- Kacee Krauter has been a delivery driver for 10 years.
- At present, he works as a driver for a ghost kitchen and makes up to 40 deliveries a day.
- He said the job is very convenient and helps him spend lots of quality time with his daughter.
This as-told-to article is based on a conversation with Kacee Krauter, one of the first delivery drivers for Indianapolis-based ghost kitchen ClusterTruck, about his role. It has been edited for length and clarity.
I've worked in the delivery driving business for ten years now. Before ClusterTruck, I made deliveries for multiple other restaurants in the city of Indianapolis.
I started working at the company in 2016 on day one. This was during its soft launch and I made the third-ever delivery for ClusterTruck.
My day usually begins at 7.30 a.m., when I drive to work with my partner, who works in the ClusterTruck kitchen. After dropping her off, I wait for the kitchen to get busy until I get pinged. This is when I get a notification that the kitchen is ready for me to collect orders for delivery.
I typically work for seven hours and, on average, I carry out 40 deliveries a day, either by car or bicycle. But if I work a full shift, I would say I make up to 100 deliveries in a day.
On the bicycle, I average 30 miles a shift and that's when I know that I'm tired.
As a single parent, I'm also responsible for school runs. But the flexibility of delivery driving has allowed me to have my daughter out with me while I'm driving, or stay home as needed. ClusterTruck doesn't mind if she rides in the back and plays with her tablet or her coloring books, and that's a key reason why I love the job.
The fact that I can create my own schedule as a driver is another reason why I'm keen to stay in this role. I don't have to go to work if I don't want to. My daughter can come with me and I can spontaneously leave if I have to take care of any problems.
When I'm not delivery driving, you can probably find me kayaking, fishing, or camping. This job allows me to do all of those things. Being outdoors is something and I love and if I could be outdoors all the time, I would be. It's probably why I enjoy delivering by bicycle too.
In my spare time, I also go looking for geodes with my daughter while out camping. A geode is a rock that you can find crystals inside when you bust it open.
All of the hills in Indiana are made of limestone, which is what creates geodes over time. So, we like to walk along the riverbed and find those types of rocks. Then we'll go back to the campsite and break them all with a hammer.
In terms of my future, I'm keen to pursue a job until my seven-year-old is pretty self-sufficient. So, I think it will be for another three to five years.
I'll probably always keep delivery driving as a second job — it's a wonderful side hustle.