Photo credit: Quora

By Nicholas Kim

Since COVID-19 began to affect how restaurants conduct business, food delivery services have gained an advantage thanks to the extra influx of orders. 

Services like DoorDash, Postmates, and Grubhub are technology companies that use logistics services to offer food delivery from restaurants. In order for a person to deliver food, they must have the proper tools: a smartphone, a car, an insulated hot bag, and a mask. On a food delivery shift, the person must be ready to accept orders, go to the restaurant, pick up the items, and then drop off the order wherever the customer wants the driver to go. The benefits of this work is the driver can make their own schedule and receive tips for every completed delivery. Drivers are classified as independent contractors.

Due to COVID-19 affecting how restaurants serve customers by utilizing outdoor dining and temperature scanners, many people would rather order takeout then dine outside. Instead of handoffs, customers can ask for drivers to leave their orders on their doorsteps, which is called no-contact delivery. Food delivery service drivers have lots of opportunities to make extra money during lunch and dinner. There are some generous customers who compensate drivers really well. People order extra food not just for normal dinners, but for special occasions like for sporting events and birthday parties. 

One problem with food delivery services is that most drivers usually accept higher money orders than low paying orders. There are some instances when the customer would tip less or none at all and drivers would end up not accepting the order. Any orders that are not accepted are blacklisted until someone finally accepts the order, but by then, the food would get cold and wouldn’t taste good. The best advice for customers would be to tip fairly if they want their orders delivered as quickly as possible. 

Food delivery services sound like a good opportunity for those who want extra income. Delivering food around the area and making money for each completed order can be beneficial for workers. However, drivers should worry about traffic problems, slow restaurants, and demanding customers. COVID-19 has allowed food delivery services to expand their reaches and got many people to use their services.