I'm 49 years old, have five kids, and I usually have one or more of them with me helping out. We split the money we make 50/50 since they help grab the food and deliver it to the customers, and I just like the time spent driving around with my kids, teaching them the geography of our large city, math, economics, manners, reading, and more.
I'm also a wife, blogger, self-published author on Amazon (check out The Tater Tot Casserole Cookbook: Over 45 Yummy Recipes!), writer of parenting magazine articles, and proofreader. Basically I see myself as a queen of the side hustle and I take each one very seriously.
The excitement of Door Dashing
Let's say you take a Walmart Grocery Pickup order. You might be able to pick it up quickly or you might sit there waiting for 20 minutes. It might be a small order or it might fill your trunk. After you do the delivery, you might end up with the $5 or $8 or however much you agreed to accept as payment, but then I have had several experiences where hours later I got a $20 tip from the customer in the Door Dash app.
We love the excitement and surprise of not knowing where we will be asked to go next to pick up food and what the challenges might be. We always advocate for the customer, so if a bag is not sealed and I can tell that something is missing, I make it right at the restaurant. I used to be a waitress, and I used to be a magazine delivery driver, so this is like combining the two 😂
Our first Door Dash experience
The first Door Dash experience was with Samuel, my 11-year-old son, on June 29, 2020, and here's my talk-to-text journal post from that night:
Sam said it would be funny if someone did Door Dashing in a semi-truck. We also think it would be funny to do a movie like Dodgeball but it’s Door Dashing and so it’s like Julia versus the Mcloughlins and we are rivals trying to see who will make the most money that night and get the highest ratings. We picture a lot of high-speed chases and sliding into restaurant parking lots sideways to make good time.
Our first Dash was a pickup at McDonald's (just a McFlurry and a mocha), which we dropped off at a bar and grill to a guy who had been sitting outside on the patio. We got paid $3 from DD and were tipped $2 on the app.
Then we immediately accepted one for Hawaiian Brothers for $5.25 total. They didn't have the drink the customer wanted, so I was able to text the customer directly to ask what he wanted instead, which was convenient. Headed to Lee’s Summit about 20 minutes away with that order.
Got to the house and a teenage girl came out and gave Sam $20 cash for the tip! She said she tried to order from the one in Lee's Summit and didn’t realize I was coming from Belton and I said that’s fine because this is our time together we love doing it.
Next top was China Star, and I texted the customer to let them know the order was taking a little longer than expected. The delivery location was pretty close in a run-down trailer park. It was a great chance to talk to Sam about not judging people by what they look like, what they drive, or where they live. A tech millionaire could live in that trailer, while we are driving a fancy Buick tonight that we are borrowing from my step-dad because we can't afford to pay for our car repairs just yet.
Hawaiian Bros. again was our 4th Dash and $7 tip probably because we came so far.
Dash #5 was to SONIC off Red Bridge Road. Such a great way for my kids to learn the city for when they start driving on their own!
$45 for two hours of work sounds pretty good, but then we also have to consider gas and wear and tear on the car. I drive so much anyway that I hardly notice plus gas prices are amazing right now.
$45 for two hours of work sounds pretty good, but then we also have to consider gas and wear and tear on the car. I drive so much anyway that I hardly notice plus gas prices are amazing right now.
Got home at 9:45 p.m. since our Dashes kept taking us farther from home. We'll learn for next time that we can decline orders or pause Dashing until we get back to Belton.
