Deliveroo

just signed up for a trail shift on friday around Kings Cross. Curious to see what it's like.

they give you a trail shift where they make sure you can ride between two addresses without killing yourself/anyone else, then sit you at a computer for half an hour to watch a few videos on how to ride safely.

Which is more than any traditional bike courier has ever got, though they may be working in busier areas and for longer hours. Whatever is motivating some of the people showing an interest in this, it isn't a longstanding concern for delivery riders' safety.

deliveroo is absolutely shite. I worked for them for 5ish months in manchester. Enjoyed it to start with it being my first and only courier job, the extra time out on the bike was something that i really enjoyed, not to mention getting paid for it, tips could be quite good bumping your pay up sometimes above £12 ish/ph on weekends as an average. short and split shifts got more and more tedious, a weekday day shift was 6 hours 15 mins split in half with a 3 hour break in between. riding that stupid box into the city centre for 3 hours then riding home and then back again leaving you with an hour or so in the house before you've got to go back, i was working through the winter in some horrendous weather and lugging that box on your back does take it out of you.

They do say which is true that you deliver in a 2.2km radius but what i think is its not 2.2km from your zone but 2.2km radius from the restaurant of which you're sent to, as long as that restaurant falls within the 2.2km radius (I could be wrong on that but i was often in other zones which were definitely further than 2.2km away from where i was supposed to be.)
the delivery app is so dimwitted and slow and just generally shit. crashing and closing unexpectedly, losing you jobs and in some cases exiting when you've got a customer order in your box, which leads me onto my next point about the driver support, which is based in london and I swear every single employee i spoken to must have been on their first day each and every time i rang. They can't understand what you say to them or what your problem is 9/10, which means it takes forever to get anything sorted, thats if you can even get through to them, all whilst you're getting timed and graded based on your performance delivery time/collection time etc etc, putting you in the firing line when the scores come out bi weekly.

one of my worst shifts was a saturday night and they sent me an order, i went to the restaurant which was at the top of the city centre to collect a full box load, and deliver it to what must be the absolute furthest point that a customer can order from. dropped it off, another one came through, same restaurant, back the exact same area, 4 times this happened to me in a row, I thought i must have been one of the only riders out, get back into the city centre to see 6/7 all chilling together right by the restaurant, and yet its sending me from the other side of town each time, fully laden in shit weather it was absolutely grim.

They got on my case about 'time at customer location' which is literally never your fault,because often you can't get through to the customer or they take ages to come to you, or their number is incorrect or not provided, the list goes on, then they just say what you need to decrease this or you will be fired.

i had a pretty bad crash on my way to work one day, driver pulled out on me knocked me off, drove off, snapped my handlebars along with other cosmetic damage to my bike and clothing and really shook me up to be honest, deliveroo weren't bothered in the slightest, they almost seemed annoyed that i wasn't going to turn up for work that day. they came out with new rules almost everyday, more and more things we couldn't do, when going to restaurants, going to customers, travelling to work, one of the worst things i got an email about was not being allowed to use the toilets in restaurants, i can understand its up to the discretion of restaurant and i would always ask but they said that we weren't allowed and that there was plenty of public toilets around the city for us to use, there was one that i knew of in the whole of the city centre, that wasn't open late in the evening. they should really be offering rain shelter at the centre of the zone where you're supposed to wait and a toilet facility at a minimum in my personal opinion.

They also rank cyclists and motorbikes in the same table, along with full timers and part timers, which is bull shit. most of the time the scooters get there quicker, drop off quicker cos they don't have to find a place to lock their bike etc, and i brought it up with them and they gave me some total nonsense excuse that it was completely fair because of the way they work it out but theres no way that a cyclist can keep up with a scooter on an open road, especially the way that they ride which I'm sure you've all seen, especially when you're going full map there and back with a full load plus having to lock up etc.

in summary

benefits:
no boss/manager person telling you what to do
got me really fit, which was one of the reasons i wanted to do it having not ridden in a few years
you meet a few sound guys doing the job
bi-weekly pay
sometimes the app would be really favourable, 60second deliveries with tips etc.

drawbacks
equipment is shite
customer service is shite
your driver op manager will not give a shit about anything to do with you
no shelter
increasing amount of rules
for the most part the app is shite
they cut the weekday delivery bonus or whatever you wanna call it down to 50p per order, i was on 6.50p/h so you need to be doing at least 2-3p/h which is sometimes impossible.

if you own a bike which you want to get out on more for a couple months whilst you're in between jobs go for it, if youre thinking for a job you're gonna hold down for more than a couple of months i would HIGHLY recommend looking for something else.
you won't make enough money to save anything, plus the hours will mean even if you did have extra money to spend you wouldn't ever get a chance to spend it. You have to try work lunch and and evening shifts just to make alright money which means you've got no time to go out with your mates and that, might not be a problem for some but was really annoying for me, especially since you have to work a minimum 2 weekend evening shifts a week, thats either friday, sat, sun night.

anymore questions I'm an open book..

