DoorDash drivers are free to accept or decline any order that comes in, and many Dashers choose to skip low-paying orders and wait for something more lucrative.
But that doesn’t mean that DoorDash won’t try to nudge Dashers to take more orders and cut down on customer wait times.
Dashers who decline several orders saw this alert for a while: “We’ve paused your dash for 5 minutes. It looks like you’re not accepting orders right now.”
Now Dashers are seeing an even harsher penalty: “We’ve ended your dash. You can start a new dash by tapping “Dash Now.”
It’s a punishment from DoorDash for having a low acceptance rate. Here’s what the alerts look like:
DoorDash may pause your Dash if you skip too many orders
DoorDash can now end your Dash if you skip too many orders
And here’s what the full message says:
“We’ve paused your dash for 5 minutes. It looks like you’re not accepting orders right now, so we’ve paused your dash to give other Dashers an opportunity to see the orders you’re declining first.
You can resume or end your dash at any time. If you don’t choose any of those options, we’ll automatically end your dash after the 5 minutes have passed.”
DoorDash Ending Your Dash – Latest Info
DoorDash gives Dashers a 5-minute time out after declining too many orders in a row. After 3 pauses, DoorDash may now end your dash completely.
Here’s why ending a dash is such a steep penalty: You lose your scheduled hours when the dash ends. You can still Dash Now if your area is busy enough, but if Dash Now isn’t available, you won’t be able to sign back on and take orders.
More about the DoorDash ‘Timeout’ Alert
Here’s what happens when you get the alert: DoorDash pauses your dash and forces you to press a button to get back online. If you don’t take action within 5 minutes, DoorDash ends your dash automatically.
It’s no secret that DoorDash wants Dashers to accept more orders. Customer wait times increase when Dashers decline orders, so DoorDash wants to do everything it can to nudge you to take more offers.
But the DoorDash contract allows Dashers to decline orders without punishment or deactivation, so DoorDash has to get creative if they want to incentivize you to accept more orders.
It’s also possible that DoorDash wants to target Dashers who are genuinely inactive on their Dash. If a Dasher skips 25 offers in a row, maybe they’re away from their phone or forgot that they started the Dash.
Experienced multiappers might recognize this as a play right out of Uber’s book: Uber drivers see a similar message when they skip too many ride or delivery requests.
For now, this alert is more of an inconvenience than a true punishment, but it shows that DoorDash is starting to take low acceptance rates more seriously.
DoorDash is Still Testing This Feature
DoorDash has not deployed the timeout feature in every city, so it appears that it’s still in development.
You’re Still Free to Be Picky about Your Orders
Despite this new alert from DoorDash, you are still free to decline as many orders as you want. You can’t be deactivated or punished for having a low acceptance rating.
And if you do get a timeout, simply resume your dash. It’s a bit of an annoyance, but if you prefer to wait for better orders, it’s worth the extra hassle.
More Reading for Dashers
Scott says
I’m sorry I’m not going to accept an order that doesn’t even pay me the gas to go down the street to do it. Forget that. I’m not a slave
Ana says
This is a unjustified if a people wants a service the need to pay for that service. Which they do .. they pay the restaurant and the app.. but .. In many cases low pay deliveries is also because a customer is not leaving tip.. so a dasher will earn only what dash app is paying which is ridiculously low compare to the cost of living these days. Customers probably thing that is a dasher job to deliver even if they don’t leave tip but they are wrong people is dashing delivering order daily because they need money to survive not just to make a company and a customer happy.
P Myers says
DOORDASH:
Wake up! You’re allowing orders that barely pay .50 a mile! Really? WTF? Do YOUR part and make her the drivers earn at least a dollar per mile! This is no excuse oh and to say you can’t be punished for low acceptance rates, immm yea pausing a dash or ending it is a form of punitive punishment, you’re violating your own contact!
