Birmingham driver back on road!

Just wish to announce that after just 12 weeks off work i'm now ready and willing to cover Jobs out of Bham /solihull

Its been a long time getting to this point and once thought i would never drive again... But those of you who know me understand the grit and determination that has brought me back from the darkness and hell of too many jeremy kyle shows and the desire to taste the finest food only the road network can provide.

To get me up and running ive made a few changes and have invested in a new vehicle and changed my marketing strategy. For one week only i will be known as 69Pplm Courier Hope i can count on you for support

Welcome back, not sure bo utthe name tho... lol

*about the

Good luck for when you want to charge a higher rate and a customer can't find you on here any more due to renaming your self, "more realistically priced because I can't afford to run a brand new van at 66pplm courier services!"

:-)

Scott.

66? Have another look

My point still stands regardless :-).

I wonder how long it will take for someone to rename themselves "68Pplm Courier Services"?

Scott.

I've just bought the domain " I'll do it cheaper than him or anyone else courier services" just in case

Name that tune!

Speed Couriers (Stansted) said:

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I've just bought the domain " I'll do it cheaper than him or anyone else courier services" just in case

Now I know your taking the piss Rob!

I registered that domain last year lol :-).

Scott.

You must be busy can't get hold of you on your phone!

69Pplm Courier Services said:

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Just wish to announce that after just 12 weeks off work i'm now ready and willing to cover Jobs out of Bham /solihull

Its been a long time getting to this point and once thought i would never drive again... But those of you who know me understand the grit and determination that has brought me back from the darkness and hell of too many jeremy kyle shows and the desire to taste the finest food only the road network can provide.

To get me up and running ive made a few changes and have invested in a new vehicle and changed my marketing strategy. For one week only i will be known as 69Pplm Courier Hope i can count on you for support

Welcome back but surely you are joking about 69p arn't you

Wm. He must be joking he'd never get any jobs charging that much..

RGM Courier Services said:

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Wm. He must be joking he'd never get any jobs charging that much..

Lol

His price is irrelevant if he doesn't answer his phone or respond to this thread!

Just been too busy to respond. it seems that my special offer has been extremely well received and i have been booked up constantly.

:o shocking

Loss leaders aren't neccessarily a bad idea in the long run. Hopefully you'll have made new contacts this week. Best of luck making 'em stick! I've done it once or twice to secure future business and it has been worthwhile.

ZENITH Courier Services said:

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Loss leaders aren't neccessarily a bad idea in the long run. Hopefully you'll have made new contacts this week. Best of luck making 'em stick! I've done it once or twice to secure future business and it has been worthwhile.

Do you understand what a loss leader is?

Common in supermarkets to get people through the door, where they spend other money on more profitable items, he only has one product to sell.

His is an "offer" which doesn't always convert to future sales, I bought a Hoover in the 90's and enjoyed a fortnights holiday to the canary islands for the cost of the apartment I don't think I ever bought another Hoover after that I buy Dysons ;-)

MK Bikes said:

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His is an "offer" which doesn't always convert to future sales, I bought a Hoover in the 90's and enjoyed a fortnights holiday to the canary islands for the cost of the apartment I don't think I ever bought another Hoover after that I buy Dysons ;-)

If I remember correctly, that was the "offer" which totally ruined Hoover!

Scott.

MK Bikes said:

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His is an "offer" which doesn't always convert to future sales, I bought a Hoover in the 90's and enjoyed a fortnights holiday to the canary islands for the cost of the apartment I don't think I ever bought another Hoover after that I buy Dysons ;-)

Mine is an offer to get me back on my feet and running after being ill for 3 months. Targeted at the "firms" listed here who are looking for value combined with an excellent service ...a trial run so you can test the Mr G experience.

Isn't that what offers are about? Now who wants anything moving from Birmingham next week?

The only problem i can see with "offers" is when they're over, you move on to the next one.

If your offer is to show how good you are, but after using your services you put your prices up, then all you're going to do is p*ss off the ones that used you whilst you were working at a reduced rate don't you think?

Just a thought

I agree with you speedy, but it ant that easy to get your own work when you start out

Speed Couriers (Stansted) said:

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The only problem i can see with "offers" is when they're over, you move on to the next one.

If your offer is to show how good you are, but after using your services you put your prices up, then all you're going to do is p*ss off the ones that used you whilst you were working at a reduced rate don't you think?

Just a thought

I see your point.. But prices will always be contentious as proven by the many threads on here. But then i think the issue would be more extreme if i went in at 49pplm and then put up the price ....From what i know from you controllers 69p is competitive but not rock bottom therefore my service is not "too good to be true" but a "fair weeks work for a fair weeks offer"

And when my sprinter comes on the 29th of this month i will set £1.20 PLM because i think that is fair for a 4.2 m van.

69Pplm Courier Services said:

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Speed Couriers (Stansted) said:

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The only problem i can see with "offers" is when they're over, you move on to the next one.

