It’s safe to say, getting a takeaway delivered to your door is one of the few little luxuries many of us have left. The thrill of ignoring all the perfectly fine food in your fridge in favour of ordering a cheesy pizza on a Monday night is unmatched.
But it’s easy to forget that the moment you hit the place order button, that a team of people are working behind the scenes to actually get that delicious meal to your door. And let’s be real, they’re the real MVPs of this scenario. To find out if there are any little things we can do to make their lives a little bit easier (and to get our food faster, let’s be honest), we spoke to Sabrina Zanussi, one of the wonderful humans delivering our eats.
Sabrina is like 80% of Uber Eats delivery partners who deliver part-time. She explained that Uber Eats is her flexible side gig while she studies at uni. Basically, she has all the tips to help us make our delivery driver’s life that little bit easier (and ensure our food is the freshest it can be when it arrives).
Track the driver so you know when they’re out front
Sabrina explained that so many people order Uber Eats and then get shocked when the delivery driver turns up (or forget they’ve ordered food altogether). While this might seem like a bit of a LOL, the reality is the driver then has to call you and wait longer to deliver the food. But the app literally shows you exactly what stage of the delivery process you’re at, from the restaurant preparing the order to your driver coming down your street — so follow along.
Answer the door
Truly, we struggle to understand anyone who either isn’t answering the door to their delivery driver or is leaving them waiting for a long time. You ordered the food because you’re hungry and then . . . don’t want your food? “Some people take a while to answer the door, and they know we are coming,” Sabrina told us, saying it’s better for everyone if we just come to the door when they ring. “That would be very helpful.” Sounds pretty easy to us.
If you live in a big building or complex, meet them at the main door
We know it can be tempting to buzz up your driver and wait for them to come to your front door, but why not go the extra mile and grab the food at your front door?
Go a step further and meet them at their car
This won’t always be appropriate with contactless delivery options also available, but Sabrina explained that she personally does deliveries only in areas that are more residential and she knows she can get a parking spot.
Her tip? If you know you live on a street that’s notoriously difficult to park (inner city suburbs, here’s looking at you), it’s a huge help to the driver if you meet them at their car. She said, “some people do this, but 80% do not,” so let’s be more like that special 20%, ‘kay? Alternatively, if you have some secret parking spots nearby, leave clear instructions in the order notes for where the driver should leave your food.
Always add your apartment number
This might seem obvious, but Sabrina assures me that it’s actually very common for people to forget to put their flat number. Besides the obvious risk of not receiving your food, it also means your delivery driver has to call you and ask for the number, which is just another thing keeping them from their next delivery, and stopping them from making the most possible money during their chosen shift.
Say thanks
A little tip from us: say thanks. You wouldn’t go to a restaurant and blank your waiter, or pretend they don’t exist. So it’s a nice touch to say thanks to your delivery person either in person or through the app.
Sure, you can also leave a tip (when placing your order, or after scoffing your meal), but delivery partners take a heap of pride in their work and love getting called out for going the extra mile, or just nailing the basics. The Uber Eats app is set up so it is easy to say thanks in whatever way you want to.
Now you’ve learned all the hot tips on treating your delivery driver with a little extra kindness, you can also learn more about working part time as a delivery partner if you want to pick up some extra cash in your spare time.
