With the cost of living ever increasing with a single full-time job no longer being enough to keep the lights on, many are turning to the gig economy for a little extra cash, in particular food delivery.

For the past 2 years I have been delivering thousands of meals across the country, ridden tens of thousands of miles and it has genuinely been one of the best low-stress jobs I’ve had. Below are some of the best tips for those wishing to get started.

1. Buy a high-quality phone case, car mount, charging cable and data plan

Your mobile phone is your life when it comes to food delivery, it is where you will get all your orders, interact with support if required and be your primary form of navigation.

Ensure you have a commercial phone mount which is easy to get on and off and has a fast charger to keep the battery topped up. If your phone supports wireless charging this may be preferable to avoid wearing out the charging port but ensure you test it to ensure it can charge the battery while running power-hungry apps like navigation.

My recommendation is the Quad Lock line of mounts and cases which are super durable, quick to use and have support for most devices on the market. Expect to use ~300MB a day of data while using delivery apps.

2. Be selective about what deliveries you accept

Not all deliveries are profitable and to make the most profit you need to turn down the bad orders. These will vary in your area, but use the following criteria as a starting point.

• Total Delivery Distance: Longer distances generally pay higher but will put you out of position and result in you taking less orders.
• Have a minimum ratio to accept an order, ie £1 per mile with a minimum of £3. Some apps will try to stack orders for far less than this and guilt you for rejecting these, don’t give in! Low paying orders are often traps.
• Pickup from good restaurants: Very quickly you will learn the places which have the deliveries ready to go and have plentiful parking, as-well-as the opposite that only start making the order once you arrive. Have a mental blacklist.
• Avoid Drive Throughs: They are a quick way to get stuck in a queue for an hour for a $5 order your customer was expecting ages ago.

3. Have a Good Quality Insulated Bag

Keeping meals at the correct temperature and in one piece when you drop it off at the customer is essential. Some restaurants will refuse handing the order over if you do not have a commercial insulated bag and you open yourself up for complaints from custoemrs.

Buying a branded bag will help ensure even the largest of orders will reach their destination and they often come with well thought out dividers or popup sections.

You are not obligated to wear the brand of bag of the APP you are using, however it might confuse restaurant staff!

Remember to spray the bag down and keep it clean after every trip. Before buying a new one, checkout marketplace as you can often big up a second bag for a fraction of the cost.

4. Keep Track Of All Your Running Costs and Tax

As a contractor, you are responsible for all your running costs such as maintenance, buying the required equipment and fuel. Many countries will allow you to claim back on these expenses at tax time, so keep your receipts and keep track of your mileage.

If you need to withhold tax, ensure you are doing so to avoid a nasty surprise come tax time!

The two biggest apps for this are Hurdlr and Stride which are available free of charge on both Apple & Android

5. Choose The Right Time And Area To Deliver

The number of orders and pay will vary across the day and week. Most apps will give you a graph showing how busy each location is expected to be.

This can be helpful as some areas may have big surges over breakfast-lunch but not have any significant nightlife or restaurants open for dinner.

Many platforms such as DoorDash and Uber will offer different promotions such as a surcharge, or ‘quest’ where you will get a bonus if you complete a certain number of orders within a certain amount of time. In many cases one app may be significantly more profitable than another for a certain time.

6. Come Prepared

Essential items for delivery drivers include:

• Good LED Torch: Invaluable for reading letterbox numbers and walking to the customers doorway
• Battery Bank and Cable: If your stuck in a restaurant or your have an issue with the charger in the car
• Sharpie Market: Essential for Labelling food bags if doing a stacked order
• Stapler or Tape: To Seal the bag, some restaurants may not like you using a stapler in case the staples fall into the food as the customer opens the bag
• Fluro Vest: It’s not fashionable, but you stand out in restaurants and you won’t get the cops arresting you when dropping off food! (It happens)

7. Follow Customer Instructions On Delivery

Always read the customers instructions prior to arriving for any important notes which can include

• Drop at Door or Hand It To Me: If dropping off never ring the doorbell unless asked to and try to message the customer via the app for best results.
• Avoid making noise when arriving at the destination as this can wake up babies or partners trying to sneak in a midnight snack!
• Take note at which way the door opens, if it opens outward don’t lean the order on the door!
  If there is a table or chair, try to keep the order off the ground.
• Always take the keys out of the ignition, but leave the lights turned on facing the property. Car and motorbike theft off delivery drivers is not uncommon
• Never Step into houses or close gates behind you when entering a property: The vast majority of deliveries are seamless however sometimes you may come across a creep or need to make a quick exit. Only close the gate to the property as you are exiting
• Contact your customer if you have any delays or issues, sometimes things happen like you miss an exit to the restaurant is delayed. Sending a quick courtesy can go along way.

8. Cashout every night

One of the disadvantages of being an independent contractor is you can get terminated from the platform at any time for any reason. Some providers such as DoorDash may try to withhold payment which is a problem if you only get automatically paid weekly and have a significant amount of earnings accumulated.

Platforms will allow you to ‘fast payout’ for either a small cost or a limited number of times.

9. Consider Multi Apping

Running two apps simultaneously and pausing each between orders is a good way to ensure you always have a constant stream of high-quality orders.

Avoid using both apps at the same time and collecting too many orders as the platforms closely monitor how long each order is taking and will penalise you if you are frequently late.

10. Always Respect Restaurant Staff, The Order & Others

Once delivering you will quickly learn you are just one cog in the machine and will be running into the same faces each night. Be considerate to those around you including other drivers, restaurant staff and their customers. Sometimes mistakes happen, but at the end of the day everyone is trying to put food on their plates.

Are you a delivery driver or just starting out, share your thoughts on this topic in the comments below