Most Saturday and Sunday mornings are the same for senior John Weedman. He wakes up around 8:30 a.m. or 9, turns his status to “online” on the Postmates app and waits for a “ping” that signifies someone needs a pickup for their morning coffee or pancake order.
Postmates, created in 2011, is an app that enables anyone to order food from select restaurants — which is then brought to their door by drivers 18 and older who pass application regulations.
Weedman has been a Postmates food delivery driver for just over a month and has already completed 110 food deliveries, earning about $10 per delivery.
After working for his uncle’s T-shirt factory a few summers ago, Weedman realized he didn’t have time to keep up a job year-round with baseball and the academic pressure of senior year. But with Postmates, Weedman can choose his own hours and make money in his free time.
“It’s pretty nice for me because as long as I have gas money and food money I can put the rest in my bank account,” Weedman said. “I could never hold a job with practices and sports and school going on. That’s also not what I’d want to do — go home from school, change and go to work, you know. [With Postmates], I can go home, take a nap, turn it on when I wake up and go make $40 that night.”
Weedman enjoys the sense of calmness found driving around, listening to music in his own car and stopping whenever he feels like it — bringing in cash without the confines of a typical high school job.
“It’s nice for me because if I want $10 for a burger or to go out to eat on a Friday night, I can turn the Postmates app on for 30 minutes, make $10, transfer it to my debit card and go get a burger,” Weedman said.
Weedman typically works after school — if he has time — from around 4 to 9 p.m., and on weekend mornings whenever he wakes up. Weekend mornings normally bring in the biggest rush of customers throughout the week.
Living right off the plaza, Weedman is always in range of what the Postmates app calls “hotspots,” or places where the driver is most likely to get delivery requests.
“I don’t have to go, get up, get into my car and drive somewhere [far away] to pick up an order,” Weedman said. “If I wake up on a Saturday morning and turn it on while I’m laying in bed, I’ll get what’s called a ping and then they’ll take me to my order.”
Although making money is a plus, Weedman finds entertainment in seeing different parts of the city and meeting interesting people through food deliveries.
“Most of the people [I deliver food to] are 20-30 years old — not going out to get food [and] being lazy,” Weedman said. “There’s definitely some funny people that you see, like the people who it’s pretty obvious they’ve just been sitting at home, playing video games on a Tuesday instead of working and Postmating a pizza.”
Weedman recalls a time he delivered a salad to someone at 5 p.m., just to show up at their door to see a 30-year-old in a leopard print onesie pajama outfit, or the time he picked up an order from Coldstone Creamery on the plaza — only to walk directly behind the creamery and deliver it to an apartment building.
“Apparently people are willing to pay for a 1-2 minute walk,” Weedman said.
Despite the abnormality of this job, Weedman obtains a sense of pride in being one of few high-school Postmates drivers.
“I don’t think what you envision your Postmates Delivery guy to be is an 18-year-old high schooler,” Weedman said. “But I think it’s actually pretty smart. Sometimes people ask me if it is worth the money or worth the gas and I think it is. I’ll be dropping off food and have people ask me if I’m old enough to do this or call me honey. It’s actually a great way to get more tips.”
Some drivers, such as Weedman, have been on Postmates long enough to establish a working routine. Other drivers, such as senior Harvey Ji, are just getting started.
For Ji, Postmates is merely a way for him to make some extra money before college without having to sacrifice much time. Ji was looking for something that was feasible, had flexible hours and didn’t interfere with his extracurricular activities such as bowling or school work. Postmates was the perfect option for him.
Ji started Postmates driving a few days after he turned 18 on Jan. 22 and has only completed two orders since he’s started, but hopes to increase that number as school and college-preparation aspects of his life settle down.
Before Postmate-ing, Ji worked at the bakery, Mrs. Fields, during the year and Sonic over the summer. But Ji wanted to get a job where he could set his own hours due to his busy schedule full of bowling, writing scholarship applications and homework from his AP classes.
Compared to his other jobs, Ji finds Postmates a lot more relaxing and stress free.
“In the fast food industry, you’re rushing to get your stuff done and trying to move on to the next person, but with Postmates you’re just picking up and delivering the food — it’s not too stressful, unless the traffic is really bad and you need to get there, but I have never experienced that myself,” Ji said. “I would say the biggest plus is the [low] stress factor.”
Ji also admired the quick process of a Postmates application. With no interview required, Ji and others simply enter their name and social security number. In a matter of 10 minutes, Postmates performs an automated background check and the company either accepts or declines their application.
A hidden plus Ji has discovered in his short time while driving is that some restaurant employees give drivers bonus drinks or food.
“I’ve experienced that the people at restaurants, when they see there’s a Postmates worker, they [are] really nice to you,” Ji said. “I was offered a free drink when I went into Chipotle [to pick up a delivery].”
Along with the simplistic aspects of Postmates driving and outlook the public has on them, Ji enjoys being his own boss and the independence of this job.
“You just drive around and pick up food,” Ji said. “You get to listen to music and do whatever as long as you get there in a timely fashion. So if you like driving and listening to music it’s definitely a good job for you.”