From UberEats to UberTreats for vulnerable pet owners

During a time when many are feeling isolated, our pets have never felt more connected as we spend more time at home.

But as we are faced with a restriction on activity and travel, being able to access the supplies and services needed to care for our pets has been difficult, particularly for vulnerable members of our community.

Petbarn, a business within Greencross the Pet Company, has quickly adapted to the changing environment by teaming up with rideshare provider, Uber Australia, to ensure our pets still have access to the best care available to them.

Greencross CEO George Wahby said, “during this time, it’s been more important than ever for us in order to be present… in a safe way, for all pet parents”.

Recently, the two businesses announced 20,000 Free Same Day Deliveries to older and vulnerable Australians so they can continue to get pet essentials delivered to their doorstep including healthcare and education workers on the front line of the COVID-19 response.

The same-day delivery initiative has been rolled out across major cities including Melbourne, Adelaide, Sunshine Coast, Gold Coast, Cairns, Perth, and Brisbane. The aim is to expand to all national metro areas.

Uber for Business country manager Georgia Foster said while COVID-19 has impacted their operations, the delivery of essential goods like groceries, and helping Australian businesses meet the challenges they are facing is their focus.

“Australian businesses are facing extraordinary circumstances, and this is one way Uber’s platform can help support them, especially retailers and their customers during this difficult time.” - Georgia Foster, Country Manager, Uber for Business

Petbarn’s Same Day Delivery is one of a range of initiatives that have been developed by the company to better protect their employees, their customers and the communities in which they operate. These include a Minimal Contact Vet Care services where pet owners stay in their car during a consultation; WebVet a 24/7 service for advice from Greencross’ leading vets via video call; and Zero Contact Click & Collect, allowing pet owners to place their essential needs online and have their products delivered to their boot outside the store.

“Uber and the Petbarn Foundation have done an exceptional job in order to be able to provide that additional service to the customers in need. It allowed pet parents during this time to have peace of mind that they can get what they want as soon as they need it,” Mr Wahby said.

Not-for-profits and charity organisations are also facing difficulties through COVID-19 with sourcing volunteers while also being able to meet the increase in relief requests.

To assist, Uber has donated 50,000 free deliveries for food hampers and meals via their long-standing partnership with Food Appeal. With each hamper containing around 80 meals, the assistance will see around four million meals delivered to those who need it most. The Petbarn Foundation has also pledged $500k together with the Animal Rescue Cooperative (ARC) which equates to 1.7 million meals in pet-care relief to help animal rescue groups doing it tough amidst this crisis. This Pet Care relief assistance package will include 1.7 million dog and cat meals, 5000 flea, tick and worming treatments, five tonnes of cat litter and 500 kgs of chicken feed.

Business of all sizes have shown resilience through COVID-19 by working together to overcome adversity and ensure their employees, suppliers, customers and communities in which they operate come out stronger on the other side.

“It's been really fantastic to see not only the quick pivoting of organisations like ours, but so many great stories out there,” Ms Foster said.

Mr Wahby said these types of collaborations allow Petbarn to provide the best possible experience for pet parents.

“It’s a credit to everybody involved, and it’s been a pleasure working with Uber in order to be able to actually bring that to fruition and provide that experience for our customer,” he said.

To learn more about what businesses are doing to help their employees, customers, and the communities in which they operate through COVID-19 visit: https://www.bca.com.au/what_our_members_are_doing