Contents

Introduction 1 Food Delivery in the Era of the Now

Methodology 3

Processes and CircuitsAbout the ExperimentAs a result

Obstacles to Save Time 7

The Deliveryman’s Toolkit 9

Mapping the Trayectories 11

To Destination 1To Destination 2To Destination 3To Destination 4

The Deliveryman’s Manifesto 20

“Online reviews can kill your business” Mike B. (restaurant owner)

Food delivery in the era of the now

We are currently living in the era of the now, where communications are nearly instantaneous. “Our techno-cultural default is one of tem-poral intolerance” (Lovink, “The Society of”, 6). The mes-sage contained in a letter, for example, has turned into an electronic note, one that can no longer wait for the sender and receiver to get access to a computer; a message that is now transmitted from and re-ceived on portable devices on real-time. Communication technologies allow communi-cants to transmit their

thoughts – in the form of text, fix and moving images, or sounds – through the invisible and quasi-magical paths of the Net. Some texts, however, keep their physicality intact. This is the case of the senso-rial attributes of smells and tastes. This is the particular case of food and its delivery in the era of the now.

“Estimated delivery time” is one of the variables that consumers take into account when ordering food.1 The “de-livery time” starts running from the instant the order is placed. The latest develop-ments in communication technologies have reached the sphere of food delivery.

In an era where instantaneity seems to be the goal to achieve, how do food deliverymen improve delivery times? And, which are the barriers they encounter to save time during their jour-neys?

1 In 2006, the Restaurants & Institutions magazine published the top ten rules for successful delivery systems. The advice includes ensuring punctuality (p18-19).

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Customers can now place orders from the convenience of their handled devices. Wherever and whenever they are, all they need is desire for food, a means of payment, and a piece of communica-tions equipment. The innova-tions in communications technologies have mainly im-proved efficiency. For the hungry consumer, new tech-nologies offer 1. convenience (e.g. order food wherever you are and use the payment method of your choice), 2. op-tions (e.g. access to a variety of places and food types from a single entry point), and 3. power to make informed deci-sions (e.g. compare prices and estimated delivery times in real-time). For the retailer, new communication tech-nologies offer 1. proper track-ing (e.g. record keeping), 2. relationship-building oppor-tunities (e.g. recommenda-

tions to customers based on previous orders), 3. improved operations (e.g. systematic processes), and 4. avoidance of misunderstandings (e.g. improvements in customer satisfaction). Despite of all these mechanized enhance-ments, there are still many factors (mostly human and of communications) that add a dose of unpredictability to the food delivery process.

My project will aim to identify the limits and ob-stacles to save time in “the de-livery” phase of food delivery, in an era where consumers are colonizing the real time (Lovink, “MyBrain.net”, 3-4), by expecting things to happen in the time of the now.

Lovink, Geert. "MyBrain.net: The Colonization of Real Time and other Trends in Web 2.0." 18 03 2010. Eurozine. 29 10 2010 <http://www.eurozine.com/articles/2010-03-18-lovink-en.html>.

—. "The Society of the query and the Googlization of our lives." 05 09 2008. www.eurozine.com. 29 10 2010 <http://www.eurozine.com/articles/2008-09-05-lovink-en.html>.

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Moethodology

First, I conducted inter-views to identify processes and circuits, from the initia-tion of the order to the completion of the delivery. My excavation encompassed the delivery of food in the Washington Square area of New York City. I had the op-portunity to conduct informal interviews with eighteen de-liverymen. However, their in-volvement was low, and I was only able to capture the ob-stacles they face to save time, without getting into their per-sonal stories and daily rides.

As agreed with the interview-ees, their identities will not be revealed.

During my interviews, the answer to the question “How do you think you can improve delivery times?” was almost unanimous: by limiting the delivery areas. In fact, many restaurant owners have de-cided to limit the areas of de-livery, after receiving numer-ous complains and poor online reviews for taking too long to deliver the orders (“Online reviews can kill your business”, “there is always another pizza place closer to the destination”).

