Is DoorDash the best way to earn extra cash as your side hustle? It sure can be, but before getting started with its orders, do you know what “small order fulfillment” means on DoorDash?
As a customer or dasher, you might be wondering if it affects you or how it will influence your order. This small but worthy phrase can make a big difference when planning your next DoorDash delivery.
Let’s look at what “small order fulfillment” means and how it might affect your decision.
SOF stands for “Small Order Fulfillment” and refers to orders placed through a restaurant’s website or by calling them directly rather than through the DoorDash app.
When customers place an order this way, they become the restaurant’s client, and their order is not visible on the DoorDash platform. Instead, they will receive a text message or email asking them to rate their experience.
In easy words, it’s a small favor that DoorDash offers to restaurant owners, helping deliver their orders.
Read on to learn more about the technicalities behind SOF orders and how they work. Let’s dive right into it!
Small Order Fulfillment on DoorDash
If you use DoorDash frequently, you must’ve heard of small order fulfillment. Most people don’t realize it exists, but it’s one of the coolest features of the food delivery service.
Consider a scenario where you place an order through a restaurant’s website, but all the riders of the restaurant are out of the office or occupied with other orders; how will the restaurant fulfill your delivery? This is where small order fulfillment comes in; the restaurant’s manager will ask DoorDash for a favor to handle this delivery.
Small order fulfillment allows customers to order the food through the restaurant’s website instead of the DoorDash app. The order could be of any size. Once a customer places an order on a restaurant’s website, the restaurant contacts DoorDash to deliver.
In this case, the restaurant now becomes a customer of DoorDash, and the person who orders the food is the client of the restaurant rather than DoorDash, which is why this order is not displayed on the DoorDash app.
Small order fulfillment is not available on the DoorDash app; hence, the customer cannot rate the dasher directly on the app.
However, the rating is done through a text message, where the customer rates the overall experience on a scale of 1-5.
Things To Consider Before Taking an Order on DoorDash
Before you accept an order, there are a few things that you need to consider to ensure successful delivery.
Pay Attention to the Address
You don’t want to take an order that’s too far out of your range, and you’ll have to travel all the way back to your place.
Hence, pay close attention to the address of your order and ensure that it’s within your delivery range. Only accept if it’s easily possible.
Carefully Check the Details of an Order
Once you have accepted an order, review its details thoroughly because you don’t want to deliver the wrong food to a customer.
Also, be sure to check out the special instructions section, as it’s easy to miss, which ends up in a disappointing experience for a customer.
Restaurant’s Availability
What’s the point of taking an order from a closed restaurant?
Sounds absurd, right?
You don’t want to waste time and gas driving to a closed restaurant only to turn around and find another one. This also applies to food items that are out of stock or not currently available on the menu.
Timing Is Everything
No one appreciates delayed deliveries, especially when you are hungry.
Carefully consider the estimated time of delivery and try to make it within the specified time, avoid unnecessary stops and go straight to the address.
If the delivery is expected to take longer than expected, it’s always a good idea to reach out to the customer and let them know.
Takeaway
DoorDash lends a helping hand to many restaurants by helping them in their hour of need. For example, if a restaurant can’t figure out how to deliver the food to the customer, the manager will resort to DoorDash and request to take on the small fulfillment order.
A small fulfillment order is where the customer places an order directly on the restaurant’s website rather than the DoorDash app, which means no direct rating for the dasher. The rating will be done through email or text but won’t appear on the dasher’s profile.
Keeping in mind that the order can be of any size, you need to ensure all the details before moving forward with the order to carry out a successful delivery.
Happy Dashing!
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Small Fulfillment Order Pay More?
Not necessarily; it depends on the type of order and the total distance of delivery. Although, you can work on earning the tips by providing an excellent experience to customers through speedy delivery and complimentary condiments.
Is Small Fulfillment Order Applicable to Any Dasher, or Is There a Specific Pool?
The small fulfillment order can pop up on the screen of any dasher in the vicinity; there are no reserved riders for this specific kind of order. When an order is prompted, it’s up to the dasher to decide whether he wants to go ahead with it or not.
