If you work in a takeaway or other deliver business do you want me to order from you?

[Grobagsforever]

The constant debate about supporting local businesses and protecting jobs vs the employees being 'forced' to work and risk themselves (I think ppl imagine restaurants etc can afford to simply suspend them on full pay and still not go out of business) is confusing.

During lockdown I have ordered a takeaway once a week and various non essential online items including a gin subscription, books, toys and an afternoon tea delivered by a local lady.

I think I'm doing the right thing by helping to protect jobs. I think people who work in these roles want the work. But I don't know as I don't personally know anyone in a delivery industry.

So if you work in one of these industries what would you prefer I do?

Thanks!

Really good question OP - I'm torn too.

I would want you to order from me.

I've switched my business model from being events based to delivery based. People's orders are the only thing keeping the wolf from the door at the moment, so yes, I absolutely do want you to keep ordering!

I often do the deliveries myself, but sometimes I pay friends (a fair wage, cash in hand due to the very casual nature of it) to help out with the deliveries. The one who gets first refusal has no other income at the moment so she needs the money (and frankly she just likes getting out of the house!)

We're getting our food from local companies who rapidly got themselves sorted out to do home deliveries - veg and meat boxes (plus the milkman) We liaised with the neighbours on WhatsApp so they can do all our deliveries on the same day which they appreciated, and they and they seem really pleased to be able to keep their businesses going. The veg chap normally supplies pubs etc and had had to lay off drivers, he was hoping to rehire some.

Thanks for the responses, as I have been genuinely torn.

I'm currently still employed and earning a slightly reduced wage so have been merrily spending to cheer us all up and put money into economy, glad this seems vaguely the right thing to do.

Yes, please order, support local small businesses

As we enter the next 3 weeks of lockdown here is a summary of the advice:

1. You MUST NOT leave the house for any reason, but if you have a reason, you can leave the house

1. Masks are useless at protecting you against the virus, but you may have to wear one because it can save lives, but they may not work, but they may be mandatory, but maybe not

1. Shops are closed, except those shops that are open

1. You must not go to work but you can get another job and go to work

1. You should not go to the Drs or to the hospital unless you have to go there, unless you are too poorly to go there

1. This virus can kill people, but don’t be scared of it. It can only kill those people who are vulnerable or those people who are not vulnerable people. It’s possible to contain and control it, sometimes, except that sometimes it actually leads to a global disaster

1. Gloves won't help, but they can still help so wear them sometimes or not

1. STAY HOME, but it's important to go out

1. There is no shortage of groceries in the supermarkets, but there are many things missing. Sometimes you won’t need loo rolls but you should buy some just in case you need some

10. The virus has no effect on children except those children it affects

11. Animals are not affected, but there is still a cat that tested positive in Belgium in February when no one had been tested, plus a few tigers here and there…

12. Stay 2 metres away from tigers (see point 11)

13. You will have many symptoms if your get the virus, but you can also get symptoms without getting the virus, get the virus without having any symptoms or be contagious without having symptoms, or be non contagious with symptoms...

14. To help protect yourself you should eat well and exercise, but eat whatever you have on hand as it's better not to go out shopping

15. It's important to get fresh air but don't go to parks but go for a walk. But don’t sit down, except if you are old, but not for too long or if you are pregnant or if you’re not old or pregnant but need to sit down. If you do sit down don’t eat your picnic

16. Don’t visit old people but you have to take care of the old people and bring them food and medication

17. If you are sick, you can go out when you are better but anyone else in your household can’t go out when you are better unless they need to go out

18. You can get restaurant food delivered to the house. These deliveries are safe. But groceries you bring back to your house have to be decontaminated outside for 3 hours including Pizza...

19. You can't see your older mother or grandmother, but they can take a taxi and meet an older taxi driver

20. You are safe if you maintain the safe social distance when out but you can’t go out with friends or strangers at the safe social distance

21. The virus remains active on different surfaces for two hours ... or four hours... six hours... I mean days, not hours... But it needs a damp environment. Or a cold environment that is warm and dry... in the air, as long as the air is not plastic

22. Schools are closed so you need to home educate your children, unless you can send them to school because you’re not at home. If you are at home you can home educate your children using various portals and virtual class rooms, unless you have poor internet, or more than one child and only one computer, or you are working from home. Baking cakes can be considered maths, science or art. If you are home educating you can include household chores to be education. If you are home educating you can start drinking at 10am

23. If you are not home educating children you can also start drinking at 10am

24. The number of corona related deaths will be announced daily but we don't know how many people are infected as they are only testing those who are almost dead to find out if that's what they will die of… the people who die of corona who aren’t counted won’t be counted

25. You should stay in locked down until the virus stops infecting people but it will only stop infecting people if we all get infected so it’s important we get infected and some don’t get infected

26. You can join your neighbours for a street party and turn your music up for an outside disco and your neighbours won’t call the police. People in another street are allowed to call the police about your music.

