6 Things To Know About Uber, DoorDash, Instacart Waitlist
Getting waitlisted at your new side hustle certainly isn't a catastrophe. Your application was not rejected! However this can make you uncomfortable and you can feel it as a denial. When you're on the Instacart, Uber or DoorDash waitlist, the suspense can be difficult to bear.
Indeed, you don't know whether your application will be accepted or not, and that alone is stressful.
In this article, I will explain to you how the waitlist works for DoorDash, Instacart, GrubHub and Uber.
Today there are many different ways to make extra money. Options range from becoming Uber driver, to DoorDash driver, Instacart Full Service Shopper and even making money walking dogs.
The good news is that you do not need experience to work with a food delivery service, a grocery delivery app or a rideshare company.
Since these side hustles are really easy to get and you don’t need to acquire additional education or training to get hired, they attracted many people in the past.
So, you started your application to become a delivery driver and you get the following message: Doordash is not accepting new dashers in your area.
What does waitlisted mean on Uber, Uber Eats, Doordash and other apps?
The waitlist for Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, Instacart and Grubhub is a list of applicants whom a company might or might not get the chance to work with as independent contractors. These applicants are essentially put on hold when there are enough workers.
What you should know is that while your application is FREE, it represents a cost for gig economy services.
Background checks have become commonplace. Some companies ensure safety on their platform by performing permanent screenings. These checks are free for the users but they are a cost for the company.
Additionally, gig workers are independent contractors. You should never forget that you are in competition with others. When there are too many drivers you will struggle finding gig opportunities, you might even not get a lot of orders/rides and you will earn less because you will not get incentives.
Related Article: Shipt vs Instacart
The Instacart waiting list needs more explanation. Instacart is the fastest growing 24/7 grocery delivery business during coronavirus lock down. To meet surging demand for 24/7 grocery delivery they hired many full service shoppers in 2020.
In some states, the San Francisco headquartered company has some available positions for in-store shoppers who are Instacart employees.
Very similar to Amazon Flex waiting list, if you are interested in an in-store position, Instacart allows you to join their waiting list. Your application will be pending and you will be notified when a spot opens up.
According to our experience, on average you can be on a waitlist for Instacart for 2 months. However we had complaints of applicants who were waitlisted even for 14 month.
I predict that we will see more waiting list activity this year due to the uncertainty.
Becoming a Shipt Shopper is a great opportunity. Shoppers can work part-time or as gig workers. Learn more about how to get paid to deliver groceries.
A Shipt applicant recently reached out to us. He was wondering why he did not get hired by Shipt.
If you completed the application, you'll receive an email confirmation within 24 to 48 hours.
Sometimes you get declined because you do not have the requirements or you failed the interview. Otherwise, if there are too many Shoppers in your area, you will be waitlisted.
Do not be shy. Contact Shipt recruiting@shipt.com.
Related Article: Shipt vs Instacart
Recently a lot of approved Uber drivers were waitlisted for the following reasons:
In this case, Uber didn't really turn down your account. If you need help, as a waitlisted Uber driver the best option is to contact the driver support.
.Keep in mind that if you are waitlisted because of a pending background check, you have to contact directly Checkr using the Checkr Candidate Help Portal
Have any of you heard about people staying on these waitlists forever and never heard anything back? If you want to know how long the DoorDash waitlist is, unfortunately we cannot give you a standard anwer or provide a specific time frame.
Applicants can generally only be off a waitlist when there are not enough workers.
More positions will become available as companies like Instacart are growing fast.
Summarizing: In some markets it can take a couple of days, in other markets you can be waitlisted for more than one month, in others even more than one year.
Whether you applied to be an Instacart Shopper, a Dasher or a Grubhub driver you will not receive a letter informing you of the status of your application.
When a position becomes available the companies will reach back out with an email.
You're probably wondering what exactly your chances are of getting off the waitlist and starting working for Instacart or driving with Uber.
As we said companies usually begin to get applicants off the waitlist if and only if they struggle to meet the customer’s demand.
Unfortunately, you cannot boost your chances of being accepted.
However, if you applied for an in-store shopper position for Instacart, you can try to skip the waiting list and find an available position by changing the Zip Code in your application.
The total number of applicants on the waitlist varies by locations. Delivery driver gigs were booming during the pandemic. However, some gig economy delivery drivers are more in demand than others.
Instacart hired more than 300,000 'shoppers' only in the first half of 2020. While the grocery app is deactivating a lot of shoppers that do not respect the agreement, it is also seeking for new grocery shoppers.
Working as a food delivery driver for DoorDash is always one of the best options out there.
As for ride-hailing services like Uber and Lyft, they were hit hard by the pandemic. However, as the economy is bouncing back, they are facing a serious driver shortage.
Lyft is currently offering high guarantees to new rideshare drivers and higher pay to current drivers .
Unfortunately while you will not take the risk to be temporarily waitlisted on Uber, the pandemic did not change the bad company’s culture.
The Uber affiliate program is not currently open and the San Francisco headquartered company continues to deactivate accounts of drivers sharing their referral code.
Related Article: DoorDash vs Uber Eats
If DoorDash remains your top choice for the next side hustle, you want to make sure that you stay on its waitlist. However if at one point you do not want to consider this opportunity, you have to delete your DoorDash driver account.
Being waitlisted is not the end of the world and you do not consider it as a permanent deactivation. As with any waiting period, use the time wisely. There are a lot of delivery services to work for. Just browse Bestreferraldriver, you will find a ton of jobs hiring now.
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