Complete Review: Delivering for Postmates

So, what is Postmates?

Postmates is a technology company that provides one of the biggest, on-demand food pick up and delivery platforms, including food and grocery delivery. It was founded in early May of 2011 by Bastian Lehmann, Sean Plaice and Sam Street and is headquartered in San Francisco, California. According to Postmates, their mission “is to enable anyone to have anything delivered on demand.” The company currently has 1,000+ employees, 600k merchants in 4,200 cities and is available in all 50 states. Delivering for Postmates is a simple way to earn extra money in your spare time.

How do you receive and make deliveries for Postmates?

There are three requirements to work for postmates. These include being at least 18 years old, having a smartphone with the Postmates Fleet app downloaded, and passing a Postmates background check. 

Delivering for Postmates is simple. To begin making deliveries, log on to the app to get started. Through the app, you’ll get an alert when a new delivery request appears. A timer will count down for you to accept the delivery request, otherwise the order will be given to another Postmate. The Fleet app will provide the merchant name, directions to the merchant, the items ordered or to order and let you know if an order is prepaid or not. 

When you arrive at the merchant, the order will either have already been placed or you may need to place the order yourself. If you have to place an order yourself, you will use the Postmates Prepaid Card that Postmates will provide you which will have the funds to pay for the order if placed by yourself. 

Once you have confirmed that you have picked up all of the items ordered, click “Swipe to Complete” and drive to the customer’s address provided in the app to make the delivery. When you have arrived at the customer’s address, thoroughly read the delivery instructions, drop off the order and click “Complete Dropoff.” When the delivery has been completed, you will be shown the amount of money you have earned from that delivery. 

How much do Postmates delivery drivers get paid?

As a Postmates delivery driver, you get paid weekly for the hours worked from Monday to Sunday of the previous week. There’s also the option to get your earnings more frequently using the “Instant Deposit” feature, which allows cash-outs at any time (with a small fee of $0.50 per instant deposit).

As a Postmates courier, you can make between $10 – 20 per hour, you are paid for miles travelled, time spent waiting to pick up orders, and the amount of orders you complete in an hour, the rate also depends on:

1. The location you work from – Pay varies depending on the area you’re working in, with a base pay for each pickup and dropoff is upwards of $1.00 each.

2. The duration of your journey – for every minute you’re waiting for an order you receive an additional $0.10. 

3. The distance of your journey – you are paid $0.60 for every mile driven to reach the customer.

4. Tips received during deliveries – In addition to base pay, couriers for Postmates get to keep 100% of tips given by the customer. 

5. Time of the day – Postmates offer occasional bonuses for drivers such as “Blitz pricing”, during high demand times of the day.

6. Guaranteed Postmates earnings – The company also offers what’s known as “Guaranteed Earnings” which guarantees a minimum payout for drivers when a certain number of deliveries is completed in a set period of time.

7. Crusher bonuses – Similar to the “Guaranteed Earnings”, “Crusher” bonuses occur when a certain number of deliveries are made within a set time period – instead of the minimum earning, the “Crusher” is designed to increase output from drivers, rather than ensure they earn a living wage.

8. Referral incentives – Postmates also offer a guaranteed pay for each driver that is invited by an existing driver, and completes a certain number of deliveries during a set of requirements.

Delivering for Postmates

Advantages of driving for Postmates

You work on your own terms, when you want

As a postmates courier, you can start and stop working whenever you would like to. If you happen to have spare time and want to earn some money, you can log on to the app to begin working!

Getting paid is quick and easy

If you choose the Instant Deposit payment method, you are able to withdraw your earnings whenever you want with a small fee of $0.50. The simplicity of this job is also an appealing factor as all you need is a car and all you have to do is sign up and get started making deliveries.

Disadvantages of driving for Postmates

Restaurant wait times can be long

Orders may not always be ready when you arrive at the restaurant or store, so you may be waiting at a restaurant for over 15 minutes for an order which will reduce your earnings per hour. This can be especially frustrating if you have batched and chained deliveries (multiple orders from merchants close by for different customers who live near each other) because you don’t want the customers waiting too long for their order.

GPS may send you to a wrong address

If you are taken to the wrong address, this causes a longer wait time for the customer as well as extra gas mileage on your car which can eventually add up and become costly.

Customer service provided isn’t great

Based on reviews, Postmates is not well known for their customer service. It seems as though Postmates expects any issues that occur to be figured out by the courier, restaurant and customer themselves which can build frustration among couriers as well as customers and potentially lead them to use other delivery apps.

Postmates delivery driver reviews

Delivering for Postmates comes with great opportunities as well as some obstacles, as most jobs do.

We’ve taken a look at both Indeed and Glassdoor reviews for Postmates to get a greater understanding of how employees rate Postmates as an employer.

Indeed Postmates reviews give an average rating of 3/5 stars from over 2,100 employee reviews. With employees rating the work-life balance the most highly out of the specified criteria, which many people consider a hugely important factor when considering a job.

Glassdoor Postmates reviews give an average rating of 2.6/5 stars out of 545 employee reviews, with work-life balance ranking second highest, just behind compensation and benefits – though it’s worth noting that many of the reviews on Glassdoor are from corporate employees, instead of delivery drivers who would have a different experience working there.

Based on numerous reviews from Indeed and Glassdoor, couriers for Postmates appreciate flexible hours, working around one’s own schedule, and the simplicity of the job itself. Unfortunately, many reviews also discussed the disadvantages including app glitches, unreliable customer service, unstable income, and that the distance of delivery and amount of pay are not shown on the pop-up screen for accepting an order.

Take a look at our “Delivering for Doordash” blog to compare the two delivery companies!

Is it worth getting a job driving for Postmates?

It’s important to research the job you are considering before signing up to ensure that you are familiar with the disadvantages of the job. It seems as though Postmates is not the most popular of delivery apps but everyone has different experiences. Delivery jobs are not for everyone, but if you are looking for a simple side hustle to earn extra income on your own terms, delivering for Postmates could be for you!