A “dash” or scheduled block represents a period of time a driver commits to being available for delivery requests on a gig platform like DoorDash or Grubhub. These scheduled slots are a mechanism for the companies to manage driver supply and ensure service coverage, particularly during peak hours. When a driver chooses to end this period early, they are essentially disrupting the platform’s supply forecast. The consequences vary widely between platforms, ranging from reduced access to future work to the loss of financial incentives.
Why Gig Platforms Penalize Early Dash Endings
Platforms schedule drivers to maintain a stable and predictable service level for customers. The algorithms rely on drivers adhering to their scheduled times to accurately forecast the supply of available couriers in a given zone. If too many drivers end their shifts prematurely, the system’s calculations are thrown off, which can result in longer wait times for customers and restaurants. This disruption creates a service gap, especially during high-demand periods that the platform specifically staffed for. By holding drivers to their commitment, the company incentivizes reliability.
The Impact on Driver Performance Metrics
Ending a scheduled shift early does not typically harm a driver’s overall account health in the way that unassigning an accepted delivery request does. On a platform like DoorDash, the Completion Rate—the percentage of accepted deliveries a Dasher completes—is the primary metric tied to deactivation risk. This rate is only affected if a driver accepts an order and then unassigns it, not if they simply end their dash early without an active order.
However, other platforms employ a dedicated metric to track adherence to scheduled work. Grubhub, for example, uses a “commitment rate” to monitor how often a driver drops a scheduled block, including ending it early. A pattern of early termination directly lowers this commitment score, which is a factor in determining a driver’s program level. A lower commitment rate can prevent a driver from achieving the higher tiers necessary to unlock the earliest and best scheduling opportunities for the following week.
Loss of Guaranteed Pay and Scheduling Priority
The most immediate and tangible consequence of ending a scheduled period early is the financial impact. Many platforms offer supplemental pay for working during specific high-demand times, often called “Peak Pay” or “Surge Pricing.” Leaving the dash before the scheduled end time means the driver immediately forfeits any remaining guaranteed earnings or incentives tied to that specific time slot.
Early termination can also negatively influence a driver’s access to future work. DoorDash’s Early Access Scheduling allows high-performing drivers to book shifts several days ahead of others. Adhering to scheduled blocks is a factor in maintaining the status required for priority scheduling. Losing the ability to book shifts early means a driver may only be left with less desirable times, limiting their future earning potential.
How Different Platforms Handle Early Termination
The penalty structure for ending a scheduled shift early is not uniform across the major gig companies and depends heavily on the platform’s model. DoorDash operates a comparatively lenient system, where ending a dash early rarely incurs a formal penalty to the driver’s metrics, provided they do not cancel an active order. Dashers are viewed as independent contractors who can log off at any point, and the system’s penalty is simply the loss of the scheduled slot.
Grubhub, which relies more heavily on scheduled blocks, has a more defined penalty structure that targets reliability. Dropping a block early counts against the driver’s commitment rate, which dictates their access to preferred scheduling and other benefits. Uber Eats, which historically focused on an “instant access” model, focuses on order cancellation rather than the termination of the shift itself where scheduled shifts exist.
Steps to Minimize Negative Consequences
Drivers who must end their scheduled time early can take steps to mitigate the negative effects.
Complete Active Orders
The most important action is to ensure there are no active deliveries assigned to the account before ending the shift. Unassigning an accepted order mid-delivery severely impacts the Completion Rate on platforms like DoorDash, so completing any current delivery is paramount.
Utilize Grace Periods
Drivers should wait until the end of a natural lull or slow period to sign off, rather than terminating during a busy time. Some platforms may offer a brief grace period near the end of a scheduled block, allowing a driver to go “unavailable” without penalty, such as the 15 minutes before a Grubhub block ends.
Formally Drop the Block
For platforms that penalize a dropped block, like Grubhub, it is always better to formally drop the block using the in-app feature than to simply go offline and miss incoming orders.