It's Very Important for Postmates Drivers to Follow Directions

I have been a gig worker for most of the major platforms, and the topic that I will be talking about here can be applied to any food delivery gig company, but the incident I'll be talking about here has to do with a real and recent Postmates delivery. This delivery was not done by me, but by another Postmates driver to somebody I know. I was told that it was unfortunate how some Postmates drivers don't know how to listen or follow directions. Let me explain a bit more.

 

 

Postmates customers that leave special instructions for drivers

There is never anything wrong with a Postmates customer leaving special instructions for their Postmates driver. In fact, if there is anything that would be beneficial for the driver to know, it is encouraged to leave a note. Do you know how many times this Postmates driver showed up at an apartment gate and not had the gate code to get in? This would not be a problem if the customer just left a damn note with the gate code! That's not the topic here, but I'm sure you get the point. Special instructions from Postmates customers is always encouraged.

Postmates customer instructs driver to not knock on the door or ring the doorbell

The Postmates customer here left special instructions for the driver to not ring the doordbell or knock on their door. The customer also instructed for the food to be left at the door. The reason was that the customer's kids were sleeping. These instructions seemed easy and simple enough, but apparently they weren't.

The Postmates driver walked up to the house and rang the doorbell four times and knocked a few times. There was a good 30 seconds of separation between the rings. It would be safe to say here that the Postmates customer was not very happy. It is really unacceptable that a Postmates driver cannot follow simple instructions like that.

Postmates drivers that do not follow special instructions

As a gig driver, I cannot say that any negative consequences or marks should be held against the driver. I mean, we all make mistakes sometimes, but simple instructions such as this should not be one of them. Besides ignorance and not knowing about the customer's message, there could only be a few other reasons that a Postmates driver would do this.

It is possible that the Postmates driver was hoping for a cash tip. Maybe they didn't want to leave the food on the front porch. If there is no contact with the customer, then that means that there is zero percent chance of getting a cash tip. With all due respect, that kind of thinking has to be thrown out the window during this pandemic. Most Postmates customers want no-contact delivery.

Another possibility is that the Postmates driver did not speak English, or at least could not read it. Of course most drivers could understand English, but there are of course those that don't speak any English. They would not know what the message says. When you think about it though, that's not really an excuse either. Personally, if I didn't speak English, I would use the Google translator, and I would know what the message says.

As Postmates drivers, we have an obligation to follow the customer's special instructions, and surely most of us do. Some customer instructions are ridiculous, but that's a topic for another day. Simple instructions to not ring the doorbell is as easy as it gets, and I'm sure most of us Postmates drivers have enough brain capacity to do what the customer has requested.