Delivery shops when you are outside the mileage range

What have you tried to do delivery shops when your residence/work is outside the range? I have tried a library and a laundromat, neither of which worked well. I see a lot of delivery shop offers but have not been real successful at finding places to receive the orders. Some of these shops are hard to fill so would be easy to get if I could figure out a place to receive the delivery.

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Good question.

I think some neighborhoods and different parts of any given town are going to be a whole lot easier than others on that. Although I take every delivery shop that I can get, I am actually pretty limited by area as well. Even when you try to pick what may seem an innocuous area, it could be that it is on any givens "do not go there" list, so there is always that. You are going to have to look at your individual town and see how the various is situated and what may be a good place in your own area. Also, there is one other thing on the deliveries, make sure you don't end up on somebody's ten-foot-pole list because you don't tip. A lot of these gig delivery companies rate the people they deliver to just like the customers rate the service, and those non-tipping orders tend to pile up, if they ever get delivered. If you get blacklist tagged for being a poor tipper, they won't care if you are sitting outside in their parking lot.

How many legs does a dog have if you call the tail a leg?
"Four. Calling a tail a leg doesn't make it a leg."
-- Abraham Lincoln

I was thinking people who do these delivery shops should consider signing up for the 3rd party app as a delivery worker. I don't know enough about if there are a minimum number of assignments you have to do, but what if you were to work for Uber Eats or Grubhub and do one of the 3rd party order shops and just pick up your own orders? Then your food would always be fresh and you wouldn't get cold fries or something else waiting for someone to bring it to you. Wouldn't that work? Or am I missing something?

I am in the not so sweet spot around 4 miles from the two centers of restaurants that have shops around here. Most have a 3 or 3.5 mile limit. That said, I have used my friends house with permission and with sharing of the bounty a few times. I even did one during the pandemic where I sat outdoors and greeted the driver from her front porch.
I just did a delivery shop from home but I noticed they had a write in box for instructions. In good weather if you are at a public place perhaps you could write instructions that you will meet the driver outside with a specific spot for the driver to meet you at. One of the downsides of being a delivery driver is delivery to a large complex or office building where it takes a while for the driver to find your specific spot so if you meet outside and specify the exact spot that should be helpful for the driver. Also try to pick a spot where free parking is available right in front. If they have to drive around and around looking for parking or pay out of pocket for parking they will avoid you.

If there are any hotels nearby, that usually works well. Otherwise, I just try to find another business in the area and put in notes to the driver that I'll meet them out front of the business/store. I even used my dentist's office once.

I used to work for an third party delivery service (before COVID). and there were a couple of times that I would deliver to apartment complexes or hospitals and sometimes they would give good directions and sometimes they would not.

But when I did delivery I did theses things and the customers would appreciate it..

1) I always had a hot bag with me inside the restaurant and when I deliver it to the person,

2) If I was going to be late or they would out of a certain item, I would call or text and let them know.

3) I would pull in the parking lot to text or call if I was driving.. I would never talk or text while driving..,

4) I would never talk on my phone while I was walking across the restaurant parking lot. I would wait till I was in my car.. Sadly a-lot of people do this and they do not know how to wait till they get to their car...

5) The most important one.. I always had a hot bag with me inside the restaurant and when I deliver it to the person!!!!!

Sadly 99 % of the people that work for theses 3 party delivery services do not have a hot bag.... Shame on you...

I had a pizza delivery shop with a nice bonus that I took because I was going to pass by it on the way to other shops for the day. I ordered and parked across the intersection at a CVS, using that as the delivery address. I could see them heading over.

@hbbigdaddy wrote:

I was thinking people who do these delivery shops should consider signing up for the 3rd party app as a delivery worker. I don't know enough about if there are a minimum number of assignments you have to do, but what if you were to work for Uber Eats or Grubhub and do one of the 3rd party order shops and just pick up your own orders? Then your food would always be fresh and you wouldn't get cold fries or something else waiting for someone to bring it to you. Wouldn't that work? Or am I missing something?

I think you just sign up, get approved, and start doing it, with no minimums. Swagbucks often has a $100 bonus offer to sign up and make 1 delivery... I've been thinking about doing that. Not sure if you would be guaranteed to get your own order, though... not sure if it gets released on the app for everyone to try and grab, or if it goes to specific workers.

As long as you didn't eat it before you got back to your house, I don't see why it wouldn't be ok to pick up your own mystery shop. I mean, I doubt they would ever know, but waiting to get home to eat would be the appropriate way to evaluate it.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/26/2022 04:32AM by whatwhatdb.

