As London drizzled during my walk home last night, I saw a drenched food-delivery driver race by on his moped.
On rainy evenings, the demand for food-delivery increases.
At the same time, food-delivery riders choose not to work due to dangerous conditions and the high probability of being cold and wet for hours on end.
It’s the gig economy version of Newton’s Third Law of Motion: every action has an equal and opposite reaction.
High demand for food delivery and a low supply of delivery riders creates tension.
To ease this tension, food-delivery companies react in three ways, 1) they charge an additional fee (surge pricing) for each delivery to artificially lower demand, 2) they offer wet-weather bonuses to drivers to keep up delivery productivity, and 3) they make consumers wait longer for their food.
But no matter how hard these companies try, when it rains, no one wins. Not the customers, riders, or the food-delivery companies.
With our own products and services, we may not be able to avoid some lose-lose situations either. But it’s better to know they exist, attempt to anticipate them, and have avoidance strategies in place for when they hit.