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Catering Claim Ahead Program on Doordash - EVERYTHING You MUST Know!!
- Joseph Mandracchia
- 25 minutes ago
- 14 min read
DoorDash just launched a new catering program that sounds like a great opportunity… but once you look closer, there are a few things drivers need to understand before chasing these orders.
Because depending on how this system actually works, this could either be one of the best ways to get large orders on DoorDash… or just another way to push drivers into chasing acceptance rate.
This is one of the programs that has come out recently, or more appropriately, started, shut down, refigured and rebranded over the past couple of months as the Catering Claim Ahead Program on Doordash.
If you are a veteran driver, you might know this as a few similar names from the past:
Doordash Catering Program
Doordash Large Order Program
Doordash Drive
And while this is very similar to previous programs Doordash had, the closest being Doordash Drive, there are some things that have changed and some things that you need to know as gig workers about it.
So in this article, We are talking about:
EVERYTHING You MUST Know about the Catering Claim Ahead Program on Doordash
What they tell you about it vs How it ACTUALLY is
Everything in between!
Disclaimer: The content of this article does not contain and is never intended to be legal, business, financial, tax, or health advice of any kind. This article is for entertainment, educational, and informational purposes only. It is advised that you conduct your own research and consult with qualified professionals before applying anything you find online.
I also want to be clear that everything we are going to go over is very market dependent, and what applies to me and my market may not apply to you.
What Doordash Says About This Program
The following content is pulled directly from the Doordash help pages under "Catering Claim Ahead".
Catering offers are now available to claim ahead of time! Find offers in the Dasher app within the Offers tab in the Schedule tab.
Like I said, they had this for a while under the Doordash Drive Program and it didn’t work out the way they wanted it to. Now, they rebranded it as the catering claim ahead program.
I would say if you make it to the end of the article or video, however you end up seeing this content and there is something you aren’t understanding, make sure that you check that out as well.
What is the Catering Claim Ahead Program?
Catering Claim Ahead is a new catering program that is only accessible to a select group of Platinum Dashers. This program allows you to view catering offers in advance, claim which work for you, and manage them directly all in the Dasher app.
And just like that, I completely lost interest in the program. Only for platinum dashers means that you need to maintain a 70% acceptance rate or higher to be eligible for the program where there are other platforms that may be more logistically sound to be a part of.
I’ll go over what I mean about that later.
Also, not 100% true either, there were a bunch of people who were part of the pilot program as well and I can’t confirm that she was a Platinum dasher to get invited.
That said, there are a bunch of people who got into the prior catering program by being Top Dasher upon application to get accepted and then gave it up later while maintaining their position in the catering program.
However, Platinum Dasher is a lot more real time than Top Dasher and Doordash has been focusing on putting all the programs behind their acceptance rate walls through their programs.
Important: This program is free. You should never pay to join. If someone asks you to pay for access, it is not legitimate. Please report it to our support team.
That is a good point too, most of these platforms are free to be a part of so don’t fall for scammers. That also goes for people paying to “have their accounts reactivated” or anything of the sort.
Overview of the new Catering Claim Ahead feature
Open the Dasher app.
Tap the menu icon in the upper right corner to open the side navigation.
Select the Schedule tab.
Look for catering offers under the Offers tab section.
Yeah, this is move for move the same exact way Doordash Drive used to work. The only difference is that they only showed the base payouts and didn’t show the tips until after the order began, which ended up costing drivers more money than they were worth, like catering orders need to meet a certain threshold in order to be worth scheduling out your time.
The other challenge is how the scheduling system works in congruence to the claim ahead program. If the system works the same way as Doordash Drive does, you cannot schedule orders within 15 minutes of a block of “Dash time”.
Meaning that from the front and back of this order there is at least 30 minutes of “not dash time” you are absorbing with this order. And if the order itself will take you 30 minutes of your time, you have to basically decide if the value of that order is worth an hour of your time.
I would say if the order is going to earn you less money than the amount you would make within an hour, let’s say 3 orders worth of pay with your standards, then no it isn’t worth it.
