Following Governor Newsom’s statewide Stay-At-Home order, local GrubHub driver Kyle Fleischman worries that his job leaves him and his family vulnerable to COVID-19.
“My grandma lives with me and my family and she is immune deficient so I don’t want to get her sick,” explained Fleischman. “Because of the shutdown I got laid off from my other job so I have no other choice, I need to bring home money for my family.”
The Los Angeles County public health department officially cites 48 cases of positive testing for COVID-19 within the city of Santa Clarita posing a genuine concern to Fleischman.
With almost two years of GrubHub experience, Fleischman continues to work alongside employees from Uber, Postmates, Lyft, and other restaurants whose business models rely upon customer interaction.
“With millions of people out of work and worrying about bills and stuff like that I am glad to still have a way to make income” Fleischman commented.
Fast food chains have adapted to the situation by introducing new promotions that incentivize food delivery. Chains like Chipotle have even pushed advertising for their free delivery deals.
GrubHub has recognized the struggles and taken actions to protect local restaurants and drivers by deferring commission fees for independent restaurants and setting up the Grubhub Community Relief Fund which donates contributions to support food drivers.
“Using Contact-free delivery at checkout, you can safely continue to support your favorite local restaurants,” added founder and CEO of GrubHub Matt Maloney. “For the safety of you and our drivers, drivers will call/text when they arrive and drop off your order on the doorstep, in the lobby or other area designated by you.”
Despite the free delivery deals offered and health measures made, Fleischman continues to examine the direct effect that the quarantine is having on personal income.
“What is funny I notice with the runs I do from the places that are free delivery are the same runs where I don’t get any tips” Fleischman admitted. “I don’t know if I am not getting any tips because people think free delivery means you don’t need to tip but I am not making as much money.”
With federal and state authorities standing firm on measures to combat the crisis, the future is unclear for Fleischman and hundreds of other drivers, cooks, and local businesses.
Canyons News reporters Nicholas Murphy, Ryan Gutierrez, Inderjeet Gawra also contributed to this story.
