The second meeting of the Deliveroo Rider Forum took place on Tuesday, January 11, 2022, in the offices of Deliveroo Belgium, in Brussels, and online for riders who were unable to move.
The meeting started at 2pm with Tigran (Sint-Truiden), Etienne (Liège), Soufiane (Brussels), Hassan (Leuven), Emmanuel (Hasselt) and Rik (Aalst).
To begin, our team took a look at the progress of the actions and the points discussed during the first meeting:
- Creation of a WhatsApp group per city to facilitate communication between riders and with the Deliveroo team.
=> Riders can now join the WhatsApp group of their city via this link. - Frequently remind restaurants of the importance of kindness and respect towards riders
=> Our team is busy setting up a campaign to continue to ensure a good relationship between partner restaurants and riders. This campaign will be launched in the next few months, but we will discuss it further at the next forum. - From a communication point of view, the representatives mentioned that they and all the other riders were not always aware of all the benefits that Deliveroo offers to riders, such as parental leave and sick leave for self-employed riders. These benefits will therefore be highlighted more regularly so that all riders are informed of these points.
=> Since the first meeting, a reminder to riders who ride as self-employed about these benefits and the useful links about them has been sent. A reminder will be sent every 6 weeks by our team. - Regarding road safety, the representatives present made a specific request: to improve the channel of communication with Deliveroo when there is an emergency, such as a road accident. The representatives asked that an emergency communication channel be set up
=> Our team has improved the internal notification system so that emergencies are treated as a priority. - Still, on the subject of road safety, the representatives asked that the functioning of the Busby app be more clearly explained as it was not clear to them.
=> Busby is now called Flare. The Flare team is working on educational content so that riders can understand the benefits of using this safety app. - Sending additional information about the consultation platform organized by the government.
=> The information has been sent to the Belgian riders. If some riders still want to give their opinion via this government platform, here is the link. - Regarding the problem related to some riders who would have abused the replacement option and who would hold several accounts or who would lend their account even though it is forbidden:
=> Reminder emails with the rules to follow to ride with Deliveroo as well as a reminder of the penalties for riders who commit fraud have been sent. Many accounts have been deactivated and police checks have been carried out throughout Belgium. Other actions are still in preparation.
After this first assessment, we discussed together the improvements that can be made to Deliveroo's communication towards the riders. One of the representatives present suggested that Deliveroo should make more use of the Rider app to get important messages across because riders don't always check their email or the WhatsApp group in their city.
The next topic of this meeting was On Demand Groceries: home delivered groceries, presented by Daniel, sales manager of Deliveroo Belgium. This service was launched in March 2021 and the main partners Deliveroo works with are Carrefour, Delitraiteur and Total among others, but also grocery stores, bakeries and wine stores. This service allows Deliveroo to strengthen its offer and also allows riders to receive more orders during off-peak hours, as customers shop all day, not just during meal times! The number of cities offering this service and the number of stores is expected to grow throughout 2022.
The rider representatives expressed that when the service was first launched, some orders were too heavy for one rider. This problem has now been solved, but Daniel reminded us that :
- If a rider received an order that was too heavy, he or she could always call live support via the Rider app to call for an additional rider.
- It is also possible to notify Deliveroo support if a rider does not want to deliver alcohol in their orders.
- When a rider accepts an order from a store, extreme care must be taken to ensure that the entire contents of the order are in the bag and delivered to the customer.
After covering this topic, Daniel gave the floor to Rodolphe, Deliveroo Belgium spokesperson, who clarified to the representatives present what the decision of the Brussels Labor Court made on December 8 means: Deliveroo couriers are self-employed (and not employees) according to Belgian justice. Here are the important points:
- This decision is great news for riders who want to continue to enjoy the flexibility of being self-employed (or P2P), namely, the vast majority of riders.
- Riders can continue to ride with P2P status.
- This decision may be appealed. Update 12/01/2022: Since the second meeting of the Rider Forum, the labor auditor has appealed the ruling. No decision is expected until the fall of 2023.
The Deliveroo spokesperson reiterated the importance of completing the government investigation so that riders can give their input about their status.
After Rodolphe's presentation, Jorina presented the marketing department at Deliveroo with the different actions carried out and to come in the Belgian cities. The objective of marketing is to make sure that when someone feels like eating, they instantly think of Deliveroo and place an order! Each additional order is a source of revenue for the riders.
The tools used by the marketing department are social networks, promotion in the restaurants, discounts for customers, partnerships with other companies or brands, visual support (flyers, posters, etc.), newsletters, etc.
The representatives support the strategy that marketing should be even more present in their city to boost orders even more.
The last topic of the afternoon was an in-depth presentation of the support service for riders. The Deliveroo Belgium support team is in charge of :
- Helping riders who have complex problems related to their account,
- Checking that payments are in order,
- Insurance related claims,
- Monitoring, deleting and following up on illegal accounts,
- Feedback from restaurants about rider service,
- Feedback from live support, i.e. live help via the Rider app during deliveries,
- Credit or debit notes,
- Other tasks.
One of the riders pointed out that from time to time, the live support in his city answers and interacts with the riders in a language that is not the language of the city, which can be problematic. This comment was heard and we will follow up with the live support so that there are always agents who can speak the majority language of the city and/or English.
Another representative highlighted the problem of contacting customers during a delivery. Indeed, the Rider app is currently experiencing minor technical issues in this area. Our technical team has taken care of this problem and it should be solved soon.
We finally moved on to a question and answer session:
- "How are orders assigned between riders?"
=> Obviously, the Deliveroo algorithm may seem complex, but a member of the Deliveroo team summarized how it works during an order. If a rider is next to a restaurant and that restaurant receives an order, the rider will be assigned that order. It is therefore better to be close to a restaurant than to wait at home for your first order of the evening. - "How can I easily change vehicles?" For example, "It's sunny during the week and my primary vehicle is the scooter. On Fridays, it's raining so I'd like to drive and still be properly insured."
=> If your primary vehicle needs to be changed for long-term use, request the change by contacting Deliveroo support to make sure you're insured while on the road. Our team will then modify your vehicle in your Rider app. If the change is occasional, you can contact support to mention that today, you will exceptionally be driving instead of scooting. - "How to change cities easily?"
=> Riders who ride under independent status do not have to inform Deliveroo when changing cities. However, P2P riders must first contact the Deliveroo support rider who will make the change in your Rider app before they can go deliver in that city. This process also ensures that an area is not overloaded with too many riders. - "Is it possible to ride after exceeding the income limit for P2P?"
=> It is not possible to ride beyond the limit as a P2P, but it is possible to become self-employed and therefore no longer have an income limit. To do so, you have to inform the Deliveroo support rider by transmitting your VAT number.
Here is what was decided after discussions with the representatives:
- To avoid restaurants receiving orders when they are closed, the riders would like the Deliveroo team to make the restaurant owners aware of the importance of using the tablet properly.
- The representatives would like restaurateurs and Deliveroo customers to be aware of the COVID-19 measures, and for everyone to make an effort to wear their masks and respect the social distancing guidelines.
Thanks to the representatives for their participation (in person or online!) during this afternoon and thank you for your excellent comments.