For many people rain is a reason to stay back home, snuggle and binge watch shows but for delivery boys it's business as usual. One section visibly affected by the rain are the delivery companies. And while many would be wondering whether people really eat a lot during rains? The answer is yes they do because people tend to think more about their craving than the delay in delivery during rainy days. Heavy rains are enough to cripple any city’s transport network, and India’s capital city is no exception. An incessant spell of rains caused havoc in Delhi. While the city is struggling to cope this monsoon, food delivery startups are coming to the rescue of the people. Since delivery services are often affected by rain, they have to use extra resources to deliver food during this time period and need to be extra careful with their deliveries. So even though there are hindrances, delivery companies manage well when it comes to food deliveries by using online platforms like Zomato, Swiggy, Dunzo and Zepto where they can track orders easily and use minimum resources in achieving result oriented targets. Food delivery start-up, Zomato, said that the weather has had an impact on services due to infrastructure constraints and difficult road conditions. Zomato’s rival, Swiggy, had a similar strategy.
Apart from monitoring the situation constantly, the foodtech unicorn compensates its delivery partners from the ‘surge component’ that leads to a rise in prices during such times. Swiggy is not the only start-up to impose the surge component. Reliance-backed quick commerce company, Dunzo, also adds a surge fee during intense periods of rain.E-grocery start-up, Zepto, which is known for its ‘10-minute’ deliveries pushes its delivery times. The delivery guys are given a target of completing a particular number of orders to get a tip for that day. They have to rush from one location to another and in an attempt to deliver your food on time, sometimes they do fail due to traffic, rain and on rare occasions, due to vehicle breakdown. If they still end up being late, then they apologise to you for a late delivery but always remind you to give a 5 STAR rating for their delivery because each 5 Star rating makes them eligible for a small incentive from the food delivery company. This is the pressure which the delivery guys wake up to each day. They’re overworked, underpaid and starving due to the cut-throat competition from their rival companies.