Postmates No Couriers Nearby: What It Means and How to Fix It
It can be frustrating to get an order ready for delivery on Postmates, continue to check out and get the notification that no couriers are available to take your order. Not only can this impact the speed at which your food arrives, but it can ruin your food delivery plans altogether!
If you get a “no couriers nearby” notification on Postmates, it means there are currently no drivers in your area that can pick up and deliver your order. This may be because they are all busy delivering other orders, or none of them are working at that time. Regardless, nobody can deliver your order.
If this problem has set you back, this article will cover what it means if no Postmates drivers can accept your order, what you can do moving forward to prevent delays, and when it’s time to cancel the order altogether.
How to Fix Postmates No Couriers Nearby
If you get the notification that no couriers are available in your area, unfortunately, there is little you can do to get around it. The best option is to wait for a few minutes and try again. If that doesn’t work, you can change the order to pickup and go to the restaurant yourself instead of waiting for a driver.
While some have tried adjusting the tip in hopes their order will get picked up due to a larger payout, this option is not viable.
A tip increase won’t work because Postmates drivers cannot see how much a customer tips them until the delivery is complete.
Meaning when they decide to take an order, they see the very basic information required to accept the order. They will not know if the customer gave them a decent tip until they accept the order and complete the delivery.
This is in part so that drivers won’t pick up orders specifically based on the tip they’re offering the driver. So, if you see that no couriers are available, the best thing you can do is wait and try again in a few minutes.
If the issue is that all the drivers are busy when you’re trying to place the order, you might catch them right after their last delivery by trying back in a few minutes.
Many customers will have success using this method. However, if you have tried this several times and have waited longer than necessary to get your order picked up, it might be that no drivers are working.
This is especially common for those placing orders at odd times, namely between midnight and 5 am, especially during the weekdays.
If there are no drivers available or your order is not being accepted by any drivers, it is your best option to cancel the order or switch your order to pickup rather than delivery.
This will enable you to go to the restaurant yourself to get your food rather than waiting on a driver, which will save you a significant amount of time.
It looks like your order was cancelled due to issue with the courier. We’re very sorry this happened. A delivery fee credit was applied to your account.
— Postmates Support (@Postmates_Help) March 6, 2018
What Happens if No One Is Picking up My Postmates Order?
After placing your order, a driver will pick up your order. Once a driver commits to being your delivery person, the order will continue getting made. If that person never picks up the order, it will be canceled by Postmates, and you’ll be refunded the amount on your order.
In this case, it is best to wait until Postmates cancels due to their driver not showing up. Otherwise, you will be charged a cancellation fee if you cancel the order after being made and ready for pickup.
Once the order is canceled, you can choose to replace the order and hope for a different delivery driver, or you can place it for pickup and go to the restaurant yourself.
Okay, I can see you’ve been waiting a while. Our team has already reached out to the driver. I can cancel this for you if you feel like you’ve been waiting too long.
— Postmates Support (@Postmates_Help) December 8, 2019
Can I Cancel a Postmates Order if It’s Taking Too Long?
You can cancel a Postmates order at any time. The only issue is the amount you will be refunded for that canceled order. This depends on how far your order has progressed before getting canceled. Depending on if the restaurant has prepared your order or not yet, you may be charged.
However, you can check to see how far your order is progressed and decide based on that. It may not be in your best interest to cancel the order, keeping in mind that cancellations are not always free.
If you’re curious about how much you’ll be charged after your cancellation, you can see the exact price layout during the cancellation process before you submit your request.
How to Cancel a Postmates Order
If you decide to cancel a Postmates order, you can simply follow the steps below:
- Go into your current order, and on the top right of the screen, press “help”
- A pop-up will come onto the bottom of your screen where you will see “cancel order”
- Postmates will then ask the reason why you are canceling the order
- Once answered, they will show you the amount you’ll be refunded on the order
- If you still want to cancel, you can confirm at the bottom of the screen by pressing “cancel delivery”
After canceling, you can select to place a new order if you want to change it to pickup. The amount refunded from the canceled order will come back to the payment method you used.
If you cancel your delivery after the order’s been placed, there is a cancellation fee! We apologize for any confusion regarding this.
— Postmates Support (@Postmates_Help) December 27, 2017
Does Postmates Have a Cancellation Fee?
If you place a Postmates order and cancel it before Postmates sends the order to the merchant, you will get 100% of your money back. If the restaurant has already made your order, you’ll be charged a cancellation fee so that Postmates can pay the restaurant to cover the cost of the food being wasted.
Since the restaurant will have used inventory on your order that will need to be thrown out, they must be compensated. This is covered by the cancellation fee you are charged.
It is highly recommended that you do not cancel once the restaurant has your order, as it wastes both the restaurant’s food and time.
Finally, if your order has been prepared and is already on its way to you, you will be charged the full amount even if you cancel the order.
This is because Postmates must pay their employees for their time and pay the restaurant for the order they prepared.
What Happens if Postmates Doesn’t Deliver?
If Postmates doesn’t deliver your order, you must report the delivery issue through the Postmates app or website. After doing so, the customer service team can review your order and the incident to confirm that you did not receive your order as intended.
After they confirm this information, they will issue you a full refund for your order. Keep in mind that this can take a few days from the time you place your request for a refund.
To learn more about how Postmates refund works and how to request it, you can read our article that explains the process in detail.
Conclusion
If you cannot find a delivery driver for your Postmates order and get the notification that no couriers are available, your best bet is to retry in a few minutes. If this is still an issue, you will save time by canceling the order and placing the same order for pickup rather than delivery.
If you’re interested in finding out more about Postmates, check out the related articles below.
Related Articles:
Can You Order Postmates for Someone Else? (Yes, Here’s How)
Does Postmates Deliver Groceries? (Yes, Here’s What to Know)
Does Postmates Deliver Alcohol?
