The big money frustration and real time courier worries.
If it’s about big money, it must be an episode of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. If it’s not that, it might be about a delivery. Most deliveries do not pay a million dollars. In fact, many things do not pay a million dollars. However, for the courier scratching to make ends meet, that ten dollar tip might as well be a million. It matters just as much. It won’t go far, but it’s better than zero. Yet zero is what many couriers see. In fact, if it doesn’t say guaranteed somewhere on the dispatch offer screen, caveat tabellarius. (Let the courier beware.)
Every courier has been there at least once. Go the extra mile, work diligently and push the envelope. Make the drop-off…and then get zero. This is typical app delivery. Similarly, it happens to crew couriers, but there is mitigation in the loss because the courier is an employee. Therefore, the courier receives an hourly pay rate. This is not a very high pay rate. Sometimes it’s much less than minimum wage. However, it is guaranteed pay. This goes a long way toward compensation when the delivery customer does not offer a tip.
Tipping is optional. There might be gourmet restaurants, or fine dining establishments, that require a gratuity agreement before service. However, there’s nothing like that for the solo courier. Tips are a source of income for the courier using a delivery app as a side hustle. The courier is not an employee of the delivery app. Therefore, the courier only receives a small percentage for mileage. It’s pennies on the dollar.
The Big Money Frustration
Make an agreement of work for pay. And then, perform the work. However, the agreement is not complete. The work is done, and now there’s the matter of the pay. No pay? Welcome to the delivery game. Disappointing, but not unexpected. In the meantime, there is the loss of fuel. A block of time is missing, and there are no incoming resources to replenish the ones just used. It happens, and unfortunately, it happens often. Furthermore, it’s not exclusive to the gig-work courier.
However, the gig-work courier is fronting the cost of the physical delivery. Not with big money, but with limited resources and a whole lot of hope. Not big money hope. That went the way of the wind when the guaranteed tip was no longer guaranteed. In fact, that is about the only credibility a delivery app has with couriers. The guaranteed payout. Imagine taking a job and agreeing on a price for the work. Then do the work, but not get the agreed upon price. Or worse, zero. And there’s a ding in the ratings, because a pickup merchant has a history of not prioritizing deliveries.
That ding in the ratings, will cause the courier to become less likely to get a top tier delivery. Or any kind of timely support help from support agents. Does that mean the courier is on their own? If you are a courier reading this, you know the answer. You probably got it while on the side of the road losing time. After all, platinum and gold are the levels that pay. It takes a lot of low ball offers to get there, but once there, everything changes.
Real Time Courier Worries
Someone once said, the more things change, the more they stay the same. Maybe that’s true. However, reaching that gold or platinum level is only half the battle. The costly, time consuming, battle. The courier must be able to keep that level. Furthermore, it’s not the imagination. Those offers do seem to get worse. Many couriers notice it after achieving a particular level. It’s one of the first things couriers talk about while waiting at a pickup location.
This isn’t because couriers feel disgruntled. Most are grateful to have survived the previous delivery. It’s the frustration of having sacrificed resources to achieve that higher level. That higher level promises better delivery opportunities. The kind never seen by the lower silver level couriers. That’s why every courier talks about it. They all know how bad the silver level deliveries can be. Therefore, to see them again at the platinum level, is not too cool. Furthermore, it’s best to accept a couple of them, or the drop back to silver will happen faster than you can say no tip.
With this in mind, most couriers do not want to remain at the lower levels. However, that struggle is increasingly difficult. The over saturation of drivers has a negative impact on the courier. When the delivery queue remains quiet for long periods of time (especially during peak rush hours) there are too many drivers. The opposite of this is a shortage of drivers. Which sometimes means rushed driving, for tight delivery windows into unsafe neighborhoods. Many couriers see gig-work as increasingly dangerous with weak protections.
Go Big Money or Go Home
App issues like deactivations, poor support, and unrealistic metrics leave couriers with only few options. Furthermore, high turnover, burnout, and vehicle breakdowns mid-route, create plenty of headaches for the side hustle solo courier. There is also the added pressure from customer expectations. As well as the expenses associated with doing the work.
Fuel prices and vehicle wear and tear, are at the top of that list. Factor in the insurance expense, and overall operating costs eating into profits, and couriers relying on gig-work delivery are only barely able to make ends meet. It isn’t about big money. Although money is a part of it. In fact, it’s supposed to be about a side hustle opportunity. Not side hustle drudgery. The solo courier relies on the delivery app as much as the app relies on the courier. When that dynamic gets out of balance, it creates real time courier worries.
This doesn’t mean anything less than a professional attitude, and approach, is workable. Indeed, there are still customers who appreciate the convenience of at home delivery. Furthermore, they show it by tipping the courier. Courier professionalism should be nonnegotiable. It’s a standard. And one worth pursuing, regardless of pay. Stay safe out there.
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