What's it like being a courier/messenger ?

Question

I know the gist of it is to deliver documents and packages but do you go somewhere each day to pick up all the stuff you need to deliver for the day and do they give you directions to get there from place to place?

Answer 1

I have delivered packages and flowers for local, private companies (i.e., not UPS or FedEx, et al.).

Generally speaking, the private companies allow you to limit your delivery area, so that you're not spending all your pay on gas, and since none of the companies had their own vans or cars, and gas is rarely, if ever, reimbursed.

In all cases, I started at the "base" (i.e., the company, itself), picked-up one or more items (depending on the size and number that would fit in my car), then sat in my car (or inside the company) to determine the most efficient route (I've heard that some companies give a preset map to the drivers, but I've never received any such thing; internet maps and/or good, up-to-date, store-bought street maps are excellent tools (these may be limited, if non-existent, in rural areas, and you'd still have a problem with new developments and streets, not to mention soundalike street names, or confusing ones, such as "5th and 3rd uptown" versus "3rd and 5th downtown").

A couple of big caveats:

1) Keep in mind that the money may sound great to begin with, but if you're driving your own car and paying your own gas, you may find that you're not getting as much as you thought! With one company, I netted over $10 per hour, even after gas and lunch, but, at another company, I barely made $2 per hour, which, after an 8 hour day, won't buy you too much, these days! Not to mention that some of these companies pay you only monthly, so if you really need the money, you may have a problem! It's not bad for well-off retirees or those between jobs (as I was)! And it's a good idea to keep track of your mileage and all related expenses for the IRS, in case you are qualified to deduct them (I couldn't!).

2) I refused jobs that would have taken me to dangerous areas, either due to the community as a whole (i.e., gangs, drugs, violence, etc) or poor condition of roads (in the 3 years that I delivered goods, I've had 3 flat tires due to unseen debris; repairs/replacement came out of my own pocket!), or that would require me to pay a toll or parking fee above 25 cents (again, it comes out of your pocket, so 25 cents may sound cheap in the short run, but it adds up in the long run!). All traffic/parking tickets you get are YOUR problem, unless, of course, you total the company car, in which case, you're probably in deep doo-doo, insurance not withstanding! Naturally, a woman should exercise more caution, for obvious reasons (that's one reason why you rarely see any female couriers).

However, since I had nothing better to do, and was pretty much on my own (half the companies I worked for didn't offer or want to bother with cellphones or the like, and they didn't want or need to hear from you unless it was an emergency or you got lost, of course!), and I got to visit places I would never have otherwise seen, and did a very good job (my bosses told me so! honestly!), I can say it was a good experience all around!