I’ve Been Reactivated on Doordash but… - EVERYTHING You MUST Know!!

So for those who have been following me for a while, I was deactivated on Doordash just before my channels inception and I have been making videos about gig companies, even Doordash, so people don’t have to feel too dependent on Doordash long term and everyone who wants to keep more money in their pockets can do so. 

However, I decided to make a hail mary attempt at hopping back on Doordash by appealing my deactivation again. Something that has proven ineffective multiple times in the past, but suddenly worked for me this time. 

So in this video, We are talking about:

• How I have been reactivated on Doordash

• What they are saying vs How it ACTUALLY is

• Everything in between!

Disclaimer: The content of this video does not contain and is never intended to be legal, business, financial, tax, or health advice of any kind. This video 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 case by case, and what applies to me and my market may not apply to you.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CI5wLfm2n4s

DrivenWyld/YouTube

Appealing my Deactivation

So while I am working on some stuff for my attorney and for my overall future, I had a weird thought come to my mind to just try appealing my deactivation on Doordash again. 

I wanted to test out the Tasks app that Doordash developed and was concerned that if I were to complete these tasks that I would be blocked from there too. After all, if they won’t let me on one side, what makes me believe I can hop on the other?

So I took a shot in the dark, asked ChatGPT to help me draft an appeal that would make sense given my situation and sent it out. Before I knew it, I was getting background checked by Checkr. 

The weird thing was that they were using my old NY address, not my current one. I guess that is what happens when you move from NY to FL and they deactivate you before you can change your address. 

Regardless, I got denied initially saying that I was deactivated, there was no evidence showing that I got better and it was going to stick. In my mind, I already thought that was a win.

Before that email, I simply had no real idea of why I was still deactivated, now I had a reason why and I can use that in my next appeal. I planned to provide additional evidence showing that I had continued working professionally in delivery and logistics without incident. 

That said, before I can do any of that, I receive another email saying “actually, there is no violation, you will be reactivated in 24 hours.”

It's kind of strange how we went from “no reason and deactivated” to “valid reason and deactivated” to “no reason and reactivated” but I would be remiss if I was going to look a gift horse in the mouth. 

In all honesty, I thought this was such a prank like “did I really get reactivated or is someone getting their kicks right now?”

And sure enough, I logged into the app, they verified my identity and I was back on the app that once deactivated me… kind of.

Crazy Wake Up Call

I know I am logging into the same app that deactivated me in the past, like I didn’t uninstall it and reinstall it but DAMN, what an overhaul of the app I once knew. 

• Dash now is available at anytime but you still have a schedule tab.

• There are new rating systems layered on top of the old ones, which initially placed me into Silver status before I immediately lost it anyway. 

• And don’t even get me started on the workflow of the orders themselves.

It is like a whole new app that I am looking at! That said, I found it interesting how I started working on Doordash for a while. I ended up thinking that I have a few new systems to accommodate for. 

I think if anyone is coming back to Doordash after not being on the app for a while, there are some things to DEFINITELY be aware of. 

While I cannot go into all of them until I thoroughly experience the app further down the line, I can break down some of them for sure. 

Overall Rating is Crazy Liquid

First of all, it is very easy to be tempted to lower your standards to accept lower quality orders to increase your “overall rating” to get platinum sooner. Maybe initially but don’t make it a habit, be vigilant to just getting above 100 orders so you can keep your standards high. 

Remember, quality over quantity. 

Hidden Tip System has been Overhauled

Second, I took some orders thinking there is a fair possibility of a hidden tip just like there was in the past, and now I am experiencing it further… that isn’t true anymore. 

I was deactivated before I could experience “high paying orders” and “plus sign orders” which are now more definitive signs of hidden tips and not to mention… I have yet to see 1 plus sign order. 

Again, I am JUST hopping back on so this can just be my previous line of thinking taking over but man does it feel like a rude wake up call when you take an order for $8 going 3.4 miles and the order doesn’t have a hidden tip. 

Then I received a hidden tip from an order for $12.50 going 5.4 miles, which then jumped up to $17.50. Which is definitely indicating a hidden tip system but why was there no plus sign? Is that still a thing? 

It isn’t like I was going to just ignore a solid paying order like that to begin with, so do they only do it for show now or is it because they need to “sell me” on an order when it seems borderline worth my time?

