While the restrictions put in place to curb COVID-19 have put a squeeze on some businesses, they have provided a springboard for some like the delivery services that are becoming lifelines for Guyanese not eager to leave their homes due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Whether its couriering documents, shopping for groceries at supermarkets or waiting in the ever expanding fast food drive-through lines, the riders for the current handful of service operators are busier than they have ever been.
“A lot of persons aren’t going anywhere and of course these persons need more deliveries done. We deliver groceries, food, documents, whatever you need,” HeroCart co-founder Kimberly Dutchin told Stabroek Weekend.
Dutchin said the company’s riders and drivers are always on the go. In the past, Christmas and Valentine had been the peak seasons of the year for the business and while an average day previously found them doing hundreds of deliveries, with the current restrictions in place their work has increased.
Most of their deliveries are done in and around Georgetown but there are also jobs for far off areas like Timehri, Berbice, and Parika, which they taken on.
HeroCart (623-3500) was founded in October of 2017 by Sigmund Husband (General Manager) and Dutchin (the Operations Manager) and has grown since then to make a name for itself.
“Sigmund had come up with the idea. He approached me, we talked about it then we approached some other persons in the business arena who thought it was a good idea. We had a lot of back and forth before we got the business started but we went out and got four bikes (motorcycles). When we started we had only four riders of course. That’s how it all got started,” Dutchin recalled.
Being your hero
The name of the company was all Husband’s doing, she added. After brainstorming for a while, Husband realised that he wanted his company to save persons the trouble of the hassle of getting things done and the idea of being his customers’ hero came about, thus the name HeroCart.
According to Dutchin, HeroCart does more than deliver as the company offers to wait for the delivery however long it takes without charging a waiting fee. Even prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, HeroCart’s deliverymen would shop for customers’ groceries at supermarkets, even if it meant walking lane after lane, list in hand, to find the requested items. However, now a number of supermarkets have asked that persons call them, place their orders which is packed by their staff and picked up by the customer or in this case, HeroCart. The company covers s the bill and is then reimbursed by the customer upon delivery. Presently, business is conducted from 8 am until 6pm from Sunday to Sunday. Prior to COVID-19, the delivery service operated from 9am until 10pm as restaurants stayed open late.
HeroCart, Dutchin noted, has taken the initiative to have virtual meetings with its couriers to inform them on the importance of staying safe. They are provided with face masks, gloves and sanitisers. After every transaction with a customer, they (the couriers) are required to sanitise their hands.
Dutchin said one of the challenges her couriers deal with on a daily basis is how time consuming the job can be, such as having to wait in the KFC drive through line. For restaurants that do not take orders, drivers are expected to wait for those orders too.
She added that HeroCart is always looking for couriers, especially now given how busy it has become. It was also noted that not all of HeroCart’s couriers work fulltime as some have their own full-time jobs.
Not just the owner
Opara Samuel is the owner of Fly Delivery Service (630-5353), a business he started in the first half of 2017. Opara started out as a deliveryman for a barbeque business. “I started delivering for a barbeque business and I had a particular customer who when I deliver barbeque for them, they wanted me to deliver other stuff for them and I saw that as a great opportunity and decided to open my own delivery service and deliver whatever it is persons need,” the entrepreneur said.
Though he is the owner, Samuel also serves as a deliveryman also though he has four riders working for him. He noted that he takes up delivering whenever there are busy days, which are now more frequent than before owing to the pandemic. He shared that he has provided masks, gloves and sanitizers to all his employees. “We use hand gloves and sanitise our hands before we begin working, before we pick up anything for customers and we also sanitise our customers’ hands before delivery. This way we’re ensuring that our customers are safe and we are safe also,” Opara shared. Fly Delivery Service operates from 9am until 6pm, during which time it is delivering around Georgetown, along the East Coast of Demerara, the East Bank of Demerara, the Linden/Soesdyke Highway, and the West Bank and West Coast of Demerara.
‘A service in demand’
Among the newest services is Yellow Jackets (627-4289), which was founded just weeks ago by husband and wife Michael and Ernestine Leonard. The idea to have a delivery company was one the couple had talked about for some time but realising the need for such a service during this pandemic they wasted no time in providing the same.
“This is an idea we’ve been toying with since 2018 but with the current situation, we realised that it’s definitely a service in demand. We do food… people have business packages they want to have delivered, so we take care of that also. We pick up fast food and deliver to persons and we also do groceries, so people can send us their lists on WhatsApp. We have arrangements with supermarkets where we send them the lists and they have that prepared for us so we just pass by and pick that up. Some of our work would have included purchasing items from the pharmacy also,” Michael Leonard said.
The past several weeks have seen the company making deliveries as far as Melanie, on the East Coast Demerara, Diamond on the East Bank, different areas along the West Demerara and around Georgetown. The service operates every day of the week from 9am to 5pm.
Leonard noted that persons have been calling all hours of the day so their riders are busy. They are currently in need of more riders and customer service representatives. For the customer service representatives a system will be set up for them to work from home.
Another new service is Xpress Delivery (686-6921/617-5747), which began operating on April 17. Its founder, Natasha Waddle, said her business was first founded in July of last year but only began operations in April.
She confided that the reasons for the late start in operations included her fears of all the risks such a business came with, uncertainty over whether Guyanese would be supportive of the venture and her own insecurity about whether she was ready for such a project. However, as the demand for delivery services increased, Waddle was certain that this was her sign to go ahead with the decision.
“The first week of business has been great. The support we’ve been getting from a lot of persons has been tremendous. Persons have been able to utilise each and every one of our services offered. We are also working along with other companies so that we can deliver on their behalf not only during this time but hopefully even after the period,” Waddle said.
Currently the company is open Sunday to Sunday from 8am to 5:30pm but once the curfew is lifted, services will be offered until midnight. Among the delivery services said to be offered are – Food delivery, corporate/personal, package delivery, grocery pickup, bill payment and laundry delivery. Among the companies on board with Xpress Delivery are Andrews Supermarket, Elite Brand (an online service), Double Laundry Service, 592 Wigs, and Luxe Walk-in Closet.
