Not every gig or side hustle is for every person. For example, Damon loves doing rideshare. He’s very good at it, and his earnings reflect that. But Roadie is better for me.
Other people, like me, are not interested in rideshare, can only do short assignments, and are more interested in delivery assignments without food or people.
Being a Roadie Driver is Worth Investigating
If you take the time to understand the Roadie platform, don’t make assumptions, and are selective in the jobs or tasks you accept, Roadie might be a good fit for you.
Let’s start by setting some healthy expectations.
Roadie is Not a Point and Click Gig
What do I mean by this? Unlike other platforms where a task pops up, like food delivery or rideshare, and almost anyone can accept the task, Roadie is different.
When a task is put out there as available, you can raise your hand for the assignment, but Roadie is selective in who they give it to.
According to Roadie, the magic in connecting a driver with a task puts the customer first. They appear to be very cognizant that delivering a quality product to customers is essential. This is probably because Roadie is a UPS company with some very experienced management.
This can be frustrating for a driver. If you want to have tasks pushed at you that anyone can accept, and you don’t want to drive people, look at food delivery instead. Based on the food delivery people showing up to deliver orders to me, anything goes.
Roadie Technology is Confusing
When a delivery task is available, it is presented as an “Available Gig.”
When you click on that gig, a feature I like is you get a large amount of data about the task. Including the tip being offered for the gig.
For example, look at the task that I just clicked on.
If you click More Info, you get additional details important to a driver.
A 4-mile delivery for almost $20 would be attractive if I had a truck.
As I was writing this, someone snatched that gig.
Roadie Requires Drivers to Make an Offer, to accept the gig, but that can be confusing.
In actuality, the driver is not making what some consider an offer or bidding for a task. Instead, what the driver is doing is raising their hand for consideration.
Roadie then selects the driver they feel is best for the customer making the request.
Here is How Gigs Are Awarded to Drivers That Raise Their Hand for Consideration
Keep in mind Roadie is putting their customers first and being selective about the drivers they approve for the gig. With that in mind, here is the Roadie driving selection process.
It’s not a bad strategy if you want to build a reputation for professional delivery and reliability. Giving assignments to best-qualified drivers is reasonable.
“Even at the technical level, Gig Matching is focused on our users. Once a driver offers on a delivery, our algorithm takes hundreds of variables into account. Think factors like vehicle size, time of day, past delivery preferences, and even what drivers are currently delivering.
We use this information so we can make informed decisions and create an efficient, flexible delivery system that works for our entire community. Senders don’t want to wait for a driver who is 30 miles away, and a driver doesn’t want to travel an extra 45 minutes off their route. Gig Matching helps us avoid situations like that.
All of this decision-making happens in real-time. As delivery volume flexes and more drivers offer on Gigs, the number of deliveries you’re matched with per day can vary. As part of our ongoing initiative to improve your driving experience, we’ll always continue to iterate and work to improve how often you’re matched with Gigs.
How We Match Drivers with Gigs
So what are the variables that Gig Matching considers? The difference between two Drivers may be very small, but still enough for our algorithm to make a match.
Drivers are already on the way to the pickup location
It’s what our platform was built on, and we’re going to continue rewarding Drivers for it. If Drivers are already heading in the right direction or close to the pickup location, those Drivers have a higher likelihood of being matched compared to those who are farther away.
Keep in mind that proximity to the pickup location is only one factor that the system considers. Waiting around at a pickup location will not guarantee that a Driver will be matched on a Gig.
Past driving experience
Maybe you’re super speedy, only deliver in the morning, or drive a truck that can handle the big stuff. Whatever the case, Gig Matching takes your past driving experience into account before pairing you with a delivery. Things like:
- Ratings
Above all, we value how our community treats each other. This means arriving on time, being communicative, and treating each other with respect. If you have a five-star rating, you’re going to be rewarded for it. Consistent low ratings may prompt an internal review and may temporarily prevent you from being matched with Gigs. - On-time rate
Because most Gigs require ASAP pickup and delivery, your on-time rate is crucial. When you consistently deliver on time, the system takes notice and knows it can rely on you for urgent deliveries in the future. - Cancellations
Anytime you cancel a Gig, it directly affects the Sender and our broader community. Having too many cancellations can prompt an internal review. - Gig types
What deliveries have you shown interest in recently? We’ll take a look and match you with Gigs that are similar to ones you’ve offered on or delivered in the past.
