In this article, we will review the UberEats versus UberX driving experience and decide which one is better to work for.
I will start by stating that I drive for both services and the biggest difference is perhaps the best one, UberEats is passengers, you don't need to bow and scrape and make sure the passenger is fine and hope for a good rating. You just deliver food.
Another difference is the income and expenditure factors. UberX driving requires a more expensive car, more expense focused driving and much more maintenance. The income model for UberX is complicated; you must factor into your equation periods, surges and fees. With UberEats you only factor in the service fee and mileage. UberEats is also more neighborhood-centric, which means you don't need to drive all over the city, you tend to stay in a defined area.
An interesting feature for UberEats is you can contact the restaurant before you arrive, it's important to do this to assure no cancellations. There have been occasions when I drove to a restaurant only to discover that the order was canceled. Once you have verified that the order is active, you drive over to the restaurant and verify once again with the waiter or manager after which, around 9 times out of ten, the order is already sealed and packaged waiting for pick up. You must perform an order verification. This means you have to get the restaurant staff to open every box and checklist each item against the customer's order. Make sure you get the restaurant staff to open boxes, you don't want to be blamed for contamination issues. This is one issue you have to be adamant about. It will reflect on you as an Uber driver as well as an Uber, delivery person.
As an Uber driver, the passenger sees you and the car, their expectations are based on the car and the driver they see, whereas with UberEats the expectation is on the condition of the food.
Regarding delivery drop-offs, while Uber would prefer you make a door to door delivery, the curbside drop off is appealing for a number of reasons. These include closed complex buildings, closed access routes, large apartment complexes, parking problems and such. I have always found talking to the customer pays off. They are usually very receptive, and unless it's an infirm or elderly person, most of them will come out to you.
Another great issue with UberEats is the tipping feature in the app. This feature is similar to the UberX tipping page, and as such, you also enjoy in-app tipping or cash tipping.
To sum up this section, UberEats is a great way to make some extra cash; it is less costly and sometimes more fun than transporting passengers. Let's take a look at some actual examples:
One guy orders a small Chinese meal; it was a really tiny order of some honey chicken and some fried rice form a Chinese restaurant. I picked up the order and as I tap in the order was picked up the customer calls back, so I was still near the restaurant, and that's not a problem. He has an allergy to onions, and I went back to the restaurant with the packages. Now the customer and the restaurant are arguing over the phone, and it turns out that the restaurant owner will not change the meal since a special request was not made. The customer didn't tell the restaurant not to include onions, and I am there all the time watching this exchange. Eventually, the customer cancels the order and tells the owner he can keep it, and the owner says that's fine, I'll throw it out. This is just one instance where all you can do is call support and sit back and watch the ride go south, and that means you might or might not get compensated. With UberX driving you might not get tipped or get rated well, but you will always be paid. My intake is in these instances, never get involved, it's between the customer and the restaurant owner. Stand back and in most instances, cancel the order yourself. Go get a new order and chalk that one up to a loss. This goes to prove that even if orders are ready for pick up, they might not get delivered due to customer decisions
Another issue is long waits, although sometimes long waits allow you to stretch your legs, use the restroom and even have time to eat something. Anything over ten minutes is worthwhile notifying the customer since they sometimes don't like waiting too long and you have to explain to them, that it's not a traffic issue but a restaurant preparation issue.
I now mix UberEats and UberX driving, since I like to make a change in my routine, mix the passenger experience with the food experience. If you want to be an UberEats driver, don't invest in an expensive car, if you want to be an UberX driver then add UberEats as an option to change the pace of the day. You also get to learn about a lot of interesting restaurants you would never know of and can use that knowledge when driving passengers that ask you about places to eat.