04/13/2024
Episode #1
I’m A Delivery Driver, of Course I….
As a delivery driver, there are so many things that we do, or know because we are “behind the curtain.”
Some of them are really interesting and helpful for drivers and customers alike. Others are simply just entertaining.
I have several “I’m a delivery driver, of course I…” sayings, and here are some of my favorites.
I’m A Delivery Driver, of Course I….
- Know Which Restaurants Have The Best Wifi
Sometimes, when you go into a restaurant, you have no cell service, fortunately, some of them have wifi. One that’s almost guaranteed is Starbucks.
But, a lot of mom-and-pop restaurants that are also doing delivery orders now also have wifi which has been nice.
I’m A Delivery Driver, of Course I….
- Simultaneously “I’m Tired of This Grandpa” While Also Painfully Aware That “That's Too Damn Bad”
This is my personal favorite one.
There is so much going on with delivery and gig work in general that it is not nearly as good as it once was.
Even still, many of us need to be on the road making money, even if we have to find new ways to do it or make slightly less than we like.
Without a boss to motivate us, though, we have to find some way to motivate ourselves, and this movie quote is perfect.
I’m A Delivery Driver, of Course I….
- Know Which Places Have Single and Clean Bathrooms
Being away from home for so long, at some point, you will need to use the restroom.
If you have any standards whatsoever, there are some places that you’ll just avoid at all times.
Going to many restaurants so often, you’ll see which ones are clean and which are not.
Another note on this: there are some restaurants that I used to order food from that I now don’t because I’ve picked up from there and seen how unclean it is.
If you have some food you’re ordering and you haven’t physically been to the restaurant, you may want to consider visiting at least once.
I’m A Delivery Driver, of Course I….
- Point out the Houses and Apartments I've Delivered to When Driving Around
This is probably one of those things that people just get tired of hearing about.
When my husband and I drive to the grocery store, a friend's house, a movie, or anything else, I’ll mention how I’ve delivered to that house, that apartment, or the doctor's office before.
I usually follow it up with if they were difficult, added more tip, or most likely I won’t remember anything other than I was there.
I’m A Delivery Driver, of Course I….
- Whine About No Tippers Every Chance I Get
I would love to NOT accept orders that don’t show a tip….. but as time and experience goes, you either accept them or risk tanking your acceptance rating.
Every so often, I’ll see that an order has no tip, but I’m already headed in that direction, or I know it’s a restaurant that will have the order ready when I get there, or even I need to use the restroom and that restaurant is clean.
Those times that I do accept an order with no tip, I’m almost always disappointed. I like to “have faith in humanity” with these orders and hope they will give cash or add a tip afterward.
In my experience, that isn’t going to happen, so you might as well just decline that request and wait for an actual good one if you don’t mind your ratings going down.
I’m A Delivery Driver, of Course I….
- Get a Ping That Says Pick up by a Certain Time and Know the Restaurant Won’t Have it Ready by Then!
The vast majority of places do not have orders ready when I come in. Last week I got a request from Wendys, I was very close, it took me about 2 minutes from when I got the request to when I was in the building asking for the order.
The employee then pulled the ticket and showed me that he had just gotten the order seconds before I asked him for it. Which means the restaurant didn’t get the order till a few minutes after me.
I don’t know if that’s why there is a delay with so many restaurants, but I do know that many will not have your order ready when you get there, and if you do this long enough, you know which ones they are.
I’m A Delivery Driver, of Course I….
- Know Every Shady Parking Spot in My Area
I live in New Mexico, where it’s hotter and dryer than, well, everywhere in my state.
As such, I need to find places to park my car and stay in the shade so I’m not wasting gas while I wait for a request.
I also need to find places with good internet so that the requests continue to come in. Bonus points if I find a place that’s in the shade, has wifi, and is next to a lot of restaurants.
How About You? 🤔
