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Customer Ratings on Doordash - EVERYTHING You MUST Know!

So on Doordash there are a few ratings that are vitally important to maintaining your status on the platform and even granting you access to some of the higher and more valuable programs.


One of them is Customer Ratings, and while a lot of people think it is out of the control of the driver there are things with this rating you do have control over.


So with that said, we are talking about:

  • Everything You Must Know about Customer Ratings on Doordash

  • What they tell you vs how it ACTUALLY is

  • Everything in between!


Disclaimer: The content of this page does not contain and is never intended to be legal, business, financial, tax, or health advice of any kind, This page is for entertainment 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 everything I am going to go over is very market dependent, and what applies to me and my market, may not apply to you.



Doordash: As a Dasher, you’ll receive ratings that help you track the quality of the services you provide on the platform.


Some ratings are calculated on a “rolling basis,” so, as you dash, ratings from past deliveries will be replaced by ratings from more recent deliveries, while other ratings are calculated over all your deliveries. Customers rate their food and their Dasher separately, so your ratings should only reflect the customer’s delivery experience. You can see your current ratings and how they are calculated at any time in the Dasher App on the “Ratings” tab.


Ratings determine if you’re eligible to dash, and can also help you qualify for certain programs and incentives.


Every rating that affects your status on the platform is based on a rolling basis of the last 100 somethings, otherwise it is just a stat. Like the number of completed deliveries.


Customer Ratings are on a Rolling basis, and operate on a 5 star system.


Doordash: To help make ratings more fair, we remove any Customer Ratings you receive that are below 5 stars in the following circumstances:


  • Long wait times at restaurants (>10 minutes)

  • When the delivery is already expected to be >15 minutes late when you accept it

  • When multiple Dashers before you unassign, causing you to be >15 minutes late

  • When the delivery is late due to multiple batched orders (3 or more)

  • Extreme weather conditions (e.g., snowstorms)

  • Uniquely challenging delivery situations related to protests (at this time, including Customer Rating, Acceptance, and Completion Rate)

  • System-wide outages (including Acceptance and Completion Rate)


These adjustments happen automatically.


Now some drivers have reported that they also were able to have ratings removed by calling Support and fighting with them about it but more on that later.


Doordash: The overall customer rating is a score from 1-5, calculated from the 100 most recent ratings submitted by customers on their delivery (not food) experience. This is called a rolling average, because new scores replace old scores, allowing Dashers to improve their rating by “flushing out” older lower scores with newer higher scores as they become more experienced. This means that even if you drop below a perfect 5.0, you can get back up to 5.0 if you continue to earn enough perfect scores.


So when you have 100 ratings and you receive your 101st, your 1st rating will be knocked off. Doesn’t matter if it is a 5 star or a 1 star. In markets that are typically rating resistant, meaning they don’t rate often at all, this can take a while.


Doordash: Q: Why doesn’t my overall rating go up even when I complete a great delivery?


A: Some customers don’t leave ratings at all, even if their delivery was completed in a timely and safe manner. Note that customers can choose to leave a rating later on, so you may see your overall rating change down the line.


Assuming a Dasher has received at least 100 ratings, every additional new rating will bump out the oldest rating. If the latest rating is a 5 but the oldest rating is also a 5, then your overall average will not change. However, if the latest rating is a 5 and the oldest rating is a 3, then you will see your average increase. Conversely, if the latest rating is a 3 but the oldest rating is a 5, then the average will decrease. The best way to replace bad ratings with good ratings is to complete more high-quality deliveries.


I love how they only build the case of why Cherry picking is so vital within their core system, but then will push programs that force acceptance ratings.


The realty is that some customers just f—ing suck. The Karen Crewsade, the No-Tip customers, the ghosts, they will all rate you badly because their life sucks and they want to drag you down.


Also, you can’t take ratings too personally. Sure there are times when you deserve it, but in most cases, what can they realistically rate you on?


How neatly you placed the order at the Door?


But Joe, what about customer service stuff like communication and being friendly?


Sure, if you are a douche to them you kind of earned it, but in most cases communication isn’t all that necessary and delivering is contactless so in other words, if they rate you on things outside of their control, you don’t need to work with them.


Doordash: Q: What if the customer doesn’t leave a rating?


A: Your customer rating does not include deliveries in which the customer did not leave a rating. Therefore if you've received 100 ratings so far, and your next delivery does not receive a rating from the customer, your rating will remain the same.


There are a few markets that come across as overall unresponsive in the ratings category and most people don’t do that well, whereas others do really well and their ratings fluctuate rather quickly.


So don’t be surprised either way, both cases are normal.


Doordash: Q: I didn’t do any deliveries recently but my rating changed?


A: Customers may not always immediately leave a rating, so there may be times when your customer rating changes well after the delivery has been completed. This will likely be why you see your customer rating change even if you have not made any deliveries.


It can also be that the rating was being reviewed for a while and they decided to let it affect you anyway.


Doordash: Q: What is the minimum customer rating required?


A: Dashers may be deactivated from the DoorDash platform if they have a customer rating below 4.2.


Listen, if you get that low and you’ve been on this app for a while, I highly suggest that you really evaluate your choices and demeanor towards other people, and make adjustments accordingly. One off situation is one thing, but this is a pattern.


Again this can also be your choice in orders as well, it has been proven that low and no tippers cause the most bad ratings. They also cause the most wrongful deactivations too but that is for a different article.


Doordash: Q: How do I improve my average Consumer rating?


A: We can share a number of tips that could help you improve your rating, but do what works best for you. We encourage you to test different things to see what fits you. Here are a few tips that we’ve seen high-quality Dashers use to maintain a high Customer Rating:


  • Ask the merchant to confirm all order items are included but do not open sealed bags.

  • Use a hot bag to deliver meals at the expected temperature to Customers.

  • Separate hot and cold items during transport so they don’t impact one another.

  • Note and follow the merchant’s pickup instructions and the customer’s delivery instructions

  • Keep the customer updated! Customers always appreciate a heads-up when you’re running a few minutes late or if any clarification is needed for the order.


This is a great manipulation tactic that they like to use. Claiming that this is what real Dashers say and think. The most profitable Dashers with the highest ratings know that taking quality orders, coming with quality customers, and quality ratings.


So make sure you only work with quality customers and orders and you will be okay.


“The Order is Still Being Prepared” Hack


Experienced drivers have reported that one of the ways that drivers are protecting themselves from customers who rate you poorly for no reason is when you arrive at the restaurant, always report that “the order is still being prepared”.


I cannot confirm if that is true or not, but I definitely see why. How can Doordash allow ratings to affect you when in most cases it is outside of the control of the driver? If you document that the ratings are displayed as such, then you will be okay.


Having Ratings Removed?


Now I would and have normally said that Doordash doesn’t have an appeal system for ratings and won’t be assisting Doordash drivers in removing them.


However, it has come to my attention in the comments section in one of my YouTube videos, from @superdave3629 that they have had ratings removed before, and it really depends on the agent in which you are working with.


Of course, you need a support agent that does their job which is a rare breed of intellect among the failures and fuck-ups that is Dasher Support, but if you can get one to do their job, by all means go for it!


If you would like to add some other perspective to how Customer Ratings work 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!

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