The mushrooming of the on-demand food delivery ecosystem has found youngsters coming in droves to be employed as delivery executives. The minimal work requirement of a smartphone, two-wheeler and a driving licence has worked to their advantage.
Flexibility of work hours has enabled college students, including young women, to take up the job as part-time employment, which gives them financial independence. Sandeep, who is pursuing B.A. Sociology at a city college, is enthused by the prospect of making a quick buck even while studying. He has been working with UberEats for over a month, and expects to earn close to ₹20,000 a month. The supplementary income will go a long way in meeting the financial needs of his family, he says.
“After class hours, I log in for work by around 5 p.m. and put in six hours on week days. On weekends, I get busy right from breakfast hours. The earnings help me pay for my tuition and repay the loan I had taken to purchase my motorcycle. A lot of my peers do the same,” he says.
Incentives
Incentives to delivery agents on the basis of the number of deliveries and the distance covered make the remuneration package attractive. Besides, working during late hours, especially after 10 p.m., helps them earn more.
However, not all is rosy. Many a time, delivery executives have had to face unruly behaviour by customers, especially during night. “There have been instances when customers have refused to pay for the food. A group of students once threatened to manhandle me when I sought payment for a food delivery made to a men’s hostel. It required the intervention of the police to make the customers pay up,” says Nabeel, who has been part of the food delivery business for around three months.
Moreover, there are no social security benefits, barring the provision of life insurance, which makes the job uncertain. However, amidst the excitement surrounding the business model, not many complain.
Short-term trend
Management experts, however, feel that the current trend is a temporary phenomenon, even while it provides a stimulus to the market.
“Besides ensuring the delivery of food, such e-commerce ventures have enabled customers to purchase food at cheaper rates. The facility has also proved to be a boon for restaurants that lack parking space and other facilities,” points out K.S. Chandrasekhar, Dean of Faulty of Management Studies and Head of the Institute of Management in Kerala, University of Kerala. He feels restaurant owners were now becoming cautious after the numbers of those visiting their outlets dwindle. “This has made many to ponder options such as excluding sought-after food items from the list of what is offered through food delivery apps,” Dr. Chandrasekhar says.
