You can learn much about a city, or metro area, by delivering food and random items to folks. My experience has come through Dashing for DoorDash (DD) - a unique side hustle that gives you a way to make some cash, and in my case, a little extra exercise, forcing me back out into the world.
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| You can find anything waiting for bulk pick-up in Mesquite. Even a unicorn. |
I started this year, with March being my first full month. It was during this time that I was selected as a Top Dasher (Platinum level) and repeated it again in April. The award provides some recognition, and a few extra perks which are nice. Its a decent side business until I can find a more permanent work from home situation, or fulltime job. Besides, if I'm not delivering food - how will the folks survive?
Just in the short amount of time, you realize that there are some interesting folks in the world. For instance, one of my first shops (purchasing items for delivery) was at Target for what turned out was a very eager 13 year old. Whether she or her parents actually made the purchase I will never know. I walked in Target and headed back to the electronics area to prove how quickly I could finish this seemingly simple transaction. Slightly hunched over the counter was a middle-aged man wishing he was some place else - anywhere else. When I asked for help, he perked up. I assumed he was eager to do something.
My little guest had chosen the pinnacle of streaming tools, and a must-have for anyone appearing online. Before I introduce it, you just have to see the video.
The ears light up, they are cordless, they cancel outside noise - everything a gamer/streamer needs to be happy, and fashionable. They come in two colors - a black/green which looked quite nice. But my young consumer opted for the quartz/pink as shown above.
Depending on the model, they range from $70 - $100 per unit.
My Target helper really had no clue about headphones, gaming, or even streaming. Even after showing him a picture/description on my DD app, he was still lost. Its kind of sad I know more about this than those who sell it. We talked some more to narrow down a general area to start looking, and in a matter of minutes discovered a whole endcap full of the things. I grabbed one, scanned the bar code to make sure it was what my guest wanted, and I was on my way to Garland, Texas - a suburb just North of Mesquite. And the moment I pulled up, there was my guest. I could hardly snap a quick pic of the product being delivered before she was already tearing into the package. Apparently, she was happy.
That same first week I made a second trip to Target. This time it was for a home pregnancy test. The directions said to hand it to them, so I tried to imagine something fun to say when I met the guest. I didn't read the rest of the instructions until I was closer to the delivery address. In fact, in my mind I was delivering to a home address. I imagined a young wife excited to confirm what she already assumed was true. It was the middle of the week, kids were at school, who else would be ordering this?
Had I looked at the address and directions more carefully, I would have realized, I was delivering to a high school, and it was a student waiting outside between classes. Nothing I had thought of earlier worked here, so I simply said "thank you" and got back in my car. Not sure if she had good news, or bad news, but I'm sure the entire event was stressful. I asked for God's Peace to be on her and all involved. I thought that was likely the best thing to do in that situation.
Dollar General (DG) seems to be one of the favorites of the DD shopping public. I'm usually there at least once a day, and as many as 10 times a week. I've grown fond of them, and their upscale little brother pOpshelf. DDs are an evolution of the close-out concept - buying distressed inventory and selling it at bargain prices. I should also mention the generic grocers and $1 store concepts as well. They were quite popular in the 70s & 80s when private labeling became a thing. Imagine a supermarket squeezed into the size of a large 7-Eleven. That is Dollar General. You will find most any grocery item, but the choices are limited - maybe 1 or 2 major brands, and a very competitively priced private label product. You will also see far less line extensions. There might be 10 varieties of Campbells Chicken Soup in Albertson's, and only 1 in DG. In some ways that's far better. And yet they also have general merchandise, seasonal, and every snack, candy imaginable.
What you will NOT find in most DGs, is a working restroom for guests. Apparently, when DG allowed the home-challenged folks in the area to use their facilities, they have made a tremendous mess, and been quite destructive. When they restricted it to guests, they too became a destructive force. Now we all suffer. However, there are a few who take mercy on me - as they see me quite often. And when you are driving all over town, you need the occasional bathroom break.
Take a look at the screengrab above. A bag of delicious Doritos - Nacho Cheese for only $0.50! That is one heck of a deal. In fact, you can get all the Frito Lay products at this ridiculously low price - sometimes 3 for a $1.00. But these are not the "snack packs" from our youth. Note the size - 1 ounce. That is about 3, maybe 4 chips. I bring this up because one of my first trips to DG was to pick up 3 bags of Frito Lay products in this size. The guest paid more for my services than they did for the bags of chips! So I wonder, did they really see the value in the small size, or just think it was a traditional 7-10 oz size at a ridiculously low price? I may never know.
Usually, if my shift has ended and I am quite far from home, I will listen to the radio. The station I prefer plays a mix of songs from the 70s to the present. Not the best, but they try. So I finally heard the Miley Cyrus song, and really listened to the lyrics. Why are songs so violent these days?
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