[JohnGalt]

Well I've tried UberEats for a few weeks now and just can't see how this makes sense for drivers. I kept telling myself that maybe the higher mileage payment would make up for the lost time and added hassle. I must have been smoking crack because this model is unbelievably absurd.

Yesterday I'm near downtown ATL during rush hours and the entire area surges. Like an idiot I get an UberEats order and accept it. 10 minutes to get to restaurant "Mr. Everything" where it is extremely crowded and the order is not ready. I wait 15 minutes (!!) for the order and they give me the wrong items. 5 minutes later I have the correct order and click Start Trip on the app...

So at this point I've invested 30 minutes and now find out that the delivery location is less than 2 miles away. I fight my way over through traffic (and rain), find a place to park and deliver the food to lady in a highrise apartment. When I get back to car and end the trip, Uber calculates the following:

Duration: 12 minutes
Distance: 2 miles
Fare: $6.33
Uber Fee: $1.58
Estimated Payout: $4.75

WTF!? So adding the 12 minutes to my 30 minutes pre-trip time, I just spent 42 minutes for $4.75. There was of course NO TIP, as with all of my other UberEats deliveries. And this doesn't factor in the "opportunity cost" of missing out on surge rides by taking this trip.

This is simply humiliating. Someone please tell me why are we [drivers] doing UberEats at all???

 

[PTCGUY]

Well I've tried UberEats for a few weeks now and just can't see how this makes sense for drivers. I kept telling myself that maybe the higher mileage payment would make up for the lost time and added hassle. I must have been smoking crack because this model is unbelievably absurd.

Yesterday I'm near downtown ATL during rush hours and the entire area surges. Like an idiot I get an UberEats order and accept it. 10 minutes to get to restaurant "Mr. Everything" where it is extremely crowded and the order is not ready. I wait 15 minutes (!!) for the order and they give me the wrong items. 5 minutes later I have the correct order and click Start Trip on the app...

So at this point I've invested 30 minutes and now find out that the delivery location is less than 2 miles away. I fight my way over through traffic (and rain), find a place to park and deliver the food to lady in a highrise apartment. When I get back to car and end the trip, Uber calculates the following:

Duration: 12 minutes
Distance: 2 miles
Fare: $6.33
Uber Fee: $1.58
Estimated Payout: $4.75

WTF!? So adding the 12 minutes to my 30 minutes pre-trip time, I just spent 42 minutes for $4.75. There was of course NO TIP, as with all of my other UberEats deliveries. And this doesn't factor in the "opportunity cost" of missing out on surge rides by taking this trip.

This is simply humiliating. Someone please tell me why are we [drivers] doing UberEats at all???

That was my fear in doing Eats. Never went and got my bag. That sux big time!

 

[PTCGUY]

Well I've tried UberEats for a few weeks now and just can't see how this makes sense for drivers. I kept telling myself that maybe the higher mileage payment would make up for the lost time and added hassle. I must have been smoking crack because this model is unbelievably absurd.

Yesterday I'm near downtown ATL during rush hours and the entire area surges. Like an idiot I get an UberEats order and accept it. 10 minutes to get to restaurant "Mr. Everything" where it is extremely crowded and the order is not ready. I wait 15 minutes (!!) for the order and they give me the wrong items. 5 minutes later I have the correct order and click Start Trip on the app...

So at this point I've invested 30 minutes and now find out that the delivery location is less than 2 miles away. I fight my way over through traffic (and rain), find a place to park and deliver the food to lady in a highrise apartment. When I get back to car and end the trip, Uber calculates the following:

Duration: 12 minutes
Distance: 2 miles
Fare: $6.33
Uber Fee: $1.58
Estimated Payout: $4.75

WTF!? So adding the 12 minutes to my 30 minutes pre-trip time, I just spent 42 minutes for $4.75. There was of course NO TIP, as with all of my other UberEats deliveries. And this doesn't factor in the "opportunity cost" of missing out on surge rides by taking this trip.

This is simply humiliating. Someone please tell me why are we [drivers] doing UberEats at all???

Is this typical or a one off since you have been doing it for a few weeks?

 

[JohnGalt]

Is this typical or a one off since you have been doing it for a few weeks?

This was certainly my worst experience, but the others have not been much better unfortunately. I have only had one trip where I felt satisfied with the payout. The order was for King of Pops and the delivery address was 15 miles away. The added distance made the difference and helped me continue to rationalize sticking with UberEats.

But I just don't think people typically are going to order food that far away. Uber's flat-fee based primarily on distance between the restaurant and the customer makes this a win for the customer for sure, but mostly a loss for the drivers in my experience.

