This is not normal. But there’s a reason this dasher did this and I’ll explain as best as I can.
DoorDash pays drivers with the tip and a base pay. That base pay is usually around $3. However, in some markets this week DD has actually cut the base pay on short distances down to $2-2.50.
So we as dashers have a threshold. We cherry pick. A dasher might say that in order to make money they can’t take orders below $7.
A dasher who knows what he’s doing though won’t take orders lower then their threshold. You wanna make $8 an order, then you take offers that are at least $8.
Part of the problem though is DD hides tips from us. So say someone tipped $12, making the total $15. On the offer screen, it may say $7. The dasher doesn’t know there’s another $8 on there until the screen pops up after completion.
I don’t know if this dasher took your order thinking there would be a hidden tip or not.
DoorDash also tries to convince dashers to keep their completion rate high. They have what they call “top dasher” status and to keep that you have to have a completion rate of 70%. Dashers doing this long enough know top dasher ain’t worth it, that you would have to take orders that pay too little. But often with new dashers, it takes them a bit to find this information out, so they’ll take those $3 and $4 offers and not make as much money.
I don’t know if that’s what the deal is with that dasher, but regardless, you don’t go telling the customer to tip more. That’s a good way to make customers tip less. That would affect the customer then (food sits longer cause higher offers are being taken first), and it’s less money going to a dasher.
Here’s from my perspective too. Your order - is the base pay is $3 - would’ve been $6 for a mile. That’s not a bad offer at all. They’d be getting $6 a mile. $1.75- 2 a mile is usually what I go for. Plus that’s a quick delivery if the order was ready at the restaurant. And even if base pay is $2, still not bad given how quick you can be back on the road and getting another offer. Sounds to me like this dasher either needs to figure out how to do this right or they need to go do something else.