That time I accidentally used the gig economy

Last Thursday night, I feel asleep early. This isn't exactly an unusual thing to do, but it had some unexpected consequences. 

One of which was that I'd forgotten to do the weekly online shop before zonking out. So, the next morning as the grey sky started to fill with light, I feverishly did my online shop and opted for the same-day delivery option, rather than my usual next day option. Because if my household runs out of butter, the world will come to end. And by "my household", I of course mean "I".

I noted the supermarket said that the same-day delivery service would be offered through their partner deliverers. I didn't know what that meant and just assumed it was a third-party company or something.

Well.

Turns out that it was a third-party company or something. 

Kind of.

But not quite.

The first clue that something was different was that my shop order was limited to 80 items. I only found this out when I went over the 80 item limit. OK, unusual, I thought, but - hurry up, you're burning daylight - the partner deliverer must only use smaller delivery trucks or something. No matter. I sacrificed my mandarins because they were counted individually, and appeased the 80-limit gods. 

That evening, within my delivery time window, I got a text from the third-party partner deliverer company saying my groceries had been collected and were on their way.

All good. And just in time to prevent the Great Butter Catastrophe of June 2021.

Then came the text courteously wishing me a good evening by name and informing me the delivery was outside the gate.

I went out to greet them, because - although the porch light is on, asking strangers to map their way through a small but bushy path, for the first time, at night, to reach said porch - is a bit unfair. 

At the gate, I was very surprised to find a young man with his own personal vehicle.

He greeted me very politely and said he had my groceries. I told him to just pop them inside the gate on the driveway. He immediately looked anxious and said there were many bags. It seemed he felt it would be a dereliction of his delivery duties to not be putting them directly on the porch. I reassured him the driveway was fine, retreated and left him to unload.

He sent the text confirming delivery was complete, and all was good.

This was pretty much my first encounter with the gig economy. This was like an Uber for grocery deliveries. I've never used Uber or any of its variations. I get that Uber is cheaper than taxis, that it's been successful enough to spawn similarly-modelled competitors, and that it's branched out into food deliveries. But, I hadn't realised the shift into grocery deliveries, though there's a logic of continuity there, once you think about it. 

But.

Here's the thing. I haven't partaken in the delivery services gig economy before now because, as a potential consumer, I don't particularly like the idea of the model. I appreciate that it's voluntary on the part of the drivers who sign up to provide the service. I appreciate that it's a gig with a level of flexibility that lets the drivers fit in the work around other life commitments. 

But. 

I don't like the seemingly exploitative element. Yes, Uber rides are cheaper, but if this is their main gig, is the system set up to allow the driver to earn a liveable wage?

I don't like 'independent contractor' vs 'employee' distinction, which allows the company to benefit from the people on the ground who do all the grunt work and take all the risks, but receive none of the benefits. If you're any kind of business/technology disruptor and innovator, then for god's sake, innovate a new, hybrid approach to how you manage the network of people you rely on.

I don't like that the risks and gaps in the model - where driver (and consumer for that matter) can fall prey to such environmental factors as accidents and malicious actions. Where you know if something goes wrong, the owner/company/brand can legally just shrug its shoulders and say 'our lawyers dealt with this in the Terms and Services. You signed it. You agreed. Not our problem.'

For that matter, I also don't like reports of toxic cultures which have circulated about Uber in particular.

I realise that my dislikes are, on many levels, Uber-specific. But if Uber have been the groundbreaker, then they're also the ones who've laid the groundwork for models with big, fat flaws which are still seemingly unaddressed. At least, this is from my perspective as a lay-consumer.

The young man who delivered my groceries was polite and courteous in every way. He was also anxious - either to do a good job as a newcomer to the gig, or because of the unknowns and potential risks that sit behind every garden gate, or both.

I wish him all the best and I really hope the company he works with is doing a decent job looking after their 'contractors'.

For me, there's a lot tangled into the decision to use (or not) the gig economy. For me, it's way more than a cheap, easy fare. And this is why - as I said earlier - I deliberately, consciously haven't taken part in the gig economy before now. But now, I've gone and done it unintentionally. 

But I don't think I'll be doing it again anytime soon.

That's the plan, anyway.

I'll see what happens the next time I run out of butter. Will principles or taste buds prevail.

Until then.

Du fond du coeur x