I might be the crazy one here but we will see, because I have to really learn how this app works again. 

Receipt Scanning

I have been noticing how every order requires me to scan the receipt upon acceptance of the order from pick up, and holy crap does that solve SO MANY PROBLEMS with the restaurant to dasher relationship challenges. 

Having the driver scan the receipt to ensure they have the right order and they accept the order they receive is so smart and I don’t think enough people talk about that. 

I’ll say this though, if they ask me to do that and they give me a hard time after I do that or give me the “wait wait we forgot something treatment” then I will be LIVID!

I think a fair policy is to ask if they handed you everything, and if they respond with yes, you scan and leave, but don’t cause problems for the drivers by forcing them to accept the order without accountability on their end.

Dash Now is Always On

One of the benefits of Platinum or Top Dasher back in the day is the fact that you have the ability to Dash Now, when others have to schedule ahead. However, those who were responsible and planned ahead were always making more because they had some priority.

But now, it feels like getting online is far easier than it used to be, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the quality of opportunities has improved. I am sure it is a market to market thing but nevertheless it is wild to me that as long as the app lets you hop on, you can basically just stay online.

I am sure there are more things to learn as I go but as of now, with my 3 days of re-experiencing the app, these are my opinions on what I am seeing so far. 

Better for Multi-Apping, Worse for Soloing

One of the things I used to say about Doordash is that it is a great pillar app, like you main Doordash as an app to earn an income and as you go you can add more apps to your gig portfolio to fill in the gaps that this app doesn’t accommodate for.

Such as UberEats and Grubhub, or catering apps or other apps that are better in the early morning or during business hours. That said, ever since I started it again it feels like they all kind of just work better together. At least since I have been on it. Again, the ratings are really liquid for me right now so I wonder if that will change over time. 

Nevertheless, I think it is interesting that regardless of how much DoorDash has invested in systems designed to detect or discourage certain forms of multi-apping behavior, they also seem to be making the overall ecosystem better for doing so. 

I wonder if that is because Doordash is still in a weird place for me, if they are using that information for tracking something in regards to seeing who is prioritizing Doordash over other apps, or if they are finally coming to terms with creating systems better for multi-apping over trying to fight that concept?

Or am I off track entirely and the reason they made Dash Now for everyone and not just platinum is to destroy the value of the scheduling system so they can make the concept of fighting for platinum order priority more enticing?

Not sure, but as of now. Doordash looks kind of good as a part of a gig portfolio and not the main app. 

Most Principles are Still the Same

Regardless of this app being so different in such a jarring way, I find most principles are still the same. 

The workflow might look different but the principle of order conduct remains the same.

Hidden tips might work differently now, but the concept of maintaining a solid dollars:mile ratio remains the same.

The ratings and order types you can receive early on might be different now, but the concept of diversifying your gig portfolio and having multiple ways to earn remains the same. 

So if you come back to this app for any reason, keep all of this in mind, just because it looks different and feels different, doesn’t mean the principles are changing with it. 

Don’t Forget Your Exit Strategy

Another principle that this app can never change is the importance of an exit strategy. Remember the gig economy is an income bridge to what would be a long term goal, not the goal, and I noticed it so much more the more I was on Doordash. 

Regardless of how happy I am to be back on Doordash, I noticed how it takes more time out of my day at times, which can lead to me being less able to scale my business or pursue alternative forms of income. 

That said, it certainly isn’t impossible, it just means that I need to be more aware of stewarding my time and earning resources. 

That goes for anyone who plans to build something outside of gig work, just be aware of how much time it takes to build something new. 

Final Thoughts

It is good for me and I am excited to be back, in fact there are some people I haven’t seen in a while because I wasn’t receiving orders from Doordash orders and now I am back. 

Not to mention having another source of income that I will have access to when I move in the near future is kind of clutch for me. 

I have other plans to grow my business in the future but I am excited to see how this goes and how they evolved and changed. 

I already see some positive changes as well as some bullshit ones and I can’t wait to talk about them both to all of you soon enough. 

If you would like to add some other perspective to Getting Reactivated on Doordash after a long time of being off platform, feel free to email me: drivenwyld@gmail.com and who knows? Maybe your email or perspective and be featured in a post as well!