Ambassadors serve up savings

DoorDash brings access to free food Mondays and Wednesdays at San José State in exchange for a free trial signup.

The mobile food ordering company has implemented a membership, DashPass, where students are able to get access to exclusive offers. 

The student free trial includes every perk the regular DashPass monthly membership offers; zero delivery fees, credit back on some orders and local selection of restaurants. 

Michael Figueroa, a third-year Business Administration Management student, assists students with offering this cheaper alternative to food delivery.

“The point of bringing this to campus is to bring awareness to what DoorDash offers to college students,” Figueroa said. “They offer cheaper options for students to pay for the DashPass.” 

Figueroa said that by becoming a college student ambassador the company can promote subscriptions to other students.

The DoorDash Campus Launcher program gives students the opportunity to gain experience in marketing, advertising and event planning while serving as the face of DoorDash, according to Startup Jobs.

“It’s good for us (promoters) too because it gives us hands-on experience in sales and also marketing for DoorDash,” Figueroa said.

This program is offered to college students across the country, not just students who are receiving degrees is business, he said.

“Campus launches are expected to begin within the first weeks of the semester,” Figueroa said.

Aaditya Avadhani, a second-year business administration student, provided information on bringing DashPass access to students.

“It’s an incentive to get students to learn about the DashPass program and more of what we offer,” Avadhani said. 

Sophia Soto, a third-year business student, is one of the ambassadors responsible for the weekly food offerings.

“We’re given a budget every week (it) usually tends to be $1,500 a week per ambassador to spend on food and that is purely through DoorDash,” Soto said. 

Most recently, they offered Dave’s Hot Chicken and Wingstop and often discuss what they are going to give out the following week, Figueroa said.

“(Food offered) varies a lot, mostly depending on the weather (and) what type of day it’s going to be,” he said. 

Siva Surya Chandran, a graduate data analytics student, signed up for the trial on campus.

“It’s actually good, I’m getting the pass now so I can get free delivery,” Chandran said. “It’s very useful.”

The DashPass subscription typically costs members $9.99, four dollars more compared to the student price, according to the DoorDash membership webpage.

The use of online food retail is growing in popularity because of easy access through websites and smartphone applications, according to an April 13 Nature Portfolio study. 

“We get on average 100-150 signups, so it’s pretty good,” Avadhani said. “A lot more students are becoming more aware because it’s spreading across the (student) population that we are here twice a week.”

Age groups between 18-25 have been reported with highest use of food delivery apps, found in a 2023 study conducted by Springer Nature.

Along with the two college ambassadors, Soto said her team was excited to return for this semester.

“The three of us actually were DoorDash ambassadors last semester as well so then they were like ‘Do you want to renew your contract?’ and all of us said ‘yes,’ ” Soto said.