We’re on an interview roll! Today we chat with Daniel Henshall, Founder of Piatto… but do make sure you caught last week’s chat with Whizz’s Mike Peregudov as well. And please read on for news about worker protections in extreme heat, a new solution for big and bulky deliveries, Careem’s retreat from Pakistan and more.
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Today:
Worker Protections Heat Up in America, UAE
Roadie Bulks Up
Chart Time | Careem Loses Grip on Pakistan
Piatto’s Daniel Henshall Talks Accessibility, Inclusion
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POLICY | Worker Heat Protections Crop Up in America, Middle East
Temperatures are rising globally, and policymakers worldwide are responding with new measures to protect delivery workers, who are particularly vulnerable given the time they spend outside exerting themselves. In the United Arab Emirates, the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation is working with private sector partners to roll out 6,000 rest stations. These shaded, air conditioned and/or hydrated structures will be in operation during the “Midday Break”, which occurs from 12:30 to 3 PM, beginning 6/15 and running until 9/15, when temps have been known to soar as high as 125ºF. Gig economy players Talabat, Deliveroo, Noon and Careem are contributing some of the structures, as are restaurants, malls, retailers and cloud kitchen operators.
The Big Picture: Temperatures are also rising in traditionally more temperate parts of the world. In New Jersey, the Teamsters have advanced a bill, S-2422/A-3521, which creates an occupational heat stress standard and requires that employers introduce an effective heat-related illness and injury prevention plan for workers. The legislation is modeled off of organizer labor’s recent wins with UPS, where last year’s new contract mandated A/C, cab fans, heat shields in the cargo floor and more. With record heat again gripping the country (and the globe,) expect progressive policymakers to keep advancing similar measures. And if you think this is a problem the free market should solve, consider moving to Texas, where the state recently struck down heat-protection laws that had passed in Dallas and Austin.
PRODUCT | Roadie Expands Big & Bulky Delivery
Roadie, the gig worker powered delivery service that UPS bought in 2021, is expanding into big and bulky item delivery. Dubbed RoadieXD, the new product is now live in Atlanta, NYC Miami, and Dallas, with expansion to LA and Chicago coming shortly, followed by a nationwide deployment through 2025. RoadieXD is particularly attuned to moving irregular large goods, such as a “mini-fridge, or their barbecue grill, or a 50-pound bag of dog food,” notes Founder & CEO Marc Gorlin. In certain markets, delivery options include same day, and over-the-threshold drop off.
The Big Picture: Big and bulky has becoming a growing (nyuk, nyuk) segment for a number of delivery platforms: Walmart Fulfillment Services offers it, as does Instacart, which has made use of it for partners like The Home Depot and Camping World. RoadieXD is differentiated by leveraging cross-docks – specialized facilities where goods are distributed to delivery drivers directly and immediately – allowing same-day delivery up to 100 miles from domestic facilities. “Stores are not fulfillment centers,” added Gorlin. “They don’t have a lot of the SKUs that actual DCs have, and they also have people in there working, picking, packing, putting stuff up, taking it down. It’s very costly and they’re not spending any time with the customers.”
CHART TIME | Careem Creamed In Pakistan
Pakistani founded Careem seems to be giving up on Karachi and Lahore, as its market share falls way behind other regional players like InDrive and Yango. It shuttered its food delivery arm in 2022, and now looks to be slowly giving up on ridehail as well. But with Pakistan’s currency having dropped 20% over the past year, might this actually be a prudent business decision to invest in markets where the company, now partially owned by Uber, may actually see some real cash returned?
INTERVIEW | Piatto’s Daniel Henshall on Inclusive Hospitality
Piatto is a new app from Australian founder Daniel Henshall, focused on improving accessibility in the restaurant, dining and hospitality industry. We chatted with him to better understand how businesses of all stripes can better meet the needs of customers with physical, cognitive, visual and hearing impairments.
Modern Delivery: Daniel, great to speak with you. Why don’t you start by giving us a bit of background on yourself?
Daniel Henshall: I am a coffeeholic, determined to make it easier for everyone, of all persuasions, to find, buy and enjoy their favorites! As an I.T. graduate I have always been interested in the amalgamation of I.T. and Business, including how technology can be better applied to increase efficiency in a business and improve the quality of lives. For this reason I went on to complete a Masters of Business and I am currently finishing a Masters of Philosophy focused on Entrepreneurship. During my studies I was competing in wheelchair track and road racing for 25 years in total. As a paraplegic, I am especially interested in the application of technology to make our lives easier. As a result of my 25 years in wheelchair sports, knowing many athletes from around the world experiencing various disabilities, I am cognizant of the struggles experienced by disabled persons when trying to engage with the community.
What led you to create Piatto, what problem did you set out to solve?
