Can Customers See Dasher Ratings?

Maybe your ratings are not impressive as a driver, or you’re a customer who’s coming from the background of Uber Eats and a list of other food delivery company apps where customers see driver ratings.

It’s easy to question what side Doordash is on — Do they show drivers’ ratings or they don’t?

Stick to me, let’s go over this.

Can Customers See Dasher Ratings?

No. Customers on Doordash can’t see the overall rating of a Driver. They can only rate a driver after delivery, after which they lose access. This is unlike other food delivery companies like Uber Eats, or Rideshare companies like Lyft. This is also inclusive of other ratings such as completion rate, and acceptance rate.

But why? And what then should be the use of the ability to rate a driver, when you can’t see the Driver’s overall rating?

Firstly, DoorDash is a bit more concerned about the privacy of their Drivers.

For this same reason, the company doesn’t show drivers pictures and has an easier process of changing names.

Typically, they avoid showing much about drivers for security purposes. However, there’s still a good balance between the information shared with customers and the privacy of drivers.

Secondly, having a widget that shows a Dasher’s rating won’t even cut it for both customers and dashers.

For one reason, Doordash doesn’t work like a marketplace where customers have to pick between different drivers.

The ratings of drivers should be useful in a scenario like this–the higher the Driver’s rating, the higher the likelihood of them being better a driver.

However, that’s not how Doordash works.

Editors Tip: On Doordash, after an order is made, the company instantly sends a request to a driver relatively closer to your location and restaurant, based on their algorithm. If the Driver accepts your order, the progress of your delivery begins. Otherwise, Doordash would need to assign a different driver. Obviously, this is different from a marketplace concept.

So in reality, a customer doesn’t need a dasher’s rating, based on the company’s business model.

Thirdly, ratings on food delivery platforms can easily be flawed, and Doordash understands this.

For instance, we’ve noticed, that Doordash has a lower rating density (fewer people rate their delivery experience) following the company’s voluntary rating policy, unlike other food delivery platforms (e.g. PostMates) where it’s a must to rate a driver after their delivery.

Hence, you’d most likely find people rating an order when they have a bad experience, which affects drivers negatively.

This is the reason people complain about the ratings not updating in real time.

Editors note: As a driver, you may want to notify your customers to rate their delivery experience before leaving. A sentence like “Have a nice day! A 5-star rating would be very much appreciated,” after a delivery should do the job. But as with anything, this could also come with a slight risk – the potential of the customer leaving you a bad review if the delivery was actually bad.

How DoorDash Uses Dasher Ratings

Since Dashers’ ratings are not visible to customers, does it still make sense? Or is Doordash just having it for formality’s sake?

Well…

Ratings on Doordash are still very much important. While most people ignore it, it can make a whole lot of difference to both drivers and the platform as a whole.

So how does it work?

Well, Ratings are more like a Backend thing.

Like every business, Doordash uses a customer-centric approach. Hence, if customers are good with a driver, it’s common sense, to favor them, while devaluing others.

That’s where the ratings come in.

According to DoorDash, Drivers with better overall ratings (such as customer rating, and completion rate) are likely to get more order requests and a higher priority, especially during peak hours, than not.

Having a good rating is also likely to qualify you for the Top Dasher program, an initiative where DoorDash rewards drivers based on their standards.

But aside from all of this, there’s a minimum customer rating which if gone below can risk a driver getting off the platform. This is an overall customer rating of 4.2, which would make your dashboard go red.

Tips to Get a Good Rating As a Driver On Doordash

If you’re a driver and have followed this article up to this section, your next question would be how to get good ratings on the app.

Well, let’s take a look at it.

Deliver on Time

Time is everything when it comes to food delivery.

Customers expect their food to arrive around the delivery time. If you can’t meet up, you technically provided a bad delivery experience.

Now, we all know you can’t always control things like traffic, restaurant delays, etc. But then, the way you handle them makes all the difference.

Firstly, Doordash is likely to increase the delivery time on the customer’s end when external delays like these pop out.

And if a customer chooses to give you a bad rating, regardless, Doordash should revert it after performing due diligence. You can read about this in our article on negative customer ratings disappearing.

But even with this, proper communication with the customer also matters.

Let’s talk about this in the next section.

Communicate Properly

The messaging system on Doordash isn’t for granted.

It’s important you keep your customers informed of almost every problem you face while in the delivery, including when…

1. You’re waiting for a restaurant
2. There’s traffic on your way.

When you arrive, it’s also important to always maintain a friendly and respectful tone when communicating with customers, even in challenging situations. A simple “Thank you” or “Have a great day” can go a long way.

Follow Instructions

Next, pay attention to details.

Before heading to the restaurant, be sure to read the items listed, and go through the instructions provided. Non-adherence to this is one of the common reasons people get bad ratings on the platform.

For instance, here’s a customer complaining about this.

With this, do you think she’d be giving these drivers any good ratings? Probably not.

Lastly, always make sure to double-check the order before you leave the restaurant. Make sure all items are included and any special requests are met.

For multiple orders, you also want to double-check before leaving the food with the customer.

Conclusion

Customers don’t see driver ratings on Doordash. This includes every type of rating from customer ratings to completion and acceptance ratings — it doesn’t. And in reality, it’s actually not needed, due to the company’s business model.