KOTA KINABALU: As he clocked in for his shift, Mohammad Dzul Hanif stationed himself in the city centre and waited for food orders to pop up on his mobile phone.
It did not take long for the online food delivery walker’s first order of the day to come in. He quickly made his way to a fast-food outlet at Kampung Air here and showed the staff the item he was supposed to pick up.
As soon as he retrieved the pizza, the 28-year-old had just one thing on his mind.
“I’ve got to send the food not only as fast as I can but I must also make sure it remains the way it was prepared,” he told FMT.
But there were a couple of problems. Dark clouds had built up even before the order came in, and now, rain had started to fall.
The shop had run out of plastic bags and the large pizza box he was supposed to deliver was too big to fit into his bag.
“Fortunately, I had an umbrella and instead of using it for myself, I used it to shield the pizza from the rain so (that) it wouldn’t get wet,” he said.
“Rain or shine, I always try to put myself in my customers’ shoes. They want the food hot and perfect when it reaches them.
“It makes my day when I see the smiles on their faces when their orders arrive.”
The online walker system allows food delivery workers to accept orders from vendors who are within 1km from them.
“But sometimes the system doesn’t get it right and we end up with orders 2km or 3km away. We can decline but usually, we accept it although it seldom happens,” he said.
Dzul, who started working as a walker in May last year, possesses a certificate in electrical studies from a polytechnic here but had trouble finding a job.
“I was hunting for work when I saw that they were looking for walkers. I don’t have a motorcycle licence, so I applied and have been doing this since.
“The orders have slowed down recently but at least I have an income.
“It has also helped me to lose some weight and I am down to 72kg from 85kg previously,” he said with a laugh.
Dzul, who stays in Papar, about 40km from here, used to receive up to 20 orders a day before the movement control order was imposed but now, he gets an average of five a day, making about RM5 for each trip.
However, he said, he is happy to deliver, come rain or shine. “Don’t pity us if it’s raining, we are more than happy to deliver. In fact, it will be more pitiful for us if you cancel your order.”
He said some customers have been kind to him, leaving him generous tips.
As for his future plans, Dzul said he hopes to start his own delivery service.
“I hope there will be more business opportunities for young people to inspire them to start their own endeavours,” he said.