The importance of a warmer bag and drink carrier

Warmer bags and drink carriers are two very important things that a Postmates carrier should always have with them when they're out in the field making deliveries. Whether a Postmate driver wants to carry their hot bag or drink carrier with them inside of a restaurant is entirely up to them and not as important as some people make it, but using both of these things will make a Postmates driver's life much easier.

This is a basic Postmates hot bag. They work okay, but most learn that it's just too small.

 

Keeping Postmates customer's food warm is very important

There is nothing worse for a Postmates customer than receiving a cold hamburger and french fries. How about receiving a pricey cold steak? Even though food like this can usually be microwaved, Postmates customers expect their food to be delivered to them hot and will generally not be happy if they receive their food cold. This will usually lead to a low tip from the customer if there is even a customer tip at all.

Things like this can be easily prevented by just using a hot bag. Postmates supplies its drivers with a hot bag when they join the Postmates Fleet. This hot big is okay to use, but once an individual has made enough pickups and deliveries, he will realize that the company issued hot bag is just too small for a lot of orders. This is when it's time to upgrade to something bigger and better. you're going to want something that is more roomy and that has a real professional look if you are going to be carrying it around.

My recommendation is the insulated food delivery bag that you'll find in the pick below. It's the one I use, and it's big enough for all orders as it is 21"X13.5"X11" inches.

 

Polyethylene foam and aluminum foil interior ensures the best insulation for your items. It is guaranteed to keep your food hot and you'll never ever hear a complaint from a customer saying that their food was cold. When you give them their food, it'll be almost like they just got it from the restaurant. Have items that you need to keep cold? This hot bag can also be used as a cold bag. It'll keep your cold items nice and cold for you. There's also three thermal cup holders that will keep drinks cold or hot. Everything can easily be carried all together with the sturdy carrying straps.

Do you have to carry the warmer bag into restaurants or to customer's front door when making Postmates deliveries?

This would be entirely up to you. You may have seen others, or may be a person yourself that always carries their hot bag with them into merchants or up to a customer's front door. In all honesty, I'm not that guy. I will usually leave my hot bag on my passenger seat.

When I get in the car, all the food goes right into my hot bag. When I am delivering, I will usually take the food out the hot bag and carry it just like that. Of course there are exceptions. If there are a lot of drinks, or if it's so much food that it would be easier to just carry my hot bag to their front door, I will do so.

Should I have my own drink carrier when making Postmates deliveries?

Most restaurants will give you their disposable drink carrier if you ask them. A lot of times the drink carriers they give you are usable but they are terrible. For example, I cannot stand the Wendy's restaurant drink carriers. They are so flimsy that the drinks are always falling to the side.

Postmates themselves sell their own drink carrier that holds six drinks. I have used it, and even though its not the worst out there, there are drink carriers that are much better. There were just too many times when the Postmates drink carrier was not strong enough to carry my drinks. This lead me to search for a good drink carrier out there, and below you will find the best drink carrier that I could find for Postmates drivers.

This cup holder holds up to eight 32 oz drinks, and you'll never have to worry about any of the drinks spilling to the side or anything like that. If you want a cup holder that is strong and sturdy, this is it.

Do I really need my own cup holder when making Postmates deliveries?

I like to be prepared for any situation that I am put in. I remember one time when a customer had eight drinks with their order, and McDonald's didn't have any cup holders that day. It turned into a major pain! Yes, it was my fault for not being prepared, and trust me when I say that I've learned since then. 

 

Just transporting all these drinks in my car was difficult as I had to balance a couple of them in between bags of food just sitting there on the passenger seat. When I a made the delivery, I had to make four trips back and forth to carry all the bags of food and drinks. All of this would have been much simpler had I had my own drink carrier.

Being prepared for anything is always key. With the hot bag and drink carrier that I have recommended here, there wont ever be a situation that you can't handle. Postmates customers will also appreciate your professionalism when they see you walking up with your easy to carry hot bag in one hand and your easy to carry drink carrier in the other hand. If they don't see you, they'll be grateful when they receive hot food and cold/hot drinks. This will of course lead to big tips!

