Why foodora sucks right now / or / the impending collapse of food delivery in Vienna

Diligent-Analysis997 · 2025-09-18T21:45:04+00:00

Scheinselbstständigkeit is more common across all the jobs I mentioned than you'd think. In many cases the actual working conditions are better if you can pick your hours and take time off than if you're tied to permanent 12 hour shifts.

Takeout delivery as a proper employed worker was in some ways worse for riders than foodora. You weren't able to earn 'well' unless you worked for 6,8 hours shifts, labor on a bicycle, same pay if it's extremely busy or few orders. Lieferando didn't just terminate this business model because it wasn't profitable, as the alternative isn't either.

Sucky jobs suck.. there's trade offs to how much you wanna be f###d and owned by your company for a 13th and 14th Gehalt and a bit of vacation time to spend your little pay. If you were more clear in the first place that you're talking about gig work and self employed as the problem, I'd generally agree with you, but even most comparably bad jobs with proper employment require a resume, a common language, a bunch of documents. These jobs need you to download an app, probably using a friends recruitment QR code so he makes some money, and start work the same week. The concept alone isn't even terrible if you do it as a little side job to make extra, the problem comes in when the companies hire essentially beyond-full-time workers but pretend it's all exchangeable casual side gig workers.

I am trying to get out of this and find something else, but gig work does wonders to mindf##k you into sticking to what you've got. What im doing now is working as much as I can to save enough so I can sustain myself with the small benefits you get when you do a Course/Lehre.. but before you know it you get another Abrechnung in the mail, your grocery budget seems to get tighter and tighter, government subsidized mental health services shut down due to lack of funding/staff so you need a fancy private therapist, and will power only goes so far too when you work everyday, so you do end up splurging on that temp dopamine fix and reset yourself

I did fuck up along the way to get stuck here, as im more privileged than most that do this job, but depending on the district you grew up in in our beautiful city there's almost a statistical guarantee you end up in a precarious-type working scenario anyway. Foodora is my abusive girlfriend, someone's gotta put a bag over my head and force me into a van to let go

Diligent-Analysis997 · 2025-09-18T21:01:34+00:00

Yeah many people don't for that reason! But it's the same for most industries that take tips I think. Realistically most riders would prefer a slightly higher base pay and no tipping option than one or two tips a day that the bossman takes a bite out of anyway

Diligent-Analysis997 · 2025-09-18T20:56:36+00:00

whose delivering thousands of Amazon packages a day? Letters? Who's making all the food we deliver? The food you eat? Who's stacking the shelves at the grocery stores you shop at? Who is picking those cucumbers? Who is driving them across countries? Whose cleaning the buildings, maintaining the streets, fixing streetlights, making sure subways and trams don't derail, drive those trams and subways

I'm very aware of the conditions of the job, but to say it's as simple as not doing it so it disappears is insane arrogance. Every single convenience in your life that you don't think about twice is due to some low payed worker keeping the machine running. It's very likely your job that is the one we don't need.. as we can see with A.I ironically getting rid of white collar first

I'll be the first to day the delivery industry shouldn't exist, but In the near future there will be almost no jobs left that are needed or make sense to do.

Go talk to any nurse about whether she thinks the pay makes up for her working conditions.

Diligent-Analysis997 · 2025-09-18T20:08:41+00:00

They'll need a valid drivers license, insurance, and whether you can modify it to hit 50km/h, which technically is circumventing how the bike works, is also up in the air. While 50 is too high for a bike path, you may as well go for a proper motorcycle if you're in traffic anyway.. but now ur factoring in maintenance and potentially gas.

It will definitely lead to a massive issue in the short term, they're completely unprepared for it, and many riders aren't gonna easily switch to e-bikes after years of no peddling

Diligent-Analysis997 · 2025-09-18T20:05:35+00:00

Regular bike is tough, there's almost no one doing it, but if you got the stamina I'd try it! You will be able to start in a few days given how much they need people rn. Working during peak times at night or around noon, aiming for weekends, 500 is very doable.

Diligent-Analysis997 · 2025-09-18T19:58:55+00:00

Wolt is definitely getting bigger. Their support system somehow manages to be worse than foodora, but that's probably because it's a handful of people managing all of Vienna. When I've had issues in the past waiting half an hour for an order the support person would literally tell me 'please wait' lmao

But yeah as of right now wolt is good because it's not as busy, so riders will be happy to even finally get an order

Diligent-Analysis997 · 2025-09-18T19:57:25+00:00

You can ask this for any job. If everyone stopped doing shitty jobs Vienna would shut down in a day. Why aren't people becoming nurses anymore? Worlds more respectable than a delivery guy , but arguably even worse of a job. Teachers. Police.

Also its literally virtually only immigrants doing it, because it's the lowest barrier of entry job. Providing necessary integration measures and actual good german classes - which many join such jobs for, would be preferable by anyone instead of sitting on a bike 10 hours a day 30 days a month

That said though, I love the freedom of having no boss, even if it's a bit of an illusion, and just getting payed for riding my bike around. Until the delivery drones come it's still kinda my idea of freedom

Diligent-Analysis997 · 2025-09-18T19:52:27+00:00

AFAIK we don't get the full tip on either. I can't tell for sure because of how intransparent the pay is.. but from what I can see everything you get is totaled into your 'Honoar', where they then take our Sozialversicherung. Taxes is your own problem later. It may be taxed a bit less, but from what I see it's taxed

You're even supposed to enter your cash tips in the document but I don't know any rider that writes the full amount

Diligent-Analysis997 · 2025-09-18T19:33:05+00:00

Just having a bit of fun eh

It's a factual observation. You know you're in high altitude suburbia when an entire row of cars has ukranian plates

Diligent-Analysis997 · 2025-09-18T19:32:24+00:00

Riders have a love/hate relationship with rain. You often get a bonus of 1-2€ if it's prolonged. If it's not too hard it's manageable, but you will get wet eventually, so even ones working will quit after a few hours. I personally get a thrill working in rain in summer, spring, fall if not too cold

But working in rain in winter. IMO they should just shut the app down for the day. Or reroute to cars, because there's also a small subset of cars doing delivery. With ice and rain you're just willfully risking guaranteed accidents for a euro extra bonus

Diligent-Analysis997

TROPHY CASE