Here’s why your DoorDash delivery time keeps increasing and fixes

At first, the estimated delivery time Doordash sets can be interesting, but in time past, we’ve seen it have issues like this…

Yes, there can be a few minutes error, but when it gets too extreme, it may be something to worry about. Who knows? Maybe, you’re doing something wrong?

Well, either way, this article will take a look at some of the reasons your Doordash delivery time can keep increasing.

4 Reason DoorDash delivery time Keeps increasing

Firstly, it’s important to understand that the delivery time Doordash sets is just an estimate. And there’s no possible way the company can “accurately” tell.

But when the estimate is now much of an exaggeration, it becomes a problem, right? Well, let’s take a look at some of the reasons behind this.

1. The Restaurant

We like to put this first because in most cases, it contributes the most.

You see, there are usually nondefinite wait times in restaurants for Doordash drivers.

Of course, drivers have no priority to get settled faster than regular customers of restaurants.

And you might not blame them because they make more money this way.

By sticking more to regular customers, they’re not risking their money to a third-party platform (DoorDash), and they also don’t have to pay service fee to these companies.

Here are some complaints about this from drivers…

Depending on how long the wait time is, we’ve seen drivers who would just unassign a delivery if the wait time is bad or if there is difficulty in getting the order collected at the restaurant, as they don’t get compensation for staying that long.

This is one reason people get the status “Doordash stuck on preparing the order.”

This is because, at this time, Doordash would need to find a second driver to pick it up. Yeah, that cost time as well.

Either way, the delivery time of your order would need to be updated to fit the current status of the situation at hand.

Fixes:

Food deliveries from fast food restaurants are generally faster than traditional restaurants, with the exception of Mc Donalds, Taco Bell, Chick-fil-A, and a list of others that are technically always flooded with customers.

Your Drivers shouldn’t face so many delays in a normal fast food delivery.

If you’re too concerned about time, you can consider restaurants nearby as well.

2. Time Baiting

I’m not gonna lie, there’s usually an atom of time baiting when it comes to the estimates, Doordash gives customers.

For instance, personally, the last order I had on Doordash was a $20 order which was advertised to be delivered within 35-45 minutes on the menu page.

I didn’t have a problem with it, as I needed something delivered really fast.

Funnily enough, before I could conclude the order and make payment, the delivery time had increased to 55 minutes.

I mean, a driver hasn’t even accepted the order yet!

Now, I know other factors play into this, but I feel Doordash still does something fishy at the backend.

Fixes

If you’re new to Doordash, it’s always best you bear in mind that there’s no time guarantee, and delivery time is almost never accurate, regardless of the other factors that play into the time estimation.

3. Traffic

While there are apps, for instance, Google Maps, that claim to be pretty much effective in estimating traffic on common roads, they’re still not 100% accurate.

For one reason, they only estimate traffic based on historical traffic data on these locations. In essence, they have no real-time information. And we all know how sporadic traffic jams can be, right?

Typically, while Doordash puts all these factors into how it estimates delivery time, there’s no 100% guarantee a factor like traffic can be definitive.

Fixes:

Unfortunately, there’s no fix to this factor as it’s totally spontaneous.

Related: How To Tell If There Are Dashers In My Area

4. Longer distance delivery

In general, the further away you are from the restaurant, the longer the delivery time will be. This is largely due to travel time, which can be affected by factors like traffic (which we talked about), road conditions, and even the mode of transport the driver is using.

Moreover, there can be instances where drivers have to deliver multiple orders at the same time.

In such a scenario, if your location happens to be the farthest, it could significantly increase your wait time. This could also happen when your pay is the lowest.

Lastly, it’s worth mentioning that Drivers could also take detours due to road closures or construction, leading to longer routes and increased delivery times.

Fixes:

If it was on Uber Eats, the advice would have been to try using their priority delivery service and see if it makes any difference. But for DoorDash, that feature isn’t available.

Ordering from closer restaurants is your safest bet to get your order delivered faster.

General tip on what to do when your DoorDash delivery time keeps increasing

Firstly, you need to understand how normal this is on Doordash.

For one reason the company usually underestimates their wait-time to customers. Secondly, they can’t control all the variables that affect the delivery time such as traffic, restaurant wait times, or even unforeseen issues the driver might encounter.

However, here are a few things you can do when you notice your DoorDash delivery time keeps increasing:

1. Contact Support: If your delivery time keeps extending over and over again, you may want to contact DoorDash customer support. They may not be able to speed up your delivery, but they can at least provide information about what might be causing the delay, hopefully.
2. Order from Nearby Restaurants: As distance plays a significant role in delivery times, ordering from closer restaurants can potentially result in shorter wait times. You can sort the restaurants by distance on the DoorDash app. But keep in mind to always add a few minutes to the already given delivery time estimates.
3. Order during Off-Peak Hours: Delivery times are often longer during peak meal times due to high demand. If you’re able to, try ordering your food during off-peak hours. The wait times at the restaurant and on the road are likely to be shorter. Peak times on Doordash are usually during lunch (11:00 AM to 2:00 PM) and dinner (4:30 PM to 8:00 PM).

Final thoughts

There you have it.

The problem of DoorDash delivery time increasing has long been a problem. Not new. The best approach to it, however, is to never believe it, or make a personal estimate yourself.

Maybe an extra 20%, 50%, or 100% of the time Doordash advertises.

As you continually make orders, you should be able to make a good guess.