Not seeing the Offers tab?
Please update your phone and Dasher app. Once you receive the welcome email, your access is live.
Yeah, most don’t get this. But some of the best programs used to be invite only or required some kind of investment. The challenge with me liking this program is that there are always acceptance rate walls associated with it.
When viewing Offers, you’ll now be able to see delivery information before accepting
The area of delivery: the location of where you will be dropping off the delivery
Store name: the name of the store you will be picking up from
Payout amount: the amount of expected minimum pay you will receive for this delivery.
Item count: The number of items you will be delivering
Check in time: Refers to the time you need to confirm in-app that you're ready for the order at the scheduled time
Arrive by: This refers to the time you will need to arrive at the store to pick up the order
Deliver by: The refers to the time you will need to deliver the order to the customer by
Estimated delivery duration: This refers the amount of time it will take to complete the order overall from pick up through delivery
So it is just a rebrand of Doordash Drive? I thought this was going to be more transparent and not hide the tips like they always do. I guess I was too hopeful or naive.
When do Catering offers appear in the app:
Catering offers will be visible ahead of time (up to 24 hours in advance) ,giving you an opportunity to review details of the offer.
Turn on notifications: If there are not active catering offers available to view, turn on notifications so we can send you messages telling you that there is an offer ready to be viewed within the opportunities tab. Offers are available on a rolling basis, with most orders during morning / lunch Tuesday - Thursday.
One thing that most people aren’t clear about through this system is that they are ezCater orders or Simple Catering orders as well, not just direct contract orders from restaurants.
What is the claim window?
A claim window is the period of time when a catering offer is available for Dashers to claim.
Offers appear in advance (up to 7 days).
You can claim at any point while the window is open.
Once the claim window closes, the offer is no longer available to claim.
Okay now this is really confusing. Why does DoorDash’s own help page contradict itself? Do offers appear up to 7 days in advance or 24 hours? You see, this is why I like going through the help pages. Either they mislead their people and I have to explain it, or I find a hole in their story and I get to expose it.
Also one other thing I would like to say about this is that these orders tend to go quick so be aware of that.
Overview of how to claim an Offer and complete the delivery.
Step 2: Starting your Dash
When to arrive at the store: Always follow the “Arrive by Time” shown in the app.
30 minutes before the offer pickup time you will get a notification to Start your Dash. You will have 15 minutes to Start Your Dash. Offers not started by 15 minutes prior to pickup will disappear and flow through our auto-assignment.
So scheduled orders are treated as their own scheduled Dash. Which is why it is again a clunky system. Also, this answers the other underlying question. If you are not part of the program, you can still potentially receive these orders.
I assume they will prioritize those who have the proper equipment as well, being those who have at least been a part of their program but I am not sure.
If you are not currently Dashing:
Navigate to the schedule tab
Tap the offer that you have claimed
Confirm check in
If you are currently Dashing:
Tap to the gear icon in the top left corner
Select Pause your Dash
Navigate to the Schedule tab
Tap the offer that you have claimed
Confirm check in
I haven’t experienced this myself, but I have been told this is still pretty clunky so I couldn’t confirm how seamless this really is.
Staying in the program
To keep access to catering offers, you must:
Complete at least 2 catering offers every 2 weeks
Maintain Platinum Dasher quality standards
If you don’t meet these requirements, you may lose access to the program and will need to re-qualify in the future.
Yeah so all the hacks that used to be possible with Top Dasher are not possible with Platinum Dasher. Regardless, if you can’t get catering orders on Doordash, there are other ways to do so that I’ll go over them at the end.
Common questions
Q: Why am I not seeing any offers?
A: You can claim an offer anytime for the next 7 days. Offers are available on a rolling basis with most offers for Tuesday through Thursday from morning to lunch. If you can see the offers tab, your app is working as expected.
If this is the case, please remove that former point on your help page.
Q: Why can’t I Start my Dash?
