Driver: Jack Straughan
Store: Newcastle upon Tyne
Delivery date: 29 October
Shopper location: Newcastle upon Tyne
How long have you worked as a delivery driver for Waitrose? I began in May of this year, so I’m still relatively new. I really enjoy working here, it’s a fantastic job and I get to work with some great people. My favourite aspect of the job is the freedom I get and getting to explore the area. There are so many places I get to visit that I hadn’t been to before. My favourite places to deliver to are Whitley Bay, as I love the beach, and Morpeth, as I grew up there.
What sort of products are customers ordering as we’re entering the cold season? Winter favourites and comfort food are appearing more and more in our customers’ orders now. I’ve seen lots of our new one-pot chicken casseroles in orders as well as our new Levantine soups – the Levantine Zhoug Chicken Soup seems to be really popular.
Are you starting to notice an increase in demand for Christmas products? The customers I deliver to are definitely starting to get into the festive spirit and preparing for Christmas. We know our customers are eager to get their festive food sorted and pre-orders for our turkeys are up this year. I’ve also been including lots of panettones, stollen, Christmas puddings and cakes on my deliveries over the last couple of weeks.
How have customers reacted to the bagless deliveries? All the customers I deliver to are so friendly and appreciate that we give them a choice in how their groceries are delivered. For example, some of our older customers would struggle to carry their groceries inside their homes on their own, so they’re grateful we can now help them with this. We always follow government guidance and have face coverings to do this safely. Others prefer to carry their groceries inside themselves, or to pack them into their own bags on the doorstep, which I’m very happy to help with while keeping a safe distance.
What piece of technology do you find the most helpful when carrying out deliveries? Technology makes my role significantly easier, from our handsets used for picking to our van’s digital display, which we can link to phones to get the most up-to-date maps.
How do you balance getting the job done and making sure everyone involved is safe? My top priority is keeping myself, my colleagues and our customers safe, continuing to follow all the guidance and making sure our customers are comfortable and happy when I deliver their shopping. It’s been a difficult time for everyone and for some people, I might be the only person they see in a day, so I think it’s so important to make them feel valued. I love having conversations with so many different people – it’s what makes my day so interesting!
What is your best memory of being a Waitrose driver? I think my favourite memory was delivering to a house that I used to live in. I had a really great chat with the customer who lives there now and it was a really lovely experience to see my old home. There are not many jobs where you get to do something like this.
No comments yet