Postmates Fleet Drivers Should Always Take Pictures when Delivery is Made

I've been delivering food for years through various platforms, and the industry has really grown. With that growth, I have noticed that the amount of thieves has also grown. What thieves? I am talking about customers that have their food delivered and then contact the the food delivery company and claim that they never received their food. It happens on every platform. I don't care if we are talking about Postmates, Uber Eats, Doordash or Grub Hub, there are bad apples in every company.

Postmates drivers need to protect themselves

It's sad, but true. Yes! All Postmates drivers need to protect themselves from any false claims that a customer may make about not receiving their food when the Fleet driver did indeed deliver the food. When Postmates, or any other platform receives a claim like this from a customer, they have no choice but to believe that the customer is telling the truth. Unfortunately, half the time the customer is lying just to wiggle out of paying for their food, and they'll usually get a full refund. It's really a low-life move, but when these thieves get away with it they think they have the system all figured out.

Should a Postmates driver go back and approach a customer that claims their food wasn't delivered?

Standing up for yourself is always a good thing, but there are times when we have to go against or normal right and wrong instinct. If Postmates contact you and tells you that a customer has said that their food wasn't delivered, but you know 100 percent that you delivered their food, it's best to remain calm. It's natural to get at least a little bit angry when you know that somebody is lying on you. Especially when they are telling a lie that can get you in trouble with your job; which in this case is being a Postmates driver.

A Postmates Fleet driver should never go back and approach a customer. There have been cases in the past when delivery drivers have went back and approached a lying customer with no resolution. The only outcome that usually happens from all of this is that the deliver driver gets disabled from the platform that they are working through. Basically, the drivers have lost their jobs for returning to the customer. It's just not worth it. 

What should a Postmates driver do to prevent false non-delivery claims?

The burden of proof is in the hands of the Postmates Fleet driver. In other words, if Postmates were to receive a non-delivery claim against you, it would be your word against the customer's word, and Postmates will most likely refund the customer and mark the non-delivery in your records. For this not to happen, you will want to make sure that you can prove to Postmates that you made the delivery.

The tool to protect yourself is simply pictures. Yes, you will protect yourself by taking pics of the food at your delivery point. You are not going to want to use the regular camera on your cell phone. Instead, you are going to want to use a camera that has a time stamp on it. This will show that you actually delivered the customer's order exactly where you were supposed to deliver it to and not some random place. This is all the proof that you will need to prove that you made the delivery.

If Postmates ever contacts you and tells you that a customer made a claim against you for not delivering their food, you'll never have to worry about anything. All you have to do is tell Postmates that you have a pic that shows the exact time and location that you delivered the food. After sending this pic in to Postmates, you will have proven that the food was delivered and no negative action will be taken against you.

With so many customers making false claims of non-deliveries, this is the perfect and probably the only true protection that you can have. The timestamp camera that I use can be found here. Each picture will always show the date, time and address of where the pic is taken. Don't take any chances! Protect yourself!

Postmates Drivers have Unlimited Instant Pay Option

A perk that many Postmates drivers take advantage of on a regular basis is what Postmates Fleet calls "Instant Pay." This program allow Fleet drivers to get paid on a daily basis if they choose to do so. Many Postmates drivers like to pay themselves on a daily basis, and that is fine. Especially when there's something important that has to be paid immediately.

What is so great about Instant pay from Postmates and why would I use it?

Having instant access to one's cash is very beneficial. First, an individual will not have to wait until the end of the week to receive their money. There will be no surprise bills that cannot be paid. No matter what bill or emergency comes up, a Postmates driver will always feel good knowing that they have immediate access to their hard earned money.

What do I need to use Instant Pay by Postmates?

Any individual that wants to use "Instant Pay" will need to have a Visa or Mastercard debit card that is linked to their bank account. This eliminates any prepaid credit cards or anything else like that. There will be no exemptions to this rule.

How much does it cost to use Postmates Instant Pay?

