Waimai Drivers Can Help Out with Pretty Much Any Errand

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You already know that scooter-mounted women and men can bring you your lunch any day of the week, but these days they can also help you run just about every conceivable errand you can think of.

No, they aren’t going to put together your IKEA furniture for you, but if it involves heading from point A to point B, then the so-called 万能小哥wànnéng xiǎo gē do-anything brothers are ready and at your service – provided that you have the written Mandarin skills to direct them. For most simple deliveries, though, minimal language ability will be required.

We at the Beijinger first learned of this service when a colleague of ours reckoned she might have left her keys in the door – a frightful realization indeed – but she had no time to return home to check. Instead, she used the service of a wanneng xiaoge to go and check for her, all for a fee of just RMB 10.

The service can be used to help deliver packages quickly, to buy things that aren’t normally available for delivery and bring them to you, or to pick up a kuaidi that was sent to the wrong location. Word on the street is that you can even ask them to apologize to your significant other for you – though we’d recommend having them pick up some flowers on the way.
Finding the app

The service is available through an app called 蜂鸟跑腿 Fengniao Paotui, but rather than downloading that app you can simply find the mini-app in your Ele.me app, or even in the Ele.me mini-app in Alipay – that’s a mini-app in a mini-app! My, how far technology has come.

At the top of the app, you’ll see three options:-取送件 qǔsòng jiàn – Pick up and deliver-帮我买 bāng wǒ mǎi – help me buy-网红店 wǎng hóng diàn – recommended shops

We’ll go through each of these three options below.

Pick up and deliver

The default option, pick up and deliver, is as straight forward as it sounds. Just like an old fashioned bike messenger, your xiaoge will arrive at your home, office, or wherever the heck you'd like them to pick up your delivery and send it on a cross-town route before you can say "Scoot-a-toot-toot." 

If you just need someone to check if you left your faucet running or deliver a message to a scorned lover, then this is also the option for you – simply describe your situation in the 备注 bèizhù notes section. 

Enter your delivery information for both pickup and drop off locations

Detailed address info can be filled in like this

Then fill in the item type, select a pickup time, and write any additional instructions

Select the item type and weight of the item. In addition to distance, these will determine the price of the delivery.

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Help me buy

Instead of sending something, you can also have the xiaoge buy something for you at the shop (and pay him back, of course). 

Tell the xiaoge what you want to purchase and, optionally, include a picture. It should be a picture of the product, NOT a QR code linking to the product.

Next, select whether you have a specific store in mind, or just want the xiaoge to find the product at any old place

Recommended shops

This section offers up some common choices for the "Help me buy" option. Using it may not differ much from using a typical delivery app, but it features some options that other apps won't have.

Vape stores are banned from selling their product online, but that doesn't stop you from having a xiaoge pick up your refill.

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Images: Sina, Joey Knotts

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