A: Pause your current Dash and start your dash from My schedule.
So you can’t do this from an already active Dash? Why do I feel like this whole article is just a series of mixed messages?
Q: Will I still receive catering offers live on a dash?
A: Yes, you will occasionally receive catering offers while on an active dash, but most catering offers will only be accessible to deliver through the Offers tab within the Schedule tab.
When I was an active Dasher, this method of receiving catering orders made up a significant amount of my income. That said, that was Doordash Drive, not this program.
Which means there may be less Platinum Dashers and more opportunity for orders to be sent to you so you can make more, or there are less holes for orders to fall through. Don’t let them convince you to take more orders that are bad to get these.
Q: Why didn’t I receive a notification to start my dash?
A: Check to see if your notifications are turned on for the Dasher app. This ensures we can communicate offers to you in real time.
This might be a hot take, but Doordash is one of the apps that I am the least concerned about notifications coming through. I got to give them credit where credit is due, they really know how to get the message to you compared to other apps.
You do have to turn them on though, this shouldn’t be a problem if you are an active Dasher though.
Q: Do I need to do anything after claiming an offer?
A: No. Claiming an offer reserves it in My schedule, but you still need to “Start your Dash” during the 15-30 minutes prior to pickup to confirm you’re available.
This is a standard across multiple platforms and broker standards.
Q: Where can I check my claimed offers?
A: Once you’ve claimed an offer you will be able to view it under the My schedule tab within the Schedule tab.
If you also want to schedule out your week as well, make sure there isn’t any overlap.
Q: How many catering offers can I claim at once?
A: You can claim up to 4 catering offers per day as long as their times don’t overlap. Each offer will appear in My schedule so you can track them.
This is standard as well, but I am surprised that they aren’t allowing stacking when this is a standard across their platform. Not sure what contracts they signed but this is how their platform works as a whole, so I am surprised they aren't allowing for it.
Q: Is there buffer time between offers?
A: Yes. The app will only let you claim offers with enough time in between (30-60 min) so you can reasonably complete each delivery. If two offers are too close together, you’ll only be able to claim one.
Also goes for scheduling your dashes as well.
Q: What happens if I want to unclaim an offer I already claimed?
A: Unassign it as soon as possible, at least 2 hours before pickup time. You will be given the option when reminded as well.
This is actually less time than the standard, most platforms hold you to a “3 hour ahead of time” standard, so they are actually being more flexible here.
Q: Where can I find more information about the catering program?
A: Here is an Education Hub for all things Catering Claim Ahead! Enjoy tips and practice questions here.
I think most of the larger platforms have an ‘education hub’ of sorts. I think I’ll go over this on a different day.
Q: Question not answered?
A: Reach out to our Support Pod by filling out this form. Please expect a response in 2-3 business days. We appreciate your patience.
Yeah, don’t learn from the platforms on how to make the most money on these platforms. There is an overall disconnect between the goals of the platform and the goals of the Dasher.
A dasher wants to make the most profit on each order and get as many good orders as possible, and the platform wants to complete the most orders without paying as much. That’s why they basically need to “sell work to you”.
To be a better Dasher or gig worker, learn from other Dashers and gig workers.
Q: I’d like to join this program. Is there a waitlist I can join?
A: Fill out this form and select “Joining the program - Dasher Waitlist” to be added to our next round of outreach. This program varies by market and delivery volume to ensure the best Dasher experience.
If you want to pursue this, go for it. I am still of the opinion of don’t lose money trying to get bigger orders, but if you are already a platinum dasher and this will be something you would find valuable, fill out the form, see if it is worth it for you.
Some things you will only see as you experience them, not just hearing me talk about them.
The Direction of the Gig Economy
I think a lot of these orders are planning on going in the direction of scheduling ahead of time for their orders, which makes sense that they have options for both on-demand and scheduled deliveries, they need to get this done more effectively but still.
Between Catering Claim Ahead and Dashlink, if they can just make sure the scheduling system is fixed properly I think I can see this being valuable for everyone.
