Ngip Yamika Meteran, 29, from Cameroon, wants to travel the world and work in real estate, but for now he navigates the streets of Dubai on his bike, delivering food to his customers, on hopefully non-windy days.
How did you become a delivery man?
My first brush with delivering food on a bike happened while working as a waiter in a restaurant in Business Bay in 2015. I would chip in at times when the regular delivery man was unavailable. I have always loved riding bikes and so the times when I was out delivering orders was the most enjoyable part of my day. I had a UAE motorcycle license and applied for a job as a Deliveroo rider in May 2016. After an interview and a test on UAE roads and maps that I successfully cleared I joined the company.
How were you trained for the job?
Deliveroo has a three-week training programme for delivery men. It involves information about road safety rules, the six steps to use the Deliveroo app, advice about handling customers, specifications about food pick up, delivery and parking instructions. The last day of the training involves an actual delivery from the Deliveroo customer service office.
How was your first day at work?
I was confident and found it really easy. Plus I was doing what I love – riding a motorcycle and getting paid for it.
What do you like the most about riding motorbikes?
For me riding a bike is a complete stress-buster – I get to be outdoors, breathing fresh air and seeing people on the move. I enjoy maneuvering the bike both on empty roads and on busy streets. As I love the idea of travelling and unfortunately don’t have enough money to do a lot of it now, driving the bike and delivering orders is the best possible way to satisfy my passion.
Tell us about your family and what did you study?
We are a family of six. I am the eldest among my five siblings. I had to drop out of college while pursuing an undergraduate degree in economics in the second year because of financial difficulties at home. I then worked for a few years in the real estate sector in Cameroon before moving to Dubai.
What is a typical day for you?
We work eight hours and my shift begins at 9 am. We have been assigned zones where we deliver food from restaurants to customers. The Downtown zone, which has been assigned to me, is 10 minutes from where I stay in Satwa. I reach my zone on my bike sharp at 9am and log into the Deliveroo app to see my first delivery location. The maximum time an order can take is 32 minutes, but I usually deliver much earlier. I do around 20 deliveries in a day.
In Dubai, Deliveroo does around 5,000 orders in a day through its 600 riders. Before I break for lunch at 1pm I would do 8 to 10 orders. Lunch is usually biryani at a restaurant, sometimes when I am in the mood I cook traditional cassava and vegetables at night and I eat that for lunch. I rejoin work at 3pm and do more deliveries until my shift ends at 7pm. Back home I either relax in the neighbourhood park or watch documentaries on YouTube or talk to my family in Cameroon.
Any memorable moments at work that you cherish?
Some days ago I was doing a delivery in the DIFC area and the customer was so pleasant. He asked me about my job and how my day was shaping up. He was very humane and spoke to me like a good friend. I cherish such moments.
Are the tips noteworthy?
Yes, in a good month I make around Dh500 in tips. My colleague once got Dh100 as tip on a single delivery, it was the customer’s birthday and they made him sing Happy Birthday while delivering the cake and presented him with a Dh100 note.
What would be your least favourite delivery item?
Anything that is in liquid form such as juices and soups and also creamy cakes. I have to very careful while driving to ensure that the juices don’t spill and the cakes don’t lose shape. Customers get very annoyed if we don’t deliver food fast and in the best form. It’s not our fault. Sometimes it’s the packaging from the restaurant that is not good. At times the outside temperature spoils the shape of cakes.
Have you experienced any bad days on the roads?
A windy day is a bad day for us motorbike drivers. Car drivers don’t understand our precarious situation, we are navigating the bike with food delivery boxes and braving the wind as well. But the worst day for me was in June 2016, just a month after I joined Deliveroo, when I met with an accident. My bike crashed with a truck on Zabeel road. Fortunately I escaped without any fractures and ended up with only a bad scratch on my right shoulder and arm. I was in the hospital for a few hours and then took rest at home for four days.
Where are your future plans?
As I have previously worked in the real estate sector in Cameroon I want to pursue a career in this field and want to do some courses to educate myself more about this sector.