27. No business will go under due to Coronavirus except those businesses that will have already gone under.

We are ordering meals for delivery. The places are desperate to keep ticking over. We want them still to be there when lockdown is over.

I've been doing this too. Takeaway orders from local businesses and also buying various beauty products online. It cheers me up and I also tell myself that I'm helping the economy.

DH runs a takeaway. We closed shortly before the lockdown because we felt we couldn't protect staff and customers safety. I'm shielded and it just wasn't worth it.

Now I really want a takeaway...

I’ve been ordering a take away form the fancy restaurant in the once a week. They don’t normally do take away but started when lockdown happened.

A lot of the village have been ordering. They are a small family run restaurant, they appear to be grateful the social media page they have is full of thanks for customers supporting them.

I also order veg from the farm shop

I don’t want my village to be empty at the end of this. As long as these places want to sell I will buy

I think a family run business is very different from a large chain where people are forced to work.

A lot of younger people are being taken advantage of.

Example - pub chain workers are being furloughed, they also own a chain of shops.

The shop workers have had their hours cut and the furloughed workers are taking the extra shifts.

You tell me if this is legal?

I was wondering the same. We've supported our local Chinese restaurant, even early on when many were boycotting Chinese businesses. I tried getting a local pizza (central London!) but many have closed- unless I want Dominos, Pizza Hut or a Halal one. Also found an independent bakery which we will continue to use after the crisis.

I know we aren't supposed to laugh about this and totally appreciate the seriousness of the situation but lamblossom that so accurately reflects the various 'advice' available that it's uncanny

Oh and yes, I too have had things delivered including gin and clothes for DS who has had a growth spurt in the past month and looked like an urchin with half mast jogging bottoms. Our local Indian restuarant has just reopened for deliveries and the whole family cheered

@Iamblossom

If they didnt want you to order they wouldn't advertise the service surely!!

Better to order from local businesses than Amazon, I reckon.

I would love for you to order from my work, you are keeping me employed. If our orders dry up, I’m out. We have a huge premises so are able to stick to 2m social distancing whilst handling calls, even the kitchen can stick to it. We stop for sanitising every 20 minutes, and we can only speak to the kitchen team via walkie talkies. We are doing everything we can, but appreciate people still don’t want to take the risk. I don’t work in a chain, it’s an independent local business. We’ve always done take away but we’ve seen a huge boom since lockdown to the point we are hiring extra staff.

If it helps I’ve still been ordering take away from other businesses because I simply can’t be bothered to cook after a long shift at my own place of work 😂

They wouldn’t be open if they didn’t want you to order?
We haven’t had a take away during the whole lock down because most of the ones here are shut and the ones that are open don’t deliver to us, a few are now re opening and dd is nagging for a take away so we shall be having one on Friday to cheer us all up.

@Iamblossom

Brilliant. Your post has captured the exact nuance of the guidelines. I’d laugh but am close to tears as it is

I'm interested too. DS has asked for a takeaway as his (only) birthday treat this weekend

I have a couple of jobs that need doing on the house and garden. It's a fairly large house and we're confined to our own little corners during the day as all working from home.

If I had someone in to, say, fit a patio canopy or relay the floor in the hall we could stay well away and presumably, as they're still trading, they'd like the work. It would suit me to do it now because we're here during the day to let them in.

AFAIK it's all within the rules but I can only imagine my fate on the local FB group

My hubby used to deliver for the local takeway. But after hearing friends who are also doing delivery jobs for takeaways getting covid and that one of them had died. He gave up just wasnt going to risk it. Because the people that got it also infected their own family, kitchen staff or vice versa. The carry case and car can only be as clean as the delivery driver is able to sanitise those areas on a frequent basis but when they are busy and rushing from place to place this might not be done to a satisfactory level. And also not many places can provide toilet and washing facilities for these drivers that dont involve them going into areas within the kitchen or prep stock area where food handlers are.

@Walnutwhipster - agree. Ex h had a restaurant - he could have done takaway but my view is great with contactless payment and leaving delivery on doorstep but you cannot honestly vouch for the health of the staff cooking or delivering your food. He shut up shop. Think he did the right thing.