The Convenience Industry

Why is everyone ordering Door Dash now? I'm not, and I don't think you should be either. Proponents of the service (any food delivery service, not just Door Dash themselves) argue that it is more convenient and therefore worth the cost. While each person decides what individual costs are "worth it" to them, I do not think a $20 Big Mac meal is ever worth it.

First, a little history. This segment -- "third-party food delivery" -- gets its start in the early-to-mid 2010s with major players including Uber Eats and Door Dash. That name explains their entire service: this is a third party (not yourself nor the restaurant) delivering your food. Before, all food delivery was "first party", that is the restaurant would hire drivers and manage it themselves. This old way of doing things had a couple of advantages. For one, delivery drivers were treated no different than cashiers or servers with respect to employment, wages, and benefits. Another advantage is since the restaurant controls the service, they can ensure the delivery meets their standards. What is the big disadvantage of the restaurant managing delivery? It is expensive, dude, and many restaurants did not bother with it. Growing up, in my area at least, only 2 types of restaurants delivered -- Pizza and Chinese. 

The COVID-19 pandemic pushed people indoors, and away from commercial locations. The pandemic also cost many people their jobs. Both of these factors contributed to the meteoric rise of delivery apps in the early 2020s. Delivery workers went from being regular members of the staff to being contractors. Did this change actually improve delivery workers' lives? No. In the United States, individuals employed as "contractors" do not have certain rights that other employees get. In exchange, however, the benefit is supposed to be where contractors get to have more flexibility in what jobs they choose and how much they work. Whether you think this is a fair deal or not, at least in the delivery industry it was not a fair deal. 

We've all heard of the "Gig Economy", right? That's what it is: freelance or contract workers who do not get full or even part-time employment benefits like everyone else. A regular fast-food job pays you a set wage for hours worked, gig jobs pay you based on job completed, regular jobs offer benefits (even if only to full-timers), while gig jobs offer very few, if any benefits to anyone. You can compare the differences and in nearly every case, those in the gig economy get the worse deal. This is who is delivering your $20 Big Mac meal with Coke. 

A Door Dash delivery driver in New York City. SWinxy, via Wikimedia Commons

But aren't they getting paid? I tip well, and so should everyone else, so therefore this isn't that unfair of a system! That is an example of a supporter of this system, and they bring up some important points. Door Dash, and other similar apps, advertise that they pay from like $17-25/hour. From my research, that seems to be true, on the surface. Using business terms, you may have revenue of $17 an hour, but you do not have profit of $17 an hour. First, since you're a contractor, you have to pay both sets of taxes (unlike in regular employment, where you just pay your personal portion), maintenance and gasoline for your car, and the inconsistent work load. Remember when I said you only get paid per job? Well, if you're just sitting around waiting for orders to come in, you do not get paid for that time that you were there. You also don't get paid for any time you spend filling up your vehicle or getting repairs done. A writer for NerdWallet made only $10.31/hour dashing over a 6.5 hour period. He did correctly subtract his fuel expense from his revenue, but missed subtracting "wear-and-tear" cost on their vehicle, which (in 2025) the IRS set at 70 cents per mile, and missed including taxes. Since the IRS mileage rate includes gas, I can refactor his math to get 23 dollars. Not per hour, but $23 earned or ~$3.54/hour (And this figure doesn't even include taxes!). Granted, in the short run additional maintenance costs are low, but this figure is supposed to capture maintenance costs that you will ultimately need to pay. 

That's horrible. Now, obviously one man's experience is not the experience of all, but this is a snapshot at how much you stand to make in the gig economy. Many of these workers do not get paid fairly, and even the ones that do still don't have any guarantee that they will have a job tomorrow. Your next question might be: "Why would anyone do this?" And unfortunately, it is usually because they have no other option. The gig economy has extremely loose requirements to work, there is no interview, no manager ensuring compliance, nothing like that. It is just you, your car, and your phone. When someone loses their job and can't find another traditional job, far too often it is the choice of: go broke or try to make it work. 

The prevalence of the gig economy is an indictment on the United States' economy and the failure of its government to do anything about it. This economy should not exist in its current form. Delivery drivers should be paid fair wages, receive benefits like everyone else, and have proper training and supervision. I do not think my $20 Big Mac meal is worth it knowing this background.

NerdWallet article: https://www.nerdwallet.com/finance/learn/how-much-does-doordash-pay