Interested in delivering with Dispatch or already a driver? Either way, it helps to understand what you can do to set yourself up for success. Whether you’re thinking of driving with us or just want to be more efficient while on the road, here are seven useful tips and tricks to help you become the best gig economy driver you can be.
1. What You Put In Is What You’ll Get Out
With Dispatch, you’re your own boss. You control what orders you take and the number of hours you work. There is no pressure to meet a daily minimum, and you can do whatever works best for your schedule. Our top drivers like to keep themselves busy throughout the day with shorter runs while waiting for longer, more lucrative deliveries to hit the board! When it comes to every delivery, though, we keep it transparent. From payment amount to mileage, you’ll always have all the details you need to make an informed decision.
2. The Bigger the Vehicle the Better
Depending on the type of vehicle you own, the number of orders that you are able to see changes. When you have a larger vehicle, like a cargo van, you can see all orders placed for your vehicle size and smaller. We base the prices for orders on the vehicle type, urgency, and mileage from pickup to drop-off. Owning a larger vehicle means more orders to choose from and higher payments for each delivery you complete.
3. Keep the Driver App Open
Keeping the Dispatch Driver App open and toggled online lets us know that you are ready to work and want to receive notifications of available orders in your area. Leaving the app open also allows you to quickly accept orders when a push notification is sent out. With the app already open, you won’t have to worry about reopening and reloading it. If you have to wait for the app to load, it could prevent you from grabbing an order because someone else was quicker.
4. Keep Your Location Services On
To function properly, the Dispatch App needs access to your device’s location at all times. Access to your device's location helps us know which orders are currently available in your area and lets customers know where their orders are. But ultimately, you decide whether we can access your location all the time or only when you use the app. Without your location services turned on, however, we won't be able to notify you of nearby orders or help our customers track the progress of their deliveries. So if you want to maximize your potential earnings, we recommend keeping your location services on.
5. Learn About the Area
Learning about the area in which you are making deliveries can help you complete orders more quickly and easily. Knowing other roads or highways that run adjacent to an original route can come in handy when there is heavy traffic. You may also have better ways to get to a location for the order than a GPS app would. It will help with the speed of your deliveries, giving you more opportunities to complete other orders.
6. Communication is Key
Like any other job, good communication is key. Even though customers can see where you are in the delivery process, be sure to communicate with them proactively. They may not know that there was an accident, and now you’re stuck in traffic and need to take a detour. Keeping customers informed helps better their experience as well as your own. When you communicate with customers, it builds trust and increases their confidence in Dispatch — which could mean more work for you!
7. Have Fun!
The most important thing is that you have fun with what you’re doing. Delivering packages gives you the freedom to choose the music you like and be free of backseat drivers. So have your playlist queued up and ready to go, and enjoy your time on the road!
Now that you know all these tips and tricks, it’s the perfect time to sign up to drive with Dispatch if you haven’t already. Have additional questions? Check out our Driver FAQ page to learn more. We can’t wait to see you on the road!