Okay, life-hack is a stupid term, and I generally support a short prison term for using it, but I couldn’t think of a suitable alternative on short notice. This is a PSA for people who find that their favorite restaurant is too far from their default delivery location for Doordash to accept the order.
Let’s say you want to order from a restaurant at (for the sake of argument) Anaheim Garden Walk. But suddenly, the Doordash site tells you that an order cannot be delivered to the address on file for your account.
DON’T PANIC!!!
(Sorry, I have no idea why I felt the need to shriek at you to not panic. That’s not likely to have the desired effect. I’ll try to not let it happen again.)
Anyway, at the top of your Doordash screen, in the left corner, your default delivery address appears as a hyperlink in red. Click on that address. A dialog box will open which invites you to enter a different delivery address. Enter an address which you know to be within three miles of the Anaheim Garden Walk (in the given example, the address for Disneyland at 1313 S. Harbor Blvd. will do nicely, but you should be easily able to put in the address of the closest fire station, or something. Of course, in this instance, the closest fire station is probably the one at Disneyland. I should look up if their fire department counts. But I digress).
The Doordash website will suddenly allow you to place an order from this restaurant.
“But kaylasdad99!” I hear you cry. “Now, I’ve just sent $75.00 worth of food to Disneyland! And not as a prank, either! I already paid for it!”
Did you miss the part where I told you not to panic? Well, that still applies. Knock it off. Doordash has a page after your checkout has been successfully entered, which allows you to CHANGE the address the delivery is headed for. The relevant link to click is a box bearing the rubric “Change Address.” You can click into that box and enter your default delivery address.
There’s a possibility that the site will tell you that you’ve entered an invalid address. But all is not lost. Doordash seems a little reluctant to make it common knowledge, if one can infer from their webpage, but they have a telephone number you can call and receive live customer service. That number is freely available on their Facebook page, though. It is (650) 681-9470. Press “2” to indicate that you are a customer. There may be some wait time, but it won’t be too long; and besides, their hold music is really kind of beautiful. When the CSR answers, you can ask that the delivery address be changed to wherever you are. You’re probably at home, at your default address, aren’t you? Thought so.
When you next refresh your checkout page, it should reflect your requested delivery address change.
Bon apetit!
N.B. This probably works best on restaurants you’ve ordered from successfully before, but now find yourself blocked from. AIUI, a recent update to the doordash algorithm has resulted in restaurants outside a three-mile radius from your delivery site being blocked. If you’re pretty far afield (like, the restaurant is in San Diego, and you’re in Vail, CO) it might be a good idea to call that customer service number and ask.
