On December 16th, the Northeastern parts of the U.S. got slammed with a Nor’Easter that dumped up to four feet of snow on parts of the country. In New York City, where indoor dining was just re-closed two days before due to spiking COVID-19 cases, the city closed down outdoor dining for safety of patrons and ease of snow removal efforts. Although many restaurants decided to close for the storm, the ones that stayed open for not only take-out, but delivery were slammed. We saw a video posted by @whatisnewyork from the streets of NYC and wanted to give some friendly reminders for ordering delivery for every single day but ESPECIALLY during a treacherous stormy weather days during an uncontrolled pandemic. So we asked some of our thirsty industry friends for their words of kindness & wisdom from working in the hospitality trenches.
Friendly Reminders If You Must Order Delivery
Meet them (delivery people) outside and don’t make them come all the way up to your apartment (probably happens less now because of COVID). They work on sheer volume. Help them out. Also, tip more in shitty weather. Please keep in mind that 99% of the time, if the order is messed up, it’s because of the restaurant, not the delivery humans. They have an address and a phone number and don’t know the intricacies of each dish and specific order.
If you absolutely MUST order (and it’s a shit position that operators are in because sometimes takeout is the only revenue stream). Call the restaurants directly (unless they specifically direct you to a delivery app) so they make the most margin on the sale. TIP LIKE YOU ARE THE ONE ON THE BIKE Go down and meet them, don’t make them trek up to you. And just generally be a nice human.
When giving your address/location to leave the food, be as specific as possible because it’s hard to see and make out signs in a snowstorm. If possible, leave out a chair or table for them to put the food on. Wear a mask if you’re not doing contactless delivery.
Double and triple check the delivery address, make sure you can hear your phone/buzzer, understand that delivery will take (likely significantly) longer than usual in bad weather. If the order is missing something, take a credit for next time if you can. Tip well and in cash. Be kind. Do not tell the delivery person to stay warm/dry.
Please support independent restaurants and small businesses during these devastating times. We appreciate any support of small independent restaurants with take-out and delivery, these are just friendly reminders as you support them. If you have the capacity, we urge you to contact your local elected officials and ask them to please support the passing the RESTAURANTS Act and a dedicated relief package for bars & restaurants.
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If You MUST Order Delivery, Here Are Friendly Reminders For Everyday & Especially Stormy Weather2020-12-182020-12-19https://thirstymag.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/thirsty-nyc-logo-1.pngthirsty.https://thirstymag.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/delivery-featured.jpg200px200px