My son did pizza deliveries while things were slow at his job during the height of covid. He generally just delivered one or two days a week, and considered it well worth his time. It can be a good side hustle if you are in a good area, but you do have to watch and figure in the wear and tear on your car.

How many legs does a dog have if you call the tail a leg?
"Four. Calling a tail a leg doesn't make it a leg."
-- Abraham Lincoln

I've had it delivered to a park, the parking lot in front of a Target, and in front of my gym. I just make sure to give the delivery person very clear instructions.

I take all the necessary photos in the car, or nearby public table.

@hbbigdaddy wrote:

I was thinking people who do these delivery shops should consider signing up for the 3rd party app as a delivery worker. I don't know enough about if there are a minimum number of assignments you have to do, but what if you were to work for Uber Eats or Grubhub and do one of the 3rd party order shops and just pick up your own orders? Then your food would always be fresh and you wouldn't get cold fries or something else waiting for someone to bring it to you. Wouldn't that work? Or am I missing something?

You can't control which deliveries you get offered.

Okay...thanks for the info. I wasn't quite sure how it worked. I'm not looking to do 3rd party food delivery. I despise the whole notion. It violates my "value" principle. I can see where people have lots of money or have physical limitations that prevent them to getting their own food, but if I want something to eat, I don't want more hands involved. I will go get it myself. More hands = more cost and greater chance it won't be like I want it.

I was just thinking if you could grab your own orders, that would be idea for someone to get paid on both ends for the shop AND have fresh food.

@olympia tennenbaum wrote:

@hbbigdaddy wrote:

I was thinking people who do these delivery shops should consider signing up for the 3rd party app as a delivery worker. I don't know enough about if there are a minimum number of assignments you have to do, but what if you were to work for Uber Eats or Grubhub and do one of the 3rd party order shops and just pick up your own orders? Then your food would always be fresh and you wouldn't get cold fries or something else waiting for someone to bring it to you. Wouldn't that work? Or am I missing something?

You can't control which deliveries you get offered.

It wasn't for a shop. But I have had my dinner delivered to me in a theater parking lot. And I have had schedulers suggest that I could have a pizza delivered to me in a park that was in the store's delivery area.

When I was working for an third party delivery service, I had some one order lunch and I delivered it to them in the parking lot of a church.

There were a bunch of people working on the church building after a fire , and a couple of them order lunch..

@Morledzep wrote:

It wasn't for a shop. But I have had my dinner delivered to me in a theater parking lot. And I have had schedulers suggest that I could have a pizza delivered to me in a park that was in the store's delivery area.

Ooh, a park. I hadn't thought of that but it does seem quite reasonable.

I tend to tip well on delivery shops ("well" relative to a small order, anyway) because I'll max the reimbursement for the driver's benefit. I feel like that should buy me a little bit of leeway. But also understand that drivers are concerned for their safety. Especially old-school drivers employed by the restaurant who may be paid in cash. So delivering to a location that can't be tied to the buyer could seem suspicious.

Most delivery shops I've done ask for the name of the driver. It might disqualify your shop if you enter your own name.

The client could be the restaurant-- but it could also be the delivery company. Entering your own name, or a fake name, could cause serious problems for you (AKA termination) if the client is the delivery company.

@hbbigdaddy wrote:

I was thinking people who do these delivery shops should consider signing up for the 3rd party app as a delivery worker. I don't know enough about if there are a minimum number of assignments you have to do, but what if you were to work for Uber Eats or Grubhub and do one of the 3rd party order shops and just pick up your own orders? Then your food would always be fresh and you wouldn't get cold fries or something else waiting for someone to bring it to you. Wouldn't that work? Or am I missing something?

Where I live several months ago some fast food restaurants were offering a large discount on the price of the food if you picked it up yourself after ordering online. I have not seen those ads recently so maybe other retailers did not "pick up" on the idea.
As for signing up as a delivery driver and doing the pick up yourself I think that might be tricky. My daughter has been driving for 2 of the popular sites. She will get a notification about a job but it does not necessarily go to her first so someone else might pick up your order and you will have to rush home to get it. The companies she works for also only give her the location of the pick up restaurant. She does not know where the order is being delivered to so you could possibly be missing your own order. Also I would think if you were doing this exclusively to pick up your own orders the company may not be happy to have you working only a job or two a week. I doubt you would save much more than the tip. You would still need to pay the delivery fees.

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Delivery shops when you are outside the mileage range

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