A Day in the Life of a Deliveroo Rider
In all honesty, stalking my KPop idols is a thought that has crossed my mind a couple of times – don’t worry, I’m not that crazy – but never did I envision myself shadowing a Deliveroo rider, which is exactly what I found myself doing last week.
I’m no stranger to lunch-time laziness or late-night cravings, and ordering food online has become a weekly affair for me. When it comes to food delivery options, I’m usually a stickler for timeliness, above all things. I just don’t have it in me to wait a good hour and a half for my meal to show up – cold, might I add.
With an estimated delivery time half that of any other delivery service out there, I’ve always wondered how Deliveroo does it. How do they process orders in such a short time? And how does the food arrive on your doorstep, within the stipulated time – still piping hot?
Meet Azman, a dedicated Deliveroo rider. He was the lucky – or unlucky – one my colleague and I spent trailing for an entire day. For a delivery service that recently earned itself the grand title of being a unicorn (a company with a valuation exceeding an impressive one billion dollars), a LOT goes on behind the scenes.
Here are 10 interesting things we gathered from stalking a Roo-man for an entire day.
1. The Big Boss delivers food too
Deliveroo is one company where the boss isn’t afraid to get his hands dirty. The guy on the bike ain’t your typical Deliveroo rider – he’s Tristan Torres, the General Manager of Deliveroo’s Singapore branch.
Hailing from Barcelona, this humourous man personally carries out the first delivery of every day for top brands to ensure that he’s satisfied with the quality of food.
Before inviting a restaurant to partner up with them, he personally conducts a trial delivery to ensure that the quality of the food isn’t be compromised by the delivery time. Props to this proactive boss right here.
2. Sending edible gifts to someone special using Deliveroo is actually a thing
Oh crap! It’s fifty minutes to the end of work and you’ve just realised that today’s your tenth wedding anniversary. You’re completely empty-handed and risk facing a very angry wife back home. What do you do? Place a deliveroo order.
World famous Teuscher champagne truffles air flown from Zurich to Singapore – not bad at all for a last-minute present. Who won’t be touched if a Rooman turns up at your front door bearing gifts? You’ve just scored yourself some extra brownie points.
And if your special someone doesn’t fancy artisan chocolates, Deliveroo also delivers sweet treats like milkshakes, waffles, and even oozing chocolate lava cakes – perfect for a birthday gift or just to cheer up a friend who’s feeling down. While a typical food delivery service only transports hot meals, Deliveroo also takes on the challenge of melting desserts.
3. Quality of the food isn’t compromised by the delivery time
Kangaroos are especially protective of their offspring. Similarly, the team at Deliveroo are fiercely protective of your dining experience.
Soggy fries and cold meals are now things of the past! With Deliveroo’s high standards of quality and speedy delivery services, you can rest assured that your meal will taste just as good as an in-house dining experience. Because if upholding the original standards of the dish is a challenge, Deliveroo won’t bother bringing that particular restaurant on board.
I’ve ordered wraps from Salad Stop, and burgers from The Butchers Club all through Deliveroo, and I can safely say that it tasted exactly the same as it would’ve, had I dined at the restaurant itself.
4. Every order is a mad race against time
Deliveroo promises that every order will take an average of 32 minutes to reach its recipient. But to collect an order directly from the restaurant, and have it delivered in 1,920 seconds is no easy feat.
It’s a breeze to sit back and shake your legs while waiting for your food to arrive, but life on the flipside as a Roo-man is far from relaxing. For us, just following Azman to and fro was frazzling, to say the least.
Not to mention, we had trouble keeping up with Azman’s fast pace, and completely lost him midway through the first delivery. When we arrived at the restaurant to pick up the first order of the day, he was already gone with the wind, on his way to his destination.
When the day came to an end, my hair was dishevelled, my back drenched in sweat, and I was thoroughly exhausted.
With roughly 20 to 25 deliveries a day during the weekends, I can’t imagine how these Roo-men and Roo-women hop from place to place with a smile on their face the entire time. I have to give it to all the delivery guys in the food industry business out there!
