Confessions of a Delivery Driver
The average person gets into their car, goes to work, and then back home. Maybe there is a trip to the grocery store, cinema, or a visit with a friend. The busy parent may have a carpool for the kids to practice. But, for a delivery driver, their car is their livelihood, and generally not a lucrative one.
It seems quite easy: deliver food to a hungry family and pick up some nice tips. But, the reality is that the job is less than rosy, and can turn the car into a junk car in no time at all.
Discarded pizza box, Cregganconroe cc-by-sa/2.0 - © Kenneth Allen - geograph.org.uk/p/3579577
“If I wasn’t in my car all day, I wasn’t making any money,” one driver told us. “My entire job depended on putting hundreds of miles on my vehicle and my cell phone. Most of the time, even though I was rushing from delivery to delivery, I didn’t make enough money even to afford the food I delivered.”
Another driver told us, “I was living with my family, and not really contributing anything. After paying for my phone, gas, tires, car maintenance and repairs, there wasn’t a lot left.”
Since the average driver makes $7.85 per hour, it’s easy to see how gas, car mileage and car repairs could spiral out of control.
Tips? Sometimes
But, tips should make up for the low pay, right? Not really. While many people tip modestly, there are quite a few who never tip at all. Plus, those tips often went to sustenance for the car and driver.
“In July, driving around in the car, even with the air conditioning on, we end up drinking bottle after bottle of water or caffeinated drinks in order to stay alert in busy traffic,” one home service driver told us.
They get lost
Another problem drivers have is occasionally getting lost.
“Siri isn’t perfect,” one pizza delivery driver told us. “Plus, sometimes the person who took the order would get the address wrong, or my phone would die. I’d be dead in the water.”
An older cell phone is doom to a delivery driver, many of whom have earlier model iPhones which are prone to losing battery power fast near the end of their battery life, or even sooner.
“Sometimes my phone would die suddenly when it had 51% power,” a driver told us. “One time, I left my charger at home but had a full charge. At 51% my battery died while I was on a delivery. I had to find the place from memory and was late. The woman screamed at me over her late food order. I was so stressed out from trying to find her house that I just couldn’t take any more. That was my last day.”
They have mishaps
Due to the sheer volume of time a delivery driver spends on the road, he has a higher chance of an incident in which he might be issued a ticket. A ticket can be fought, or won’t go on his driving record, but only if he’s willing to shell out to take a driver safety class.
The other danger is the potential for spills if the delivery driver works in food delivery. Even if nothing ever spills, the smell of food is frequently embedded in the upholstery. You know how sometimes you can smell your burger meal in the car the next day? Magnify that by the number of deliveries a driver has in a day to give you an idea of how powerful the residual odors can be.
An accident will end a delivery driver’s career, without the benefit of a two-week notice, finishing out the day, or even getting paid for the delivery of the food which is in the car at the time. In addition, the repair and subsequent insurance rate hike are his responsibility, oftentimes even if the wreck wasn’t his fault. His car becomes an instant salvage vehicle and a salvage car service is often the best option.
Car maintenance
The car always has to look clean. If the air conditioning, heat, windshield wipers, or even the door locks fail to work, delivery driving becomes hazardous. But, even a small thing like a dead battery or flat tire can create a catastrophic day for a delivery driver, since many don’t have a second vehicle to use.
Robberies
A delivery driver is always in danger of getting robbed. While drivers aren’t allowed to enter homes, the danger is still high that they will be mugged. There is also the potential for the customer to take the food and then refuse to pay for it. While calling the police seems like a simple solution, it takes inordinate amounts of time, and some drivers confess that they can then live in fear the person will use a different address and then lie in wait for revenge. “I’ve seen some weird stuff,” one driver confessed.
If you are in the Phoenix Metro area and want a no-hassle cash offer on an old, wrecked, unwanted, salvage or burned car, SUV, van or truck, give us a call at I Buy Junk Cars 480-771-8290.