Side Hustling with Postmates (UberEats)

I signed up for Postmates–which is now UberEats to earn a bit of extra money to use on my RV travels.

I never thought when I signed up to deliver for Postmates that I’d be lugging a 50-inch TV up my neighbor’s steps. Yet that’s what I was doing on a recent Monday night.

I returned back to Portland after spending time with family in Boston and Syracuse and immediately started to work on my resume and applying for jobs, but also wanted to bring a little cash in while I search.

I was chatting with someone who told me a friend was having good luck with Postmates. I decided to give it a try.  The process was pretty simple. First they needed to verify my identity, which was pretty quick and then I had to complete a background check. That took a few days.

I downloaded the Postmates Fleet app and watched two short videos about how it works. And that was it. I was ready to go!  I was a little nervous about it at first, so decided to give start during the day. Saturday afternoon I opened the app and made myself available for orders.

Within a few minutes, I had an offer appear in the app. The order pickup was downtown Portland and deliver it to Southwest. I declined it.  It seemed too far to go to pick up and too far to deliver. The next order was from a sushi place in the Alberta neighborhood. I immediately clicked accept and hopped in my car and started to head that direction. I didn’t notice it had been canceled until another order came in for McDonalds. Not sure what was happening, I declined that one. Another came through and I accepted, but then that got canceled as well. I started to wonder if this thing was even worth it. Would I just keep heading toward orders only to have them cancel?

One more came through and I accepted it. Off I went! It was an order for Pho from downtown Portland. Downtown is a good 12 minute drive from where I was, but I headed there, a tiny bit concerned about finding parking. But one good thing about Covid is that the streets are relatively empty—for driving and parking. I found a spot right outside the pho place. I walked in, gave the order number and that was it.

When I signed up, Postmates wanted to sell me an insulated bag to keep orders warm (or cool) while in my car, but I already owned something similar. I put the order in the bag and back in my car, the app gave me the address to drop off just a few blocks away in the Pearl District.  Again, I was lucky to find parking. The instructions said to ring the customer and bring the order up to her apartment. She buzzed me in and within minutes, the soup was in her hands. I marked the order as complete in my app and got a little notification. I’d earned $2.83 before tip. (I got a tip that didn’t show up until the next day, so my total for that delivery was $6.11.)

I went online to accept another order. This one from Killer Burger downtown, just a few blocks away. I parked illegally out front and ran inside where the order was ready. The app quickly lets you toggle over to Google or Apple maps for directions. This delivery was on the other side of the river over near Reed College, 5  ½ miles away. It took me 20 minutes to get there and my payout was $6.38 before tip. It was kind of a nice house in an expensive neighborhood, so I was hoping for a tip. No such luck.

My next order was from a taco place a few miles away. It was heavy and too big to fit in my insulated bag, but only a mile away. I rang the bell and left the tacos on the porch as the customer came out and picked them up. We made eye contact over our masks and I said, “Enjoy your food!” I earned $3.16 for that order, but she gave me a generous tip of $8.55, which brought my total up to $11.71.

My first day out, I ended up making $24.20 for an hour’s worth of work. But I did have to drive back home from outer Southeast Portland.

I decided to head out again around brunch time next day, Sunday. I got in my car, went to get gas and started to head toward the Mississippi area, where I thought people might be ordering food. I ended up getting a text from a friend who had some books for me to pick up (Another side hustle, I’ll write about later). So I turned the app off and made my way to Beaverton. While I was there, I visited another friend. As I left her house, it was still lunchtime, so I drove close to Multnomah Village, an area with some good restaurants and turned the app on. I got an order, but the pick up was at a 7-11.  A bunch of Redbulls and some ice cream. The delivery was only three miles away, but through some windy west side neighborhoods I wasn’t familiar with, down a long deadend street. I handed the package off to a 20-something young woman thinking she probably wouldn’t give me a good tip. I was wrong. I was paid $4.44 by Postmates and got a $6.00 tip. So I made $10 for only about 15 mins worth of work.

I guessed that evenings are probably better and more lucrative, so I headed out again that evening. I was on a Zoom call, so got a bit of a later start of 6:30. The first order was from some food carts near my house and delivered just down the street from me. $3.83. (no tip) The next order was from Burger King, not too far away.

I pulled up to the drive through window and he told me the food wasn’t quite ready yet. But the employee was super nice and we chatted for a minute. Then he asked if I was hungry. I said, sure! He packed me up a Whopper and fries. I got the order and ate the fries as I drove clear out to St. Johns, 5 ½ miles away.  I easily found the house. The instructions said to hand the food to the patron, but no one answered the door. I called the number and was told to just leave the food on the porch. Earned $6.73—no tip.

I got back in my car, and even though it was only 7pm, no more orders came in, so I went home.

The next day I decided to turn the app on when I was out running errands and got a sushi order just down the street. Dropped it off a few blocks away and again for just a few minutes of work, earned $10.17, because the woman was generous with a $6 tip.

Again, I decided to head out at dinner time. And that’s when Walmart popped up. I assumed I’d be picking up groceries or a prescription. The instructions say to park in a designated area and if no one comes withing five minutes to call the number posted. Well, the designated spots were all full and no one answered when I called the number, so I went inside to the customer service area. Walmart was packed and there was a long line. Even though everyone had masks on, I didn’t feel entirely safe, especially when they had a hard time locating the order and the two different Walmart employees got in close to look at my phone. Finally, they located the order. She asked to see my ID, made me read their rules, which stated if I was unable to deliver, would need to bring the order back. I was quite surprised when she then wheeled out this huge 50 inch TV. I had to put the back seats down in order for it to fit and she helped me load it into my car. All in all, was at Walmart for 15 minutes. Postmates pays .07 a minute for wait time. The delivery was 2 ½ miles away and luckily the owner was available to help me get it out of my car. Not sure I would have been able to handle it by myself. $6.07 No tip for about 45 minutes of work. I am not sure I will accept another Walmart delivery.

I was going to try for another delivery, but the app wouldn’t let me mark that one complete. I had to call customer service and the wait for 20 minutes before I got through to someone. By that time I was home and cozy. The customer service rep said the app can be glitchy.

I had one harrowing experience trying to deliver to an RV park in super thick fog. I had some delicious smelling barbeque in the back seat while trying to navigate a circuitous park where all the trailers looked the same and the site numbers were barely visible, even on a clear day. I finally had to call the customer and he talked me, step-by-step to his unit. The fog was so dense, I had a hard time finding my way out of the park.  

Since starting, I’ve made a total of 22 deliveries and earned $290.59. I’ve averaged about $23-28/hour. Tips are essential, however. Without tips the pay would be way below minimum wage. I haven’t calculated out how much I’m spending in gas, but overall, it feels like a fun way to earn a few bucks during my down time and best of all, I get to decide when I want to work.

If you’re considering driving for one of the food delivery services and have questions, feel free to reach out. I’m not an expert, but happy to share what I’ve learned.

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may get a commission if you decide to make a purchase via my links.