DoorDash has made enjoying food in the comfort of your own home a lot easier.
Before DoorDash, you could only rely on a few select restaurants that would deliver food to your door.
These days, you can order from tons of restaurants, even sit-down restaurants, and have restaurant-quality food delivered right to your door.
That said, you are subject to restaurant hours and whether any DoorDash drivers are working during the particular time you want food.
If you have a late-night craving, for example, then you may wonder if DoorDash will even deliver to your home.
How Late Does DoorDash Deliver?
DoorDash tends to offer deliveries until 9 or 10 PM, but in some locations, they might even deliver until the early morning hours.
Whether DoorDash will deliver or not depends on the restaurant in question and if any Dashers are working at that time.
DoorDash operates with freelance drivers rather than employees.
Because they’re freelance, the drivers can choose their schedules.
If you happen to live in an area where most Dashers are early birds rather than night owls, you might not have an opportunity to order DoorDash late at night.
Since the availability to have DoorDash deliver food to your home depends on the availability of the drivers, it can be difficult to determine just how late the Dashers will deliver.
You can attract someone to pick up your DoorDash delivery by offering a generous tip.
You may find that, for the right price, a Dasher might go get your food at almost any hour at night.
Why Might DoorDash Not Deliver Late At Night?
If you’re hankering for food at midnight but don’t feel like getting it yourself, then you may consider ordering with DoorDash.
You can relax at home while the Dasher is out grabbing your food and bringing it to you.
Upon searching the DoorDash app, however, you may discover that no one is available to pick up your order.
You might wonder why there aren’t any DoorDashers operating at night.
Here are a few reasons DoorDash might not deliver late at night.
1.Restaurant Hours
The primary reason DoorDash doesn’t always deliver at night is the hours of operation of a restaurant.
If the restaurant isn’t open, then DoorDash can’t pick up the delivery.
There’s no one at the restaurant to make your food.
As such, when you want to order a particular dish from a specific restaurant, it’s worth determining their hours.
They won’t make an order specifically for you if they’re closed.
That said, if the restaurant is open 24 hours, there’s a good chance that DoorDash will deliver your meal even late at night.
Before you order your food, double-check the hours of operation of the restaurant to see if DoorDash can deliver it.
2. Lack Of Drivers Operating During That Time
DoorDash uses freelancers as their drivers.
As such, they’re able to create their own schedules and work when they want to.
A lot of Dashers choose to work during the day because that’s when demand is at its highest.
They earn more money when working during the day.
Since they work during the day, most Dashers will rest at night.
People who aren’t natural night owls also tend to work during the day rather than at night.
They see nighttime as a time to spend with friends and family or just to rest.
Since fewer Dashers are working at night, you have to share them with everyone else who is having a late-night craving.
There usually aren’t a lot of Dashers operating at night, so the wait time you have could be longer.
It’s also dependent on how many Dashers are in your area.
If you live in a big city where a lot of Dashers operate, there’s a good chance that a handful of them are working at night.
In that case, you might be able to order your food very late at night.
If you live in a suburban area or even a rural area, you might not have that many Dashers in your area.
As such, the chances of them working late at night are slim.
As a result, you might not be able to order from DoorDash very late.
DoorDash may not be available late at night depending on the number of Dashers in your area and their schedules.
3. Not Worth The Money
DoorDash drivers don’t always earn a lot of money.
DoorDash breaks down its payments into three parts.
The first is base pay.
This is a set amount that the Dasher earns for taking the delivery.
It tends to range from $2 to $10.
From the base pay alone, some Dashers may only make $2 per delivery.
The second part is promotions or challenges.
During peak times when a lot of people are ordering through DoorDash, the company will run promotions or challenges.
It encourages Dashers to work more or take on more orders to satisfy all the customers.
The challenge usually results in extra pay.
The third part is tips.
This is the part of their payment that Dashers can completely keep.
Not unlike waiters at a restaurant, a lot of Dashers work at DoorDash because they’re reliant on tips to make a profit.
When it’s late at night, you need to provide a good incentive to make a Dasher deliver your food.
The best way to do that is with a high tip.
If there isn’t a high enough tip, then the Dasher may not take it up because it doesn’t make monetary sense to them.
It might even cost them more gas than any kind of profit they see from the delivery.
There are also fewer orders at night.
As such, Dashers can’t accept several deliveries at once to maximize their earnings.
You can increase the chances of your Dasher taking on your order by offering a large tip.
4.Safety Concerns
A final reason some Dashers won’t deliver late at night involves safety concerns.
Being a delivery driver can be dangerous.
Someone nefarious might put in an order for something only to lure the delivery driver to their home.
The chances of a crime occurring tend to be a bit higher at night since it’s harder to see the crime happening.
Some people who order food late at night might also be under the influence of alcohol or other drugs.
That can make some Dasher feel uncomfortable or unsafe.
As such, some Dashers choose not to take orders at night.
They don’t want to compromise their safety for a bit more money.
If you live in an unsafe area, that might be why you don’t see any available Dashers in your area.
Can You Schedule A Delivery In Advance With DoorDash?
Yes, you can schedule a delivery in advance with DoorDash.
If you’re worried that a Dasher won’t be able to deliver your food late at night, then you can always order in advance.
The DoorDash app makes it easy.
All you need to do is choose the restaurant where you want to order, pick your food, then navigate to the checkout screen.
Instead of submitting your order, you’re going to see an option to schedule your order.
When you click that, you’ll see several options that you can choose from.
Choose the time you want your Dasher to pick up and deliver your food, and then you can sit back and relax.
DoorDash makes ordering late at night a bit easier with its scheduled ordering service.
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