(Submitted/ Chris Thomas - Dash Delivers)

By Nicole Reis

ONLINE FOOD DELIVERY

First restaurant delivery app for Meadow Lake launches in coming weeks

Apr 15, 2020 | 5:46 PM

Dash Delivers could be delivering food from local restaurants in Meadow Lake as soon as April 24.

Dash Delivers founder, Chris Thomas told meadowlakeNOW A&W and Dairy Queen Grill and Chill restaurants are confirmed to begin delivery for online orders. The service is now looking for local drivers to make the business work.

“Restaurants who wish to come on board and perhaps even use one of their staff who have recently endured reduced hours or a laid off worker could even partner with the us, then our service can get here faster rather than us wait for applications for drivers,” Thomas said.

Dash Delivers currently operates in 36 markets in Canada including Warman and Martensville and is beginning service in La Ronge this Friday. The company was founded in 2015 as a marketing tool for restaurants in Brandon, MB, and is focused on rural communities with smaller operations.

Thomas said the business has tested smaller markets in Dauphin, MB and Bonnyville, AB. He said business has been quite good for drivers and the service is proving to be working for restaurants.

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Richard Wurst, general manager of the Neighbourhood Inn in Bonnyville and has both Sandpiper’s Restaurant and Crown and Derby Pub listed on Dash Delivers. He said he’s very happy with the service since signing on nearly one year ago.

“We were trying to drum up more business and I didn’t want to get into hire delivery drivers or looking at insurance for those drivers,” he said. “I want delivery but I don’t want the hassle of delivery.”

Wurst said the service is cheaper from an operator’s perspective than Skip the Dishes or UberEats. He said he’s even tried the Dash Delivers service and is content with its reliability.

“I can’t say enough good about it,” Wurst said. “It’s about time our small town got a little break.”

Devour Bar and Grill owner, Priscilla Millar said she would welcome an online service in the local community.

“Right now we’re taking orders and doing pick-up and deliveries, but it would be something different and adds to the way our customers place orders,” she said.

Sandra Morrin of Sandi’s Poutinerie & Grill said she are not entirely sure if she would use the delivery service but expressed a general concern about the cost the online service may impose on her business.

Thomas said the service is able to perform contact-less delivery where customers who place an order on an online have the capacity to give delivery drivers special instructions.

“The default direction would be to ring a doorbell and leave order by main door,” Thomas said. “The customer pays in advance and the driver drops off package and walks away from the door and watches to make sure the customer picks up their order.”

The service uses Stripe online payment processing. Thomas said he is in the process of working with Stripe to issue gift cards for people who do not have a credit card. Thomas said Stripe does not require users to set up an account but can accept email transfers to issue gift cards.

“There is no contract so if users want to try the service and find it doesn’t work for them, there is no obligation to continue,” Thomas said. “One thing we have done to try to help local restaurants who want the convenience of online ordering, is users can opt for contact-less pick-up which means restaurants drop-off orders to customers to their car saving the customer a delivery fee.

Delivery Drivers

Thomas said he is not concerned about business during the pandemic as delivery numbers have increased and drivers are usually kept busy during a shift. He said he is in the midst of setting up delivery zones for Meadow Lake and delivery fees could vary but an average delivery fee is between $4-6.

It is still unknown what the compensation rate for drivers in Meadow Lake will be though Thomas noted drivers in most other markets earn $4 per delivery with an average tip of $4 per stop. Most drivers hope to do two or three orders per hour to make between $16 to $24 per hour with wage and tip included.

“Smaller markets are run where a scheduled driver has a specific maximum amount of deliveries to keep drivers happy but we need enough drivers scheduled where food is not being delayed either,” he said.

The practice in larger urban centre’s is anybody who wants to drive signs into app and when an order is placed a signal is sent to drivers in the area of the restaurant, and whoever grabs it first, gets the order. The concept of the delivery service is a “gig-economy” where drivers choose their own shift and hours.

“If we can keep a driver decently busy every shift, that’s the bar,” he said. “If a driver can make enough money to make it worthwhile, they’ll stay on and keep the service going.”

Thomas said his goal is to begin operations in Meadow Lake next Friday though its function largely depends on drivers.

“We typically start in a city with five to six restaurants on board before launching, however, with current circumstances were firing up with whoever wants to go live,” he said.

Restaurants or delivery drivers who want to get on board with the service, can reach out directly to Chris Thomas at info@dashdeliveries.ca.

With Files from Derek Cornet

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nicole.reis@jpbg.ca

Twitter: @nicolereis7722