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20 Things You Didn't Know about Grocery Delivery Company Gorillas

Gorillas Grocery

What do you know about the grocery delivery company known as Gorillas? Depending on where you live, you might use them every few days or perhaps you've never even heard of them. Either way, they have a rather interesting way of doing business, to say the least. If you want to know more, here are 20 things that might surprise you.

1. They claim they will deliver your groceries in 10 minutes

They say they can deliver your groceries in 10 minutes or less. Claiming that they can deliver groceries in 10 minutes is a big deal, but they're not the only company that makes that claim. It may not be so difficult for people that live in a fairly busy metropolitan area with access to food close by, but it's an entirely different story for those who live further out and don't have that luxury available to them. As such, gorillas typically only serves those areas where they can realistically get back and forth in the aforementioned 10-minute time frame.

2. They prefer to hire full-time riders to deliver their products

While they do have some people that work for them on a part-time basis, they far prefer to hire full-time riders to deliver their groceries. They say that they like to incorporate the particular company culture where everybody is highly involved in working for the company, even to the point of working their way up through the ranks. In fact, they are so worried about this that they even get involved with their employees' backgrounds in order to determine what their interests and intentions are before they hire them.

3. They provide benefits for their full-time riders

The company claims that it provides benefits for its full-time riders, yet it doesn't routinely list those benefits in a place that's easily attainable. As a result, most people who are interested in applying for the company have to go through the application process before they can find out what types of benefits they might actually be entitled to. That can be frustrating, at best. Most people would far prefer to know upfront what type of pay they can expect as well as the types of benefits that will be available should they be hired. Not telling people these types of things upfront typically only serves to make potential applicants wonder what the company might be trying to hide.

4. They also provide apparel

The company doesn't like its riders to wear their own clothing while they're at work. As such, they provide the clothing for everyone and they expect them to wear that as their uniform while they are on duty. Typically, it consists of black pants with a black shirt, a black leather or nylon jacket, a black helmet, sunglasses and a black mask. From time to time they also provide black gloves.

5. They put their riders on e-bikes for all deliveries

The company says that it insists that all of its riders be avid bike riders and that they all have a love for riding as a prerequisite to being hired. However, they do provide e-bikes for the riders while they are making deliveries. This makes it a little bit easier to make multiple deliveries in the minimum amount of time possible while simultaneously reducing rider fatigue. It also ensures that the company is providing the equipment that will be used for these deliveries as opposed to expecting their applicants to provide their own bikes in order to get the job done.

6. They have a system of strategically placed warehouses

The company does not rely on standard supermarkets in order to provide groceries to their customers. Instead, they have a system of strategically placed warehouses that they can pull orders from. Since they are utilizing a system that is completely self-contained, they can only pull the types of products that they stock themselves. While they claim to have more than 10,000 different products available, it wouldn't make sense for them to stock all 10,000 products in every single warehouse. In fact, doing so would be prohibitively expensive. As a result, you can only order the products that they stock at the warehouse nearest you. That means that you may not be able to rely on them entirely for all of your grocery needs, especially if you're looking for something a bit more obscure.

7. They expect their riders to return to these warehouses unless they’re on a run

They give their riders the freedom to make deliveries, but they also expect them to return to their respective warehouses when they're not actively on a run. The company says that riders can rest and recharge at the warehouse until their next run. What they don't want them doing is seeing sights from the city or going to grab lunch while they're out and about. They rely on having their riders right there in the warehouse so that they can deliver an order the moment that it is pulled. They also expect all of their riders to actively connect with everyone else in the warehouse, so they essentially force their employees to congregate in the same area as a means of promoting company togetherness.

8. They partner with local farmers in every city where they deliver

Another reason that one warehouse might have a particular product that another doesn't is because the company partners with local farmers in every city where they actively make deliveries. As such, produce can vary from one location to another. In addition, the produce available will naturally vary depending on the time of year. They claim that their produce is fresher than what you can likely find anywhere else, and therefore is superior. However, it might not work so well for you if you have gotten in the habit of being able to buy virtually any type of produce any time of year because that's simply not the case here.

9. They don’t like their suppliers to package their food

For some reason, they have an issue with their suppliers packaging their food. They don't like their suppliers to put food in packages of any kind, so they actually try to actively enter into agreements with all of their suppliers not to package their food in any way. They don't package it either. They simply pull it off the shelf and throw it in the bag. If that doesn't bother you, great. If it does, you would probably be better off getting your groceries from someone else because it will likely be a problem every time you order.