A Postmates driver using "Instant Pay" will be charged 50 cents every time they use it. Remember, the charge is for each use no matter how much is withdrawn. If $300 is is taken out, it is a 50 cents charge. Likewise, if it is $20 being taken out, the same 50 cents fee applies. This charge is very low compared to similar type programs offered by Postmates competitors.

How often can I use Postmates Instant Pay?

What makes "Instant Pay" unique is the fact that it can be used as often as one would like. Postmates is the only app based delivery platform that allows unlimited withdrawals. Remember, there is a fee each time "Instant Pay" is used. It's best to keep the use of "Instant Pay" as little as possible to avoid paying unnecessary fees.

How long does it take to receive my money when using Postmates Instant Pay?

For the vast majority of people, the transfer is instant. Generally, the money is deposited into an individuals bank account within a minute. There are a few exceptions to this rule though as a few smaller banks across the country will not process payment for a couple of days. You'll never have a problem with larger well known banks, and 99.9 percent of smaller banks will have your money in your bank account in seconds.

Always remember that using Instant Pay is not mandatory

Please keep in mind that it is not required to use "Instant Pay," and Postmates drivers can get paid the normal way which is weekly by direct deposit if they want. Deliveries that are completed Monday-Sunday will be direct deposited for free into an individuals bank account. Payments are usually received by Tuesday. There is never any pressure from Postmates to use Instant Pay.

How often should a person use Instant Pay?

I would recommend that nobody use Instant Pay unless they absolutely need to. There is no reason to pay 50 cents for money that you don't immediately need. Sure, it's only 50 cents, but do this enough in a year, and you'll find that you spent over $100 on Instant Pay. There's never a reason to throw a $100 bill in the trash.

On Postmates I'm Always a Top Rated Dasher

Postmates and Doordash are two rival companies and have been competing in the food delivery business for years. Although driving and making deliveries for both companies is similar, there are some differences. We are not going to talk about all those differences. Instead, we are going to focus on the scheduling or lack of scheduling each company offers.

How the scheduling on Doordash works

Doordash drivers usually have to set a schedule for themselves about a week in advance. Schedules are not that easy to get at times. All Dashers are competing with each other to get the schedules they want. When the schedules come out, it can be 10 seconds or less before a day's schedule is all filled up. If not very quick, or if someone's Internet lags, they wont get a desirable schedule or may not get anything at all.

A Dasher can always use the "Dash Now" option to log on in real time. This "Dash Now" option will come on once in a while when a certain region is short on Dashers. If a person is quick enough to beat other Dashers trying to get on, they will be able to log on and start working. They will only have a set time though. This time will be determined on what Doordash needs.

For example, a Dasher logging on with the "Dash Now" option may only get one hour of work, two hours of work, or some other length of time. If they are lucky, they will get an eight hour shift. It all depends. When a Dasher that had a long eight hour schedule does not log on, their schedule may open up, and a Dasher may be able to get it with "Dash now." You just never know though.

How the scheduling on Postmates works

Scheduling? What scheduling? There is no such thing on the Postmates platform. Postmates drivers never have to worry about getting schedules or all the other nonsense that goes along with it. A Postmates driver can log on or off of the Postmates platform whenever they want. When it comes to working whenever you want, Postmates really has it down.

With Doordash, a driver with a schedule can pause his dash, but after a combination of 35 minutes on pause, they will lose their whole schedule. They can't take a lengthy time off without losing their schedule. When a Postmates driver needs a break, all they have to do is log off. If they want to log back on later, they may do so anytime they want.

Postmates drivers are always top rated dashers

Doordash has something called top rated dasher. To qualify for top rated dasher status and benefits, a Doordash driver has to have certain metrics in their ratings and they can qualify to be a top rated dasher for the following month. As a top rated dasher, a Doordash driver can log on to the Doordash platform whenever they want. Many Dashers work very hard to keep their top rated dasher status. If their ratings fall, they may lose their top rated dasher status and will no longer be able to dash any time they want.