Tracy says
This action is actually very illegal. First dd says you can decline or accept at your own choice and not get any ramifications for it but if I can pick and choose then they have no legal right to pause or end my dash. I should be able to decline as much as I want since they do not consider me an employee. I am a sub contractor. When they end my dash I should be payed for the time they take away as it is not there call how many or how little orders I accept!!! It’s a very false statement to say you can decline as many orders as you want!!!
Logi says
Thank you!! I thought the same thing to myself when it first happened to me but they have us so separated it’s impossible to hear from others. But yeah I was like this HAS to be against prop 22 at least maybe other states but HAS to be illegal in Cali. I wonder how u can get a lawyer to look into it .. perhaps another settlement?
Gwen says
I like doing DD, but maybe instead of taking acceptance rates “more seriously” they should take paying their drivers a fair rate more seriously. Offering under $5 to do a delivery in a personal vehicle when taxes aren’t even taken out before the check arrives is unacceptable. I won’t take them, and I don’t expect others to, either.
Dianne T Devita says
I feel the same way about choosing trip requests. I am in my car. I am paying for the taxes. The gas is up to $3.30 or more per gallon. I am adding a lot of mileage which is requiring maintenance and depreciating my car.
So I’d love to save $ on gas if doordash would update their program to give trips that will automatically navigate you back into your area. The current program has you wait until you navigate back to get trips again. If they send you out of the area you should have trip priority and should get a trip back into your area. But you have to drive all the way back with nothing. It is not efficient for them or us at all. Gas isn’t cheap.
Therefore, I dont like taking anything under $5 either and it cant be more than 2 1/2 miles away. I’ll take $4.50 for under 2 miles. The key is you can only do a few deliveries an hour so you need to pick wisely.
Doug Rider says
“DoorDash is starting to take low acceptance rates more seriously.” Really? Maybe they should consider why my acceptance rate is low. It’s because the offers suck. I cannot take orders that pay $3 to $5 where I have to drive 5 miles. That is not enough pay for me to make enough to cover costs. Wake up DoorDash!
Dianne T Devita says
I agree
Dasher prancer come cupid says
Ya they need a minimum order and to auto set the tips to 5 bucks and they have to lower it physically.I think they need to show totals also I took an orde lr that didn’t seem to pay slot cuz I needed gas.It said 6 bucks wasnt to far now bad really well it was nice best run yet 17.50 total .Now that order could have sat and been tossed around if they knew it was 17.59 they would have risked a 150 dollar ticket to get it there at light speed.
Ana says
You are RIGHt!!. This is a joke. They want to force dashers to deliver orders when customer don’t want to leave a tip For your job… Dashers don’t accept orders that are paying low which it means the costumer is not leaving tip in many cases . Driving 4 miles and you get pay 2.00 I think is not worth the time and effort that a dasher make to deliver that order.
There shouldn’t be any punishment because delivering orders is not just about making customers happy it is also about earning money for your job. Dashers are delivering because they need to earn money to survive not just for fun.
Bonnir says
My daughter tried her best to be a good “UberEats” driver. she has been Diactived because he rating in kinda Low… Does this freakin Uber company even THINK about the rating?????? if a customer doeant rate you your rating goes down. How does an uber delivery person get a good rating. THIS PLATFORM IS DUMB. IF A CUSTOMER DOESNT RATE YOU ,YOUR RATING GOES DOWN AND YOU END UP NOT WORKING IN A TIME WHERE WORK IS KINDAUP IN THE AIR. I know the system needs to be looked at and considering Uber is not located in the states, i feel Uber is taki g advantagr of good people qho like to deliver But uber doeant see it that way. Customers need to be told to rate. if they arent told they donr rate and then the unber person is out of a job.!!!!!!!
Panama says
With doordash I leave a message to every customer saying I would appreciate a rating and normally my ratings are up because they will rate if you ask
Toni says
When do u leave that message? It seems like after delivery makes sense, but we have no way to send a message post delivery. 🤷♂️
Dianne T Devita says
Wow, I didn’t realize if you’re not rated by customers, Uber adds that into your rating average. That’s not fair at all to drivers and should be corrected immediately.
That makes everyone at risk of being deactivated.