The gig economy and technology are changing our world. Today, you can order groceries and even hot meals and get your order without leaving your home. What you need is an internet-enabled device and Postmates app.
Postmates let busy and lazy urbanites order tons of items from the comfort of their homes. You can even order restaurant-prepared meals. The US-based company operates in 3500 cities, across the 50 states.
Is Postmates Worth It? Here’s what you should know.
If you’re interested in a regular, high-paying gig, Postmates is not for you. It’s for individuals interested in part-time gigs. Postmates let you earn extra dollars, doing something you enjoy. People with full-time jobs can even become couriers with Postmates. The platform’s flexibility encourages that.
Postmates allow couriers to decide working hours and choose customers. Its base earnings range from $4 to $6 per delivery. However, experienced couriers can make up to $25 per hour. Postmates deliver over 2 million orders monthly, so there’s a huge opportunity to earn extra income as a courier.
Furthermore, Postmates’ peak pricing system called “Blitz pricing” becomes active during peak hours. And you can earn more working during these peak hours.
Continue reading to know more about Postmates to make an informed decision.
What’s Postmates?
Postmates are an easy-to-navigate, on-demand delivery platform. Postmates functions like GrubHub and Uber Eats. You can order restaurant-prepared meals and have them delivered to your doorsteps within an hour. However, Postmates deliver other items, not just food items. You can order delivery from pharmacists, liquor, grocery, and electronic store, depending on your location.
Postmates’ unique services set it apart. Most people prefer it to some of its competitors for that reason. With Postmates, you can order anything, except guns, live animals, explosives, gift cards, and any illegal or controlled substances.
Postmates: How It Works
Besides letting users order a ton of items, Postmates app is a breeze to use. This feature endears this $400 million startup to its ever-increasing customer base.
Postmates put a range of your favorite local restaurants and menus in one place. Plus, with the push of a button, an order is sent to your local restaurant of interest. Postmates average order size is $34.17.
Ordering stuff via Postmate is a breeze. But that is isn’t the only thing that sets it apart. With the app, you can track an order’s entire delivery process from your home’s comfort.
Through tracking, you can tell when the restaurant starts working on your order to when it’s almost ready for pickup, and the courier in charge of the delivery.
Again, Postmates matches couriers to customers based on their locations in real-time. The courier must be closer to the pickup location to eliminate delays in deliveries.
Couriers also receive notification in the app whenever a suitable delivery job becomes available. The alert includes details regarding order pickup and delivery location.
Customers can rate restaurants and tip drivers after receiving orders. That’s how Postmates operates. The platform offers diverse tipping options to customers, such as 5, 10, 15, or 20 percent.
Note: In Postmates, drivers keep 100% of the tips. You can also become a Postmate even if you don’t have a car. You can earn extra money using a bike, bicycle, or walk to deliver orders.
Postmates ordering process is a breeze. Once you have an account, you can start shopping. To browse and view options closest to you, open the app, and scroll through the main menu. Then select the delivery option. The platform lets you order delivery or pickup.
Postmates offer several packages that endear it to users. One of them is the free delivery option. When you order from popular businesses on the app, you can enjoy the delivery reward.
To access this reward, click on the “Party” option. But keep in mind that the order isn’t going to remain there forever. It has duration. Secure it quickly to have your order delivered to you for free.
Postmates Diverse Order Options
At Postmates, customer satisfaction is a top priority. Thus, the platform offers different order, including payment options that appeal to their teeming customers.
Below are the different Postmates order options.
1. The “Pickup” order option:
If you aren’t comfortable paying the usual delivery fee, then the “Pickup” order option is for you. You can order a prepared meal with Postmates for free. However, using the “Pickup” order option means you need to get the order by yourself.
Postmates won’t request any service fee from you, but won’t match you to a courier. The only benefit you get from using the app is that you can order and get notified when your order is ready for pickup.
2. The “Delivery” order option:
This option is for the busy urbanites that are comfortable paying the delivery fees. Orders are delivered to customers at their homes or requested destinations.
You can also choose no-contact delivery, where the item would be left at your doorsteps by the courier, without physical contact with you.
You can also reschedule the delivery time to suit your tight schedule. Visit the checkout page for this.
3. The “Party” order option:
Postmates Party order option lets you enjoy free delivery as well. In this case, your order will be treated together with other customers’ that ordered from the same restaurant. However, keep in mind that the Party tab gets updated within every five minutes, so take advantage of it if interested before the time elapses.
Another condition to enjoy the “Party” order option is the worth of your order. It must be above $15 to qualify for the reward.
Payment Methods Postmates Accepts
Postmates driver can only link a US-issued debit Visa or Master card to an account for instant payment. These are the only two cards eligible for such payments. But keep in mind that most banks won’t support such transactions. Check to know if your bank does.
Postmates couriers receive a prepaid card upon signing up, which is used for payment during pick up.
Postmates: How To Sign Up
To become a Postmate is straightforward. However, keep in mind that you will be required to provide your details. These include your age, address, photo, the delivery area you prefer, driver’s license, vehicle details, phone number, and others.
Note: Ensure your details are accurate and double-check before submission. Postmates run background checks on fleets before kitting them and would disqualify anyone with wrong or misleading information.
A third party handles Postmates’ background checks, so there’s no definite time-frame for completion. However, once approved, you will receive a welcome kit from Postmates. The kit includes a prepaid card and a unique delivery bag. After that, link your prepaid card, download the app, and start accepting gigs.
Here’s how to download Postmates Fleet. Ensure your iOS device is iOS 10 or later. For Android users, the device should be Google Android 5 or later.
To install the app on an iOS device, search “Postmates Fleet” on the Apple App Store. Then tap “Get” to install it on your device.
To install the fleet app on an Android device, visit fleet.postmates.com/app on the said device and click on “Install the app.” Sign in with the Gmail account used to access Google Play Store on your Android device. After that, install the app.
Now your Postmates Fleet app installation is complete. Check your home screen to find the app on your device and start accepting gigs.
Here’s a quick summary of how to get the Postmates Fleet app on your device.
Step 1: Download the fleet app
Step 2: Link prepared card
Step 3: Start accepting gigs
Postmates Payment: How And What Couriers Get Paid
After the weekly deliveries, from Monday through Sunday, couriers can expect payment from Postmates the following week. The payment is every Wednesday or Thursday.
Couriers can also enable “Instant Deposit” on the Postmates Fleet app to get paid instantly, via direct deposit.
For every order delivered, there are minimum payouts couriers get before tips. Postmates also offers you additional payout bonus and incentives for their “Blitz” pricing, every mile traveled to deliver and every minute spent waiting for an order.
Here’s Postmates’ new pay structure. Couriers get $0.10 for every minute spent waiting for the order, while at the restaurant or store. You also get paid roughly $0.60 for every mile you travel to deliver the order.
Location impact rates, but the minimum pay for most places is $4. However, Postmates base pay for each pickup and delivery made is upward of $1.00 apiece.
Postmates allow drivers to take 100% of the tips. And once a driver delivers an order, Postmates notifies customers to give tips. Customers can only place another order after tipping.
Conclusion
Is Postmates worth it? That’s the question. The short answer is, yes, if treated as a part-time gig. You can retain your full-time job and still be a Postmate. The platform is flexible and won’t interfere with other jobs or schedules you may have. But if you treat it as a full-time gig, your expectations will be too high, and you could get disappointed.
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