It’s business as usual for delivery driver Caitlin Goben –– aside from her bright blue facemask and the ever-stacking list of customers to service.
“We are never sitting around waiting for an order to come in,” Goben said. “Sometimes we can get 2-3 orders at a time.”
As more people stay home, the number of orders for delivery drivers are steadily increasing. Why? Because people are under orders to stay home.
The order called Safer-at-Home has reduced the number of people dining out and traveling, based on an underlying fear of possibly contracting or spreading COVID-19.
Therefore, people have opted for something more convenient to get what they want couriered right to their doorstep.
“I’ve been opting for no contact delivery, as well as making sure I’m wearing a mask and gloves when the food arrives,” Alexes Marie said, a Santa Clarita local. “All the food has been packaged in a way that I know it has not been touched by anyone besides the restaurant worker.”
It’s common for the contractors for Grubhub, Postmates and UberEats –– and everyone else, really –– to don the protection typically reserved for those in medical service when utilizing businesses labeled essential by the government.
It’s all precautionary.
“Some restaurants have you call and they bring the order out to you on a tray, drive-thru only pickup,” Goben said. “The majority of restaurants have required patrons to wear a mask when entering.”
Go back to a few months ago –– this wasn’t a common sight, people were able to go into stores without masks –– welcome to the temporary normal.
Goben isn’t alone in facing increased requests, or juggling facemasks, gloves and hand sanitizer –– it’s now commonplace. Delivery driver Tyger White does it all and takes it to the next step.
“I transport all of the food in the trunk of my car so that it is not in the interior with me,” White said. “I take my temperature twice a day.”
Restaurants have taken extra measures to guarantee a safer pickup and delivery experience. Simple moves to having all to-go items packaged and bagged with utensils, napkins and condiments. In a nutshell, drivers don’t touch any additional items during the pick-up transition.
“A lot of restaurants are allocating certain areas for pickup,” Goben said. ”There are a lot of places with markings on the floor for social distancing.”
More drivers continue to use these resources to ensure food is delivered in the safest way.
“The less people going out and moving around the neighborhood, the more we will see the curve of the virus start to flatten,” Goben said.
