I know that DoorDash will deliver to my house, but sometimes I’m not at home so I thought I would look into where else DoorDash will deliver and at what times.
From a little research, DoorDash currently delivers 198 restaurants and the food is expected to be delivered in under an hour. DoorDash delivers to 850 cities across the US. Food can be delivered to any valid address in those locations including homes, townhouses, business addresses, apartments, condos, etc.
DoorDash Delivery to an Apartment
If you are located in a delivery area for DoorDash then you are in luck. DoorDash does deliver to apartment complexes. We have heard from delivery drivers that they don’t enjoy apartment deliveries, so maybe make some extra notes on your delivery on how to find your unit.
Another question we hear is whether the driver will deliver to the lobby or to your door? Many drivers may attempt to call you and get you to meet them “downstairs” or in the lobby. They should totally be delivering to your door, so those extra instructions will make it so you don’t have to leave your door to receive your delivery.
DoorDash Delivery to a Business
Similar to other locations, DoorDash will deliver to many types of businesses. We have heard drivers deliver across a parking lot to another restaurant or retailer as well as deliveries to office environments. If your location is confusing or hard to find, make sure to put some extra instructions in the notes!
DoorDash Delivery to a Hotel
Are you traveling and don’t want to spend time looking for a place to eat? This seems like one of the best opportunities to get delivery, but does it work?
Similar to apartment deliveries, DoorDash will deliver to hotels. In fact, DoorDash once ran a promotion with Wyndham hotels to receive reward points.
DoorDash doesn’t have a policy requiring drivers to deliver to the room, so the driver may request that you meet them in the lobby. Be sure to put specific instructions and make sure your contact info is correct!
Some hotel/motels may have policies in place that require any delivery must be left with the front desk as well, so you may want to check on the hotel policy.
Will DoorDash Leave food at the Door?
You have decided that you don’t want to fight traffic or interact with others in the restaurant. The best way to do this is to pick up your DoorDash app and have food delivered to your front door. If you want to stay 100% away from anyone, can you also ask your food to be left at the door?
The quick answer is yes. You can request for food to be left at the door. In the instructions, simply ask the driver to leave it at the front door. If you don’t want the driver calling you, you can also leave a note to not ring the doorbell or text when the food is delivered. Feel free to leave other comments to customize your experience exactly as you like!
What Happens when your Driver is Late?
Door Dash gives you a delivery estimate, but it isn’t a guarantee. Delivery time depends on both the driver and the restaurant. It is difficult to know if the food was ready for the driver or if the driver took a pit stop somewhere or ran into traffic.
According to the DoorDash site, they recommend using the self-help feature in the app:
- Select an order from the Orders tab
- Tap “Help” in the top right-hand corner.
- Select “Arrived late”
- Follow the prompts and hit submit.
How Late does DoorDash Deliver
DoorDash is really at the whim of restaurant hours and usually operates around those hours. For example, most Chick-fil-a restaurants close around 10pm, so you can’t get that food at 11pm. What we have seen is that most orders are taken until about 30 minutes before the store closes. If you live in a college town or area with restaurants open late, you will likely still be able to make orders into the wee hours of the morning. Figure out the restaurant hours and you should be in good shape.
Will DoorDash Deliver Wine or Other Alcohol?
DoorDash does now deliver wine and other alcoholic offerings. Of course, the list of restaurants can differ from the normal list as not all restaurants offer alcohol. DoorDash has an Alcohol finder here.
DoorDash does have locations where alcohol delivery is not available. These include:
- Public or private school (K-12) (e.g. an elementary school);
- College campus (e.g. a frat house);
- Prison, reformatory, veterans’ home, or state capitol grounds;
- Locker or similar package storage service (e.g. a storage facility); or
- Business that sells alcohol (e.g. liquor store).
The Dash Driver must be 21 or over and will verify your age by an ID (passport, license, etc) before delivering the alcohol.
Are DoorDash Drivers Employees of DoorDash?
As a Dasher, your delivery driver is an independent contractor. This means that Doordash doesn’t automatically withhold taxes the driver’s paycheck, instead you need to keep track of how much you owe based on what you’ve earned working with Doordash. The key benefit of being an independent contractor is that you’re allowed to deduct lots of business expenses (like mileage, hot bags, etc.) that you have in order to do your work. The more tax deductions you take, the less money you’ll pay in taxes. For many Dashers, maximizing tax deductions means they pay less in taxes than what they would pay as an employee.