 

[iptaylm]

Until they add time I've quit doing delivery

 

[dolllarchaser]

Being taken out of surge is not uncommon for Uber Eats/Delivery. It is also not uncommon for food to not be ready when you arrive. Just like driving X, there is a strategy that you must employ to make $$.

In essence, UberEats/Delivery has rolled the time charge into the mileage rate, so drivers are being paid similar to driving X. Google assumes a 4 minute mile in the city so, the uberx rate of $.12/minute is approx. $.48/mile. So, when you add this to the standard uberx mileage rate of $.75 you get $1.23/mile for Delivery. So, you see, Delivery drivers actually make less than X drivers. As mentioned in another thread, Delivery pays based on AVERAGE miles from point to point. So again, you may be paid less than actual miles driven.

On the plus side, tips are as probable if not more probable than X, you don't have to clean your car or dress specially for Delivery. There are regular bathroom breaks (important if you have bladder issues or drink a lot of water) and, you don't have to deal with the seemingly entitled UberX riders! On some days, I will give anything not to deal with these people! YMMV

 

[UberBlackPr1nce]

Well I've tried UberEats for a few weeks now and just can't see how this makes sense for drivers. I kept telling myself that maybe the higher mileage payment would make up for the lost time and added hassle. I must have been smoking crack because this model is unbelievably absurd.

Yesterday I'm near downtown ATL during rush hours and the entire area surges. Like an idiot I get an UberEats order and accept it. 10 minutes to get to restaurant "Mr. Everything" where it is extremely crowded and the order is not ready. I wait 15 minutes (!!) for the order and they give me the wrong items. 5 minutes later I have the correct order and click Start Trip on the app...

So at this point I've invested 30 minutes and now find out that the delivery location is less than 2 miles away. I fight my way over through traffic (and rain), find a place to park and deliver the food to lady in a highrise apartment. When I get back to car and end the trip, Uber calculates the following:

Duration: 12 minutes
Distance: 2 miles
Fare: $6.33
Uber Fee: $1.58
Estimated Payout: $4.75

WTF!? So adding the 12 minutes to my 30 minutes pre-trip time, I just spent 42 minutes for $4.75. There was of course NO TIP, as with all of my other UberEats deliveries. And this doesn't factor in the "opportunity cost" of missing out on surge rides by taking this trip.

This is simply humiliating. Someone please tell me why are we [drivers] doing UberEats at all???

In about a year from now with all the wear and tear etc etc, drivers will begin to see the fruit from their labor (and it won't be good fruit)

 

[backstreets-trans]

Well I've tried UberEats for a few weeks now and just can't see how this makes sense for drivers. I kept telling myself that maybe the higher mileage payment would make up for the lost time and added hassle. I must have been smoking crack because this model is unbelievably absurd.

Yesterday I'm near downtown ATL during rush hours and the entire area surges. Like an idiot I get an UberEats order and accept it. 10 minutes to get to restaurant "Mr. Everything" where it is extremely crowded and the order is not ready. I wait 15 minutes (!!) for the order and they give me the wrong items. 5 minutes later I have the correct order and click Start Trip on the app...

So at this point I've invested 30 minutes and now find out that the delivery location is less than 2 miles away. I fight my way over through traffic (and rain), find a place to park and deliver the food to lady in a highrise apartment. When I get back to car and end the trip, Uber calculates the following:

Duration: 12 minutes
Distance: 2 miles
Fare: $6.33
Uber Fee: $1.58
Estimated Payout: $4.75

WTF!? So adding the 12 minutes to my 30 minutes pre-trip time, I just spent 42 minutes for $4.75. There was of course NO TIP, as with all of my other UberEats deliveries. And this doesn't factor in the "opportunity cost" of missing out on surge rides by taking this trip.

This is simply humiliating. Someone please tell me why are we [drivers] doing UberEats at all???

Come on down the Phoenix and do the Walmart deliveries. We get to load and unload groceries for pennies.

 

[RightTurnClyde]

That was my fear in doing Eats. Never went and got my bag. That sux big time!

Me too! After reading this I need to truly thank that $17 bag for being the deciding factor in not partaking in EATS when it came out...

 

[iptaylm]

I have the stupid bag and I have never used it once in any of my trips, there is no need for it.

 

[UberHoax]

Food delivery will never be a good long term income source for drivers. Restaurant owners used to flat out tell drivers they don't pay much, drivers do that job to gain City knowledge and see sites they otherwise would not have access to.

 

[JohnGalt]

Come on down the Phoenix and do the Walmart deliveries. We get to load and unload groceries for pennies.

Nice - I'm on my way! Maybe we should pay Uber for all the exercise we're getting?

 

[JohnGalt]

UPDATE - I still haven't had time to turn in my bag and remove myself from Eats, so now have a few more days experience with it I'd like to share...

First of all, 95% of my requests on Uber this past week have been UberEats Delivery. !!

