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Hidden Tips on Doordash - EVERYTHING You MUST Know!!
- Joseph Mandracchia
- 16 hours ago
- 10 min read
So one of the things on Doordash that everyone knows about and kind of hates is the concept of “hidden tips” when receiving orders, and while they have gotten better about it, it does not change how frustrating it is to deal with, especially when starting out.
I made this video a while back, but since I have been reactivated, I have noticed a number of differences from the way the system worked then, and how the system is today.
So in this article, We are talking about:
EVERYTHING You MUST Know about Hidden Tips on Doordash
What they tell you 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 Tells You About Tips on Doordash
Now from what I can find on the Doordash help pages, there does not seem to be any direct help page talking about “hidden tips” or “order value will be higher” offers, which tracks for Doordash but also kind of odd all things considered.
Especially since the Dasher Rewards Program does happen to affect how these orders are presented but more on that later.
They do claim to give Dashers 100% of the tips, however that may not be 100% true either, I have heard from various restaurant owners and managers, including Jeff Lago from Cam’s Pizza in Port St. Lucie, that he has dropped the tips to zero, with the “expectation” that the driver returns to pick up the tip after.
Coming from someone whose companies (Foodfetched, Fleetly, etc.) have been the subject of repeated driver complaints and tip-related concerns regarding ezCater orders, I personally don't consider that information particularly reliable.
There have also been ongoing concerns raised by drivers regarding tip transparency on certain ezCater orders routed through RMDA-affiliated companies.
That is a subject for a different day though.
The point is, I haven't seen much evidence that DoorDash has addressed this potential oversight, or even clarified its position on it publicly, or if they have it is not available in their help pages where drivers can reference the information directly.
How Hidden Tips Work Without ANY Dasher Rewards
So when I was getting back on the platform, I retained my ratings from prior to my deactivation, and I had since I hopped back on but not all of them were ratings they had available or as refined back in 2021 so I teetertottered back and forth for a while from no rewards and Silver status.
From what I can tell, it is a bit harder to tell but for the most part if the order has at least $6 and at least a 2.25 dollars to miles ratio from the mileage shown on the order screen, there is a good chance for a hidden tip. However, this isn’t guaranteed and since they updated the acceptance modal, the “dead” giveaways are no longer there.
Thankfully, you still have about 45 seconds to accept or decline so you can calculate the ratios on the screen before accepting or declining. Just take the total, divide it by the number of miles, and if the ratio is higher than 2.25, there is a chance there is a hidden tip.
However, with the ratio so wide, it really only affects short distance order values for me. One of the hidden tip orders I received was for $12.25 for 5 miles or something like that, and it paid $14 and change, which $12.25 is already solid for the standards of the platform.
Meaning if an order has a certain amount of distance associated with it, the fact that an order has a hidden tip at all becomes moot. For example, if my general standard for an order is $10 minimum, if an order comprises 4.5 miles of driving and shows $10, it doesn’t matter if there is a hidden tip because I would have accepted it anyway.
However, that also gives Doordash an interesting opportunity to keep some of the money in their own pockets while still claiming “we give Dashers 100% of the tip”. This isn’t an accusation of any kind, but in an economy where transparency has been begged for for so long, it is no wonder where that is rooted from.
That said, they did do something that completely DESTROYED my ability to easily determine whether an order had a hidden tip.
No More Item Count
I am pretty sure I made a video about this but Doordash updated the accept modal a while back and with the new update came ONE BIG missing component, there is no item count on the order prior to accepting the order.
I always knew that it was an important indicator but I didn’t realize how crippling it would be to not have it as well. An order that has 6 items already looks like it would be more valuable compared to an order with only 1, especially since 80% of earning on Doordash consists of gratuities.
Using that same example: If on a customer's order screen asks a customer to tip and they stick with the defaults, a gratuity for 6 items from Chipotle that they ordered is going to be higher than the gratuity of 1 item.
Which is why it is important that we would have that information up front, and not only whether we would accept the order but for the overall order experience.
I remember making a video a while back about how Anthony’s Coal Fired Pizza reduced the item count of orders so they can pay a smaller “30% of order value” to Doordash and if an item count is higher than a certain amount, and the driver can’t move it because they don’t have the vehicle size to accommodate for it, they would have to unassign.
If we don’t see the item count ahead of time, especially with orders that require certain vehicle sizes and equipment, that changes the order value not only for us, but the platform itself.
Now to their credit, they do show an item count when they have a higher item count when a “bring your catering bag” label is on the order, but what about the orders that don’t have that but have a fair enough tip and a decent size to where it would incur a decent tip for the driver under the platform defaults?
That said, I am sure it was intentional and without the item count, the value of the “+” order within the Dasher Rewards system is much greater from a surface perspective.
Dasher Rewards and Hidden Tips
Once I got a more solid foundation of ratings I found myself with a strong standing in the Silver status on the platform, which makes sense and came with some tools that helped aid me in determining if an order is a hidden tip offer.
The first is their “Priority Access to high-paying orders”, which they claim gives you more offers, but I have been just as busy without their rewards as I was with them, but they do come with one benefit.
They help you quickly identify orders that are considered “high paying” meaning they have at least a 2:1 Dollars to mile ratio on order value, which doesn’t guarantee there is a hidden tip but it does help you skip a step when calculating if an order is closer to the range to where there would be one.
