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Timelapse Video: A Day In The Life Of A Food Delivery Guy
By
Nell Casey
Published May 5, 2015
Modified May 5, 2015
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By
Nell Casey
Published May 5, 2015
Modified May 5, 2015
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The click of a few keys can bring a whole world of wonders to your door: lunch, a vibrator, a death sentence. And while it's kind of easy to imagine these things just appear in your apartment, there's an actual human being toiling in the elements to deliver tasty grub into your mouth hole. As a reminder, Huffington Post took a ride along with a delivery worker at the Murray Hill outlet of S'Mac, the macaroni & cheese chainlet, to see what a Day In The Life is really like.
The crew strapped a GoPro to the helmet of delivery guy Gabriel Martinez Rios as he made the typical lunch rounds during a workday. In the video, Rios deftly dodges pedestrians, buses and unloading trucks, all while trying to deliver the hot food in a timely manner.
On a typical day, Rios says he makes between 15 and 30 deliveries, for which he earns $7.25 per hour plus an additional $2 - $4 per order, achieving NYC's average 13.1% gratuity. It should be noted that Rios's hourly wage, which is higher than the state minimum of $4.90—for now—includes compensation for extra work he does that isn't part of his delivery route.
Other takeaways from the video:
Rios and his fellow delivery people are responsible for buying and, for the most part, maintaining their own bicycles and locks. He's had two bicycles stolen since he began the job, just one of many hazards for delivery people; subsequently, he keeps a backup just in case. Helmets and reflective gear are provided by the restaurant.
Cell phones are another out of pocket expense and though not required by the restaurant, they're handy when a customer is hard to reach.
Rios doesn't just work a five-day-per-week schedule like the average person. To make enough money, he works seven days a week, supplementing with deliveries from a restaurant across the street on the weekends. If New Yorkers tipped the required (YES REQUIRED) 20%, he might get a freakin' day off once in a while.
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delivery
food delivery
s'mac
Nell Casey
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