Become a Caviar Courier: Time Commitment, Application, and FAQs

Caviar is one of the many apps offering delivery service from local restaurants, with the twist that it partners with higher end restaurants that don’t typically offer delivery. It’s available in over a dozen cities in the United States and expanding quickly.

This means they need reliable couriers to help them run their business. They are always hiring for delivery people, and if the app is in your city, it could be a nice way to make extra money on the side. In this article, we’ll look at what it takes to be a Caviar delivery driver, how to apply for the job, share the locations currently being served by the app, and answer some frequently asked questions.

What Is Caviar?

The Caviar app allows people to order food delivery from the best restaurants in their cities, restaurants that typically do not work with delivery services.

The company, which was founded in 2012, does this by being much more restaurant friendly than other services. Caviar partner restaurants can use an app to remove items off the online menu quickly, whether they’re out of a dish or running low on a popular item.

The restaurants can also pause delivery service at the touch of a button if they’re in the weeds, giving them more flexibility to offer delivery service when it’s convenient for them, and to turn it off when they want to focus their attention on their customers in the restaurant.

The Caviar app is available on iOS and Android and looks a bit like other food delivery apps.

Couriers for Caviar are paid per order, immediately, via the Cash app, or they can be paid weekly via direct deposit. They get a commission of every delivery and also get to keep all tips.

Customers are not required to tip, but they are given the option to tip once an order is complete via the mobile app. (This is only currently available for customers with Apple products.) Diners have two hours after the order is completed to tip a driver.

What Is Expected of Couriers?

To get the job, couriers must be at least 18 years of age and have a vehicle, which they classify as a car, truck, bike, scooter, or motorcycle. Couriers must also have a smartphone so that they can get the courier app. If you drive a car, you must have at least two years of driving experience.

Everyone who applies must pass a background check. Per Caviar, the check will be administered “consistent with the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance and similar laws of other jurisdictions.”

If you get the job, your duties are simple. Each day you will have the option to be available during certain hours, which you can select with the Caviar courier app.

As you can see, some hours are priced differently, offering higher rates during times of higher demand. Those times tend to be during lunch time and especially the evenings when people are more likely to order delivery food.

Once you’ve made yourself available, you must be online and ready to work during that time period. Once on, you’ll receive an alert on your phone which will tell you the restaurant where you will get the food to pick up, what food was ordered, and the drop-off location.

Caviar pays the restaurants directly, so you don’t need to worry about paying for food once you arrive at the restaurant. If it’s ready, you pick it up and bring it to the delivery location.

The app does promise users door-to-door service, so you may have to contact the customer when you arrive to allow them to buzz you in to their building. Caviar asks that you check the app first, however, as often users will leave specific instructions about how to get the food to them.

What Is the Time Commitment to Be a Courier?

What’s nice about gigs like these is that you get to set your own schedule, and can build a flexible schedule around the times that are most profitable. While some people can make a living doing this full-time, it tends to make more sense as a part-time job just because the demand for food delivery is low for a lot of the day, only picking up heavily in the evening hours.

What’s nice about Caviar is that you don’t have to abide by any set schedule week-to-week. You can schedule yourself by hour, even if it’s only for an hour, when it’s convenient for you. For creative types or those who have jobs that are more inconsistent with scheduling, Caviar can be a nice way to bring in extra income on off nights.

Caviar does suggest scheduling ahead whenever possible – once enough couriers are locked in for an hour, they will block it off and not allow drivers to book that hour for themselves. For high-demand, higher-paying time slots, the odds are that they can fill up quickly, so it makes sense to try and schedule ahead whenever possible.

How to Apply to Be a Caviar Courier

The sign-up process to become a Caviar courier is remarkably easy if you meet the driver requirements.

First, you head to the apply section of their website, and fill out the quick form there, which just asks for your email address and a password. It looks like this:

From there you’ll be set up to make an account, during which you will provide personal information so that they can run a simple background check. You will also be asked for banking information if you’d like to be paid via direct deposit.

Before employment as a Caviar driver you will also need to sign a courier agreement. Caviar couriers operate as independent contractors and not as full-time employees. While this means you won’t have benefits from the company, it does give you more flexibility when it comes to your pay.

Once you’ve been accepted, you will have to watch a few short videos for your courier orientation, which provides basic safety guidelines and help on how to use the courier app. From there, you’re off and running.

FAQ

What do I do if I need help on an order?

Caviar has a handy help page which can answer any of your questions, like what to do if you need to cancel an order, if you arrive and the restaurant is closed, if the payment isn’t working, and more. If there’s an emergency, you can also reach out directly to a dedicated courier support team via your courier app.

How does Caviar compare to other competitors?

Caviar is set up much like other food delivery services like Grubhub, Seamless, or DoorDash. Couriers work as independent contractors and can choose hours as they see fit. Unlike Postmates and a few delivery apps like it, Caviar drivers do not need to carry around a prepaid card, as Caviar pays the restaurant directly for the food.

Many Caviar drivers have worked at other delivery companies, and plenty have also worked for rideshare services as Uber drivers or Lyft drivers. A benefit of Caviar compared to those other services is less strict guidelines for your vehicle, and people who have a bicycle or motorcycle can become a Caviar courier, while they can’t drive for Uber or Lyft.

Where is Caviar located?

Caviar is currently located in many cities across the United States, including San Francisco, Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia, Sacramento, New York, Portland, Dallas, Seattle, and Los Angeles. They’re constantly expanding into new markets. See the full list of cities via Caviar.

A Side Hustle for Fine Food

Being a Caviar courier offers you the chance to set your hours, build a flexible schedule, and deliver food from some of the best restaurants in your city. The app advertises that users can make up to $25 an hour, and if you are reserving times during high demand and earn tips, it can exceed that.

Sign-up is simple, as long as you have a mode of transportation of some kind, a smartphone, and the ability to pass a simple background check. If that sounds like you, get on it and start making that dough.

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