If your offer is to show how good you are, but after using your services you put your prices up, then all you're going to do is p*ss off the ones that used you whilst you were working at a reduced rate don't you think?

Just a thought

I see your point.. But prices will always be contentious as proven by the many threads on here. But then i think the issue would be more extreme if i went in at 49pplm and then put up the price ....From what i know from you controllers 69p is competitive but not rock bottom therefore my service is not "too good to be true" but a "fair weeks work for a fair weeks offer"

If you went to 29p plm you would be from Bulgaria, SOZ LOL

69Pplm Courier Services said:

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Just been too busy to respond. it seems that my special offer has been extremely well received and i have been booked up constantly.

Hi 69pplm hope you dont mind me asking is that rate for a small van or lwb

Wm all you need to is click on my link and you will be on my profile page... But the short answer is small van

I AM GLAD YOU HAVE A SMALL VAN OR I WOULD BE FUXKXD LOL

Peter Riley said:

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MK Bikes said:

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His is an "offer" which doesn't always convert to future sales, I bought a Hoover in the 90's and enjoyed a fortnights holiday to the canary islands for the cost of the apartment I don't think I ever bought another Hoover after that I buy Dysons ;-)

If I remember correctly, that was the "offer" which totally ruined Hoover!

Scott.

It was ridiculous the flights were more than the hoover!

MK Bikes said:

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ZENITH Courier Services said:

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Loss leaders aren't neccessarily a bad idea in the long run. Hopefully you'll have made new contacts this week. Best of luck making 'em stick! I've done it once or twice to secure future business and it has been worthwhile.

Do you understand what a loss leader is?

Common in supermarkets to get people through the door, where they spend other money on more profitable items, he only has one product to sell.

Yes thank you MK, i understand what a loss leader is. You 'lead' a customer in with a loss in the hope (never guaranteed) you'll make a worthwhile profit on another transaction. It's a fair point you raise, but i don't think the type of product makes much difference, nor when the profitable transaction takes place (whether its a shopper putting something extra into their shopping basket, or a courier company coming back the following week, the principle is similar).

Indeed it is and lets face it, its not as if you're actually making a loss when you offer your reduced rate... You're just not making a margin thats viable if it were to be for everyone, everyday.

I have, in the past, "negotiated" a reduced rate because of the bigger picture, but at no time did I expect a reduced rate from the driver, it just meant a lower margin, indeed there has been the very rare times where i've paid out more to cover a job than i've charged, and i'm sure i'm not alone there.

You have to look at each job on its merit, and also what it means to your customer both short-term and long-term.

For example it may be that your customer has dozens of quality long distance work for you, but also a very silly short but time consuming one that comes with it, and it may make political sense not to charge your usual minimum charge and lose money on this one, so as to get the rest.

Nothing should be written in stone, being flexible as well as reliable is surely what its all about

BEP TRANS said:

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I AM GLAD YOU HAVE A SMALL VAN OR I WOULD BE FUXKXD LOL

Phew lol

69Pplm Courier Services said:

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Wm all you need to is click on my link and you will be on my profile page... But the short answer is small van

:)

I understand a loss leader for supermarkets, but if you do it as a courier how do tell your customer they have to pay more the next time? They'll just go to someone else who's offering a loss leader price. I'd call it underselling yourself. If i was the customer I'd be concerned about the service on offer if you have to drop your prices to get work.

Rgm You are missing the point.

If you read the original post you will see that i have not worked all year,therefore i need to tell everyone i'm back and what better way than to create a marketing strategy which has achieved exactly that .

getting you lot talking about me!!

Hopefully that translates into work that gets me EARNING again

My customers don't look for me on mtvan... I am offering my service to the controllers/ Courier companies on here that need reliable subbies. Another way to look at it is " a sprat to catch a mackerel" .

and just in case you question why i haven't worked all year ......its because i have had an operation on a prolapsed disc

RGM Courier Services said:

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I understand a loss leader for supermarkets, but if you do it as a courier how do tell your customer they have to pay more the next time? They'll just go to someone else who's offering a loss leader price. I'd call it underselling yourself. If i was the customer I'd be concerned about the service on offer if you have to drop your prices to get work.

You don't tell them they have to pay more next time, but they'll be more willing to if they were happy the first time. I've done this on Courier Exchange, where you have to go in low. I do a good job, inform the company of who and where i am, and sometimes they come back to me directly, at which point they don't expect Courier Exchange prices.

RGM Courier Services said:

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I understand a loss leader for supermarkets, but if you do it as a courier how do tell your customer they have to pay more the next time? They'll just go to someone else who's offering a loss leader price. I'd call it underselling yourself. If i was the customer I'd be concerned about the service on offer if you have to drop your prices to get work.

