I usually earn $1,100 in a week when I combine food delivery and rideshare (with a normal work schedule). But last week I made nearly $1,400 just delivering food to people. Insane. Since food delivery apps became mainstream, there has never been a better time to work in food delivery. Never. The main reason? The current global Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic.
Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic
I’m sure you are all aware by now. I mean, the whole world knows. The Coronavirus is the black swan of 2020.
Back in December of 2019, there was an outbreak of a new Coronavirus called SARS-CoV-2 in Wuhan, China. Millions of people traveling in and out of Wuhan for the Lunar New Year led to this virus spreading all over China. It didn’t take long before this outbreak spread into other countries, including the United States. This outbreak was recognized as a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) on March 11, 2020.
Coronavirus in the US
A man who had visited Wuhan returned to the state of Washington on January 15, 2020. Five days later, he became the first confirmed case of COVID-19 in the U.S. Cases of this Coronavirus kept popping up all over other states.
In my state, Oregon, we saw our first case at the end of February. On March 8, Governor Kate Brown declared a state of emergency after new cases started popping up throughout the state. On Saturday, March 14, the first death in Oregon was reported. Despite all this, my food delivery gig was still usual. I made my average weekly sum.
On the night of Monday, March 16, Governor Kate Brown and public health officials issued new statewide mandates. The mandates ban all public gatherings of 25 or more people and restricting restaurants to take-out or delivery service only.
With these mandates, I kid you not, the pearly gates of food delivery heaven were opened.
The Result
Key Stats:
- I made $1390.41 delivering food during the first week of Coronavirus lockdown.
- On Caviar, each delivery paid $15.32 on average.
- I completed 90 total orders (89 Caviar + 1 Postmates).
- I worked a total of 38.5 hours that week.
- I made roughly $36.11 an hour.
Monday: I collected a little bit more money than a typical Monday. But the number of orders (13 total) was unusually high from my experience driving for Caviar for the past few years. I had a hunch something big was coming. By the end of Monday, the public wasn’t completely aware of Governor Kate Brown and health officials’ new social distancing mandates because the mandates came out that night.
Tuesday: The next day, the mandate went into effect. And boom! That evening I made the most money for a Tuesday ever: $220.85 by completing 15 orders. There was a $50 Milestones bonus that night, and I claimed it. At this point, I knew it was going to be a gigantic week.
Wednesday: I had plans with friends during lunch hours, so I missed the lunch shift. But that evening, I made almost $100 on nine deliveries. This many order is abnormal for a Wednesday.
Thursday: I completed 15 orders and earned $171.61. These are above-average numbers for a Thursday. At this point, I was looking forward to the weekends because that’s when the money is good.
Friday: Caviar went nuts on Friday. Bonuses per delivery were more than 50%. Including cash tips, I made over $300 that day. I claimed $62 in Milestone bonuses.
Saturday: Typically, you get more action with rideshare apps (Uber, Lyft) than food delivery on Saturdays. With all the late-night clubs shut down and restaurants doing take-out or delivery only, rideshare had to take a backseat to Food Delivery for the time being. And Caviar, when crazy! They offered a 100% bonus payout on every order! Double Time! On top of that, you get bonuses for the number of deliveries completed. I also had a $75 Milestone bonus on the board, which I claimed. In total, I made $278.99 that day.
Sunday: Each order had up to 65% more payout. I finished the week with 12 more deliveries and $169. After adding all the adjustments, tips, and bonuses, my total for Caviar was $1363.96.
Here is the day by day breakdown
|
Day |
# of Deliveries | Delivery
Payout |
Delay Adjustments | Tips | Milestones | Total Earning |
| Monday | 13 | $82.58 | $2.82 | $60.52 | $145.92 | |
| Tuesday | 15 | $100.15 | $1.78 | $68.92 | $50 | $220.85 |
| Wednesday | 9 | $56.27 | $2.04 | $36.92 | $95.23 | |
| Thursday | 15 | $106.14 | $65.47 | $171.61 | ||
| Friday | 14 | $136.77 | $2.47 | $80.29 | $62 | $281.53 |
| Saturday | 11 | $99.56 | $0.19 | $50.24 | $129 | $278.99 |
| Sunday | 12 | $99.21 | $1.02 | $45.6 | $24 | $169.83 |
| Postmates | 1 | $2.88 | $3.57 | $6.45 | ||
| Cash Tip | $20 | $20 | ||||
| Total | 90 | $680.68 | $10.32 | $411.53 | $265 | $1390.41 |
I could have stacked Postmates on top of Caviar. But after earning $6.45 on one Postmates order, I decided to focus on just Caviar.
Opportunity at the door
Across the world, most restaurants are doing to-go or delivery only now. If you are without an income during this Coronavirus Pandemic, consider doing food delivery. We are all in this crisis together. You can help by working to keep restaurants and food services industry stay afloat until we weather this storm. Now is the time to hit the road and do some food delivery.
I am also working on a new e-book on how to make up a full-time income driving in the gig economy. If you are interested in that, join the waiting list:
If you are new to the gig, join the Courier Hacker e-mail list.
Good luck out there. Stay safe and happy earning.