I'll start riding as a deliveroo courier next week. I already know the cons but for me, it is the best choice as a masters student. What really concerns me is: do London cyclists find deliveroo riders annoying? Am I going to feel unwelcome on the roads? (I have been for 5 years riding a fixed gear without brakes and yesterday I put front ones, also front light). I might be caring too much about others opinions but with the brexit storm I have enough.

Dont worry what people think. Your already over qualified as a human and cyclist. Have fun be safe

it is the best choice as a masters student.

Wut.

The best way to pay off the loan and tuition fees is to deliver pizza? Just glad I fell into working as a Sparks after the degree.

Nah. To pay the tuition fees I work as an escort, Deliveroo is just to optimise the butt.

Kinky!

.

Do they try to insist all their riders stick to the rules of the road (like stopping for red lights), since they're effectively advertising the company on their backs?

Just seen the thing about instructional videos... any more than that?

Edit- Wrong thread, ignore

Yesterday evening I've seen in Clapham Junction a deliveroo courier on a mtb with a loud 2-stroke engine fitted. I could hear him from miles away, how could he pass unnoticed from the popo for more than a shift?

If pulled I'd attempt to pass it off as compressor for my refrigerated delivery bag.

Chainsaw motor, I bet.

Must have been a powerful chainsaw as the rider didn't look like feather-weight either.

Yeah, you have a trial before you start. You have even to point at where you go not having cars behind, stop for red lights and not go between cars.

I did not know about the messenger crew that rides in central London with walkie-talkies before working with deliveroo. Trust me, deliveroo riders are way more decent than them. I really enjoy seeing these couriers jumping traffic lights, brakeless and quite reckless though. They make me feel very responsible.

I might be quitting soon because it takes me an hour to get to the area I work and they don't let me change. Also tedious 3hs breaks. I'd wish I had the backpack but I go with a heavy box and riding a fixed gear my knees are already destroyed.

Looks like there's some kind of strike by deliveroo riders today going on, change of wage.

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/aug/11/deliveroo-couriers-demonstrate-against-new-contract

Trust me, deliveroo riders are way more decent than them. I really enjoy seeing these couriers jumping traffic lights, brakeless and quite reckless though. They make me feel very responsible.

Probably because couriers aren't paid hourly and is their only jobs.

But who am I to says?

User63208

Because we are "self employed" (I don't think we are) Deliveroo refuse to provide insurance for their cyclists. So their cyclists are uninsured and are completely unable to get insurance. I assure you, 100% all of their cyclists are out on the roads without insurance. I raised the issue with them, and took it to the head of driver operations. I was basically laughed out the door, and was told that cycling without insurance is "just something you have to do" and I need to be braver. Madness. Their cyclists are out on the roads unprotected, and I feel sorry for any motorists a cyclist runs into, because they're not going to get any insurance money.

After I had raised my concerns and complaints, I had my hours reduced and didn't receive any more online tips from customers, something I don't feel is a coincidence. This is a terrible company, and they treat their staff like dirt.

Am sure you saw Deliveroo raised £275m in their latest fundraising.

I think it absolutely ridiculous that individuals working with this company can't be insured.
However I'm sure it will take an action (after a serious incident) to satisfy the 'employment' test.

I wanted to start a thread about how terrible most of the riders are months ago, but thought better of it. I see people are using it as a second job/short term thing.

However no investor presentation will tell me that those who are doing this full time are anything other than employees.

Their investors, if you ever happen to make deliveries, are

Bridgepoint
DST Global
General Catalyst Partners

That doesn't excuse that (alleged) behaviour though. Otherwise anyone paid piecemeal could act that way.

I think it absolutely ridiculous that individuals working with this company can't be insured.

However I'm sure it will take an action (after a serious incident) to satisfy the 'employment' test.

Virtually nobody in the courier industry is insured through their employer. I've known a couple of people over the years who have had courier jobs tied to a specific company that also employed them under decent conditions, but those working for companies hired by the job are generally uninsured. (I suspect Control Courier Collective might have sorted out insurance, but I've never asked them about it.)

A number of couriers have been killed, and many seriously injured while on the job, but I don't believe anything meaningful has changed as a result of any of these cases. (I hope I'm wrong about that.)

Interesting reading - http://wire.novaramedia.com/2016/08/slaveroo-deliveroo-drivers-organising-in-the-gig-economy/

This comes in following the chief exec's appearance on the Today Programme this morning.