1. Autolane Brand Standards & Conduct

You are the most critical invisible wheel to this cog. Think of yourself as the axle of a car. No one really sees the axle, but without it the car simply cannot go.

You won't interact with many end users. But the ones you do meet need special care, because for almost all of them this is their first time seeing an autonomous delivery. When you're at the curb, you represent both the merchant's brand and Autolane's at the same time. This article covers how to look, how to sound, how to treat the vehicle, what to do when things go sideways, and how to handle hard questions about the technology.

1 · Look the part

Presenting yourself well is what makes a customer feel safe when a self-driving vehicle pulls up. If you have to step out, first impressions start with how you look, and a branded tee is the signal that you actually work for the company. Safety is paramount.

Uniform

• Autolane branded tee or branded top, worn at all times during your shift. Never cover it up.

• Bottoms: darker pants or shorts to stay as low-profile as possible in the cabin. Nothing baggy or oversized.

• Shoes: a comfortable sneaker, since you may hop in and out to help. Keep them simple – black, white, or grey.

2 · Sound like Autolane

Practice patience, an understanding disposition, and a polite, positive attitude. You may be on your 100th delivery of the day, but this is their first experience with us, so meet any frustration or confusion with understanding. If you step out to answer a question or help with the app, act as though it's their first time, because it almost certainly is. Anything new is hard!

• Acknowledge the customer. A wave or a nod when they come out, if they acknowledge you first. Even if you never leave the vehicle, that small human signal makes the experience feel less eerie. Autonomous delivery can feel cold without it.

• Know the app cold. If a customer comes to you confused, you need to be the answer, not someone who's also fumbling. Own the troubleshooting flow.

• No profanity, ever, especially around customers. There's nothing else to say – just don't.

3 · The ground game: presence and relationships

How you show up on the ground matters as much as anything technical in this guide. A few things that make the difference:

• Be a regular, not a visitor. The store gets to know you shift by shift. Show up, do the job well, and they start treating you like part of the crew instead of a stranger in the parking lot. That kind of trust takes a few weeks to earn – it won't be there on day one, and that's normal.

• To the store, you are Autolane. Whoever's behind the wheel is the whole company as far as staff and customers can tell. How you look, whether you're on time, how you handle a bad moment in front of people – that's what they see of us. Handle a rough moment well and it does more for us than a hundred smooth ones nobody noticed.

• Treat the staff like teammates. Learn their names. Learn when they're slammed. Answer their questions about how it all works, like whether the customer is coming out to the car. When they get what you're doing, they make your shift easier – and they'll flag a problem before it blows up.

• Go easy in the early weeks – on them and on yourself. Everyone's figuring out a rhythm that didn't exist before: the store, the customers, us. When the kitchen runs behind or the system does something strange, patience is what keeps things good.

• For most customers, this is their first time. They've never gotten food from a car with nobody in the driver seat. Skip the script and just be warm and patient. A confused customer you walk through it kindly will go tell everyone they know.

4 · The vehicle is the product

A customer looking into the car is looking at the product. Keep it clean and keep yourself invisible.

Do

• Check the vehicle before your shift: cleanliness, no personal items visible, nothing that would make a customer uncomfortable looking in. A coffee cup in the cupholder breaks the illusion – stow your drinks outside the center console.

• Keep phone interactions minimal and professional at delivery. If you're visibly on your personal phone when a customer walks out, it undercuts everything.

• Listen to the Autolane playlist during shifts to complete the experience: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/21n87xnRPnkBt82IKlkwIr

Don't

• Don't eat in the vehicle during a delivery – smell and appearance are both a problem.

• Don't take a personal call when a customer approaches, even hands-free. We want a musical car, not a phone call that ruins the "autonomous" part of this.

• Don't listen to profanity in the car at a delivery. Only the approved playlist while you're on deliveries.

• Don't park in a way that blocks or inconveniences. Vehicle placement is part of the experience – keep it simple and straightforward.

5 · When things go wrong

Things will go sideways. A vehicle behaves unexpectedly, an order is wrong, a customer is furious, the app crashes at the worst moment. None of that is a reason to panic. It's a reason to have a plan before it happens. Here's yours.

