The Un-Heroic Reality of Being an ‘Essential’ Restaurant Worker (Eater)

It’s not just customers who are screwing people on tips, libertarian douchebros who run apps such as Postmates have put the screws to restaurants as well.

Before COVID, about half the restaurant’s takeout business typically came from the third-party delivery apps Caviar and Postmates. During quarantine, it’s grown to 80 percent. Since the customer tips the driver, not the restaurant, cashiers don’t make any money on those orders. As such, they are my lowest priority, and drivers end up with long wait times. They crowd the space around the counter, limiting the possibility of social distancing and creating additional stress. They hover and pester, and I snap back at them. Two newly deemed essential workers face off over whose time is more valuable.