10. They say they are environmentally responsible

The company claims that they are being environmentally responsible by using e-bikes and refraining from packaging food. According to their website, they are actively trying to reduce emissions, greenhouse gases and everything else that could potentially be harmful to the planet. As a matter of fact, they don't really tend to use plastic bags at all. Instead, they like to put their groceries in large paper bags with handles.

11. They claim they are trying to provide better access to fresh food for more people

In addition to trying to save the planet, they also claim that they are attempting to provide better access to fresh food for more people. According to the company, partnering with local farmers allows them to provide food that is fresher and in many cases, free from potentially dangerous pesticides and other chemicals.

12. They also say that they typically promote people from within

The company likes to promote people that they've already hired. Whenever they have a position that becomes available within the company that isn't an entry-level position, they prefer to put someone who is already working for them into it. As such, they rarely hire people for managerial positions from outside the company. In many cases, the only people that they do hire from outside the company are their riders. Those individuals who want to continue with the company and who do an outstanding job are then eligible to be hired into different positions at a later date.

13. They currently have loads of labor disputes going on

Despite the fact that the company tries to craft a rather pristine image on their website, there has been talk of issues for quite some time now. In fact, the company is currently dealing with an undetermined number of labor disputes that have been brought on by several of their workers. To make matters worse, it isn't just one or two employees that have been complaining. It is essentially their entire staff. In fact, hundreds of their employees, especially those who work as riders, have been complaining about the company culture as well as more specific things like not being paid enough or even being paid late. Clearly, these are huge problems that will eventually have to be addressed one way or the other. If management doesn't start addressing them, it could simply mean that the company collapses, probably sooner rather than later.

14. They’ve only been in business for little more than a year

There are a lot of problems that are seemingly going on behind the scenes, especially when you consider the fact that the company only started doing business in May of 2020. They haven't even been in business a full year and a half yet, and they're already dealing with massive problems when it comes to staffing, payroll, safety and company culture. The truly disturbing thing is that this seems like it's only the tip of the iceberg. In reality, it appears that the problems go much deeper than what most people have previously been aware of.

15. Many workers have gone on strike

As a result of the issues that have been occurring, hundreds of workers have gone on strike. In fact, several of these types of strikes have been conducted within the last year. Unfortunately, they don't seem to be any closer to a solution now than they were when they started striking. In fact, the legality of their strikes have even been called into question within Germany, where the company is based, as virtually all of the lawyers have sided with the company. According to them, the employees are breaking their contracts by going on strike which immediately negates their right to anything and puts them directly in the firing line, quite literally.

16. There are apparently a number of issues

Employees have claimed that in addition to not being paid on time, there are times when they don't get paid at all. They also claim that many of e-bikes the company is so proud of are faulty, resulting in accidents that could potentially injure employees. Riders further claim that there are issues with harassment and a company culture that seems to promote it, or at the very least, look the other way.

17. They’ve also been reported to fire hundreds of employees at once

Although information hasn't been confirmed, there have been widespread reports that the company has gone on what can only be described as firing sprees, firing as many as 300 employees at a time.

18. The company has still raised over $1.3 billion

It might seem odd that a company that seemingly has so many problems can raise so much money, but there issues have not stopped them from being a favorite with certain investors. As such, they've been able to raise slightly more than $1.3 billion in the short time that they've been in business. They claim that all of this money they've been raising is for improvements, although employees say they have yet to see any of them.

19. They also deliver alcohol

Groceries aren’t the only thing on their list. In fact, they also deliver alcohol and a few other types of items. The idea is to help customers get everything they need in a single location. That makes it more likely that consumers will continue shopping with them instead of someone else.

20. Customers can use a number of apps

The company has even developed their own apps for smartphones. All they have to do to place an order is go on the app and choose the products they need. Alternatively, they can also order online through the company’s website.

Allen Lee

Written by Allen Lee

Allen Lee is a Toronto-based freelance writer who studied business in school but has since turned to other pursuits. He spends more time than is perhaps wise with his eyes fixed on a screen either reading history books, keeping up with international news, or playing the latest releases on the Steam platform, which serve as the subject matter for much of his writing output. Currently, Lee is practicing the smidgen of Chinese that he picked up while visiting the Chinese mainland in hopes of someday being able to read certain historical texts in their original language.

Read more posts by Allen Lee

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