Vehicle size
Before making a match, our system makes sure that the Gig can fit in your vehicle. Think of it this way: if you’re driving a sedan, you probably wouldn’t be able to move a couch.
Current driving status
What you’re currently driving also affects what Gigs you are matched on next. There’s a higher chance you’ll be matched with a Gig if you’re not currently driving a delivery or if another Gig is heading in the same direction as one of your current deliveries.” – Source
The System Appears to Work
After passing all the checks and providing the required information, I was approved as a Roadie driver.
As a total newbie, I raised my hand (better terminology than making an offer) for a gig and didn’t notice it was not a good fit for my car. The Roadie app instantly rejected me. Whew! That would have been awkward.
I also tried to get a couple of delivery gigs more than ten miles from me. I did not get those.
However, I did get my first assignment when the Roadie app sent me a notification, and then I went for it.
I’m not sure if waiting for the notifications is a better way of getting the gig, but after watching the app, it’s only sending me offers now when I’m close.
My first Roadie delivery wasn’t anything spectacular. It was a delivery from Home Depot with three small bottles of Stump Out.
There was no tip offered on the gig, but I need to earn a good rating and work towards favor in the Roadie algorithm.
So I raised my hand by making an offer and was accepted in less than two minutes.
The gig provided me with all the information I needed in the app. It told me where to go in the store to pick up my order, prompted me to take a picture of it, and I followed the in-app prompts on what to do.
The only hiccup was when Home Depot could not print the receipt for the delivery. There was no way I was leaving without that, so I applied a few minutes of patience and was then on my way with some proof of the order.
The delivery was a breeze. The only issue I had was where to stage the items for the delivery picture. I realized my first picture didn’t meet the Roadie requirement, so I had to walk back and take another. Maybe they had a porch camera catching me saying, “goddamn it.” LOL
Unlike the Amazon Flex intro I had just been through that said don’t capture pictures showing house numbers, the Roadie app said I needed to get a delivery picture showing identifying information. Hence the need for a do-over of the picture.
For the Right Side Hustle Person, Roadie is a Reasonable Gig
If you can break up your day with assignments, are prepared to follow the Roadie guidelines, and want to be selective on what assignments you do, Roadie is a reasonable platform to investigate. For people with flexible schedules like myself, it’s a good fit.
For people like Damon who want to be on the move every minute with the next assignment or task, it is probably not a great fit with Roadie’s Make an Offer feature.
One task in Damon’s area had a nice tip with it, and it was a short-distance delivery for $67. That’s pretty interesting. Those offers seem to be more for people with vans or trucks. However, it was not near him, but those are worth watching the notifications for.
But I’ve seen other short gigs with decent pay. For example, there was one for 13 miles paying almost $24.
It is still early days for my testing being a Roadie driver, but the Roadie site has a lot of good support information and resources.
The news section of their site is a good read as well.
Thumbs Up and Thumbs Down
Roadie frustrates Damon. He wants to click, pick up and go. He’s a hustler.
Damon, on a rideshare, is more likely to reject or cancel rides unsuited for the best profit.
Roadie is very attractive to me since it appears to select gigs best for me and provides me with a lot of information on the gig.
Unlike with other side hustles that ding you for not accepting tasks, Roadie doesn’t put that pressure on you. I can be selective and only raise my hand for tasks that fit me well regarding delivery size, distance and pay without being dinged for a high cancelation rate as with other side hustles.
If you match your personality to Roadie, have the right expectations, and want to avoid people and food, it’s worth investigating.