Fast deliveries with everything you ordered and nothing you didn’t.
That’s what users of the DoorDash delivery service expect.
DoorDash ratings reflect how a DoorDash delivery driver performs.
Those whose customers are happy tend to have better ratings.
Dashers whose ratings dip too low will be deactivated – unable to use the platform to accept order assignments.
Customers who place an order with DoorDash are asked to rate their delivery by giving it one to five stars.
This helps the platform ensure that delivery service is high in quality.
The DoorDash star rating system can be a useful tool for delivery drivers.
Seeing how many stars their customer service scores can help in finetuning gig economy skills.
This pays off for DoorDash drivers since higher customer ratings usually mean higher tips.
But how is the DoorDash rating calculated?
Here’s a comprehensive guide to DoorDash mathematics and all the factors that add up to a delivery driver’s rating.
Table Of Contents
The DoorDash Business Model
Like similar food delivery services such as Uber Eats and GrubHub, DoorDash is a liaison between restaurants without delivery services and customers who want to order food online.
The food delivery service also provides flexible part-time and full-time work for thousands of delivery drivers, or dashers.
When customers receive food orders with great customer service, the restaurants and dashers, who can receive tips, win, as does the DoorDash platform.
How DoorDash Ratings Are Calculated for Dashers
DoorDash gives customers four different ratings, and all figure into the contract driver’s performance and customer service.
1. Customer Rating
DoorDash customers give their delivery drivers a star rating between one and five stars, with five stars being the highest score.
A dasher’s customer rating is the average of the 100 most recent ratings.
The customer rating deals only with the delivery service and doesn’t address the flavor or quality of the food.
DoorDash contract delivery drivers must maintain a customer rating of 4.2 or higher, or they can be deactivated from the platform.
This ensures that DoorDash delivery drivers provide consistently good service, keeping customers coming back.
2. On-Time/Early DoorDash Ratings
The number of orders delivered on time or early out of the most recent 100 adds up to a DoorDash driver’s on time/early rate.
While there’s no minimum required for this rating, customers are more likely to award four or five stars to dashers who deliver their food orders on time or earlier than expected.
The on-time/early rate excludes orders that are late because of wait times at restaurants for pickups or due to issues with the DoorDash app, which makes this fair to delivery drivers.
Door dashers are always encouraged to drive safely on the way to drop-offs, so DoorDash independent contractors should never speed.
3. Completion Rate
A DoorDash delivery driver’s completion rate is the percentage of deliveries completed out of the most recent 100 orders.
If a customer cancels an order, it does not count against the dasher, and there is no minimum DoorDash completion rate required to stay on the platform.
4. Acceptance Rate
A dasher’s acceptance rate is the percentage of orders accepted.
There is no minimum required for delivery drivers to remain active on the DoorDash app.
However, those DoorDash drivers who accept more orders tend to have higher customer ratings because they have a greater volume of orders flowing into the calculation.
Related: How to delete DoorDash Account
How to Get Higher DoorDash Ratings
If you’re a DoorDash delivery driver, don’t despair if you have a low rating.
There are ways to repair your rating and get it higher.
Here are a few strategies for avoiding deactivation.
1. Accept More Orders
The DoorDash customer rating is a rolling average, meaning that it is pulled from the dasher’s performance on the most recent 100 orders, as rated by customers.
If you had a lower score – three stars or less – it can be raised over time with more ratings with better customer service.
2. Choose Orders that You Can Deliver on Time
A DoorDash contract delivery driver can accept orders or pass them up, so the smart dasher will only accept orders that they’re able to fulfill on time and with the best customer service.
3. Communication
Customers can rate delivery drivers on how well they communicate with them.
DoorDash delivery drivers can often increase their customer rating by sending a simple “thank you” to customers upon order completion.
4. Following Delivery Instructions
Paying attention to delivery instructions and following them to the letter will make for happier DoorDash customers and higher customer ratings for dashers.
5. Order Handling
A wilted salad, a hamburger that’s fallen apart, cold french fries, or a caramel latte that’s half full because it spilled during delivery – these are just a few disaster scenarios for food delivery drivers on DoorDash, GrubHub, or Uber Eats.
