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Since all of these changes have hit this year, I do not find myself delivering as much. Mainly because I can't always get on to deliver by time. So I am not making as much. I call it a good week if I make between $200 and $300, when I have been used to at least $500.

Yes, I have been frustrated, but it is also nice to save wear and tear on my car on some days. I know delivery drivers who started this side hustle during COVID have taken a bigger hit. The money was really great then.

Will I continue to deliver? Probably, but not as much. Hopefully, the economy gets better and the oversaturation of drivers goes away. I would like for it to go back to the serious delivery people, the ones the restaurants love to see walk in the door to pick up an order.