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DoorDash raises minimum pay to $29.93 per hour in NYC

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Re: DoorDash raises minimum pay to $29.93 per hour in NYC

#311
post #142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The only way it works is if someone else's time is an order of magnitude less valuable than yours I mean, you've basically just described the entire service industry and virtually any job in North American where tips are expected. There is an entire class of people ready to serve you.

I mean, don't get me wrong. My first job was fast food. But there's a difference between being able to serve 50 customers in an hour and 2.

My buddy's first job was pizza delivery driver in the late '90s.

He was lucky to get 2 deliveries per hour...

Re: DoorDash raises minimum pay to $29.93 per hour in NYC

#312

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The only way it works is if someone else's time is an order of magnitude less valuable than yours. Ish. There's clearly a logistics problem here. 1-meal being delivered promptly on time scales poorly. But 15 meals delivered to 15 different people within 45 minutes is in fact, a net gain. Alas, Doordash and Uber have gone about it in all the wrong ways. Its the drivers who double-book this process (ie: picking up mo…

I spent a number of years working at a pizza place in high school/college and on busy nights they had a dedicated "router", a human who was sometimes also a driver, who grouped orders together so they got where they needed to go in a timely fashion and the food was always warm. When I order DoorDash my driver either only has my order or they have a secondary delivery that is insanely out of the way. This is a very in…

> On an unrelated note, I've always thought the big problem is their market is too narrow. These companies should deliver literally anything that can fit in a passenger car. One example I know of is that auto shops do not keep parts for every car in the shop all the time. They contract out to parts warehouses. Those warehouses have employees which deliver your new carburetor to the auto shop that's installing it. There's no reason your Uber driver can't pick up pasta and a carburetor.

Looking at the Uber app, under Delivery > Services it actually looks like they do purport to offer delivery for basically anything. Groceries, Alcohol, Pharmacy, Flowers etc. I have never once tried it or met anyone who has. Maybe I'll give it a shot tho.

Re: DoorDash raises minimum pay to $29.93 per hour in NYC

#313

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because it’s not true anymore, and complaining about high prices for a service that is just moving up market kind of ignores the reality that a business can make fewer sales if its margins on the remaining sales are sufficiently high, which is exactly what has happened. In other words, delivery apps went through the “burn vc money” phase already, and are now focusing on profitability, and successfully so.

Food delivery products and companies are definitely not moving up market. Valuations have plummeted and many are still struggling to turn a profit despite layoffs and cutbacks.

I'm curious; what do you think "moving up market" means? Does it mean "becoming a company that has a higher market cap and/or is more profitable" or does it mean, "Targeting a wealthier customer"?

Because what you've listed would suggest you believe it means the former, which isn't accurate (it's the latter). Maybe I misunderstand, though.

Re: DoorDash raises minimum pay to $29.93 per hour in NYC

#315
post #298
post #289

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The marginal federal tax rate for someone making $50,000 is 12%. So every dollar spent on gas (or whatever other deductible expenses) would lower federal taxes by 12 cents. But I'd be surprised if many drivers grossed more than $50K/year. If they earn less, the tax benefit of deductibility is even smaller.

Personal income tax and the tax treatment of businesses are different - as a business, you’d earn some revenue from doordash while showing some expense (like gas, insurance premiums, and your salary). Your company would then pay tax on the net and you’d pay tax on the salary you give yourself from your company. Not a CPA so I’m pretty sure I’m oversimplifying this and there are lower bounds I don’t know about which p…

I think we're in agreement, because I'm assuming serious DoorDash drivers file Schedule C, which is the practical equivalent of dividing your life into personal and business sections but without the paperwork (or benefit) of incorporating.

My comment was motivated by OP's question asking whether it was possible to "offset these expenses against their tax" (emphasis added). No, it's not possible to offset an expense against tax. It's only possible to offset against income. I frequently see people on HN saying things like "it doesn't matter if it's a ripoff because it's a tax writeoff!!!" If they actually look at their tax returns, they are surprised that an expensed dollar saves them only 10-20 cents, so the price definitely does matter.

