Is It Moral To Order Deliveries During The Coronavirus Epidemic?
Since COVID 19 became a global epidemic, self-isolation has been the new and necessary trend in most countries.
Now, national government and health institutions are continually persuading us to stay indoors to avoid exposure to the virus effectively.
Unfortunately, this has resulted in an unprecedented economic decline for most nations, with many essential services coming to a sudden halt.
Surprisingly though, despite a majority of establishments and businesses closed until further notice, some companies and services have hit an unprecedented high, including Online Delivery Companies.
Currently, many individuals are now turning to online delivery services to access essential products.
Delivery companies allow us to order and receive a wide array of products.
Usually, the online delivery process requires you to provide the delivery company with personal details, including the name of the person making the order, contacts, location, address of delivery, and the details of the receiver.
However, this does not have to be the case anymore. You can now enjoy ‘anonymous’ delivery services!
Nonetheless, even with such amazing benefits, there is the concern about the health and well-being of the workers doing the deliveries.
This is especially so, considering the current coronavirus pandemic, which begs the question: is it morally right to hire a delivery guy to bring you a package at your doorstep during an epidemic?
In this post, you will find the answer to this and much more, including what anonymous delivery services, as well as some few things to consider when it comes to online delivery services during an epidemic. Ready? Let’s get started.
About Anonymous Delivery Services
Currently, different startups allow us to send and deliver all sorts of things anonymously. This way, the identity of the person ordering remains anonymous to both the company as well as the recipient.
With such convenience and privacy, can you imagine the vast array of products you could order and receive at your preferred destination, all while remaining anonymous?
As the name explains, anonymous delivery is a service that seeks to facilitate a superior experience for customers who want privacy while ordering online. The platforms that allow you to ship anonymously are exclusively designed to offer excellent services with utmost confidentiality.
Similar to standard online deliveries, anonymous delivery services combine a host of essential components, including innovative technology, a blend of industries such as data expunging, blockchain, reliable customer satisfaction, and multiple business partners for various delivery addresses for a successful and satisfactory delivery experience.
Unlike standard delivery services, though, anonymous delivery services primarily focus on anonymity and flexibility for deliveries.
Besides this, anonymous delivery is characterized by various unique features, including:
- Anonymity
Like online delivery companies, anonymous delivery companies have several retail partners situated across the various destinations for select locations where the online orders are shipped for subsequent customer pickups. Ideally, this allows them to safeguard user address information completely.
- Secure Payment Methods
In addition to the normal payment processes like standard credit cards, cash, and pre-paid visa payment options, these service platforms accept anonymous currencies like bitcoin to ensure complete anonymity.
- Customer Data Expunge
Another remarkable feature that sets this online delivery business apart is the use of secure technology (blockchain) for data processing. This way, you can be sure that your details remain safe and completely anonymous.
The Ethical Dilemma: Is It Moral To Order Deliveries During The Coronavirus Epidemic?
Anonymous delivery and other similar online delivery services are interestingly at the frontline of the global ‘social distancing’ preventive practices, which have become a norm in recent times.
With the coronavirus taking more and more lives and paralyzing every sector, many individuals worldwide are now adapting to what the World Health Organization (WHO) and other similar healthcare organizations are citing a ‘major disruption’ to their routine.
With such valid concerns raised, it brings up a simple yet significant ethical question of whether or not you should hire these services during such a pandemic. So, would it be right to hire an individual to take up a risk you don’t want to?
Well, the answer is, unfortunately, not a straightforward one. In fact, it is more complex than you would otherwise assume. Looking at it for what it is, it appears rather obvious not to do anything that would subsequently compromise another person’s health.
This is especially so when government and health officials around the world insist on the importance of social distancing. Well, it depends on what side of the argument you look at.
Ideally, with the number of infections across the globe increasing substantially every day, placing an order means that these gig workers that you find so convenient are unfortunately at the frontline when it comes to risk and exposure, and are a contributing factor to the spread of the disease.
According to the CDC, approximately 70 % of food-borne diseases (including coronavirus and the flu) are associated with ailing food service staff. As such, not hiring these services would mean the prevention of more infections, right?
On the other hand, if you consider how the online delivery service industry works, workers in this industry don’t necessarily enjoy the perks that come with typical office jobs.
Unlike standard forms of employment, independent contractors don’t enjoy the same exceptions, such as paid sick days or time offs. Keeping them away from their job would mean significant cuts to their livelihood.
Fortunately for them, various organizations such as Gig Workers Rising have begun petitioning and pressuring online delivery companies to provide their workers more benefits due to the risk associated with working during the pandemic.
This would mean that these workers would enjoy benefits such as sick-off paid leaves.
What’s more, with anonymous delivery services, the companies are providing a necessary service, all while protecting both their workers and customers through ‘contact-less’ drop-offs.
This represents a scenario where delivery workers leave ordered items at designated locations for customers to pick up.
Ultimately, while these measures don’t completely safeguard the workers from the apparent health risks, they significantly reduce exposure, all while offering necessary services to those in dire need.
This way, the workers get to keep their job, while we also enjoy convenient delivery while working from home.
So, to answer the question of whether it is morally acceptable, the benefits outweigh the concerns.
With both the delivery companies and allied organizations establishing appropriate measures, there is no reason you should not order delivery during a pandemic. However, while at it, you should consider several crucial points as follows…
Factors to Consider When Ordering Online During a Pandemic
The importance of delivery services (ordinary or anonymous) is irrefutable. The remarkable convenience they offer us, including saving on time, prompt delivery at your designated location, privacy, and package security is immense.
This is especially so when the whole world at large seems to have adapted to the ‘social distancing’ principle, with most individuals now well-danced from the outside world.
Despite this convenience, the recipients need to consider precisely what goes into ensuring the package is securely and successfully delivered. Here are some of the factors you should keep in mind:
- Respect
What is your immediate reaction if your order gets delayed, but is eventually delivered?
While several delivery persons have enjoyed the rewards of the booming business (especially with the coronavirus lockdown rules), a substantial number of them consistently express their unhappiness with how their customers treat them.
Besides the recommended safety precautions, customers ordering courier and delivery services must also act prudently and be kind to the delivery persons.
Delivery workers have to deal with various conditions and challenges, including health concerns, susceptibility to ransacking, and even unexpected hitches that may lead to delay in deliveries.
Looking at the conditions through which a courier or gig worker must endure to ensure a successful delivery, it is only right that customers show their appreciation and act with prudence and understanding.
- Gratitude: How Can You Show Your Appreciation?
Considering the risks involved and the convenience you enjoy in the end, take time to appreciate their efforts on receiving your delivery.
When making your order, consider the well-being of the individual you are hiring for the delivery services, as well as the overall risks within your locality/residence.
It is worth tipping your courier (delivery guy) some extra cash, a cordial engagement (if necessary), and a good rating!
Ratings, in particular, mean everything in the gig industry! Employees boasting higher scores usually get preferences on most orders meaning more work for them.
Many delivery platforms have established a threshold outlining the low rate allowable and under low par ratings that can get a courier fired from the company.
More often than not, these standard thresholds are rather unforgiving. For Uber, for instance, a 4.6 rating will get a driver deactivated.
Final Word
In summary, the question of whether or not it is ethical to hire these services during this coronavirus outbreak period remains a complex issue.
However, considering that this service is now more essential than ever before, the best way to solve this is by acting prudently and in a considerate manner as human beings should.
What’s more, any customer who is concerned about the ethics of making orders for delivery, particularly during a global pandemic must contemplate on these structural concerns.
Ordering delivery is fine, yes, but while at it carefully and broadly think about the arrangement in place.
