As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, food delivery has thrived like never before. Most restaurants previously placed their focus on dine-in operations and didn’t pay as much attention to this area of the business, but now, with so few other revenue streams coming in, more and more restaurants have begun improving the efficiency of their delivery services.
For those new to delivery, partnering with a third party app is a great place to start. These apps already have an audience, they make it easy for customers to find your restaurant, and you don’t have to spend money or time promoting your name. On top of cutting startup costs and providing you with a built-in customer base, many of these platforms have particular appeal right now because of how they’re helping delivery drivers through the COVID-19 pandemic.
contactless delivery
Many third party platforms like Postmates, Grubhub and Uber Eats have implemented no-contact delivery options. Rather than handing off an order like usual, workers can now leave food at the door and let the customer know via text or call that their order has arrived. By giving them the option to eliminate face-to-face contact, delivery workers and customers both reduce their risk of infection and abide by the six foot social distancing guideline without compromising efficient service.
Though these apps all refer to them by different namesnon-contact, no-contact and contactless delivery, or “leave at the door” deliverythey all work similarly to reduce the spread of infection between workers and customers.
Many platforms, like DoorDash, put a twist on contactless delivery by implementing it, not only as an option, but as the default. Customers have to deliberately opt in to face-to-face delivery now, and even still drivers can change over to contactless at any time by simply confirming it with the customer via call or text. This puts power into the workers’ hands and lets them control their own health and safety as much as possible. Although this, like many of the measures that third party apps have started using, was invented to combat the spread of COVID-19, this feature has the potential to last long after mandatory self-isolation measures lift.
People will likely show a lot more caution toward contact and the spread of all diseases in the future, and features like this will probably stick around long-term.
free sanitary products
Though contact-free delivery is now the norm, delivery drivers still come within the recommended six feet of many people throughout the day: Countless restaurant workers who hand them their orders, customers who opt into regular delivery and people out on the street as they go from door to door.
Platforms like Uber Eats now offer disinfectant to their workers. Of course, many of these products like gloves and paper towels have long since disappeared from shelves; as Uber struggles to meet demand for sanitation, the company will prioritize workers in major cities first in the hopes of curbing the disease in the worst-affected and highest-populated areas.
When workers do get sick or exposed, many companies now offer financial assistance to out-of-work drivers for the first time. DoorDash, for example, suspends the driver’s account and provides them with two weeks’ pay to prevent people come to work sick due to financial concerns or a lack of other options.
Charity funding has also popped up recently to assist drivers who do fall ill. For example, the Postmates Fleet Relief Fund aims to give workers access to preventative care, testing, medical expenses and check-ups. This ensures the continued wellness and safety of delivery drivers. Drivers can also receive extra assistance from the Fund if they get sick, which covers two weeks’ worth of lost income. To protect their customers, Postmates will also put workers’ accounts on hold if they test positive for COVID-19, a suspension that lasts until the incubation period ends and they make a full, confirmed recovery.
They published a safety guide on their website that breaks down how drivers, delivery workers, customers and restaurants can each stay healthy. Along with this, the webpage also provides additional resources so people can support drivers and restaurants during this time.
With quarantines still going strong and people growing more scared to leave the house, delivery apps are a great way to keep your restaurant running despite the closure of dine-in services. Platforms like these go above and beyond for our essential workers to get them the help they need. After all, they’re risking a great deal to get us what we need.
