August 2018 was a pivotal time for Charles Hornbeck. While he had been living in Denver for nearly two years and was enrolled in school, in August 2018, he began working as a delivery driver for DeliverThat. It was the first time he had a job that offered flexible enough hours for Hornbeck to continue his education. It also afforded Hornbeck the freedom to grow along with the burgeoning market of Denver.
“I really liked the fact that with DeliverThat you could work at your own pace,” he said. “They had just started in Denver in June of that year and there weren’t many drivers. It was nice because I was picking up a lot of orders.”
Hornbeck was asked to become a lead driver for the company within the first month of his on boarding, and it was a request that he easily accepted.
“Working for DeliverThat was a side hustle at first, but when I was approached to be a lead driver, it became more lucrative,” he said. “I’ve been doing this now pretty much as my full-time job. And I like the fact that we have a lot of the same customers who order weekly, and I’ve developed a lot of really good relationships from that.”
Hornbeck has never shied away from taking on positions that require a high-level of responsibility. He started out working for a fast-food chain in high school and quickly became the crew leader. He then went on to become a kitchen and store manager for several area restaurants.
“I like having some kind of responsibility or title and I’ve always had jobs where I’ve excelled quickly. Being a lead driver now is cool because even though I’m not paid hourly, I have a lot of drivers who call and ask me questions and I like to be in that role,” he said. “When I do a job, it has to be done the right way and I’m into teaching people the best way to do things. I also like helping the company. DeliverThat is a newer company and it’s grown right before my eyes. It’s just nice to be a part of that. It was new here, and I was new to the platform, so I feel like we’ve grown together.”
Since joining the DeliverThat team, Hornbeck said he’s forged strong bonds with several of his fellow drivers and that he always feels appreciated as a catering delivery driver.
“It makes me want to do the best that I can for the company,” he said. “It’s cool they have the photo contest that rewards the drivers, and the extra money helps, and it’s nice to be shown appreciation for the work that we do.”
Hornbeck said one of the biggest positive changes he’s seen to DeliverThat is the number of people who work in dispatch.
“When I first started, there were one or two people in dispatch. Now, there are a lot more employees behind the scenes, and some are even dedicated to certain markets,” he said. “Overall, it’s just nice to see that I’ve joined something that has been growing.”
Hornbeck is from a small town in New York and has now been living in Denver for four years. He moved to “try something new” and open himself up to more and better opportunities. Through his work with DeliverThat, he has been able to meet more people and capitalize on his experiences in restaurants – both as a manager and catering delivery driver. And in one day, Hornbeck received two of the biggest tips he’s had to date.
“There was a day where I had two orders from the same store that were being delivered right next to each other,” he said. “I received a $180 tip from one and $240 for the other. Generous tips are usually around $50 so that was definitely a random day.”
Check out some of Charles's best setup photos!