When a Supermarket offers a "loss leader" to the general public they have a habit of telling their supplier that it is the supplier themselves who will be "investing" in the customer's saving. It doesn't come out of the supermarket's own margin.

Any supplier ho doesn't conform will be de-listed.

RIGHT... Enough talking... Whose wanting any thing moving from Bham /solihull/west mids This week?

Yes, horrendous isn't it.

I guess you courier companies are less willing to pay full rate on the likes of mtvan and Courier Exchange because you don't know who you're getting, so there's an added risk factor for you. Which is fair enough i suppose (although of course the counter-argument is that you're more likely to get a numpty if you don't pay enough). And once you're acquainted with the driver a full rate becomes acceptable. Am i right?

Speed Couriers (Stansted) said:

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Indeed it is and lets face it, its not as if you're actually making a loss when you offer your reduced rate... You're just not making a margin thats viable if it were to be for everyone, everyday.

You have to look at each job on its merit, and also what it means to your customer both short-term and long-term.

For example it may be that your customer has dozens of quality long distance work for you, but also a very silly short but time consuming one that comes with it, and it may make political sense not to charge your usual minimum charge and lose money on this one, so as to get the rest.

Nothing should be written in stone, being flexible as well as reliable is surely what its all about

I concur totally.

ZENITH Courier Services said:

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Speed Couriers (Stansted) said:

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Indeed it is and lets face it, its not as if you're actually making a loss when you offer your reduced rate... You're just not making a margin thats viable if it were to be for everyone, everyday.

You have to look at each job on its merit, and also what it means to your customer both short-term and long-term.

For example it may be that your customer has dozens of quality long distance work for you, but also a very silly short but time consuming one that comes with it, and it may make political sense not to charge your usual minimum charge and lose money on this one, so as to get the rest.

Nothing should be written in stone, being flexible as well as reliable is surely what its all about

I concur totally.

As usual the true voice of reason!

In all honesty in your situation, just getting back to work after a whole year of medical layoff I would have done the following:

1: Approach all the existing contacts whom I used to get work from regularly and offered them a slightly reduced rate for 1 week. After all, 1 year on they were bound to have found someone else to cover for them.

2: Not have mentioned anything else to anyone else and just begin to advertise again as normal.

You've basically shot yourself in the foot by letting all the courier companies on here know that you have been off work for a whole year and have also just invested in a new van.

You'll be kept busy for that first week! Let's see if you make the van payment!

Scott.

Peter Riley said:

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In all honesty in your situation, just getting back to work after a whole year of medical layoff I would have done the following:

1: Approach all the existing contacts whom I used to get work from regularly and offered them a slightly reduced rate for 1 week. After all, 1 year on they were bound to have found someone else to cover for them.

2: Not have mentioned anything else to anyone else and just begin to advertise again as normal.

You've basically shot yourself in the foot by letting all the courier companies on here know that you have been off work for a whole year and have also just invested in a new van.

You'll be kept busy for that first week! Let's see if you make the van payment!

Scott.

Someone else who doesn't read posts fully... Go to the back of the class

I don't think I've missed your point 69(for now)pplm. I understand you want to generate custom asap, but doing it by quoting prices you can't sustain is short term thinking. Do you think the customer will be happy with you when they come back to you and you tell them"sorry my prices have gone up" I don't think they are as gullible as you think! Anyway, good luck in getting back on the road. I was off work for 6 months with a slipped disc (about 25 years ago) so can sympathise with you.

69Pplm Courier Services said:

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Peter Riley said:

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In all honesty in your situation, just getting back to work after a whole year of medical layoff I would have done the following:

1: Approach all the existing contacts whom I used to get work from regularly and offered them a slightly reduced rate for 1 week. After all, 1 year on they were bound to have found someone else to cover for them.

2: Not have mentioned anything else to anyone else and just begin to advertise again as normal.

You've basically shot yourself in the foot by letting all the courier companies on here know that you have been off work for a whole year and have also just invested in a new van.

You'll be kept busy for that first week! Let's see if you make the van payment!

Scott.

Someone else who doesn't read posts fully... Go to the back of the class

Ok, 12 Weeks off!

The point is still 100% valid :-).

Offer your original, regular customer base a reduced rate to get them back to you, as long as you let them know that it is specifically for a short period of time before returning to your original rate.

As for offering the lower rate to new customers, I think that's a bad idea.

Too many people will take advantage of that low rate, then just move to the next low rate when you up the price!

Scott.

Totally agree Scott. I said that only in a different way!

Come on then take advantage of me... You know the score

69Pplm Courier Services said:

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Come on then take advantage of me... You know the score

I tried to last week phone was switched off at 4.45pm needed a central Brum collection before 5.30

MK i can't comment on that but i assure you that my works phone is Never switched off. And yes i always answer calls(ignore previous posting) I guess i must have been in a poor signal area or the network was down. Shame i was unable to help you out.

No worries I wouldnt hold that against you business is business