I don’t think I see enough UberEats or Grubhub orders being this way, but there are a lot of platforms going with a mix of both quality high paying offers such as catering and routes, and just consistent on-demand delivery opportunities.
Doordash nails the on-demand space well, I just think they have systematic limitations with scheduled orders.
70% of Catering?!
Mico the Entrepreneur had a conversation with one of the owners of an Einstein Bagels location and one of the reasons that they decided not to be a part of their catering program anymore is that one of the clauses in the contract required “70% of all catering orders” to go through them.
Now, I don’t know the full story on that, but if that is the case, what a crazy way to monopolize the catering space. If that clause is accurate, it shows how aggressively platforms try to control catering volume.
Also, definitely not worth it in my opinion but let me know what you think about that I guess.
ezCater Tip Pooling?
I was speaking to someone who was involved in the pilot testing of this program and it turns out they were told in the first few meetings where Doordash claimed that ezCater has been pooling tips and they were saying that with present tense.
I don’t know if that is just anecdotal or just outdated information or based on a contract they agreed to but from what I understand, ezCater has tip floors and no longer permits tip pooling on any platform.
Unless they are doing it themselves to accommodate for the amount of no tip orders they receive, which is possible but as of now I have no confirmation if they are actually doing that.
If you want to be part of the movement to have all of these ezCater orders properly verified however, make sure to fill out the ezCater tip verification form after you complete each ezCater order!
Doordash might still have their old agreement from before they even established that but I don’t know how accurate that is either. Regardless, don’t be surprised if you find out later that somebody is getting funny with the numbers.
Don’t Lower your Standards
Just because you can get some bigger orders in this program doesn’t mean you should lose money on the orders you are doing to stay platinum. Remember, there are other ways to get these orders that will allow you to remain profitable.
There are so many platforms that do catering, don’t allow the scarcity mindset that Doordash is trying to instill in you, or really false abundance in some cases, to affect your bottom line. No one is going to look out for that better than you are.
Having the Right Equipment
Another thing drivers underestimate with catering orders is the equipment. If you are going to receive catering orders at all, it is important that you maintain a fair amount of equipment to be able to conduct them.
Do you have catering bags? Remember, they aren’t handing you bags alone, they are handing you tin trays and other stuff as well. Not all of them are going to package these orders for you to accept with your bare hands.
Do you have a wagon? You will be delivering to a lot of office spaces so you better be ready to move throughout a huge building.
It doesn’t seem like much, but it makes a HUGE difference and in a lot of cases is 100% required by other platforms.
One other bonus tip on this is to get unbranded bags. I used to say get the Doordash branded bags just to have them accepted by the platform, but there have been a lot of platforms that have popped up since that post, and they get uppity if you used bags from other platforms.
I am just saying better to get unbranded bags and keep it simple without wasting money.
Still not as good as Multi-Apping
Like I said, no matter how good this app gets or how good their marketing team becomes at presenting these opportunities, they are not going to be as good as multi-apping.
Sure you can get catering orders from this app, but you can also get them from catering specialized apps such as DeliverThat, Zifty, Skipcart, any of the RMDA platforms, and more.
Some are funnier with the numbers as well but nevertheless, if you are looking for higher paying offers that is one of the ways you can go about it.
You can also get higher paying offers by tapping into package route delivery platforms, task focused platforms, or general diversification as well. Also, direct contract is also an option.
So make sure you are thoroughly diversifying your gig portfolio as well as developing an exit strategy.
Final Thoughts
I personally don’t like how this is basically a platinum program so I would not participate in this personally, but up to you on what you think would be a good strategy. If you are already a platinum dasher, this could be valuable to you but don’t go out of your way for it.
All in all, there are more ways to make money than forcing some acceptance rate threshold upon yourself or allowing a platform to force one on you.
If you would like to add some other perspective to the Catering Claim Ahead Program on Doordash, feel free to email me: drivenwyld@gmail.com and who knows? Maybe your email or perspective and be featured in a post as well!