Tax credits, on the other hand, are a lot closer to what people are usually thinking of when they say tax expense. If you install residential solar in the US in 2023, for example, you get a 30% tax credit. That means if you spend $10,000, your federal tax bill goes down by $3,000. If it were merely 30% deductible, then you'd subtract $3,000 from your income, which at a Doordash driver's tax bracket would reduce taxes by only about $350.

(I'm not a CPA, either, as any CPA can surely tell.)

Re: DoorDash raises minimum pay to $29.93 per hour in NYC

#316
post #147

DoorDash is being misleading when they imply that NYC required a minimum wage of $29.93/hr for delivery workers. DoorDash could comply with the bylaw by paying its contractors $17.96/hr for the full time they work (including time waiting for orders). But DoorDash instead chose to use the "Alternate Method" which has a 67% higher minimum wage, but only for the time the contractor is actively delivering food (not stand…

If you own a delivery service or even thinking about owning one you know sane choice is the alternative even it is more expensive per hour for you.

Re: DoorDash raises minimum pay to $29.93 per hour in NYC

#317
post #131

As an old person, I'd like to point out that my hometown of New York City had a dynamic, world class restaurant scene, including a cornucopia of home delivery, long before the tech platform companies found a way to siphon ~40% of consumer spend out of the local restaurant economy in exchange for some friction reduction. We were doing great. But you had a drawer full of paper menus and had to call the restaurant.

+1 to this. Also I think we should use delivery as little as possible. Walking a couple of blocks is not bad at all.

Re: DoorDash raises minimum pay to $29.93 per hour in NYC

#318
post #283

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Interestingly in Silicon Valley, there's an angel funded startup founded by an ex-Google foodie who worked with some of the more notable Asian restaurants (the super popular ones with long lines). She arrange it such that users from a given neighborhood could order via the website app by 4:30 from a specific set of 2-3 restaurants per day. The orders from a given neighborhood are bulk ordered for 3-4 drivers to pick…

Hello, what is the name of this? I am currently working with a few restaurants to launch almost the exact model. The idea is to transition from on-demand to in-advance.

[deleted]

Re: DoorDash raises minimum pay to $29.93 per hour in NYC

#319
post #147

DoorDash is being misleading when they imply that NYC required a minimum wage of $29.93/hr for delivery workers. DoorDash could comply with the bylaw by paying its contractors $17.96/hr for the full time they work (including time waiting for orders). But DoorDash instead chose to use the "Alternate Method" which has a 67% higher minimum wage, but only for the time the contractor is actively delivering food (not stand…

The other part of this is that Doordash workers need to pay for their own delivery vehicles (gas, upkeep etc.) which factors into the actual wages they get. They are not making significantly more than minimum wage workers.

I door dash mainly in Queens & sometimes in Manhattan using an electric scooter. I have not had any extra expense so far. 80% of the time I charge my scooter at work or at the gym so I'm not really paying extra on my electricity bill lol. Also, I stick to following traffic rules and stay on the bike lane as much as possible for safety reasons. If I see a large truck coming through, and it is a narrow street, I get on the side walk and let the truck pass. It has been easy accumulating active time, especially when dashing in Manhattan. So far, I have had a good experience and it has been an easy $30+ hourly.

Re: DoorDash raises minimum pay to $29.93 per hour in NYC

#320
post #147

DoorDash is being misleading when they imply that NYC required a minimum wage of $29.93/hr for delivery workers. DoorDash could comply with the bylaw by paying its contractors $17.96/hr for the full time they work (including time waiting for orders). But DoorDash instead chose to use the "Alternate Method" which has a 67% higher minimum wage, but only for the time the contractor is actively delivering food (not stand…

Wouldn't this incentivize Dasher's to... take longer to deliver? This whole model feels screwed up to me.

I deliver for door dash as a side gig (supplemental income). If drivers try to milk the system and take an exaggerated amount of time to deliver orders, those drivers will not receive as many offers for orders (messes up their algorithm in the long term). I think the new model encourages people to drive safely and not rush and risk getting into an accident just because they work on tips and are trying to rush through traffic to get their money worth/ time worth for labor. It also does not put pressure on the consumer to tip since the delivery drivers will earn a livable wage. Employers should pay their workers a fair wage, not the consumer.
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