How DoorDashing Became More Than a Job

I’ve also seen parts of my city — Rochester, New York — I never knew existed. Cute neighborhoods from the 1950s filled with mid-century modern homes, a Chinese restaurant where servers and patrons were only speaking in Chinese (I’m definitely going back there to eat).

And it’s voyeurism at its most appropriate. I come, invited, to see a snippet of a person’s life — like the skinny twentysomething woman who ordered the bottle of Jose Cuervo, or the young mother who ordered organic snacks.

I’ve learned not to make assumptions. Such as, there’s no logic to tipping.

Matt Burkhartt

I got stiffed by someone in an affluent suburb, only to have a woman in a lower-income part of the city tip me in cash — not online like most, because she worried DoorDash might not pass along her $3 gratuity to me — and then, with hands clasped and torso bowed, said, “Peace, love, light.”

There is a great deal of logic in scheduling, however. I make as much on one Saturday night as I do over four weeknights.

Matt Burkhartt

I’m lucky. Dashing, for me, is not really about the money. I drive in silence, using the time as a break from the world, even in the midst of the controlled chaos of each delivery cycle. The sights and sounds I wouldn’t have seen and heard otherwise have been rewarding. Standout moments within three days of each other included a plane taking off against the setting sun, a rainbow after a short storm and a flock of geese flying low overhead. You can’t put a price on any of that.

And I’m helping people with my free time. So when my friend texts to cancel our swimming date because of an upset stomach, I don’t consider my night ruined. I head to my newest app instead and find my next adventure.