Food deliveries under pressure spill into risks
Print Edition
IT is almost 10pm, and a small restaurant near People’s Square in downtown Shanghai is about to close for the day. The owner, surnamed Zhang, shuts the till, cleans up the place and puts the last of the home-delivery orders on the counter for pickup by couriers.
It’s a sort of rush hour for him. Many people order late-night suppers during the chill of winter.
“More than half of my business is now take-out meals, and that’s double last year,” he says. “I am thinking of adding more delivery-friendly dishes to the menu.”
The food courier business was among the most rapidly growing in 2016, fed by online platforms operated by big players like Ele.me, Meituan and Baidu Takeout. On Christmas Day alone, Meituan and Ele.me both reported 9 million orders in a single day.
The platforms serve more than 1,400 cities across China, and among the most dedicated users are young people and white-collar workers who don’t have the time, facilities or skill to cook for themselves.
The system is fueled by the legions of couriers who crisscross cities on their electric scooters, delivering meals to consumers — everything from breakfast pancakes to late-night fried chicken. Ele.me alone has more than 1 million deliverymen.
Although they often make more money than traditional couriers, the scooter brigades operate under intense pressure to deliver hot meals on time. They are charged fines if they are late or if they receive complaints from customers. Many of the deliverymen are migrants from rural areas of China.
The death of one of them early this month caused a stir on social media and even drew some mention at the ongoing meeting of the Shanghai Municipal People’s Congress and its consultative committee.
A food deliveryman working for Ele.me was killed when his scooter ran a right light. Video of the accident went viral online. A few days later, another video appeared, showing a distraught young deliveryman crying in an elevator because he hadn’t delivered a meal on time.
“Before I saw news of the deliveryman who died, I sort of took it for granted that delivery guys should always be on time,” says Phil Shen, an office worker in her late 20s who orders take-outs two or three days a week when she works late. “I even got mad at them a few times when it took them more than an hour to arrive. Now I feel really bad. It is not worth breaking traffic regulations and risking lives to get my food on time.”
Many netizens, like Shen, are beginning to examine their own roles in this system. Many who used to put in PS for “please rush” on orders are now are putting PS for “please be safe” instead.
Speed vs money
It’s a dilemma for food couriers like Zhang Jia. He admits he has flouted traffic rules and had minor accidents in order to keep to delivery times. In this business, speed equals money.
“I always tell myself to be more careful, but the pressure of time ticking away always turns me a bit crazy,” Zhang says. “We have accidents every day. Shanghai is a big and busy city, with lots of cars, especially at rush hours. And rush hours are also our busiest times.”
According to iResearch Consulting Group, meal delivery in China constituted 7.4 of the food industry market in 2015.
In 2016, Ele.me announced that its number of delivery personnel, crowd-sourced through the logistics platform Fengniao, had reached 1 million.
Chen Ye, 21, is one of them. He uses an iPhone to receive orders and navigate routes. His WeChat profile photo evokes the image of a Korean boy-band star.
“I am the youngest qishou (rider) at my station,” he says. “I was working at a restaurant back home less than a year ago when a friend of mine introduced me to this business. So I came here, and it’s good money.”
When Chen first took up delivery duties, it was tough for him to learn the streets in his assigned area and locate odd addresses. After an adjustment phase he is now earning 6,000-7,000 yuan (US$882-1,029) a month.
“It really depends on how fast you are, but earning 5,000-6,000 yuan a month isn’t hard in this industry,” he says.
On unlucky occasions, a complaint from a customer can result in a fine of more than 100 yuan, but Chen says that doesn’t happen often.
Bad weather is the scourge of couriers. Deliveryman Huang Chengtian sustained a broken bone when his scooter slipped on the way to make a delivery on a rainy day.
The various platforms have different remuneration systems, but overall, couriers earn about 5-10 yuan per order. Tips are sometimes given by customers, but being late by more than half an hour can result in customer complaints and employer fines.
In December, restaurant owner Zhang says he never took a day off. He earned about 7,000 yuan because business picked up as the weather got colder. Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, not particularly holidays in China, also saw a rush of orders. He had 41 on Christmas Day, 60 percent more than usual.
Wang Luoyan, 39, milk teashop owner
“Delivery is really important for us, because that is our major business. I pack the drinks cautiously to make life easier for the deliverymen. They deserve more respect and care.”
Rachel Lin, 25, entrepreneur
“It was horrible to hear about the deliveryman who died, but he should never have disobeyed the traffic rules. I really appreciate the couriers. Food delivery is a godsend, but the couriers should take care.”
Wang Xing, 20, university student
“I tried food delivery as a part-time job but gave up after two days. There’s too much pressure and the work is hard in winter cold. The companies should make exceptions for orders that arrive late for good reasons and not just treat all overdue orders the same.”
Zhang Lianjie, 35, financial consultant
“The deliverymen are really a troublesome on the streets. There have been so many times when a delivery scooter suddenly veered in front of me, almost colliding with my car. Something should be done to keep traffic flow orderly and safe for everyone.”
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