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Processes and Circuits

There are three main phases in the food delivery process:

PHASE 1. The Order Communicants. customer, and receiver of the order Communication methods. phone and web (in a few cases, walk-ins)

PHASE 2. Food Preparation Communicants. receiver of the order, and cook Communication methods. oral, handwritten notes, and electronic orders

PHASE 3. The Delivery Communicants. receiver of the order, deliveryman, in termediary – e.g. doorman, and end customer Communication methods. oral, handwritten or printed notes, maps and directions, mean of transportation, street signs and traffic lights, and cell phones

My research is confined to the study of the third step: the deliveryman’s daily cycled itineraries, the pro-cess that starts at the time when the deliveryman re-ceives the package to be deliv-ered. I opted for concentrat-ing on the moment of “the de-livery”, as this phase can be

mapped as flows within geo-graphical contexts.

In sum, my project aimed to identify the obstacles to save time in “the delivery” phase of food delivery, in an era where instantaneity seems to be the goal to achieve.

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The second phase of my re-search consisted on on-site observations of all kinds of food delivery systems. I stood at the door of a range of res-taurants that adhere to differ-ent methods – from the old-fashioned orders placed over the phone to the latest plat-forms for food ordering and GPS “how-to-get-there” map-ping technologies – and I was able to see by myself the pres-sure for faster deliveries. Among the elements that I ob-served were the uses of com-munications media, the pro-

cess and its rules, its aesthet-ics, and relevant players.

Third, I have fictitiously assumed the role of a food de-livery person myself, in order to support my findings during the discovery process. Being part of the discourse gave me the unique opportunity to gain invaluable insights. During these rides, I was able to capture images of some of the obstacles that delivery-men experience in their daily rides.

About the Experiment

I pretended I was a delivery person of a fictitious restau-rant (point of departure) and I rode the trajectories of four de-liveries within the “delivery area”:

Point of Departure. 1 Fifth Avenue Destination 1. 19W, 4th Street (office building) Destination 2. 100 Bleecker Street (residential building with doorman, ambiguous address) Destination 3. 138 Sullivan Street (walk-up) Destination 4. 3133 Bedford Street (residential building, no doorman)

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As a result...

I drew on the map two trajectories for each final destina-tion: the one that follows driving directions, and the one that follows walking directions. The latter is the one chosen by de-liverymen, as significantly improves delivery times.

To Destination 1 Driving directions. 0.5 miles (2.5-minutes bike ride) Shortcut. 0.2 miles (1-minute bike ride) To Destination 2 Driving directions. 0.6 miles (3-minutes bike ride) Shortcut: 0.4 miles (2-minutes bike ride) To Destination 3 Driving directions. 0.7 miles (3.5-minutes bike ride) Shortcut: 0.5 miles (2.5-minutes bike ride) To Destination 4 Driving directions. 1 mile (5-minutes bike ride) Shortcut. 0.6 miles (3-minutes bike ride)

I incorporated original photography that I captured during my rides, illustrating some of the encountered “ob-stacles” to save time. I have retouched all these photo-graphs, transforming back-grounds into black and white canvases, while featuring the colors of the elements I wanted to highlight.

Finally, I complement the map with a statement of pur-pose, the “toolkit” (which consists of all the elements that are part of the delivery-man toolkit), and the Deliv-eryman Manifesto (a piece that I wrote to make visible the invisible results of my observations).

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Obstaclesbto Save Time in the Delivery Phase of Food Delivery

As the result of eighteen interviews conducted among de-liverymen in the Washington Square area of New York City, this is a compiled list of obstacles to save time in the delivery phase of the food delivery service. Most of these obstacles are also supported by field research (see Methodology).

Additional steps at the moment of the delivery The Doorman” – Buildings with doorman usually require identification and call-ins for authorization In some cases, the doorman is out of his desk, which delays the process even more

Logistic considerations It’s a walk-up! Address cannot be found, even while using maps or GPS- based technologies

Weather considerations It’s raining, it’s too warm, it’s snowing, or it’s too cold Technical and other difficulties e.g. the chain of the bike has been a displaced, old bike that needs to be replaced, etc. Cell phone ran out of battery, and address cannot be found

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Cultural considerations Language barriers while calling the customer (in many cases, English is not the native language for one or both communicants).

