The year of the pandemic
The Survivor
2020 is an extraordinary year. Since the virus, many small businesses have closed. China station is a restaurant near the train station. Unlike any other unlucky restaurant, they successfully passed this struggle. The last time I visited, they already opened the dining room. The CDC recently claimed that the high vaccination rate could bring everyone back to their previous life very soon. Hopefully, they can completely reopen very soon. So what makes this small restaurant survive? In the last year, the year of the pandemic, with the huge amount of customer churn. Like other restaurants near campus, China’s station, which relies on students, faces an immeasurable decline but still alive. A friend of mine, who used to run a milk tea bar in the mall, closed his bar in the middle of 2020. What causes the difference? The answer is delivery business rising. Delivery apps have become more important for business owners and their customers as more people order takeout and groceries during the coronavirus pandemic. “DoorDash Inc.’s DASH recent filing for an initial public offering and earnings reports from Uber Technologies Inc. UBER, +6.61%, Grubhub Inc. GRUB, +3.19%, and Postmates provided a deeper look into delivery apps’ business in 2020, and it is clear the pandemic has given the industry a big boost” (Market watch.com). If we compare the cost of a dish of fire rice and a cup of milk tea— with only ten dollars, people can buy a full dish of fire rice in China station but only a cup of tea in the milk tea bar; furthermore, at the same delivery fee. Instead of the price, the location is another advantage. China station is close to the station but close to the resident residential area. Therefore, the closer you are, the less delivery fee you pay. In this scenario, customers are more willing to order from China station, so delivery men would be more willing to choose orders from China station; in other words, these factors form a benign circle to save the restaurant from the crisis.
China Station
The Winner
If somebody or something benefits from Covid, it must be the company that owns the delivery business. “In the short term, many restaurants have little choice but to sign on with the apps. A Cowen & Co. survey of 2,500 consumers showed that in July, 52% said they would avoid restaurants and bars even after they fully reopen, and a recent rise in COVID-19 cases nationwide means many restaurants are again facing onsite-dining restrictions” (Markwatch.com). This situation brings a turning point for the unemployment rate and creates a huge revenue growth for delivery workers. For a delivery man, the more you deliver, the more you earn. “ The older I got during the lockdown was more than ever.” A delivery man told me. This guy used to be a part-time delivery worker but changed to full-time since the lockdown. Rising demand for takeaway and the closure of the other industries have contributed to this scenario. “An estimated 233,000 Asian-American small businesses closed between February and April, a 28% decline, according to preliminary numbers published in a report by the UCLA Center for Neighborhood Knowledge. By contrast, 1.79 million non-Hispanic white small businesses closed during that time, a 17% drop.” ( Market Watch). Thus, people from the lower-middle class are more likely to be delivery workers. Based on this Fact, the Big company that runs the food-delivery business had enough demand, supply, and workforce to extend their profit. Unquestionable, they are the big winner during the pandemic.
The growth of the big company
The Wander
Not every business, like a food-delivery business, grows significantly on viruses. Subjectively, food-delivery service saves many small businesses but mainly on cater industries. Mr. Chen is a driver who works for a passenger transport company. His clients are mainly international tourists, especially from China. As we know, international transport has closed since May 2020. This situation struck their business hard. Second, he has to endure the psychological and physical stress caused by the epidemic. Usually, he drives one to two hours on average for each transport order, and if people want to go from state to state, then the time would be longer. Wearing a mask for seven to eight hours a day is a disaster for health; moreover, in the case of pandemics, staying with passengers at a close distance for a long time is stressful. As an immigrant who can’t speak English fluently, Mr. Chen also has to deal with the separation from American society. He told me that Chinese social media is the only way to get the news; furthermore, these news reports are propaganda. It would mislead people in the US to misunderstand the current policies and status of the virus. In my opinion, American society neglects people like Mr. Chen. They grew up in the most special era in China and lacked education, which caused them to miss the best timing and opportunity to learn the language. These factors make them difficult to integrate into American society; unfortunately, Covid makes this situation even worse. Nowadays, the epidemic has improved, but people who live in invisible corners are still being ignored.
¿Future?
The Barber
Mr. Yong is a barber who lost his job in the middle of 2020 because of the virus. His friend received him and found him a new job in another Salon. But unfortunately, a fire disaster burns the salon in January 2021. This accident makes Mr. Yong anxious and affected his mental health. According to the research, “Young adults have experienced a number of pandemic-related consequences, such as closures of universities and loss of income, that may contribute to poor mental health. During the pandemic, a larger than average share of young adults (ages 18-24) report symptoms of anxiety and/or depressive disorder (56%). Compared to all adults, young adults are more likely to report substance use (25% vs. 13%) and suicidal thoughts (26% vs. 11%)” (KFF). The reason why Mr. Yong was stressed in two aspects, the uncertain future, and isolation. Like Mr. Chen, Mr. Yong can’t speak fluent English, which makes his life highly dependent on the Chinese community. Second, like Mr. Chen, lacked education brings about lacked opportunities; moreover, education background affects the flexibility to find different jobs during an emergency. With a limited social resource, his ability to resist risks has dropped drastically. Luckily, he found another new job from his friend— a barber in another salon.
Conclusion
According to research, “Stop AAPI Hate chronicled 3,795 hate incidents against Asian Americans between March 19, 2020, and Feb. 28, according to statistics published recently by the reporting center. Many of the incidents included verbal harassment (68%), deliberate avoidance of Asian Americans (21%), and physical assault (11%). Chinese people reported these incidents in the greatest numbers, followed by Korean, Vietnamese and Filipino people; the primary places where the discrimination occurred were businesses and public streets” ( Market Watch). Indeed, the status of Asian Americans is complicated. Racism might only reflect one side of the true color. Big companies are alway winners, but all small business owners can only follow their steps and pray. Talking about the struggle. For people who are suffering from a systemic dilemma, the Covid makes the situation worse. The virus rings the bell to the weakness of American society and reminds everyone to pay more attention to these groups.
Quotation
Jagannathan, Meera. ‘Asian-American businesses are dealing with two viruses’: Reeling from racist incidents, many are hurting financially during COVID-19. March 21, 2021. Market Watch. https://www.marketwatch.com/story/asian-american-businesses-are-dealing-with-two-viruses-reeling-from-racist-incidents-many-are-hurting-financially-during-covid-19-11613610159