Postmates does not have any top rated dasher program or anythng like it. Postmates drivers can always log on and off of the Postmates platform whenever they want. They have this benefit for just being a Postmates driver. Postmates drivers always have the benefit that Doordash drivers work so hard to get. There is no need to accept 70 percent of offers that come in or to maintain a 4.70 customer rating or more. As far as Postmates is concerned, just do your job when you are logged on to the platform, and you will always be able to log on or off whenever you want. Working whenever you want is no special benefit like it is for Doordash drivers. It's just part of being a Postmates Fleet driver.

When Postmates Keeps Sending you the Same Order

Have you ever met anybody that just can't take "No" for an answer. Sometimes, after being annoyed so much, we might even just stay quiet and start ignoring them. Usually, this will give the hint that the answer is still no and that we don't want to be bothered anymore. This is usually the end of it.

Unfortunately, with Postmates things work a bit different. When that ping comes in for a call, and you don't want it, you may decline it or straight out ignore it, but don't think that it's always going to be the end of it. A couple of minutes later, you may get that same offer pinging on your Postmates app once again. Ignore it again? That's fine because another two minutes later and the same Postmates offer will be pinging you again. It's like an ex-partner that you don't want to talk to, yet they keep on bugging you over and over.

Why does Postmates keep pinging me with the same call?

When this happens, it's usually because there are not many drivers out in your area. It doesn't mean that you are the only Postmates driver in your area, but there definitely isn't many. After you are declining the call, the call may be going to another driver or two in the area, and everybody is just declining it. The call is going in circles and every couple of minutes it's coming back to you. I once had a call come back to me ten times in ten minutes. Eventually, I turned off the app as I was on another call. Yes, I was multiapping.

When does Postmates usually keep pinging you with the same call?

As I've already said, this usually happens when there are not many Postmates drivers in the area. When is there less drivers on the road? This is of course in the middle of the night. When this has happened to me it's always been two or three in the morning. It has never happened to me in the middle of the day or evening when there are plenty of Postmates drivers out working.

Postmates really shouldn't ping more than three times with the same call

I can understand Postmates sending the same offer to a driver a couple of times, but anything more than three is just becoming a nuisance. It is possible that a Postmates driver will reconsider and accept an offer the second or third time around, but after that Postmates should get the point that this particular driver is never going to take the call.

Postmates Deliveries on Thanksgiving

Normally, at this time of year, my general message to app based food delivery drivers would be to enjoy time with your family, and if you are going to work and deliver Postmates orders be safe. Unfortunately, in 2020 life is not normal. Yes, Thanksgiving will come and go as it always does, but in a world with Covid having a major impact in our lives, it certainly will not be a normal Thanksgiving.

When I say that it wont be a normal Thanksgiving, don't automatically think that I'm talking about a negative thing. In actually, it's quite the opposite. This Thanksgiving should be one of the busiest Thanksgivings ever. There won't be any shortage of Postmates calls coming in.

A busy Postmates Thanksgiving

With Covid 19 having a big impact in our lives, people are making a lot of Thanksgiving adjustments this year. We all know that there will be people that ignore everything that is going on the world. These people will get together with their families, and thank God most of them will be alright. Unfortunately, there will be a small percentage where the Corona Virus will spread to a lot of family members.

Most people will take precautions and play it safe this Thanksgiving. They're not going to risk any spreading of Covid just to get together for a day. They're not going to risk their wife, husband, children, fathers or mothers getting Corona Virus. We all love to get together with family, but most people understand that all of this will all be behind us soon, and then we can all live life like normal once again. Most understand that the wait is worth it.

With all of that said, there's going to be a lot of hungry people at their home all alone on Thanksgiving. A lot of these people are Postmates customers and will be ordering food from Postmates on a day when they normally would not. Again, a lot of people are not going to their parents house for Thanksgiving. They are not getting together with their family. They still have to eat, and what better and easier way than to order from from Postmates.

Postmates drivers have to be ready on Thanksgiving day. There is not going to be any shortage of calls, and it will be more busier than any other Thanksgiving ever. Also, with Covid spreading so rapidly int he United States, a lot of cities are implementing lockdowns which means even more people will be ordering food. A very sad time in our world, but the world needs front line workers like Postmates drivers to deliver their food, and Postmates drivers have to be ready for all their calls.