Then there is the plus sign, which if you see it, it means there is DEFINITELY a hidden tip and they are outright telling you that, but like I said, it sometimes shows up and sometimes does not, and almost every time I take an order that is lets say $6.25, they are hiding a dollar.
Or if they are hiding more than that, the order already presented itself with a high enough value on the surface to begin with, which again the point is moot.
Which means they are either only adding it when they need to “sell me” on an order or this isn’t as relevant as it once was.
Peak Pay and Hidden tips
One thing that hasn’t changed from back in the day is how promos change the way a driver interacts with the way the hidden tip ratios are calculated. Even just a dollar extra throws off the ratio by a lot.
Peak Pay is when they add a certain amount of money onto every order. Which is great because it can lead to more money for drivers, but don’t let that fool you if you are looking to reveal more hidden tip orders.
For example, if an order shown for $7.50 for 3 miles and there is an active $1 peak pay, that may seem like it would have a hidden tip because of the ratio, but remember, Doordash only hides tips, not promo pay or base pay, so what would have normally have been a $2.50 base pay, adding the extra dollar threw off the math.
Without the $1, it would have been $6.50 and with a 3 mile drive, it would be more obvious that the order had no hidden tip.
That said, if you are planning on making that calculation consistently, I would recommend subtracting the value of the peak pay before calculating. Also remember that Peak Pay is icing on the cake, not the cake itself.
Best Practices for Hidden Tips
Now that we understand how hidden tips work, let's talk about how to actually use this information.
First, never accept a bad order simply because you think there might be a hidden tip. Hidden tips should be treated as a bonus, not the reason you accepted the order in the first place.
Second, focus on the value shown on the screen. If the order makes sense based on the displayed payout, mileage, and your own standards, then it is worth considering. If it only makes sense if there is a hidden tip, it probably isn't worth gambling on.
Third, remember that peak pay can distort the calculations. If you are trying to estimate whether an order may contain a hidden tip, subtract the peak pay amount first before evaluating the ratio.
Fourth, learn how to identify these patterns yourself before relying on third-party apps. Tools can be useful, but understanding the system directly will make you a better driver regardless of what tools are available tomorrow.
Finally, don't become obsessed with hidden tips. While they can be nice when they happen, your overall earnings will be determined far more by market selection, scheduling, multi-apping, and good decision-making than by chasing hidden tip orders.
Apps that Can Assist
I don’t think you need to have an app to assist you and some apps have come and gone, but one app that I remember hearing about is GigU, it is only available on Android, but what they do is they read the screen and tell you whether or not the order is worth taking or if you should just decline.
This isn’t like how Para was, and also why it can only be done on Android. That said, I am an iPhone user so I have no firsthand experience with it, but feel free to give it a shot and see if it works. I also know that Gary Middleton was also working on something similar, but I don’t know much about it personally.
However, I would recommend learning how to calculate it on your own before relying on tools to help you. That is just my opinion though.
No Longer as Fun
Speaking of my opinion, one of the things that I have noticed is that it is no longer as fun to find hidden tips on Doordash as it used to be. Doordash used to be known as “Tony’s Casino” because there was a chance that the order would have more money than what they thought.
It was a stupid gamification of the system, and a lot of people disliked it because again, these are peoples livelihoods not a game. However, it no longer feels like the same dopamine rush it used to be.
You know going into the order that the order had a hidden tip, not that you guessed and you were right.
When they tell you there is a hidden tip, it feels less like a discovery and more like a set up for disappointment realizing that they were only hiding a dime, and that “+” raised the value of the order more than the dime would have.
Like I am not sure if I like it more than what it was or if I think this new set up is better. Either way, it is what it is.
Still Not as Good as Multi-Apping
Look, no matter how many tips and tricks I can tell you about Hidden tips on Doordash, they will not be as good as multi-apping and having multiple sources and streams of income.
Sure, getting back to Doordash was good for me, but I still have UberEats and Grubhub for food delivery orders.
I can also receive orders on Walmart Spark, Instacart and Shipt if I would like to earn on shopping orders.
For catering orders, I have Zifty, Skipcart, DeliverThat and more. You can also sign up for Expedite, or many of the RMDA catering companies, however don’t forget what I was saying before about orders on ezCater.
Speaking of transparency, hidden tips aren't the only area where drivers have questioned whether they are receiving the full value of an order.
One concern that has existed for years in the catering space involves tip transparency on certain ezCater orders. If you're running catering deliveries, it is important to verify that the amount you received matches the amount that was intended for the driver.
Make sure you are getting the full value of the catering orders you conduct by using our ezCater Tip Verification Form.
If the company is a member of our Internal Governance and Transparency Program, we can work with them directly and make sure you got all your money and no one is getting funny with the money.
If not, we can compile this information to send the information to the proper authorities for investigation. The tool is free to use and available here.
Also, don’t forget to develop an exit strategy. Remember, the gig economy is an income bridge to what would be a long term goal, not the goal.
Whether that means investing in the markets, a business, real estate or otherwise, make sure your money makes you more money so you don’t find yourself working forever because you have no choice.
Final Thoughts
As I have been driving on Doordash, I have noticed that hidden tips are fun to get for sure, but what is more important is that the system is a bit more clear.
Again, at the moment this app seems like “a part of my gig portfolio” and not the pillar app it used to be. So remember to understand the system to the best of your ability, diversify your gig portfolio accordingly and treat the gig economy as an income bridge to what would be a long term goal, and not the goal.
No one is going to look out for your financial stability better than you are.
If you would like to add some other perspective to Hidden Tips 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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