Hey guys!
So…here I am again. From what Auntie Gertie told me, I expected you lot to have sent me some of your stories by now! Oh well, maybe you’re shy, or maybe you just like to hear me go on, or think I know better or whatever…it doesn’t matter. I do hope you’ll eventually come out of your shells and start dishing out the good stuff like Gertie said you would.
Until then, I have another post to write, so I thought I’d give all of you couriers reading this post a few helpful tips and tricks that could help make your life much easier. But unlike other posts of this type – which pretty much just tell you the same old things over and over – I’m going to be drawing from my own experience as a courier driver for this one. I think that’s the best way to make sure the hints I’m about to give you are useful in ‘real life’, instead of just in concept. With that said, here are a few helpful tricks to make your daily life easier if you are a courier driver.
Take snacks with you. I’m aware that everyone’s different, and that some people may not need a mid-morning snack the way I do; even so, it’s always good to keep something to eat stored inside of your vehicle. Even if you don’t snack in-between meals, having snacks handy is good if, for example, you’re having a particularly busy day and don’t get to stop for lunch. The life of a courier driver is not always a 9-to-5 job, and little tips like these can often help prevent unpleasant situations.
Keep yourself alert. Driving in the city requires you to be alert at all times, but we all know this is not always possible. Maybe you didn’t sleep all that well, or maybe the weather’s too warm, or you haven’t had your coffee before work…any number of things can get your head out of the proverbial ‘game’. That’s why it’s important to make sure you keep your brain engaged, or at the very least awake enough to prevent any accidents or oversights. Again, the ways to do this will vary from one courier driver to the next – I use a combination of coffee and music – but it’s important that you find your own tactic to use on those more difficult days. Otherwise, you just may find yourself in a tight spot.
Double-check everything. Speaking of tight spots, a good way to avoid them is to make sure you double (and maybe even triple) check every one of your parcels. Make sure this one is going to number 121 Page Street and not 123, and that one is being delivered to Stratford, London and not Stratford-on-Avon. These may seem like silly examples, but any customer will tell you these sorts of situations are far more frequent than you might think. And while a corporate courier driver will probably have his or her boss giving them grief about this, an independent worker is far more likely to overlook such things and end up making mistakes. So take it from someone who knows – an extra few seconds to double-check addresses and names never hurt anyone!
These are only three of the many little things that can make a courier’s job much easier and much more relaxed. Just remember – while these may seem insignificant, they can end up being far more valuable than they might at first appear. After all, as someone famous once said, ‘every little helps’…
Steve
