10am: Wake up and make some breakfast. It’s pretty late but my shift isn’t till 11:30 so I’ve got time to kill. I open my laptop and sort out some admin before getting ready for the day.
11:15am: I start cycling to my zone centre. Because of how busy Deliveroo is, I didn’t manage to get a job in my local neighbourhood and so have to work in the next door zone. It’s a nicer area but it still takes 15 minutes to get there.
11:30am: Open the app and go online. I sit down on a bench in the “waiting area” with a few other cyclists and hang around for the deliveries to come through. 10 minutes gone and still no deliveries. 30 minutes now. 50. One hour has gone by and I’m thoroughly frozen and wondering why I ever signed up to this job. Then a delivery comes through for a Wagamummas. It’s a short ride but at least it keeps me busy. After I drop of the steaming ramen at the customer’s house, I check the delivery section of the app. They didn’t give me a tip. As usual.
2:30pm: After having completed a couple more deliveries I head back home. I make lunch and then chill out. The nice thing about being a delivery cyclist is you usually have the afternoons off to relax and meet up with friends.
6:15pm: Off I go again, ready for the 6:30 shift.
6:30pm: As soon as I turn on the app a delivery comes through. Helen wants a Caesar salad from Pret a Manger. I start powering and complete the order in 10 minutes. Another order comes through. One after the next and I can almost see the money towering up in front of me. I come to a junction and a white van swerves in front of me without indicating, causing me to almost fly over the handlebars and straight into it. Holy shit. Breathe. I take the rest of the route slowly and carefully. This time I’m picking up a Kebab from Soul Flame, but they say I’m gonna have to wait 10 minutes. After 15 minutes I’m pretty pissed off but they hand it over and I’m on my way again. This time I check the app and realise I’ve topped up £7 of tips. Nice.
9:30pm: I cruise back home whilst banging out the tunes. The night is still young and even though I’m exhausted I should be able to make some drinks. I think about what I’ve earned tonight: £7 per hour plus 10 deliveries plus £7 tips leaves me with a tidy £38 profit. That should be enough for a pint in London.
