There are nearly a thousand "low cost" delivery men that populate the streets of La Plata

Between the speed with which they advance, their size and the color of their uniforms and their backpacks, have changed in a few months the cityscape of the city. These are the young people who make "deliveries" by bike or motorcycle, usually for food, but also for super and kiosks, among other orders. In addition to seeing them leave, come and cross the streets, they have their "postas". Since their work is the product of applications downloaded to the mobile phone and they only need to respond to the demands of the public, they do not have a particular physical space and it is easy to find them together, with their particular equipment, and until their departure. to get to work, on the squares Moreno and San Martin and in a corner of the gourmet sector of the diagonal 74. This occurs between noon and four o'clock in the afternoon, then closer to the hour dinner.

He concluded with these armies in circulation a form of "delivery" whose trade, as well as the one who had placed the order, resumed for years. Outsourced to this new modality, companies no longer need staff in dependence, since what was set up in La Plata with three companies, are services that support autonomously the answer at the controls of the consumers.

The system works as follows: the user downloads the application on his mobile phone and from there he places his order, for example, pizza or ice cream, from the house that he wants to use for consumption. You can pay from the application (with credit card) or the teenager who contacts you on demand (in cash). Receive on the mobile phone as information the name and surname of who will make the delivery, the data if the person is on a motorcycle or a bike and the time that it will take. The request must be resolved within 35 minutes. If there is a disadvantage that delays the arrival, he is informed and gives the opportunity to cancel the operation. Pay an extra $ 30 for shipping.

For most people who do this work – except in one of the companies that have decided to join the traditional work – it is a "cuentapropismo" similar to that of the Uber application in pbadenger transport. They must be carrying a monotributo, they must put their means of locomotion and buy, in addition, the thermal box that they carry to the back with the controls. If you have to travel by motorcycle, the system requires you to have a driver's license.

Although it varies with each dealer, each company and the demand of the day, a person working about eight hours earns $ 600. Their compensation for each trip depends on various factors that are governed by an algorithm that even distributors must specify, even if they estimate between $ 30 and $ 40 per delivery, depending on the company. In addition to the possibility of receiving tips. For the application, the biggest gain is for alliances with stores that, they say, charge a commission for each sale.

Since orders are usually badigned based on the physical proximity of the customer, each delivery person must develop individual strategies to "chase" them, finding points on the map of La Plata where he badumes his mobile phone will find more information. ;activity.

The first ones to appear in our city were "Orders already", but soon after, they landed from "Glovo", which works in the federal capital and in other parts of the country. This, currently, the one with the most deliverymen in the city. Finally, "Rappi" has been added. In big cities like Buenos Aires, there are currently five brands. Everything is characterized by strong colors that are worn in cadet's backpacks and shirts.

These "delivery" service companies have not only been integrated with a remarkable presence in the transit of the City, but have also flooded the advertising space of the public highway. On the other hand, they occupy a privileged place in many of the gourmet stores, such as fast food restaurants, which have several boxes to ship customer orders and one of these sectors is reserved for immediate delivery brands.

Every dealer needs to look for strategies to get more deliveries

One of the peculiarities of these applications is that, in this way, users are not tied to the delivery service of stores that are sometimes down and that companies are no longer responsible for explaining to customers.

To strengthen the business, companies enter into agreements with catering establishments, pizzerias, ice cream shops and restaurants and thus offer privileged places in the application to increase their sales.

It is estimated that these days, there are almost a thousand merchants in the city and many are already considering joining a union type. The Platform Personnel Association (APP) has become the first digital platform guild in the country to apply for official registration to represent workers in the sector and to be formally submitted to the Secretariat for Labor's work. the nation to ask for recognition.

Concern for insecurity

Insecurity is one of the most troublesome issues for distributors. At the end of last year, hundreds of cadets from these three applications participated in various mobilizations to demand that steps be taken to put an end to the wave of attacks that they denounce. , are targeted.

This fear has led to insecurity that has led many delivery men to change their schedules, especially to avoid night shifts, considered the most dangerous.

The messengers reported feeling 20-30 hours of preying on thieves who attacked them in different parts of La Plata, particularly in the night-time service.

At that time, Kevin Sanhueza, a 27-year-old university student from Neuquén, who works with the Glovo app, was shot dead last November. On Friday the 16th, he waited in front of a building at 4 pm between 42 and 43 to deliver a kilogram of ice. He was approached by motorcycles and one of the thieves gave him a bullet in the chest. The case sparked serious concern and mobilized the entire industry.