As couriers, just as it usually occurs for any other occupation, we often assume people know a lot about what we do, so we only explain very specific details or events, I would like to bring clarity into what a Foodora bike rider does:
To begin our shift we gear up and head for the center of Helsinki, we need to be within a specific area and in a 15 min time window prior to our scheduled time to be able to start the shift, then we wait for orders, sometimes orders come immediately one after another, sometimes we wait for hours, sometimes you wish for a break as you may get tired from going up and down from one extreme of the city to the other, sometimes you would really like to have more orders instead of just waiting there fidgeting with your phone, as they factor as about 40% of your total income.
When you get an order your clock starts ticking, you are timed for every possible data indicator the system can get through your phone, time to get to the restaurant, waiting for the food to be ready, bringing the food to the client’s proximity and, finally, delivering the food to the client after accessing the building and walking up the stairs if needed.
New order, clock begins ticking again, this information is then used to compare your performance to the rest of the freelancers, it differentiates us according to a batch system those with better KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) have good chances for acquiring shifts – which are limited and booked every Wednesday for the upcoming week – perhaps even suit them smoothly into their schedule; on the other hand, riders with lower KPIs will usually pick any shift they can get, often having to reschedule personal events, there is also the chance of not finding any shift as all of them have already been taken, your weekly income is zero, without shifts you have little chances to find shifts next week. It is pretty logical, effective system, however, Is this an acceptable business relation between human beings?
Anonymous Foodora Courier
