Kochi’s appetite for food apps keeps delivery jobs hot

Kochi’s youngsters are loving the new way of making some extra money – get a delivery job with one of the umpteen food delivery apps. The checklist of job requirements is pretty short – you should know how to use a smartphone and have some biking skills to beat the traffic. That’s about it. Do it part-time, full-time or in your free time, all you need to do is pick up piping hot food from restaurants and deliver it to users of food-delivery apps like Swiggy, Zomato, Uber Eats, Food Panda and so on.

More apps, more jobs

College-goers are eager to take up delivery jobs. The hassle-free way to keep some cash coming is proving to be a hot favourite among part-time job seekers. The Kochi offices of the companies say that every food delivery app will need to employ close to 1,000 delivery boys in a city. Even by doing the bare minimum number of deliveries, a full-time worker can earn up to Rs 20,000 a month. Part-time employees can rake in anything around Rs 10,000, vouch Kochi’s delivery boys who proudly add that they earn enough to pay for their college fees, fuel, and daily expenses. Those who take up the job are free to decide when to go online. When online, you start receiving delivery orders and you are free to do as many as you can. When there are special offers on the apps, orders from nearby areas will go up which usually brings in a windfall, say the delivery boys.

Kochi gorging on food apps

While food delivery apps are catching up everywhere, Kochi is certainly leading the way in Kerala. And it sure is tempting. Think of getting a sizzling hot platter of your favourite Thai food delivered to you at midnight when it’s raining cats and dogs! Guests arriving on short notice and that too at the end of a busy workday – food delivery app to the rescue! Thanks to the efficient and smart packing solutions, tea and coffee will arrive hot and just the way you like it; you won’t have to make do with melted, dripping ice cream either. The major app users are students and those living in Kochi for work. Seasoned delivery boys attest that the most number of deliveries are taken to hostels and apartments.

Food delivery apps need office staff too

While more than 1,000 delivery boys are deployed in the city, the companies that own the food delivery apps are employing around 30 staff each in their offices too. They provide technical support to the workers out on the field who rely on Google maps to reach their destinations. The offices also have a team of customer service and client relations personnel.

Wherever you are, food apps will find you

Unlike the earlier days when delivery services were provided only within the city limits, food delivery apps are going some good extra miles to get you the food you love. Apps like Zomato will deliver garma garam khana even on the outskirts – Angamaly, Nedumbassery, Aluva, Thrippunnithura and so on. Zomato began as a food ordering app but soon upgraded with a delivery system and it seems to be paying off well. Uber Eats started off with a list of 200 restaurants and delivery services were limited to Kaloor, Panampilly Nagar, Elamkulam and around MG Road. Apparently buoyed by the uber cool response from foodies, the app has now extended its delivery service all over the city. Food Panda serves you anywhere in the city, but Swiggy will soon have its delivery boys speeding off to Thrippunithura, Kalamassery and other far flung areas around Kochi.

Beating the traffic is huge challenge

The delivery boys unanimously choose traffic bottlenecks as the biggest challenge they face. Many of them complain about not being able to take up more orders because of getting held up in the traffic. This will affect the income. Despite all this, the youngsters are quite clearly enjoying the bike rides around the city. Add to that the thankful faces and happy squeals at the doors when food gets delivered, the job sure has its moments of warmth.

Delivery girls making strides in Kochi

Kochi’s food delivery apps have welcomed a young crop of delivery girls to their teams. Women are generally put in the shift which gets over by 5 pm. There has been an increase in the number of women who are interested in taking up the job, say the representatives of the companies. With the rise of app-enabled food culture, more women are sure to join the fleet.