The universal rule: the customer should never feel like you don't know what to do. Even if you don't, your job is to stay calm, acknowledge them, and buy 60 seconds to figure it out. Confidence is contagious. So is panic. "I don't know the exact answer, but why don't we figure it out together."

Customer can't figure out the app or pickup Get out of the vehicle and walk them through it. No sighing, no rushed explanation – treat it like the first time you've ever shown anyone, because for them it is. If you can't resolve it in two minutes, call Dispatch while staying with the customer so they don't feel abandoned. Make small talk. Create a great experience.

Wrong order or missing items Don't guess. Don't promise. Acknowledge it immediately: "I completely understand, let me get this sorted for you right now." Then call Dispatch. Your job is to make them feel heard while the fix happens above you. Do not offer refunds or replacements on your own authority.

Angry customer Let them finish. Do not interrupt, defend yourself, or defend Autolane while they're in it. When they're done, the only response is some version of: "You're completely right to be frustrated, and I want to make sure we fix this." Then escalate. If a customer ever becomes threatening or you feel unsafe, you are allowed to get back in the vehicle, lock the door, and call for safety support immediately. No delivery is worth your safety.

Vehicle does something unexpected Pull over safely if you can. Hazards on. Do not attempt to diagnose or fix anything yourself. Call Dispatch before you do anything else. If a customer is mid-delivery and waiting, call Dispatch first, then notify them through the app. Do not leave the vehicle unattended until you have direction from Dispatch.

Accident or safety incident Stop. Check yourself. Check if anyone else is involved. Call 911 if anyone is hurt. Then call Dispatch immediately – do not wait until you have the full picture. Do not speak to anyone else about fault or what happened. That conversation happens with leadership present, not on the street.

Food quality complaints (cold, wrong item, missing item) Point the customer to the merchant. That's not something Autolane handles.

6 · Handling hard questions about the technology

At some point someone may ask you, at the curb or at an event, some version of "isn't this taking jobs?" How you handle it matters. The move is empathy and redirect, never debate.

The rules, first

• Acknowledge once, then move on. Do not get into a back-and-forth about the future of work with a customer. One thoughtful response, then let it go.

• Never be dismissive. These are real feelings from real people. Never say "no driver needed" or lead with what's been removed – always lead with what's being added.

• Never speak for the merchant or any partner. Redirect those questions to the partner directly.

• When in doubt, say nothing and flag to Kyle (kyle@goautolane.com). If a journalist is involved or a moment is getting heated or drawing a crowd, don't engage – escalate.

Find the real concern. Most people asking about jobs are really asking one of three things underneath it: Is this safe? Are you thinking about the people affected? Who's accountable if something goes wrong? Answer the real question, not just the surface one.

Talking points you can use

On safety: "Every vehicle in our operation has a trained supervisor on board. We're in the early stage of supervised autonomous delivery and we take that responsibility seriously. Safety comes before speed every time."

On job displacement: "It's a fair concern and one we don't dismiss. Our view is that this shift is happening with or without any single company building infrastructure for it. We'd rather it happens with thoughtful systems in place than without them. And autonomous delivery creates new roles in supervision, fleet operations, and logistics coordination that didn't exist before."

On accountability: "We're the infrastructure layer. We're not a logistics company and we're not an AV company. We're the neutral platform that makes sure vehicles and businesses can actually work together. When something goes wrong at the curb, we're the ones accountable for fixing it."

7 · Escalation and reporting

Report issues immediately. Vehicle behavior, customer complaints, anything unusual goes up the chain on the same shift, not at the end of day.

General escalation order

1. Stay calm and acknowledge the customer.

2. Call [primary ops contact TBD].

3. If no answer, call [secondary contact TBD].

4. Document what happened: voice memo, notes app, whatever's fastest, while it's fresh.

5. Full written report submitted by end of shift, no exceptions.

End of shift doesn't mean end of responsibility. If something happens on your shift, it gets reported before you log off. No surprises – it goes up the chain the same day.