Takeaway food delivery workers shortage during Spring Festival: delivery fees skyrocket

Tomorrow is the Chinese New Year of the Rooster. While many people are enjoying the Spring Festival holiday, many delivery boys are still sticking to their jobs.

According to reports, meals were ordered through the food delivery platforms Baidu Takeout and Ele.me on January 23 and January 24. Baidu Takeout charged a surcharge of 20 yuan per order, while Ele.me charged 14 yuan per order. After members waived 4 yuan, they still had to pay a surcharge of 10 yuan.

After Ms. Xie, a citizen, ordered a meal through Baidu Takeout, the Baidu Takeout delivery staff called and said that they had multiple orders and could not deliver the meals on time. Helplessly, Ms. Xie contacted the official Baidu Takeout phone number and received the reply that the meal should be delivered as soon as possible, and if it could not be delivered on time, she could return the meal.

Ms. Xie believes that during the Spring Festival, due to the reduction in food delivery personnel, the food deliverymen had too many orders and were unable to deliver the food on time. In addition, some were open both online and offline, but their food delivery services had been suspended.

The reporter interviewed two major food delivery platforms, Baidu Waimai and Ele.me. Regarding the fact that the price increase for food delivery is caused by the shortage of labor, the relevant personnel of Baidu Waimai affirmed that the price increase is a market behavior, while Ele.me said that the price increase is a market behavior.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.