Food delivery service customers expect their orders to arrive at their homes or businesses just as they would if they were in their favorite restaurants.
DoorDash drivers who handle the food they’re delivering to keep it in good condition will get much higher ratings from customers.
6. Friendliness
A friendly wave and happy greeting will go a long way toward getting a dasher five-star ratings from customers.
Thanking a customer for their business should be part of every order completed.
7. Keep Your Car in Top Condition
A car that breaks down during DoorDash food deliveries will make food drop-offs late and will lower ratings.
If your vehicle is key to your gig livelihood, keeping it well-maintained will make it easier to keep a high customer rating on DoorDash.
8. Charge Your Phone
DoorDash drivers can’t get orders if their smartphones are dead. Keeping a phone charger in the car is a great idea.
9. Park Near WiFi
As a DoorDash driver, you’ll need to access the DoorDash app as well as GPS, so having good WiFi reception will ensure you have the connectivity to do your job well.
When you park near WiFi, you’ll likely see a higher surge in good DoorDash ratings from customers.
10. Double-Check Orders When Making a Pick-Up
Restaurants can make mistakes, and nothing is more awkward than delivering an order for four when there are only three sandwiches in the bag.
DoorDash drivers who double-check orders before leaving restaurants will deliver accurate orders and get higher ratings.
11. Add the Extras
Consideration for customers can add up to tips.
Including disposable utensils, napkins, straws, extra ketchup or salsa, and mints improve customers’ delivery experiences and are likely to increase DoorDash customer ratings and tips.
12. Check for Customer Notes
DoorDash customers will often leave notes for their delivery driver.
Check these to make sure all instructions are followed.
Fulfilling customers’ requests leads to higher ratings and more earned in tips.
13. Bring Your Red Card
DoorDash drivers should make sure they remember to bring their red card along to pay for food orders at restaurants.
Going back to retrieve the red card from home will make your delivery time long and the food ordered cold.
Related: DoorDash Fees: How Much Does DoorDash Cost?
Trending Dasher FAQs
Anything else you wanted to know about DoorDash customer ratings is likely covered here in these trending FAQs about DoorDash customer ratings.
Is it Difficult to Maintain a High Rating on DoorDash?
Don’t let the customer rating requirements on DoorDash scare you.
Maintaining a rating of 4.2 stars or more is as simple as providing your customers a positive delivery experience by being on time, handling their orders with care, following instructions, and being friendly and polite.
Nobody is perfect, so if a DoorDash driver gets negative feedback occasionally, it can be improved with positive feedback on future orders.
Can DoorDash Drivers See Who Rated Them?
DoorDash drivers can’t see which ratings came from individual customers.
However, if drivers check their customer ratings frequently, they can usually determine the orders from which their ratings came.
Knowing which orders produced high ratings can help improve a DoorDash driver’s customer service, but the company doesn’t provide direct feedback from customers.
Do DoorDash Customers Have to Tip?
Unfortunately, no.
Most DoorDash customers do tip at least 15 percent, but a gratuity is not required.
How Often Do Customers Rate DoorDash Drivers?
DoorDash customers don’t have to provide a rating after they receive their deliveries, but they’ll receive a prompt to rate their last delivery when they place a new order.
How Do I Check My DoorDash Customer Rating?
DoorDash delivery drivers can check their customer ratings following these easy steps:
1. Open the DoorDash app
2. Tap on the menu
3. Click on the DoorDash ratings option.
Can DoorDash Drivers Rate Customers?
While popular ride-share apps such as Lyft and Uber allow drivers to rate customers, DoorDash delivery drivers cannot rate customers at this time.
How Can Customers Complain about a DoorDash delivery experience?
DoorDash customers or restaurants can file complaints about their delivery driver or delivery experience by contacting DoorDash support.
What if I Get Deactivated for Low Ratings?
An in-app message will notify a DoorDash delivery driver of deactivation, and an email will also be sent.
Usually, a reason for the deactivation will be included.
If an appeal is possible, instructions for the appeal will be provided.
