Customers can’t thank enough restaurants and food delivery staff who have continued to provide their services during the COVID-19 times. There’s a massive lot who don’t have any cooking facility at home or are unable to cook and have to outsource their food. Sakal Times takes a look at how safety guidelines are being followed to offer the best service to clients.
SAFETY MEASURES
Four stores of Cheesiaano Pizza are operating in Pune with 18 employees, and 2-3 employees per shift per store. The management is making sure that food hygiene and safety guidelines are practised all the time.
Sangram Pawar, VP, business development, Cheesiaano Foods Pvt Ltd, says, “We have installed CCTV in all stores and monitoring the staff at all times. When the staff enters, we do temperature checks of each person. We have medical-grade (alcohol content is 60 per cent and above) hand sanitiser stations at each store.”
Every employee wears a face mask, cap, and hand gloves. They sanitise themselves and the store frequently by washing their hands and using sanitiser.
“For delivery staff, we have demarcation done for waiting. We ensure that they sit in those marked areas and at a distance of 5 feet from each other. We operate in a contactless delivery method. The delivery boys wear masks and sanitise their hands before taking the package,” he says.
The outlets have a person in charge. The operational head and area managers are well trained in precautionary measures, and they monitor everything minutely.
PROTECTIVE PACKAGING
Another restaurant that has taken permission to operate during lockdown is Kerala Cafe. “We have 2-3 people in the kitchen and 2-3 people on the desk to manage the orders and take care of safety measures. We also have safe zones for our workers where they live, ensuring that they maintain hygiene at all times,” says Sandhya Nair, marketing head, Kerala Cafe.
The workers are making zero contact with outsiders. Their temperatures are recorded two times a day, in the morning and evening. “To prevent any lapses, proper safety and hygiene processes are being followed. And to ensure the safety of the delivery partners and customers, we have added extra packaging. We are doing three-layer packaging, one is the container, then we put the container in a plastic bag which is again kept in a brown paper bag,” says Nair.
The cafe sanitises their cooking and packaging area before, and after every order they prepare.
Nair says that there is no entry inside the cafe for the riders. “We’ve to mark on the ground where they can wait at a distance of 3 metres. Also, we have a takeaway window for them where we have kept a sanitiser bottle. To ensure safety, the rider first sanitises himself and then only picks up the order,” she says.
The cafe also has a person in charge who takes care of all the precautionary measures taken by the employees and the riders. Extending support to these restaurants, their landlords have also allowed concession in rent which has been of great help.
CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE
Apurv Chawade, 26, a working professional sharing an apartment with his friends, says that they have been ordering food online because they had very little options.
“I do not have a vegetable market nearby, and I ran out of my food stock at home. If I have to buy vegetables, I have to go by vehicle, but the fuel tank is empty now. Hence, I have no other option but to order food online,” he says.
Chawade has been taking all kinds of preventive measures recommended by experts to curb the spread of the pandemic. He adds that delivery people are also following all the rules of food safety and hygiene, keeping the current situation in mind.
Sharing his experience, he says, “The delivery person had a mask and gloves on. Once I reached downstairs, he asked me to sanitise my hands. He also offered a sanitiser. Unlike earlier, he asked me to hold the pizza boxes from below. Once he removed his hand, I could place my hand on top and hold the box with both my hands,” he says, adding that the restaurants and delivery guys are doing their best to offer great service.
“From my side, I take the food up and before entering the house, I dispose off the outer packaging in the dustbin kept right outside the door. I then sanitise my hands. Without fail, we transfer the food to our utensils, throw away the restaurant packaging and if needed, we heat the food as well,” he explains.
Another customer, Abhay Shukla orders online because he doesn’t have any facility to cook at home like gas or induction cooktop. “The other reason is that I don’t get enough time to cook. To cook after work hours is tiring, so I prefer ordering online which gives me multiple options to choose from,” says Shukla.
He takes all kinds of precautionary measures like wearing a mask and using a hand sanitiser when receiving his order. “Once I receive the order, I hold the packet from the tip and wash my hands post that. I also prefer sanitising the food cover with Dettol,” he adds.
Shukla says that even delivery partners wear masks and maintain a distance while handing over the food. Also, they ask us to hold the packaging from below to avoid any contact.
BEST PRACTICES FOR DELIVERY
A delivery partner, Kuldeepkumar Ashok Bhaware, has been working with Zomato for the past two years. While many riders have decided to stay away from work, Kumar continues to serve. “I have got everything from the company, be it mask, gloves or sanitiser. We have been trained to take all kinds of precautionary measures,” he says.
Before pickup, Bhaware sanitises his hands. Once the delivery is done, he again sanitises his hands and gets back to work. A responsible rider, Bhaware never stops in between.
Also, ensuring his family’s safety when he goes back home, he follows all the safety guidelines. “Once I reach home, I wash my vehicle to disinfect it. Then I go to the bathroom and put my clothes in hot water. I interact with family members only after ensuring that I am germ-free,” he says.
Another delivery partner, Shuhzad Hussain, has been working with Zomato for the past one year, says, “Zomato helped me when I was in need. I feel that this is my chance to help others. Many students are dependent on canteen food, dabbas and hostel meals which are not operating right now. Also, many doctors are taking care of patients tirelessly. To help them during this period, I am doing my service,” says Hussain.
Every restaurant has kept sanitisers at their entrances. They ask the riders to sanitise before picking up the order. However, each delivery partner has his own sanitiser as well. “Once I reach the location, I ask the customer if they want me to deliver the parcel personally or they would like to come down and fetch it. We also appreciate them to opt for contactless delivery,” adds Hussain.
If any customer forgets to bring his/ her sanitiser, the riders offer them before they handover the parcel.
