Monday, May 14, 2012

Busting Some Myths About Courier Jobs

Here are some of top and slightly humorous views and myths that you might come across when talking about courier jobs.
"They won't take anything that's heavy"
That makes them sound lazy and/or rule-bound! In fact, unless they've got bad backs, a good delivery driver will normally try and take whatever you have to move - provided you've booked it appropriately in advance of course. More than one delivery guy has arrived on a motorcycle to pick up that urgent 'package', only to find that it weighs half a ton. The lesson is communication.
"They're always getting lost"
Surprisingly, a typical requirement when applying for average courier jobs is that applicants can read a map or use a SATNAV. As a result, they don't get lost - well, not often anyhow and even if they do, they can usually right themselves before long. What is a little more common is that they have to spend inordinate amounts of time driving around in circles, trying to find delivery addresses that don't actually exist - due to errors on the consignment note.
"You'll never get them to sign for anything"

Yes, you will - providing what you're asking them to sign is some form of standard dispatch note or similar. What they sometimes get a little sensitive about is when asked to sign that they have collected something they can't see (it's inside a sealed box), that is in perfect condition and that if it isn't upon arrival, that they will sell their house, worldly goods and family, in order to compensate the sender! Again, commonsense and communication must prevail!
"They're the last true cowboys of the open road"
This is an interesting one and might have been broadly true - prior to the mass availability of the cell phone. Today, people working in courier jobs typically work to a tight and professional schedule and are almost always in constant touch. A variation on the 'open road' theme often portrays them as cavaliers, ignoring laws and road restrictions in order to get the parcel there on time. Well, romantic as that may image be, not too many of them are going to put their license, finances and maybe lives at risk, just in order to get that parcel of candy samples to its destination 10 minutes faster than the legal speed limit would permit!
"Turn your backs and they vanish"
This is a good one. It has its origin in the occasional guy who, having been ignored in reception for 10 minutes and then asked to wait for another 5 (some 20 minutes ago), reluctantly left in a fit of exasperation. Oh yes, he also then had to give his boss a severe listening-to for running behind schedule.
So, the moral of this slightly tongue in cheek story is - don't believe everything you hear about courier jobs.

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