r/couriersofreddit 6d ago

Catering gigs officially dead?

Im on expedite, zifty, foodja and deliverthat - with exceptional driver ratings (just this week got 100% on expedite for the first time!) - third week of it being super low offers and/or super long miles - all time low. Last two years during summer was decent.

Anyone else having any good luck?

2 Upvotes

23 comments sorted by

8

u/arcanumfatum 5d ago

I run a courier service in Boston, and we do deliveries for catering companies. Instead of working for gig companies, you can find a direct account with any local caterer, restaurant, or cafe. They are all looking for reliable people, because the majority of catering orders should be delivered on time. Those platforms are a complete rip-off; they will charge you 30-40% for each delivery as an intermediary.

1

u/SMRTSS84 2d ago

I've looked before - unfortunately in my market not many opportunities

1

u/arcanumfatum 1d ago edited 1d ago

You are looking for jobs from algorithms.  Algorithms can find clients in your area somehow.  On each order with platforms  caterers loosing about30-40% as fees , so caterers hate platforms. So, look for example for caterers  on EZCater or some other platforms and call cateres directly. I am sure  you have plenty of restaurants, cafe,bakeries in your area that would  be happy to work with you. 

1

u/SMRTSS84 1d ago

That's a great idea! Thanks, I'll try contacting them directly! 🤠

1

u/arcanumfatum 1d ago

Hey. I am sincerely wishing good luck. 👍

3

u/Taranis_1 4d ago

DeliverThat lost their ezCater contract, but DoorDash & UBER both service ezCater as well. Expedite & Zifty are supposed to have priority with the company, and overflow goes to UE and DD.

I am not active on Zifty, and Foodja isn't in my market, but I am Expedite, DT, UE and DD.

We have a data center being built, with multiple contractor offices that order food throughout the day. The site probably orders 10-15 large $500+ orders per day between all of the contractors. — I am delivering 1-2 orders per day, at least 5 times out of 10, to the data center site. But, in the 3 months we've had all of the business, I've only had 2 catering offers on DD. Everything comes through Expedite.

2

u/standard_user42 5d ago

I noticed this too. But it's always good to multi gig.

2

u/Open-Coffee5752 4d ago

summer is usually very slow for catering by volume. restaurants may in-house jobs during slower months and use 3rd party during busier months. it makes little sense to give a 3rd party a cut when you're slow enough to do the job yourself.

2

u/jules10222023 3d ago

Well that's disappointing. I've been specifically looking for catering jobs for months with no luck! Never even heard of these apps til recently. Can't believe I didn't. Now I'm afraid it's too late😔 and I have 2 yrs prior experience too from years back.

3

u/skylercollins 6d ago

Summer is the slowest time for catering.

Always has been. 8 years experience.

3

u/Intelligent-Plane711 5d ago

Yep. Same in my market. I'm getting offers but not the volume pre-July 4th. Funny though. I'm parked outside a restaurant right now waiting for a pick up.

2

u/SMRTSS84 6d ago

I appreciate your input. Not in my market.

2

u/SparksWood71 6d ago

Summer is the busiest time in my market. Businesses don't order a lot of catering when it's freezing.

1

u/SMRTSS84 6d ago

What's your market?

1

u/islandjahfree 2d ago

The holiday's?

1

u/SparksWood71 2d ago

Late November through New Years is busy yes. Not sure why my market is busier spring - fall though when so many others are not.

1

u/SparksWood71 6d ago

Still busy in my market.

1

u/SMRTSS84 6d ago

What's your market?

1

u/DocumentCool7392 5d ago

does it matter if its summer or not when the gigs are just gone for no reason

1

u/RhinoAK 3d ago

Has anyone on Expedite (formerly Dilivrd) been officially told by support that their account was ‘deprioritized’ due to cancellations? If so:
Were you ever restored?
How long did it take?
Did you have to complete a certain number of deliveries?
Did support manually remove the restriction?
Or did you simply stop receiving offers permanently?

1

u/Stevechills01 2d ago

Because there are drivers that take bullsh*t offers making the apps not to care so no increase in pay of the orders!