5 Tips for Using Delivery Services in The Gambia

5 Tips for using delivery services in Gambia

There is a delivery industry in Gambia incase you did not know,  but as you would imagine, given the infrastructural realities on the ground mainly the lack to street names for seamless navigation, lets just say knowing a few of these tips will make your experience much better

1. Don't lose hope if you have a terrible first experience

This is every delivery service’s worse nightmare, failing to deliver for a first time user. The truth is that we complete 90% of deliveries flawlessly, this are good odds for any endeavor, but when it comes to food..you know what they say, an hungry man is an angry man...or woman, but the fact remains there is the 10% of the unlucky few, for whom the driver faced “technical difficulties” when delivering their order, or the driver is new and inexperienced and still trying to know his way around. (It turns out most youth skilled with riding motorbikes got their training living outside the Greater Banjul Area).

2. Your first order is the riskiest

The good news is that almost all of the navigational issues around delivery services will be solved after your first order. This is because we tend to use drivers familiar with the destination as much as possible and even in situations where this is not the case, drivers are better at directing each other because they can use more landmarks and other reference points.

So its really your first order or first few orders you should worry about, customers that use the service with a view to “support” and are patient generally get to the ideal point where all the driers working for the company are familiar with their residence, and its a smooth operation from then on!

3. Leave approx 1 hr wait time

Alot of meal delivery customers tend to forget that food preparation time is not up to the driver. About 90% of the time the driver will be at the restaurant or caterers before the meal is prepared this takes about 15-20 mins most of the time but could take up to 30 mins when the restaurant is busy, drivers will generally take 20-25 mins to get to your residence depending on traffic and weather conditions and another 10 mins if it is a first time order to figure out directions

4. Direct drivers using well known landmarks

When giving directions to the delivery driver, try and use landmarks familiar to the neighborhood as much as possible, be willing to meet him at the closest possible landmark if he is having difficulties and direct him to  your place so that next time he will find his way.

5. Use Whatsapp Coordinates

It is the delivery companies that popularized the use of whatsapp coordinates in Gambia. Thank you very much. In fact, it was this that removed the last doubts about going ahead with the Pronto Delivery project, so yes, please send whatsapp coordinates wherever possible it does help to get the drive very close to your area and at your front door in the more developed areas of the country but keep in mind that all helpful whatsapp coordinates may be, they are not 100% reliable. Read our article on How to Use Whatsapp Coordinates here.