Postmates is a courier service. We pick up packages (usually food) and deliver to the customer. This is an idea that was attempted in the late 1980's to 1990's but there was no internet, and only wealthy people had a cell phone. With the technology today this type of service is going to be amazing.
Here Is What Happened
Postmates only uses iOS for now. If you have an android phone they will supply an iphone to you with a deposit. I have never used an iphone. I got a bit of instruction and it seems simple enough and the program seems simple. Hmmm, well it most likely is simple. They just don't know me. I hack my way through programs. I rarely read the help instructions, and if I just, click, swipe or enter, usually things work. I generally can figure out an app after a few times hacking around in it. The problem is, this is a live situation. It's not a dating app where I can hit BLOCK if the guy is a jerk. I needed to deliver the product to the customer and you can't play around with the app to get familiar with it. It's do or die. I pretty much died.
I get to my first pickup and the man at the counter says "We do not have any big orders, and nothing under the names you have given me" I recheck where I'm at and, yep I'm in the right place. From that moment on, the entire order was a disaster, except for the fact that the woman I delivered it to said it was prompt. Little did she know that I was sitting in my car and I had no address to deliver it to. Nope. That I was in a complete panic as to how was I going to find her? That I felt horrible because I realized I had messed up. Somehow I had gone through the entire app all the way to the end of the delivery and finished the order. Once you get to that part, you're done. There is no going back. What I was looking for was the address to deliver it to. I had seen it once, but that was the last time I ever saw it again.
As I read the app pages before me I did what it said, so I thought. Yet, the area that would pop up was not the next area I should be in. So I would try to hit "go back" but I could never get to the page I needed to be on. I hit every single button on the phone, the app, and still I was stuck in area's that were not helping me continue on with the delivery.
This was just as humiliating and demoralizing as Venture Capitalist or Angels saying your idea sucks! I can't believe how horrible I felt. I wanted to do great work for this rising startup Postmates, and I just made a fool of myself, because I couldn't work the app or the iphone. I just wanted to crawl under a rock and die. What's worse is that my startup is a technology startup. OMG, I could be the dumbest founder on earth.
Ugg what to do? As many of you know I've been on a quitting addictions spree. (all legal addictions) So of course during all the trauma and humiliation, using thoughts passed through my mind. But I'm not going to. It was an upsetting situation and I just wanted to return to the substance. What I did instead is come home and go for a walk with my nephews dog and listen to Pandora.
I don't know if I'll get fired on my first day. What I do hope is that the two customers I served were happy with the service, and that they enjoyed their meals. I also hope I didn't make Postmates look bad. Oh and yes, I held my tears in during the job, but as I walked Jenny the dog, I cried.
Postmates is a great service and company to work for if you are interested check them out. And be kind to the new hires that deliver to you. It could be me. ;- ) and a special thanks to the man I delivered to whom, knew how to use an iphone and helped me finish the order. See the customers were awesome, they helped me, the crazy long shot startup girl.
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