Deactivation for low ratings may not qualify for DoorDash’s appeal process, which begins by completing an appeal form.
If deactivation cannot be appealed, a delivery driver’s best option would be to apply with another food delivery service and focus on improving customer service.
Getting the Most from Your Gig
DoorDash Inc. Is a popular option for gig economy workers for many reasons.
Unlike Uber or Lyft, DoorDash drivers don’t have to keep their vehicles washed and vacuumed since customers won’t be riding in them.
In many cities, restaurants are located in the same area, making it possible to group orders and earn more.
DoorDash also provides challenges as well as higher rates of pay during peak hours.
Delivery drivers earn a base payment for deliveries plus tips, so working as an independent contractor for DoorDash can be a lucrative side gig or full-time job, even when car maintenance and fuel are figured into the equation.
Having a high customer rating on DoorDash’s star rating system can prevent deactivation for a DoorDash delivery driver, but most importantly, DoorDash customers who give high ratings to their delivery drivers are more likely to tip well.
Getting good scores on DoorDash’s star rating system isn’t difficult, but it does require these habits:
- Timeliness and Time Management
- Friendliness
- Checking Orders for Accuracy
- Following Directions Well
- Consistently Great Customer Service
Making these positive customer service strategies a habit will make your DoorDash customer rating soar along with your tips.
Completion rate absolutely does matter. Letting your completion rate fall below 80% can result in deactivation
Hi Richard, thank you for your tips for dashing. I have a different kind of question which i need your views on. When my app pops up a new order notification, it shows a little map on top, total amount of order & miles to be covered (most of the times). Some drivers say they can see the tip amount on their screen before even they accept the order. I talked to Doordash support and they asked me uninstall the app and install again but seems like its not working for me. I am using a iPhone XS and my operating system is updated. Not sure why i can’t see the tip information on my screen before i accept the order. Can you please throw some light on it. Thank you in advance for your help.
Respectfully, higher ratings don’t necessarily mean higher tips. The customer adds a tip before a dasher even accepts their order. At no time during my experience as a driver have I ever received additional tips after delivery….no matter how well I performed.
The door dash bags are sealed at the restaurants and we are not supposed to open them and that is the only way you can honestly confirm the order is right. You can ask and most won’t unseal to look. My experience is they just say yes and go on.
Yes, you can’t possibly check to see if order is ALL there nor are completion rates unmattered. Exactly how its it as well that dd claims one accepted xtra added on orfers to Wal-Mart when that is so untrue and I was driving how could I have. Also due to those unaccepted orders which there were 7 total I lost 7 percent completion went from 91 to 84! Yet never have Coe back up not even after 10 more completed?
Houston Doordash Dude here. SOOOOO if DD expects you to accept all orders do they really understand that an order for say, $2.75 to be delivered 7 miles away is a waist of time AND GAS and usuallymeansNO TIP.? WHY don’t people tip?? Why can’t we rate the customer? I deliver to some of the wealthier neighborhoods and I see all the time, NO TIP or a $1, as BTW that would be on a large order going 5 or more miles. My BIGGEST ISSUE is the late night orders from FAST FOOD CHAINS!! DD must not understand that NOT ONE of them have a separate drive-thru for deliveries only, (except during regular hours) we have to sit and waite and waite sometimes 30 or more minutes for a freaking taco or a burger PLUS NO TIP OR DECENT base pay. Infuriating!! PEAK PAY IS ESSENTIALLY A JOKE. I try to always schedule my dashes, as I do hair during the day most days but yet when I get to my zone the scheduled shift is almost over by the time I get one decent delivery. Lastly I’m not sure customers understand the rating system. My take..DD IS Mediocre at best. I will definitely be trying other delivery apps.
The rating system is terrible. Only customer who complain really count and there is no appeal for any rating. People want to eat their food not rate someone who in many cases they never see because it is left at the door. You can do 100 deliveries and if no one rates you you will have a zero rating! This despite you having a 100% on time 100% completion rate. The metrics are a nonsense. A customer can be rude, not be present but ask for it to be delivered to only them, not answer the door, make you wait 5-10 minutes to take the order but we can’t rate them?!?! Something is very off