5. Late deliveries were never so exciting
This is the sole and only instance where I actually pray to the gods for my food to arrive late. Because even if a delivery is one minute behind schedule, late is late – and nothing says I’m sorry like a Deliveroo discount code.
Azman, or should I call him Superman, wasn’t running late for any of his deliveries – his standard delivery hits an average of 28 minutes (yes, we timed him). But if your Roo-man is unusually tardy, you’ve just scored yourself $15 off your next delivery! Just sit back and wait for Deliveroo’s customer service to ring you up.
6. Deliveroo is the next Big Brother
Big brother knows everything. In this case, that’s Deliveroo. The good people at the Deliveroo HQ know everything, and anything their riders are up to – from their current location, to each individual rider’s cell phone battery level.
This is to ensure that every rider is always contactable, and ready to be dispatched at a moment’s notice to complete an order at the speed of light.
7. The Deliveroo office is dope
After reading this article, you just might find yourself sending your resume into the team at Deliveroo because their office is seriously dope. Forget sterile grey office desks, and dreary office layouts; located in a quaint shophouse along Tanjong Pagar, the Deliveroo HQ oozes chill vibes and sports dozens of Kangaroo stuffed toys hanging from walls, ceilings and random corners around the office.
There’s no need to make a special trip all the way down to Haji Lane for your next #OOTD shot – that is, if you work for Deliveroo. Their office mural is totally Instagram-worthy, and dare we say, even better than those you’ll find out on the streets.
And get this – each Deliveroo employee is given a crazy cute kangaroo onesie to snuggle up in and feel completely at home while in the office.
8. Deliveroo is growing faster than you can say kangaroo
Deliveroo is a UK-based unicorn company. Yes, you heard that right. Not because it sells unicorns or any of that rainbow hogwash, but because it recently raised a fourth round of financing worth $100 million, and this moolah is what’s driving their expansion overseas in places like our sunny island of Singapore.
Since reaching our shores last year, the company has been expanding faster than you can imagine, with an average of 30% growth week on week.
Interesting fact: This $100 million round of financing was led by Digital Sky Technologies, which also placed its bet on Facebook and Airbnb very early in the game. Mark my words, Deliveroo is the next big thing.
9. Deliveroo’s flat delivery rate is cheaper than McDonald’s
Deliveroo charges a flat rate of $3 per order. McDonald’s charges $3.50 for online orders and $4 via their hotline. ‘Nuff said.
10. Their riders are called Roo-men (or Roo-women)
Deliveroo’s fantastic team of riders are endearingly called Roo-men or Roo-women. They take pride in delivering your food to you in the shortest time possible, with a hop and a skip.
Roo-men and roo-women are all bubbly and friendly individuals. Over time, most of them, like Azman – build a rapport with the staff of various restaurants, and sometimes enjoy free drinks and ice cream while taking a short break.
If you’re Roo-man wannabe, and if the Deliveroo’s fun culture and job perks excite you, today’s your lucky day – Deliveroo is hiring riders! Enjoy great pay, a slew of benefits, and be a part of a dedicated, growing community of Roo-Men and -Women. Sign up here.
If you’re still not convinced, watch our video footage of the day in first person here!
About Deliveroo
If Newton’s Law of Inertia applies to you, Deliveroo is about to become your new best friend. Experiencing extreme cravings for some Cedele, or some Udders ice cream, but it’s too much work to haul your butt off the couch?
All you have to do is enter your postal code, and a list of restaurants that you can order from will magically appear.
Also, you’ll be elated to know that instead of having to endure the arduous wait till noon before placing your first order, Deliveroo now also offers a breakfast delivery option within the CBD area; which is available from Monday through to Friday, from 8am – 11am. Perfect if you’re running late and low on energy.
Coffee and bagels anyone? Source
With so many different cuisines and eateries to choose from, an absurdly affordable delivery fee, and a minimal waiting time, there’s no reason not to order from Deliveroo.
Place your next order now!
This post was brought to you by Deliveroo.