Occupation: Delivery man
“Time is the most important aspect of my job. When an order is placed, the customer is told it will be delivered in 45 minutes. The task of the delivery man is to keep that trust and get the food delivered on time. I started out at The Paragon Restaurant working in the parcel section. When the group’s Salkara Restaurant opened, I was moved to the delivery section there. That was about 10 years ago and the system of extensive home delivery was just taking off. I belong to Koorachund and was clueless about Kozhikode city. A delivery man has to know a city’s nook-and-corner and so too its myriad bylanes. The initial days were tough. I would ask other drivers or pedestrians for instructions. I did not have a cell phone. So whenever I got lost, I had to get onto the main road, find a call booth, call up the customer and get detailed instructions again. When we finally manage to find the house after getting lost umpteen times, we would inevitably be late and end up receiving the customer’s wrath too. There have been instances when I have shed a tear or two after being given a dressing down by the customer. There were times when you think of giving up. And there are many who actually left. But then I think of my family and stick on. My owners have been supportive. Whenever I tell them of the trouble I had, they tell me it is okay. There are about nine of us who have been here since the beginning and now I know all the little lanes. Apart from the major landmarks, a delivery man is expected to know the houses of well-known doctors and lawyers in the city. Their houses are often cited by customers as landmarks. Since we have to be conscious of time always, we inevitably move fast. So it is common for us to get yelled at by fellow drivers on the road. We deliver food without any restriction on distances. I have given food at Mukkam and Koyilandy, Calicut University and Balussery.
We work in shifts. It begins at 7 a.m. and closes at 12 a.m. There are regulars who book breakfast and there are some who have their three meals from us. There are also those who have their tea packed. We know the regular addresses at the back of our hand and know those customers well. They, in turn know, if we are early or late by a minute. There are a lot of senior citizens who are dependent on us for their meals. Sometimes, an order would be placed when guests arrive. So if we do not reach on time, our customers would end up cutting a sorry figure. If there are unforeseen circumstances one may be late by a few minutes here and there. Even then, food should reach home with in an hour of placing the order. So be it rain or shine, we have to be on our bikes.
We arrive for duty and take on a route. We would be going up and down at least 10 times a day. Sometimes, we would get back to see we have to go the same way again with another order. The situation is really tough during festivals. Order would be three times the normal number and we would be short-staffed as workers too would have taken off for the festivities. It is a scramble then and getting late and angry customers all become the norm. Sundays, when the world is resting, we are at our busiest. But it is part of the job and I must say 90 per cent of our customers are nice to us. The joy of giving food when people are hungry is something else altogether.”
A column on men and women who make Kozhikode what it is.