I'd lastly like to say to all Postmates drivers that are working on Thanksgiving to be safe as always. For those like myself that wont be working on Thanksgiving and will instead be enjoying the day with their immediate household family, please enjoy your time. Sure, I have grown daughters and sons that won't be with us this Thanksgiving, but we all know it's for all of our good, and we know that Thanksgiving in 2021 will be like it always was before. Just be grateful for the family that you can be around. For me, that's my wife and my younger children that still live at home.

Postmates Marketshare Dominance in Los Angeles

The other day, while speaking to a certain individual, it was brought up how Postmates was last from the major food delivery companies as far as market-share is concerned. This person is certainly correct, and anybody that follows the industry would know this. As of October, 2020, Postmates had a 7 percent market-share and trailed Doordash (51 percent,) Uber Eats (23 percent,) and GrubHub (18 percent.)

 

As all Postmates drivers know by now, the company has been purchased by Uber, and that will later give Uber Eats a big boost as far as nationwide market-share is concerned. For now, Postmates is still here, and who is to say how Uber is going to use the Postmates brand in the future. Don't assume that they are just going to throw it all under the bus, because nobody really knows.

Postmates is the number one food delivery app in Los Angeles

The data of market-share is usually tabulated using nationwide stats, and even though Postmates trails its major competitors overall, Postmates actually dominates Los Angeles. It's no secret that L.A. is one of the, if not the most important cities to dominate in the country. When it comes to having food delivered in La la land, Postmates is the number one choice!

As of October, 2020, Postmates has a 38 percent market-share in Los Angeles. Doordash was second with 34 percent of the market. GrubHub and Uber Eats each had 14 percent of the Los Angeles food delivery market. This kind of makes you wonder how Postmates could have such a large customer base in Los Angeles yet be so far behind the other apps nationwide.

Different app based food delivery companies control different parts of the country

When it comes to New York City, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Philadelphia and Boston, Postmates gets no more than 3 percent of the market-share. Each of those cities has a dominant food delivery company, but the other competitors are worthy competition, whereas Postmates is not.

In New York City, GrubHub dominates with a 51 percent share. They also control Boston with a 38 percent share. Uber Eats clearly dominates the Miami area as they control 61 percent of the market. As you can see, certain app based food delivery companies control certain sectors of the country.

Doordash, the overall nationwide leader, controls Chicago (37 percent,) Dallas (54 percent,) Houston (61 percent,) Philadelphia (55 percent,) Atlanta (44 percent,) Phoenix (46 percent) and San Fransisco at 69 percent.

Why does Postmates fail in other major cities?

Postmates didn't real fail in other major cities. Sure, their competitors got the upper hand as far as market-share is concerned, but Postmates is a company that delivers food nationwide and that is far from being a failure. If you look at every major city in the United States, you'll see that usually one food delivery company easily dominates.

It basically all comes down to marketing. There's no doubt that Postmates knows how to market, run and grow a business. When you can dominate a major city like Los Angeles, only a fool would argue that you don't know what you're doing. Why Postmates didn't market in other cities like they did in Los Angeles in beyond me. I'm sure they did do some marketing in other parts of the country, but I'm even more sure that Los Angeles was the major city that they concentrated on and justifiably so.

If there is going to be a city to highly concentrate on in the United States, New York City, Los Angeles and Chicago would always be the first choices. If you look at New York City, GrubHub clearly controls the market there with a 51 percent share. They control New York City the way Postmates controls Los Angeles.

All four of the major food delivery companies have been a success, but Doordash has clearly become the number one nationwide leader. This is due to marketing strategies. Their marketing efforts seemed to have reached more territories across the United States. Instead of putting too much concentration in only major cities, they seemed to have given smaller markets just as much attention as the larger markets. Doordash deserves credit where credit is deserved.

As far as Postmates is concerned, as long as the platform exists and is able to be used, their Los Angeles dominance should continue. Rich and wealthy people in Bel Air and Beverly Hills will continue to use Postmates as will many of us regular people. It might be too late for other major cities to jump on board, but remember, Uber Eats will continue to carry on the Postmates tradition.