It is a joint effort.
Recreational marijuana may now be the norm in New York, and licensed dispensaries are finally popping up all over the city, but New Yorkers are finding themselves nostalgic for one aspect of the pre-legalization era — their weed boy.
Brooklynite Adrian H. is one of those avid cannabis users — and he told The Post that there are times he feels insecure about the cultural shift.
“Going to the dispensary in New York, I feel very corporate and I feel like I’m in a clinic, like a hospital sometimes,” said the 24-year-old, who confessed to romanticizing his relationship with his old supplier, who he. said he saw “as much as my parents”.
That nostalgia is what a new crop of new cannabis delivery companies like Doobie and DeliveryBudz are hoping to tap into. They’re once again bringing the product straight to your door – except this time, it’s all legal, using state-authorized sources.
“I was the weed guy then, and I’m the weed guy now,” Aaron Sepulveda, a shipper and distributor for Doobie, told The Post.
And Sepulveda notices the regulars, just like old times. Having been a driver “since the doors opened” at Doobie’s, he knows about 60% of their regular customers by name.
This recognition made Adrian, who lives in East Williamsburg, excited as he remembered them once.
Before, he said, “You had somebody come in and they’d unload a box and show everything. It was super convenient, good price and very good service,” he recalled.
“But to be able to do it through legal dispensaries and get almost the same experience is really nice,” he enthused about his experience with DeliveryBudz.
That experience is something Joseph Rubin, Doobie’s CEO and co-founder, has been trying to create, he told The Post.
“[The customer] it can be nostalgic and I still love that relationship with the weed boy… It’s that familiarity and the idea of: this is the cadence, this is what happens, this is what the routine is — and people love that,” he shared.
Max Hakim, founder of DeliveryBudz, said nostalgia was a big inspiration for him too.
Growing up in Connecticut and later interning in the city during college, Hakim was always fascinated by the “delivery service ecosystem” that had Manhattan under a spell.
“Older friends and cousins who lived in town had these delivery services that brought weed to their apartment, sometimes someone would show up with a bag and that was the coolest thing to me,” he shared. “I was kind of in love with him.”
The relationship aspect is something the services hope to recreate.
“We try to create these little odds and ends that give it that sense of familiarity,” Rubin explained. For example, if a Doobie driver delivers to a customer who has a dog, he will offer a gift to the dog.
“It’s those little things that we still try and give our drivers that we can pass on to the customer,” he continued. “We try to bring those little pieces that make people happy and put a smile on their faces. That’s really, really important to us.”
With Doobie, which is partnered with Manhattan-based ambulance Travel Agency, they’ve seen many customers request the same customer service agent they had before, which helps recreate the experience of “you have a boy”.
People will call and say, ‘This person knows what I like, I want to talk to them,’ or ‘I want this girl to give me recommendations,'” Rubin said.
In some cases, the new companies are even hiring the people New Yorkers say they miss.
Born and raised on the Lower East Side, Sepulveda, now 33, began his career in the neighborhood at age 15.
“Everybody was doing it,” he recalled.
“And then I found this, which gives the same experience as a high street dealer, the only difference is we give you an option and you know what you’re buying and you have full control of the order,” he explained.
“It’s the same feeling without the sketch of not knowing what you’re going to get,” Sepulveda said. “We’re trying to keep it the same so you can get the same experience.”
Dante Reynolds, another delivery driver for Doobie, shared the sentiment, adding that his favorite part of the job is “giving to people and seeing their happy faces.”
In fact, Dante has two repeat customers who he now considers good friends – a relationship that developed out of trust between driver and customer.
“They know me, I know them,” he said.
Sepulveda added, “Customers trust us. They trust that if something goes wrong — which of 100 things does go wrong — they know they can call us.”
“It’s not like a sketchy drug dealer,” he said. “They know it’s a safety net for them, you just know what you’re getting. It’s locked, it’s secure, and we’re not taking it out of our pants or book bags.”
Customers agree – just like in the old days, they feel more comfortable with people they know.
“It’s nice to have a face that you can show, it helps build that trust,” said Adrian H.. “It makes it feel more personalized.”
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Image Source : nypost.com