The First Order
Alright, I started delivering towards the end of November, and I’ll admit, it was a bit of a disaster to begin with. I wasn’t prepared at all. I’d picked up the cheapest delivery bag I could find online £30 for something that looked decent enough and decided to use my regular mountain bike for the job. In hindsight, this was not my smartest move. It turns out, there are far better setups for this line of work.
My first few deliveries were, well, let’s call them “character-building.” The bag I bought was flimsy and couldn’t handle drinks, which was a problem since my town seems powered entirely by Greggs coffees and McDonald’s milkshakes. My bike wasn’t exactly ideal either great for commuting, not so much for navigating streets with a bag full of burritos, whilst I thought I was fit enough, the first few hills quickly reminded me otherwise.
To top it off, I discovered that my sense of direction wasn’t nearly as good as I thought. Street names I’d never heard of kept popping up, and I ended up cycling around like I was I was as lost as a toddler in an IKEA, just looking for the way out and questioning all my life choices. I did figure out an important trick pretty quickly, though which is to keep the Uber app open on your main screen. It shows you everything you need the route, the pick-up and drop-off points, and even the pay. Without it, you’re just guessing exactly where you will be picking up from plus dropping off and trust me, guessing is not your friend.
My very first delivery came through on a Tuesday, just after 2 pm. I’d been eagerly waiting for my new delivery bag to arrive, so when the notification popped up, I was ready or so I thought. It was a £3 order from a supermarket, so I headed out. When I got there, I realized I was picking up someone’s entire weekly shop. There were loads of bags, way more than my flimsy delivery bag could handle.
Not knowing how to cancel the order, I decided to give it a go. I crammed as much as I could into the bag, which immediately started digging into my back, and headed off. The customer wasn’t far, but by the time I got there, I looked like I’d been wrestling with the groceries. I explained the situation and promised to come back with the rest. Three trips later, I’d finally delivered everything, and the customer didn’t even tip. Not the dream start I’d imagined.
After that ordeal, I called it a day. I knew I needed to rethink my approach and get properly organized before diving back in. Despite the rocky start, I wasn’t discouraged. I saw it as a learning experience—a rather painful one, but a learning experience nonetheless.
