Ryan George acts out what it's like getting food delivered through an app like Grubhub, DoorDash, or Uber Eats. He may be exaggerating just a little. Yeah, it's a bit pricey, I've heard. But these services also offer work for delivery people. No vetting, no contract, no training, and local shifts are snapped up immediately (it's gig work, after all), so a friend of mine drove to the next town for a shift just to try it out. Made $3 in pay that night, plus a $5 tip, which barely covered his gas. So where do all those fees go? You guessed it- investors. But only after the startup folks get their salaries. (via Digg)
Grubhub and Doordash are not profitable, and Uber Eats just turned profitable in 3Q21. So no profits are accruing to shareholders.
ReplyDeleteIn defense of the workers, I think they are largely getting screwed because they don't take into consideration the considerable depreciation (wear and tear) on their car. My S.I.L. has done this when she was between jobs or had a rent check due, and says it is really only worth her time on holidays or when there's a big game on the TV. She also, sadly, doesn't figure in depreciation.
An idea is really unsustainable if the company, the workers, the restaurants, and the consumers are all largely worse off for its implementation. If these delivery services are around in another 15 years they'll have to have a different business model than they have now (thankfully, hopefully).