10 mins Delivery: Good or Bad?
The hyper-local delivery space is getting hyper by the day! But, at what cost?
Make a wish and it will be instantly granted. Umm...almost instantly.
5 years ago, this would have sounded unachievable. In fact, impossible!
But thanks to our cool startups, it has now become our reality. Home delivery of your groceries within 10 minutes! Unbelievable, right?
But that’s exactly what Grofers is aspiring for.
Haah. Not everyone is enchanted. Recently, a voice has started picking up. A voice that is fighting for the invisible, silent, yet the most important piece of the delivery puzzle: the delivery executives.
Imagine the kind of urgency and pressure the 10-minute deadline will create for them. Imagine running umpteen 10 mins sprints throughout the day. Imagine the toll that it will take on their health.
The food-delivery executives go through this menace every day. And now, more of them are going to join this clan. Harsh weather, traffic jams, ungrateful customers, disrespect, high petrol prices, road accidents. All of this hassle for a meager income.
Here’s a reality check:
Why tolerate. Just find another gig, right?
Unemployment in India is at its worst in 29 years. It’s a choice between the devil and the deep sea. A choice not made out of free will.
But, hold on. Do we, customers, even need our groceries to be delivered within 10 mins?
Makes a very compelling case against this race of fastest delivery by the startups in the hyper-local space, no?
Now, let’s flip over the coin. Let’s see what the other side has to say.
Cold. Hard. Facts.
Or, is it?
It is the algorithms that define the fate of delivery executives. In an attempt to automate processes for speed, these algorithms have removed the human factor from the job. Who’s going to be penalized, who’s going to be given which order, what’s the reward going to be like, everything driven by an algo.
The founders of these billion-dollar companies see the numbers on a report derived from an algorithm. They only see the top of the tower, and have lost touch with the reality on the ground. Sure, scale has been achieved. But, at what cost?
In the face of backlash, Zomato, now a listed company, felt compelled to do some face-saving: an ad campaign glorifying the delivery ‘partners’. Haven’t we seen such campaigns, saluting the hunger warriors in the past as well?
Have we gone too far with our motto of ‘Customer is King’.
But let’s not put the blame solely on the startups. Let us act like Kings? Why can’t we be compassionate to these delivery executives?
The food came a little late. Maybe, a little cold. So what? The ratings that we give don’t create a dent in our life. But, the delivery partners are at the mercy of mere algorithms, remember? Our fingertips can make or break their dreams and aspirations.
Yes, that's the power we truly have as 'Kings'. It shouldn’t have been in the first place. But if we have it, why not use it for good?
Here’s to hoping that the hyper-local space does not get more hyper.
Until next time...
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