Fast Food Delivery Riding - Good Idea?

[Ingah]

Having previously asked about questions about being a courier, and finding the general consensus was that even part-time it's better avoided, largely on the basis of extremely bad pay and generally being crappy, i've now become a student so have started to think about pizza / fast food delivery within a city (could this be better?).

I was thinking of trying somewhere that provides a vehicle (i.e. Pizza Hut et al, 50cc scooter i think) to avoid the nightmare that is insurance and personal expenses. The logic of somewhere like Pizza Hut with their 50cc wonder is that i'm far less likely to be killed doing the job if i'm stuck to 30mph maximum everywhere (not that i'm planning to take any chances of course!) Only real concern is being attacked or having a group of young dicks pull the 15th floor false delivery scam, where they all pile on me so they can nick the tenner or so of change and my cheap phone.

Because of things like this i'm a little uncertain and even concerned as to what i could be getting into, and although i have a full bike license and my own bike i have no experience of riding professionally/to deadlines. And also, i'm a cautious and generally very safe rider and i'm not sure that the riding style is suitable to this probably fast-paced job. A couple of other concerns are ice (it is winter!) and my wearing a company helmet/armour (i.e. it isn't happening - my head - my helmet!)

I like to think of myself of sensible - so should i be persuing this or do you need to be crazy to do it and i'm better off doing something a little more mundane such as the sales work i'm used to!
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-- Ingah

[chris-red]

You will be cold, very cold winter is the worst time to do it. Pizza hut riders get paid exactly the same as the people that work in the restuarant I would rather be warm inside the resturant than riding around allnight? Have you riden much in the night recently? I have good quality gear and after a 30minute ride at 22:30 I was fairly cold.
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[damz]

ah yes, my territory, if you need to know anything about pizza hut send me a pm. im a manager as well as a scooter rider at pizza hut for a gd few years now and use to drive cars for them so have seen every aspect of the job.

i prefer riding the bikes as you will get much more money, do less work, have more fun. on average you'll get around £15 or so on a typical night. also you dont have to pay petrol or any other upkeep of the scooter

however if you have crap gear you will be freeeeeeeeeeeeeezing.

also you will still need to do stuff in the shop, answer phones, talk to customers, make food etc. a lot of people think you just drive as a driver and quit after having to handle the typical retard questions "thank you for calling pizza hut, how many i help?, do you sell pizza's?,......... retard"

i say give it a bash, sadly at the moment they are phasing out the old fun scooters and replacing them with french peice of shit peugeot ludix's which are really shit.

also even with good gear you will get cold, 8 hours, 3 till 11 constantly out on the scooter, ice formed on my suit and helmet, battery on scooter was dead and had to be kicked started all the time and flying down the road on my back after hitting black ice. still got £25 in tips altho for a newbie you'd be on a 5-9 fri an sat until they can tell your not rubbish.
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[Chris750]

[27cows]

I think it depends on the area you live in. If you're delivering frequently on dodgy estates, you'll have hassle, bike tampered with/nicked etc. I delivered pizzas many years ago and used to get really good tips (always be friendly and polite to the people you're delivering to - it often pays dividends, particularly if they've had a skinful ).

You do get time wasters (gobshites ordering pizzas to fake addresses etc) and the odd dickhead but overall it's not a bad way to earn a few quid.

[The Original Muzza]

[damz]

[stirlinggaz]

perhaps it would have been clearer, if you had stated that you got 15 quid in tips on top of your hourly wage?
i had to read it twice as well.
cheers,
GAZ

[TheDonUK]

I worked at a pizza hut a few years back admittedly in a terrible area of london, i dident stay long as the area caused too many problems, you become a target for the yoof with something to prove and nothing else to do.

Would probably be a pretty sweet sideline if you work in a affulent area. Around christmas on a rainy night i got a 10 pound tip on a 10 pound pizza from a nice lady. That was the best, at best it was a quid and if you expect to be tipped you will be bitterly disappointed 70% of the time.

The peds are like damz say shit and despite the OP's idea that he will be safer stuck to 30, you wont, now fast chavs will be able to give you a run for your money on foot.

I might do it as a sideline but for a independent pizza place in a posh area .
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[cajoe]

Pizza delivery can be excellent fun, so many funny stories can be had from it you wont find it too mundane.

From giving 2 pissed blokes a lift home (one on the seat one on the box) or else they would chin you to saving another delivery drivers life by getting him the hell out of the estate he was being chased through leaving his bike to be burnt out by yobs.

You can crash into anything and not have to worry because it aint your bike and the company is insuring it, bottles just smash off your helmet and you meet all sorts at the door.

Soooo much fun can be had if one of your biker mates does it too for a rival company, get creative.

Just dont wheelie down too many flights of stairs or the forks on those bikes bend outwards leaving the frame scraping along the floor and you end up fired.

You get to learn every street in the city and you can sneak any cancelled pizza out with you so that after your run, you can stop somewhere nice, sit facing backwards on your seat and feast ontop of the pizza box. Who cares about the cold, your a biker
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[nick606]

I've not done it and i imagine it being a fun job, after you have finished the job, sat in a pub telling people how you manged to dodge fireworks, bricks and flying bottles from all angles while conveniently forgetting to mention how you actually shit your pants at the time ahaha

[Askura]

It depends how lucky you get really. I was doing it for a bit for my local Chinese. He gave me £35 a night, then I kept the delivery charge. I used my own Cagiva planet and whenever i needed petrol he'd throw me £10 to keep topped up. All in all was a great earner until my motorcycle got nicked.

Apart from that instance I live in a great area, and although when I delivered to the estates there was a fair few dickheads around, as long as I gave the old "Aight mate" approach I got fairly amiable replies. On my best night working from 6-12 I earnt £150 through my pay and delivery charges. On average though I'd be making around £50 a night as I did 6-11 for the most part.

I'd recommend you wrap up though, get yourself a neck scarf, some gloves, then some more gloves.

If you're being cheap, make your own food courier bag. I made mine out of a £6 matalan holdall, 3 bungee cords and two cardboard boxes. Just cut holes so the bungee cords can go through the bottom and bind the box to the pillion seat, then put the cardboard inside so it keeps shape and food upright.

All in all if you get in friendly with your local takeaways, see who offers the best rate of pay and prove yourself handy. My mate gets £60 a night plus delivery charges for 4-5 hours work at one not so far away from me. See what you can get!
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[Clanger]

My mate 'used' to be a delivery moped rider, and is now a regional mechanic for one of the UK's pizza delivery places!!! Not a bad move up through the ranks methinks.

Plus another mate, is a lorry driver by day and a pizza delivery moped rider by night, and he is loving it. As it earns him extra money, and he gets to mooch about on the company's scooters!
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