Maybe it's the time of days I'm logging in, but I REALLY wish they had an ability within the app to turn this on or off. Twice more this week I've been stuck with Eats that pulled me out of surge pricing. Is Eats really doing this well, or do my constant Eats requests reflect that Uber is isolating its Eats drivers to handle food order demands and pulling us out of contention for regular ride requests?

Second, based on my admittedly limited observations, I do think I've figured out a few scenarios where Eats can be worthwhile. I'm not sure how much control we have over these factors ultimately, however.

1. Eats orders for restaurants closer to the suburbs (Cumberland/Vinings, Perimeter, etc) seem to be more profitable in general, due to longer distances between the customers and the restaurants. This seems especially true for Dinner vs. Lunch (see #2 below). Parking is also generally easier. Downtown orders that I've had require more traffic and parking hassles, and have been on average much closer to the customers resulting in lower fares and more time required (re: "giant suck").
   
2. During weekday lunch rush hours, I think there are a few areas of town where observation #1 doesn't apply. During these few hours (maybe 11am to 1pm?) I've had back to back Eats orders that were all close deliveries, but because there were so many Eats restaurants in the area along with concentration of businesses/residents I was able to stay very busy running a large number of orders that ended up being a worthwhile effort.
   
   I did this in Buckhead, but I'd imagine lunch in a few other areas could offer the same scenario (Highlands, Perimeter, etc..)?
   
   I think this only applies to lunch and only in these certain areas due to (a) traffic relatively manageable at lunchtime, (b) customers generally don't want to wait long for lunch due to limited time to get back to work - so they order close to their location, (c) concentration of Eats restaurants in the area ensures close drive to next order generally.
   
   Dinner is MUCH different during the week, and I think I would avoid completely these lunch areas. Traffic is worse, surge is more likely to be in effect causing you to miss those opportunities, and order distances seem to be more varied.

I'm sure there are holes to punch in these rules so punch away! Just a few observations to hopefully help some of you guys out if you want to try it.

Have a great weekend!

 

[Cool P]

You can go to the uber office and set up different profiles. I have three uber uber eats and both together!

Also rural areas are better for uber eats because you drive further in my opinion

And if an order isn't ready within 10 minutes I leave its just not worth the wait! I waited for 20 minutes at Mint Leaf in Smyrna and was told it would be another 20 minutes I cancelled selected excessive wait time and then Ieft we have a business to run as well!

 

[dolllarchaser]

If you believe time is 'baked' into the mileage rate, then no matter how far you drive you will not make more than $.60 per mile driven.
OTH, shorter distances, yield more dollars per mile. Example: restaurant to customer is 2miles with a total fare of $4 + $2.40 = $6.40. Take our Uber share @ 25% and you make $4.80 for driving 2 miles. The only unknown to us is the value you put on your time. But on the face, $2.40 per mile pretty damn good in this day! YMMV, however.

 

[JohnGalt]

You can go to the uber office and set up different profiles. I have three uber uber eats and both together!

Also rural areas are better for uber eats because you drive further in my opinion

And if an order isn't ready within 10 minutes I leave its just not worth the wait! I waited for 20 minutes at Mint Leaf in Smyrna and was told it would be another 20 minutes I cancelled selected excessive wait time and then Ieft we have a business to run as well!

I didn't know we could set up different profiles - thanks for the tip! I'll give that a try.

 

[Cool P]

I didn't know we could set up different profiles - thanks for the tip! I'll give that a try.

Today I only did uber eats until this guy had me go through a maze to deliver an order of boneless wings!!! Haha I switched to uber only plus it started to surge! So it was perfect timing! I would go down there asap!! It's good to have options when everything else sucks

 

[4-WARNED]

Me too! After reading this I need to truly thank that $17 bag for being the deciding factor in not partaking in EATS when it came out...

We must have a cheaper quality bag down here in the Miami market because they're only $10. I get reminded daily to finish the last step of the sign-up process (which is to buy the bag).

 

[Fuzzyelvis]

You can go to the uber office and set up different profiles. I have three uber uber eats and both together!

Also rural areas are better for uber eats because you drive further in my opinion

And if an order isn't ready within 10 minutes I leave its just not worth the wait! I waited for 20 minutes at Mint Leaf in Smyrna and was told it would be another 20 minutes I cancelled selected excessive wait time and then Ieft we have a business to run as well!

What does uber consider "excessive time" btw? I would want the food ready when I arrive. That's the goal of ubereats according to uber anyway.

 

[Cool P]

I'm not sure what that consider excessive. If I get a ping and I know the restaurant is within 2-8 minutes I'll be patient but if it took me 10-15 minutes to get there and it's an order of wings I'm not waiting an additional 10-15 minutes