As the son of two restaurateurs, having enjoyed the products of hospitality since a very early age, I am especially conscious of the hurdles experienced by disabled persons when attempting to engage and enjoy hospitality. Even down to the acquisition of a simple coffee, it can be so difficult sometimes! Finding an accessible coffee shop is one thing but then how about the route necessary to be taken in order to get to that coffee shop. When one arrives at this ‘accessible’ coffee shop, how difficult is it to traverse the gutter up to the curb, get past the multiple delivery bikes and scooters, past the tables and chairs set up on the curb. Then once you’ve entered, how difficult is it to access then read the menu, how difficult is it to interact with the staff member behind the counter who’s young, busy multitasking and tired? For the average person, maybe it's not that difficult but what if the same coffee shop is crowded with people. What if the counter has a big queue? What if multiple people are competing to see the same menu that may only be printed on laminated pieces of paper left on the counter. Now imagine how difficult this environment could be for a physically disabled person, a hearing impaired or blind person, someone with cognitive impairments.
The multiple QR based ordering systems already in many hospitality venues are not accessible! Apart from the fact that they are a physical implementation which needs to be physically seen, accessed and scanned with your physical smartphone, they so often open a terrible interface that most definitely isn't accessible and after you complete the whole OTP process, what’s your number and what’s the code we just sent you, you may get to see the menu but if you were to process your order for one of the items, if you didn’t use Apple Pay or Google Pay and weren't able to hold the phone to your face for the face scan, you’d have to manually input your credit card details and after all that, the only thing the staff member behind the counter would know is what you want and where to deliver it to. Nothing about the customer. No less aware of a customer’s particular ailments. What if the customer has a disability and requires a little more care when receiving their order. Imagine if they didn’t deliver the order to a table but instead just shouted the customer’s name like a Starbucks. What if the customer was deaf and never heard their name? What if the counter was really high, making it difficult to reach my coffee from my wheelchair?
So, give us the elevator pitch for how exactly Piatto works?
Piatto is a platform allowing all people, whether disabled or not, to engage with all hospitality venues, whether accessible or not! Over 13% of Americans, over 24% of the U.K. and over 16% of Australians identify as having a disability, without considering the elderly, pregnant women and those which don’t consider their mobility and cognitive challenges to be a ‘disability’. Everyone deserves hospitality and Piatto’s platform which doesn’t rely on physical QR codes will facilitate it! By joining Piatto, you’re signaling that accessibility and inclusion are important issues to you and your venue!
How has uptake been in Australia?
We are in the midst of a slow-release currently, allowing our team to test integration within the venue. To make sure Piatto smoothly integrates with workflows and processes within the hospitality venue. This means we can focus on quality, not chasing growth!
What are your thoughts about international expansion, which markets do you think would be most receptive?
Having traveled quite extensively myself, I have seen a great need for Piatto. Including countries that are not as developed as America or Australia or even places where ‘accessibility’ hasn’t really been a focus of governments. Many Asian countries, which see extreme typhoons through their very dense cities, are designed to mitigate the damage that can be caused by floods, often constructing their shop fronts above two big steps. Buildings cannot always be made accessible and accessible features such as ramps are not always feasible. In those instances, Piatto will shine and allow accessibility.
Access is everyone’s concern, not just the disabled! When the shop is crowded, able bodied people struggle with ‘access’ too! It’s a universal problem faced by all humans!
What are some things that restaurateurs can do to make their businesses more accessible?
Join Piatto! Consider the customer’s journey! From the moment they decide they want what it is you sell. How can they find that thing they want and how can they find out that you sell it? Once they find that, how do they access it? How do they access your venue? From the moment they park their car, get out of the bus, how difficult is it to find/enter your venue? After entering your venue, how difficult is it to receive attention, be seated, see a menu? After seeing the menu, how difficult is it to convey their choices to the waiter/waitress, barista or person waiting behind the counter? After they’ve conveyed their choices, what’s the experience of receiving that order like? Do they need to sit and wait till their name is called? Is the order delivered to their table?
Now start again, answering all of those questions while imagining that you are deaf, blind, experience cognitive difficulties when processing information and interacting with other people, cannot walk or stand. When you answer those questions, think of everything that is involved in each step of the process. How many things or people does one need to interact with?
And how about the delivery platforms?
The delivery platforms are great! We love the delivery platforms! For people that want to stay home or in the office! So disabled people should just stay home? Should disabled people order food and eat at home before going out? What a life!
How informed are delivery drivers on the person they are delivering too? Not everyone can rush downstairs to answer the front door and carry a shopping bag of 5 containers containing hot food into their house and to their dining table!
Any parting thoughts on the future of hospitality, dining, delivery… and how we can make the sector more inclusive for everyone?
That’s what it’s about, ‘Inclusion’! People hear “accessibility” and they think ramps and wheelchairs but “inclusion” represents ‘equality’. Just as everyone should be treated equally, everyone should have equal access to hospitality! In this day and age of ‘user engagement’, quantitative focus on ‘clicks’ and ‘likes’, we risk losing a qualitative focus on the user, the customer, themselves! People are not just another number!
A Few Good Links
Jamaica looks to shut down ridesharing apps, in bid to bring operators to negotiating table over safety improvements. Egyptian court mulls pulling Uber, Careem licenses. TNCs lobby Japanese gov to allow indy rideshare drivers, not just those affiliated with cabs. Bolt adds bidding in Nigeria. Big cities return to growth. A map of NYC’s curbs. TGI Friday’s looks to hotels for growth. Will Grubhub deal help Starbucks with wait times? Canadian border strike averted. NY State looks to limit kids’ app time. Wolt shares how merchant ad bidding works.
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