A better look at subscription models for delivery apps.
Ask any courier what makes a delivery worth it and at least half the answers will involve the tip. Even the crew courier, with full employment, will point to the tip as an indicator on the quality of the delivery. However, the solo courier using a delivery app, sees things a little differently. The biggest part of a delivery offer for the solo courier is the tip. The solo courier using a delivery app is not an employee. Therefore, no hourly compensation comes from the time spent on a delivery.
In fact, the courier using a delivery app relies on tips to create the hourly wage. If the offers that come to the queue are generous, the courier has a chance to improve the hourly buildup of the numbers. This is one reason why experienced couriers are so selective with the queue. A courier wants to make money on a delivery. Not lose money. There is already an expense, and risk, with each delivery. Experienced couriers look for offers that will compensate for the expense of the delivery. Anything above that is like regular pay.
With this in mind, the process is the same across delivery apps. However, not every courier started out with a delivery app. Some couriers started with a merchant or brand. Therefore, couriers that have been in the game for years, know there’s a difference. Furthermore, the difference between crew delivery and a delivery app may seem minimal but for the courier it’s extreme.
A Better Look at Subscription Models
Before the delivery app there were dedicated delivery crews. Some places had them and others didn’t. Most everyone associated hot fresh food delivery with pizza. And for a while the Pizza dominated the delivery scene. Other places joined in as the at home delivery grew in popularity. However, it largely began with the crew courier working for a pizza brand.
If there was a test model for the fresh food, at home delivery, it would have to be the pizza delivery driver. The delivery driver for a pizza place dealt with so many evolving policies back then. For example the split pay model. This isn’t anything like the subscription models of today’s delivery apps. The split pay was how some pizza places paid drivers. It’s purpose was to balance the risk a courier takes on when making a delivery. One of the risks is that there will be no tip.
Tipping is always optional, but couriers working for free, is not a great plan. Therefore, the courier wouldn’t get full hourly pay when dispatched on a delivery. Instead the courier received a reduced hourly wage for hours spent on the road. The idea was that the courier would get tips. The reduced hourly wage would help compensate for any non tipping trips. Then came the delivery app and the inevitable subscription model.
Delivery Apps
They were already on the scene for quite a while before they became a fundamental part of everyday life. They were basic in the beginning. In fact, it was rare to have an order ready to pick up. Back in the early days of the delivery apps, the couriers were placing the orders. Additionally they would wait for the order, and then deliver it. This took lots of time. Furthermore, it was an arduous, and time consuming system. In those days it was hard to see any benefit of a delivery app compared to the blazing speed, and accuracy, of Domino’s. Or Papa John’s.
Then came the subscription model and things began to change. Although, it is more accurate to say that things began to change, then the subscription model came to be. Furthermore, many of these changes were well underway when the world came to rely heavily on delivery apps, and delivery personnel of every type. In fact, it was this heavy reliance that helped build the subscription model . All of the sudden the at home customer had access to an unlimited variety of delivery options. And with a subscription, the deliveries were free.
Suddenly there was a new way to secure a delivery. Competitive service wasn’t just a stronghold of the delivery merchants anymore. The delivery app had a plan and with the subscription model, it had the resources. Based on the idea of free delivery, the subscription model gained traction. However, it wasn’t coming up roses for everyone.
Subscription Models for Delivery Apps
Not everyone got a benefit from the subscription model. While it was true that the customer got a deal, many customers thought the tip came with the deal. In other words, free delivery was free delivery. There was a general assumption that the courier was working for the delivery app. Since the delivery was free, so was the courier. The solo courier using a delivery app saw the offers in the queue plummet. All of the sudden the tips vanished.
Furthermore, it happened more frequently as the subscription plan gained popularity. Suddenly, offers in the queue were much lower. It seemed there was another component of the tip in danger of disappearing. The tip itself. Couriers that have delivery experience before there was a delivery app, can remember the cash delivery. Or the cash tip. Both are virtually unheard of now. The cash tip went away because debit and credit card options became the norm. And the leave at the door option played a part as well.
Quality of Service
For example, leaving the delivery at the door, was also a tip issue. It left no way for the at home customer to tip the courier. And leaving cash on the porch was not a great option. So the cash delivery went the way of the wind. It’s still possible, but becoming more and more rare. New technology and the search for convenience will continue to propel, and hopefully improve, the at home delivery experience.
Meanwhile things like the subscription model will continue to shape the way a delivery app provides service to subscribers. And the courier will still provide the all important, human touch. Stay safe out there.
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