TGT Target Corp

By Yuliya Chernova | Photographs by Dina Litovsky for The Wall Street Journal 

Before the coronavirus pandemic, Joseph Puma's best day as a gig worker was a $344 haul he notched last year. Last Friday, he nearly doubled that tally and followed up with another $602 over the weekend.

Mr. Puma, 38, delivers for Shipt, a Target Corp.-owned startup that contracts people to buy products at retail stores and take them to customers' homes. He started in November of 2018 and gets paid per delivery -- varying rates, plus tips.

A Yale University and seminary grad with a part-time job, he uses his extra Shipt income to pay off more than $200,000 in student debt, and keep up with health-care premiums and other bills.

The growing public-health crisis "seemed like an excellent time to participate and attempt to gain some financial ground when it has been so hard to keep up," Mr. Puma said. He said the weekend's pace of work exhausted him.

Shipt didn't respond to a request for comment, but app research firm Apptopia put out a blog post this week saying that Shipt, Instacart and other delivery services had record daily downloads of their apps.

The boom in demand for delivery comes with another downside. Confirmed cases of the new coronavirus are rising. The more Mr. Puma works, the greater his risk of exposure. For instance, a customer Sunday told him through the door of his home that he had been exposed to the virus, and then tipped $20 via a smartphone app.

In addition to a job, Mr. Puma sees the Shipt gig as a public service. "I choose to assume some of the risks involved with this work at this time because I continue to care to help people while I help myself."

Helping people by delivering groceries has gotten more complicated and stressful in recent days.

Last Friday he endured a 50-minute line at a Fairway Market in Manhattan. Because he relies on public transportation, he walks around with bags loaded with items like 12-packs of soda and takes them on the bus. Mr. Puma often composes texts to customers telling them an item they want is out of stock and suggesting replacements whenever possible.

"Each shopping trip feels like a sort of performance," Mr. Puma said. Over the past few days many Shipt customers have been placing their first orders. So, he spends a lot of time managing expectations. "Sometimes that means writing a novel in a text."

Recently, he sent a picture of a long line to a customer, and followed up with updates like " 1/3 of the way past the frozen section."

Mr. Puma delivers more than just food. One order requested bed sheets, pillow cases, a candle and Scrabble. Everything but the board game was in stock.

Empty bread shelves and bare frozen-vegetable sections pose a problem. Customers can indicate through an app that their whole order should be canceled if one of the items on their list isn't available. This can necessitate some finesse and lots of communication.

Such was the case with a large order that included 25 pounds of flour. Halfway through fulfilling it, Mr. Puma realized the store didn't carry the right flour. He found 10 pounds of another brand sitting on a restocking cart and sent a picture to the customer, who agreed to settle for the alternative.

After navigating the store comes the job of distributing items -- often including bottles of juice and bulk goods -- in flimsy paper bags mandated since March 1 by New York. Mr. Puma reviews orders ahead of time to see if he needs additional equipment.

On one trip he lugged his two-wheel dolly, a heavy steel shopping cart, insulated bags, sanitizers and gloves. Mr. Puma alerts new customers in introductory texts that he uses latex gloves and hand sanitizer when picking out their items in stores. As an extra precaution, Shipt urges workers to drop items outside customers' doors instead of carrying them in.

Mr. Puma wants a break, and is planning to spend next week with his partner, working on remote paid projects, taxes and his search for a full-time job. He will also be wrestling with the decision of whether to continue the delivery job.

"I am hesitant to do another blitz," he said this week, "because it seems to be more risky."

Write to Yuliya Chernova at yuliya.chernova@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 20, 2020 11:53 ET (15:53 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.