Traffic considerations Cars, public transportation, and pedestrians on side- walks, add to the list of obstacles to save time Traffic lights

Parking considerations Lack of places to park the bike (after conducting my filed research, I can assert that this obstacle ranks first).

Urban considerations Street is closed (under construction, street fair, etc.), and needs to find alternative routes Bike (or some of its parts) is stolen

Human factors Deliverymen may be out of shape, sick, cold, tired, etc. Limited amount of orders that can be carried by one de- liveryman and his bike (e.g. heavy bags) “Tourist” asking for directions stops the deliveryman who’s on his way The messenger meets another messenger friend on his way, and stops for a quick chat The messenger receives a txt message and stops to text back

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The Toolkit

Bike, his own bikeAll-terrain boots

Basket, not really

Cellphone, an extension to his body

Change

Food

Garment, branded

Delivery bag, insulated

Lock, must have

Delivery bag

Napkins

Helmet, hardly used

Receipt

Safety vest, night only

Utensils

Supermarket bag, seat pro-

tector

“You have to limit delivery areas...there is always another pizza place closer to the destination”

Tom (restaurant manager)

Trajectories

1. 19 West, 4th Street

Time Saved 1.5 minutes

Driving Directions 0.5 miles (2.5-minutes bike ride)Walking Directions 0.2 miles (1-minute bike ride)

Obstacles 5.5 minutes

The Washington Square Park was closed. I had to look for an alternative route to ride my bike (0.5 minutes).It was quasi impossible to find a spot to lock my bike at the des-tination (2.5 minutes).On Sundays, there is no doorman. The only way to connect with the “customer” is by phone. However, there is a poor signal in the building. After three dropped calls, we were able to communicate (3 minutes).

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1. 19 West, 4th Street

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Obstacles

Park is closed

2.100 Bleecker Street

Time Saved 1 minute

Driving Directions 0.6 miles (3-minutes bike ride)Walking Directions 0.4 miles (2-minutes bike ride)

Obstacles 9 minutes

The address is ambiguous. I used my GPS. However, there are three edifices in that complex of buildings, and the GPS did not provide specific directions. I had to stop and ask a pedestrian (4 minutes). This is a doorman building. I had to show identification and wait for the doorman to give me authorization. He was busy at-tending other issues. I had to wait outside; and it was cold (5 minutes).

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2.100 Bleecker Street

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Obstacles

Ambiguous address

3.138 Sullivan Street

Time Saved 1 minute

Driving Directions 0.7 miles (3.5-minutes bike ride)Walking Directions 0.5 miles (2.5-minutes bike ride)

Obstacles 8 minutes

It was quasi impossible to find a spot to lock my bike at the des-tination. I had to lock it around the corner (4 minutes).The “order” did not provide an apartment number. The build-ing has no doorman. I had to call the “customer” (1 minute). I had to walk-up four stories, and the bags where heavy (3 minutes).

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3.138 Sullivan Street

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Obstacles

It’s a walk-up!

4.3133 Bedford Street

Time Saved 2 minutes

Driving Directions 1 mile (5-minutes bike ride)Walking Directions 0.6 miles (3-minutes bike ride)

Obstacles 5 minutes

I received an important call, and had to stop to finish the con-versation. Talking while riding could be a dangerous adven-ture to pursue (3 minutes).It was difficult to find a spot to lock my bike at the destination (2 minutes).

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4.3133 Bedford Street

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Obstacles

No placeto lock the bike

The deliveryman’s

Manifesto“Nothing is more characteristic of urban life than the fact that we often gain extreme familiarity with the faces of a number of persons, yet never interact with them” (Milgram 68).

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His name is Carlos, and he is originally from Mexico. Carlos lives in Brooklyn.1 He has been living in New York for the past eight years. Carlos delivers food for a small restaurant in the West Village. Food delivery is his full-time job. As such, Carlos represents an iconic ingredi-ent of Manhattan’s urban narrative, where food deliv-ery is no longer a nice-to-have but a must have for most res-taurants that want to stay in business (Baker; Cebrynzki; Special Delivery; Warner).

