What It’s Like Driving For Uber Eats
Confession: I’m a side-hustler from way back. A real OG side-hustler.
What attracts me to side-hustles is the variety of day-to-day work. You learn some new things, you meet some new people, you make some coin, and you inevitably come away with a few stories. Historically, my side hustles were the type that included traditional concepts such as interviews, bosses, schedules, time sheets, coworkers, uniforms, and a clear distinction between part time and full time. It turns out none of these are necessary to make money and big business now knows that. I will provide a brief look at the Uber Eats portfolio so you can see what drivers are potentially getting into.
The Pickups
“Our job is to create great store experiences for customers and online and in every way we can service them. It’s really simple: If you’re not meeting the wants and needs of the customer, you’re done.” — Doug McMillon
As CEO of Walmart, Doug McMillon knows Walmart’s interactive app and website are necessary keys to customer hearts, but he also knows timely deliveries keep customers from changing those locks. This has led to a partnership with Uber Eats in which Walmart deliveries are made available to drivers. This is known as crowdsourced deliveries and there is no perceptible limit to its reach. Here are a few more examples of just what Uber Eats delivers:
- Restaurant Orders and Apple Products — Bastian Lehmann, CEO of Postmates jumped on the crowdsourcing of restaurant orders, but also reached a delivery agreement with Apple. Uber Eats purchased Postmates and now has this space.
- Booze — Cory Rellas, COO of Drizly, created a concept for booze delivery. Uber Eats bought that too. As long as the driver and customer are of age and the customer appears sober (as required by law and asked by the app), let the party begin!
- Groceries — July of 2020 brought the launch of Uber Eats grocery delivery. Today they contract with a variety for grocery stores, drug stores (including prescriptions), and convenience stores.
The Experience
Many people have written or recorded their experiences with Uber Eats. You would think the answer to whether it is worth the money would be clear, but I think it is relative to where you live and your situation. In other words, what do you make driving for Uber Eats in your area for the time you have versus what are your other options? I can only speak to my area and the fact that I’ve worked various daytime hours throughout the weeks. Let’s get into it!
No Interview Required — I can tell you that the sign up process is easy and fast. You just need to supply driver’s license, insurance, registration, and a social security number for background check. They seem hungry for drivers, no pun. By contrast, DoorDash has all the drivers it needs for my area, though they promise to come a knockin’ if someone turns in a badge. I didn’t go to business school, but it just make sense limiting the number of drivers while your competitor is freely adding more.
Time is Money — The actual pay is a mess to calculate due to all the different variables: your state and tax bracket, Boosts (surge rate multipliers), gas prices, and how far you typically drive. I live in California, where Prop 22 is applied monthly to ensure that drivers are making at least 120% of the minimum wage in a given hour. This equates to a sizable check each month, which goes to show that much of the time, even with tips, you are making well below minimum wage.
For example, I had one of those real escape room type deliveries today where the customer gave me all these clues, numbers, and a code to find them while another customer is waiting for the other order I also picked up (the two were bundled as a single order on the app popup). The app is directing me to the wrong side of the complex where there is no gate of any sort to enter the magic code and unlock the first level. It turned out the gate code was for the secret internal parking structure that went down three stories filled with various signs that sometimes called me a visitor and other times a guest.
With patience (this is the key to being a driver), I eventually found parking near the recommended but tragically sleepy elevator number three which stopped off at all but one other level. It was enough time for me to feel like part of the community hearing the stories around me and talking to another delivery saint. Long story longer, there is no cell signal in the building, so no way to quietly indicate to the customer that the delivery is complete/has arrived. I gave a knock and headed for my escape elevator, but it had given me the Irish Goodbye while I was fiddling with my camera for the sort-of required delivery shot. Pro tip: remember which parking floor you are on, not just where your car is relative to the elevator. It was a 50/50 guess. I failed and was punished with another Irish Goodbye. All told that delivery was about 50 minutes and then I am greeted outside by the next customer who is no doubt hangry and wants to know why my icon was at the same location for so long with her lunch.
That “one” delivery was 9.4 miles, 59.1 minutes, and after a $10 tip from one of the customers, I received a total of $17.96. That broke me and my drive home was 12 unpaid miles. The good new is Prop 22 should supplement me up four cents to $18 (120% of the $15 minimum wage). Minus the gas, I maybe made about $13 before taxes. In the end, I have a story and about $8 in cash for two-hours of my life. I also got a bonus story on my way to that delivery when a bed-liner flew off a truck, a ways in front of me, and went about 30 feet in the air on the freeway, but then gently landed to the side of the freeway.
One last point. The screenshot shown here is one example of how the map is really confused and is, itself, confused at times. It displays upcoming turns going one direction while telling you to go another direction on a straight road (as shown). Other times is creates what I call a map knot. The navigation wants you to drive around and u-turn or circle around a parking lot before going in a certain direction. Other times it loses track of which way you are facing. Other times it just loses your signal all together. Google Maps is my fall back, but it doesn’t always help.
I Have to Lift What?
There are scary driving moments, there are difficult driving scenarios, and there are puzzles. You will meet all kinds of people and you will definitely have stories. There is a very good chance you will bump into something or someone will bump into you. I have had so many close calls, and I don’t know how you would do this job with a big car. I have lifted some heavier bags of food, a couple dozen cans of soda in a wrapped package, and a large bag of ice. Sometimes there are also stairs. To say there are no physical requirements is incorrect unless you mean to say that the driver is allowed to cancel on heavy orders, though I know this counts against them.
Is My Car Happy?
There is no way around it. Your car will hit all kinds of ground level things. It will scrape, bounce and probably make sounds you never heard it make. I can’t tell you how often I’m hitting the breaks harder than I like as I navigate new terrain, traffic, and incoming information from the app. It is a lot of miles and this impacts insurance, tires, brakes, gas, and just general service needs.
Conclusion
According to the data, Uber Eats pays the most per hour. You can get quick cash including instant cash outs ($0.50 charge per cash out and I haven’t gotten mine to work). Otherwise the pay is weekly (shows up Tuesdays). Somedays you score a $50 tip, some nights you get photographed by a scared, nosey neighbor. All I know is that this side-hustle pays more than when I drove an ambulance as an EMT, but less than probably any bartender. Signing up for the alcohol deliveries and shopping can add variety, but I think it really depends on your situation and temperment as to whether you find the Uber Eats side-hustle “worth it”.