Local gig economy evolves
Walmart has a new delivery service that it just initiated in Santa Fe: DoorDash. We tried it out and it was relatively quick, but this could be because it is a new service.
You can get anything you order within a five-hour time frame, or if you spend an extra $10, you can get it delivered within two hours.
But this also means Walmart’s pickup service, which was running well before the coronavirus pandemic, may get slower with fewer pickup parking slots.
The new delivery service also means more job openings. Speaking of jobs, I’ve seen a flood of new ads by Lyft looking for drivers in this area.
Lyft drivers hopped onto Instacart when the virus started, but I have noticed a slight increase in Lyft and Uber drivers operating again since we businesses began reopening.
I spoke to several of my friends in the tattoo community, and they are reporting their businesses are booming, with all of them booked solid through August.
They have had to make a few changes, like limiting customers entering their establishments to just the customer and the tattoo artist. Before, people getting tattooed were allowed to bring in a posse of friends for emotional support.
I have been trying out several of the restaurant patios around town, and those businesses seem to be handling the change well. Even before dine-in options were shut down last week, you wouldn’t see me inside a bar or restaurant if they didn’t have an outdoor eating option. When I enter any enclosed space, I always wear a mask and disinfect my hands before entering and upon leaving with my order.
This has been a major change because I almost lived in restaurants for most of my meals for the past 30 years, especially for live events. We don’t know when those will resume without many venues doing major overhauls of their businesses.
Another fairly new development is the switch from a cash-based system to card and digital-pay services. With a shortage of coins and cash nationwide because of the pandemic, most of my purchases are now done with cards and online ordering.
Finally, I also run the Facebook group “2020 Santa Fe Grocery & Restaurant Pandemic Updates,” and several people have asked me about tipping. While cash tips are great, several of my Instacart customers tip with things like bottled water or coffee, masks, gloves, granola bars and hand sanitizer. I have spoken to other people in the gig jobs system and we love these nontraditional tips as well.
Be safe and wear your mask correctly.