Carlos jumps onto his bike; his own bike. He does not need driving directions, as he

is familiar with the area. Carlos does not remember the last time he wore a helmet. He looks for shortcuts, and rides through some red lights. Carlos is not the most careful biker around. More deliveries mean more tips.2 It is ok for Carlos to ride the wrong way. He is not just another biker seeking to navigate the con-voluted web of Manhattan’s streets. For Carlos, special rules apply: his way is the de-liveryman way. New York City’s biketiquette consists of a negotiated contract be-tween pedestrians, drivers and deliverymen allowing the latter to ride their way: the fastest route.

Sometimes Carlos calls his food recipients directly. The Village can be an intricate labyrinth. Only a few times Carlos can follow the conver-sation and directions he gets over the phone. Most times, he asks other deliverymen on the streets. Camaraderie ap-plies when lost in translation. Not so, when deciding who takes the order of the good-tipping client (Mindlin). For the past five years, Carlos has been delivering the same order to the same old man. However, he is not “Carlos” for his customer, but rather a familiar stranger (Milgram): He is the delivery guy.

Carlos just made four dol-lars. It was not a good tipping day for him. Although he has been riding his bike and help-ing in the kitchen all day long, today he only made seven-teen dollars. Carlos is even forced to pay up front for each meal he delivers. However, he is terrified of complaining about his work because he has no papers to legally work in the country, and he barely speaks English (Fickenscher; Dailey). He rides back to the restaurant to start the deliv-ery circuit once and again. Two more hours left to finish his shift. And it is cold outside.

1. The New York Magazine has just released an investigation on deliveries and deliverymen. The article includes a poll on 100 deliverymen in Manhattan (53). Key findings include: 45 percent of deliverymen are originally from Mexico, and 46 percent live in Brooklyn (followed by 23 percent who live in Queens). Most are between 20 and 40 years old (87 percent). 84 percent deliver on a bike. Almost half of them said their bikes were stolen at least once. And most confirm they prefer to deliver in summer time: “It doesn’t even get hot here”. Many of these deliverymen only work for tips, which usually ranges from 3 to 5 dollars. Otherwise, most make from 5 to 10 dollars per hour. The magazine reports that a typical pizza delivery-men in the city makes a little more than $15,000 a year for a full-time position (56).

2. The New York Magazine’s report, as well as the interviews that I conducted, confirm that peek hours for orders are between 6 and 9pm Thursdays to Sunday (56). This might only represent the studied area, in my case the Washington Square neighborhood, and in the case of the magazine’s experiment the East Village. My assumption is that peak hours in other neighborhoods work differently. In Midtown, for example, peek hours might be lunch time Mondays to Fridays.

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Becque, Elien and Christine Whitney. "The Everything Guide to Deliveries: The 100-Deliveryperson Poll." New York Magazine 29 November 2010: 48-57.

Cebrynzki, Gregg. "Chains focus on delivering messages as well as food." Nation's Restau-rant News 25 Aug 2008: 4, 12.

Dailey, Patricia B. "Rough Riding." Restaurants & Institutions 15 Apr 2007: 12.

Fickenscher, Lisa. "Pity the Delivery Guy." Crain's New York Business 14 Feb 2010: 1-20.

Milgram, Stanley. "The Familiar Stranger: An Aspect of Urban Anonymity." The Individual in a Social World. Ed. John Sabini and Maury Silver. Second Edition. New York: McGraw-Hill, Inc., 1992. 68-71.

Mindlin, Alex. "Adventures of a Deliveryman." New York Times 13 04 2008: 7.

"More takeout orders are all thumbs." USA Today, Section: Money 04 01 2008: 01b.

"Special Delivery." Restaurants & Institutions Feb 2010: 10.

Warner, melanie. "New Frontiers in Takeout." New York Times (Late New York Edition) 6 Jun 2006: C1, C10.

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UMA