What is downtime on DoorDash?
Downtime is the percentage of time your store is unavailable for DoorDash delivery during scheduled business hours.
Downtime can happen for several reasons, including:
Your store is paused or temporarily deactivated
Store hours don't match your actual open and close times
Excessive avoidable cancellations
Long prep or wait times
Your tablet is offline, uncharged, or the Order Manager app is closed
Point-of-sale (POS) or connectivity errors
Target downtime: 1% or lower. Higher downtime can reduce sales and impact customer trust if your store appears unavailable when customers want to order.
Why is my DoorDash delivery unavailable?
Your store may be unavailable if one or more of the following applies:
Your store is temporarily deactivated due to avoidable cancellations
Your store is paused in the Merchant Portal or on your tablet
Your DoorDash hours don't match your actual business hours
Your tablet is offline, uncharged, or not connected
Prep times or wait times are too long
Your kitchen is overwhelmed and unable to fulfill orders
Checking your downtime metrics can help you quickly identify the cause.
How do I check my downtime in the Merchant Portal?
To find your store's downtime:
Log in to the Merchant Portal
Select Insights from the left navigation
Choose the Operations Quality tab
This section shows a detailed breakdown of your store's performance metrics, including downtime. Reviewing this regularly can help you spot patterns and take action before availability is affected.
Is there a way to reduce downtime?
You can reduce downtime by addressing the most common causes below.
Keep store hours up to date
Your DoorDash hours should always match your actual open and close times.
DoorDash automatically applies a closing buffer to prevent new orders from coming in right before your store closes. This buffer is customized based on your average prep times to help maintain order quality while maximizing sales.
If your hours are inaccurate, customers may see your store as unavailable even when you're open.
Highlight special hours or full-day closures in advance
If you're planning a holiday, vacation, or special event, you can set special hours or full-day closures in advance.
Setting special hours:
Prevents new orders during times you're unavailable
Helps avoid cancellations and downtime
Keeps customers informed
Make sure to update special hours directly in the Merchant Portal before the change takes effect.
Avoid long waits
If your kitchen is struggling to keep up with tablet orders, these tools can help you manage avoidable wait:
Set realistic prep times to reduce long waits
Provide clear pickup instructions for Dashers
Mark items out of stock as soon as they're unavailable
Activate Busy Kitchen to add more prep and delivery time
Taking these steps can reduce cancellations and prevent temporary deactivations during peak hours.
How do I avoid temporary deactivations?
Temporary deactivations often result from avoidable cancellations. Your store may be temporarily deactivated if it experiences two or more avoidable cancellations in the same day. Deactivations can last until the end of your business day, or until 4 am the next day for 24-hour stores.
Avoidable cancellations can happen when:
Store hours are incorrect
Orders are accepted when the kitchen is too busy
Out-of-stock items are still listed as available
Orders aren't confirmed in time
Store staff request cancellations
Point-of-sale (POS) or technical errors occur
To help prevent deactivations:
Keep your menu up to date and mark items out of stock
Only accept orders you can fulfill
Confirm orders promptly
Review cancellation reasons regularly
How will I know if my store is temporarily deactivated?
DoorDash sends an email notification whenever your store is temporarily deactivated. To update who receives these notifications:
Log in to the Merchant Portal
Select Settings
Choose Store Communications
Update your notification recipients
This ensures the right team members are alerted quickly if your store becomes unavailable.
What should I do if my store is still unavailable?
If you've reviewed your downtime, updated hours, and addressed cancellations but your store is still unavailable:
Recheck your tablet connectivity and Order Manager app
Confirm your store status in the Merchant Portal
Contact Merchant Support for further assistance
