Does anyone know someone who works as a food delivery driver (DoorDash or Grubhub or any others)? I've got some questions for them...
Friday. Fourth period. The class was "intro to business", although I don't think the students were much of a business mindset. (I covered this class once in December, and they didn't do a whole lot of work then.)
Fourth period is right before lunch.
Maeve started right in talking about Raising Cane's. How far away it was. (It's about a mile or so from the adult transition center. Walking distance. We walked it a few times. But from this school it's a bit farther out.)
But then she got a hankering for In-n-Out.
Maeve was discussing with her neighbor Nate about what food she wanted to order.
I pointed out that the office isn't happy with students ordering food in to be delivered. (And this is where being at multiple schools is an issue. A different school has forbidden students to order food, and there is signage to that effect at the door to the main office. But I can't recall if this school has put its figurative foot down on this yet.) Maeve informed me that other students do it all the time.
Very deep sigh.
Upon further reflection, Maeve decided that she was in the mood for McDonald's.
Which McDonald's was closest? She logged into her account. Nate was surprised all the info was populated, to which Maeve replied that she was logged into her account. Then there was a debate as to if she could tell the delivery person when to arrive. And finally she had to decide on what she wanted to order. (She settled on Chicken McNuggets.)
I pointed out that she had an actual assignment to do. She had wasted more than twenty minutes on all these decisions.
Although, when she wanted the address of the school and Nate suggested she Google it, I pointed out that the address was written up on the wall. (It was on something that the teacher had pinned to his bulletin board.)
Eventually, the order was completed. Maeve could focus on her assignment now, right? Nope. Now she was watching the progress of her food via the app.
Then it arrived early.
Maeve freaked out. Her boyfriend was going to retrieve it for her, but he was going to get out of class five minutes later. She didn't want to go.
Nate suggested she ask for a restroom pass. Um, I heard the entire conversation, which is what they realized. (I suppose I should have told her she couldn't go, but at this point I wasn't going to fight that battle.)
Maeve did not want to go by herself. (Why? I have no idea.) She begged that Nate go with her. Reluctantly, he agreed.
Maeve and Nate were not gone that long. But she seemed to think it took forever as they had a hard time getting the bag through the fence that surrounds the school. (At this point Maeve realized that perhaps she should have tipped her driver. I had previously said that one should always tip in these situations.)
We had less than ten minutes remaining in the period. Maeve was happy her fries were still warm. Nate requested a chicken nugget as payment for accompanying her. She gave him one.
And I noted this in the note to the teacher.
I really need to hear from delivery drivers about this. Do they frequently deliver to schools? Just in my experience, it's becoming a thing. Do the drivers like delivering to schools? I would imagine the teens are cheap and not very grateful. I'm sure they have some stories.
I’m just glad this wasn’t a thing when my kids were in high school.
ReplyDeleteYeah, when I was at school, the most we could do was order pizza (which we did do, well, once).
DeleteNow I have to wonder if the schools around here have banned deliveries or not. I'm surprised your school hasn't!
ReplyDeleteThat's interesting. I would think most schools wouldn't allow it. Too distruptive.
ReplyDeleteNo, I won't be a help with this although I work with two people whose daughters are teachers. If I remember I'll ask my co workers on Monday. I'm interested in the responses. (By the way, we don't have either non-McDonalds chain you've named although I have heard great things about In-N-Out Burger).
ReplyDeleteRaising Cane's is relatively new to us (the chain hasn't been here more than a couple years), and I think it originated in the South. In-n-Out is, of course, a California thing (although they just announced they're opening up in Tennessee in two years).
DeleteMy daughter drives for DoorDash in the evenings or weekends sometimes. So, she does not deliver to schools. However, I do know that the company filling the orders, the restaurants, pay for DoorDash and other companies to deliver this food. It might have leveled out by now but in the beginning, it was costing the companies.
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty sure it still costs the companies. That business model hasn't changed much since it began. If your daughter ever works lunchtime, I would be interested if she ends up delivering to schools.
DeleteHere, in schools, students aren't allowed to have their mobiles with them. Even if they have, they won't be allowed to use them.
ReplyDeleteIn colleges, they can keep. But I doubt if they order food online. Because, one, ordering food online is more expensive than having it in an eatery, and students wouldn't want to spend their pocket money on it. Two, even if they order, if the food comes while the class is on, they won't be allowed to go out to collect it, and there are no provisions in colleges to collect and keep the online-ordered food.
Another school issue that makes me glad I’m old.
ReplyDeleteThat doesn't sound like a good idea. Shouldn't there security protocols in schools these days to prevent random people to just be coming in.
ReplyDeleteIt should be against the rules to order DoorDash at a school...unless you are a teacher :). Still I am sure the students are cheap. I wouldn't want to deliver to a school.
ReplyDeleteIt should be against the rules. If the kiddos want someone to bring them fast food, they should browbeat a sibling as they have done for years before this ;) (Seriously, I think it is forbidden, but they find ways around it.)
DeleteApparently it is really common at the high school my Barbarians were at previously. I had no idea (and they didn't use it). The school has banned it and drivers aren't allowed on campus, but it is a big property with a long fence and I've heard "slipping it through the fence" is common.
ReplyDeleteOops, for some reason the blog no longer automatically puts my name as author and I forgot to change from anon before posting... AJ Blythe
DeleteAh. Yes. Your Barbarians' school sounds like our schools. It would be easy to slip it through the fence. (The bars are wide.)
DeleteSo, yesterday I looked, and this school has banned the delivery drivers, too. I figured they had. So, yeah, I'm pretty sure they slipped this bag through the fence. (She did say so.)
Know someone who drives for GrubHub. She has never mentioned a school delivery, but I bet she'd do it if it came up.
ReplyDeleteLike I said, I have some questions. I imagine the schools near you are similar to here. I wonder how widespread students ordering is.
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