Time for a whinge

I've been noticing on many forums that the industry generally is experiencing a considerable dumbing down of Couriers coming into the industry....I have to say that I too am finding that what i expect is becoming more than what i receive. Now this may well be down to the industry as a whole refusing to increase their prices to what they should be, and expecting drivers to take a lower margin and the pro's leaving the industry as a result....but is it really too much to ask that the ETA for a collection is around the time you tell me its going to be....that you either ring thru or text me the POD and that you communicate any problems you may get enroute?....clearly it is too much to ask?

So you will avoid using them ever again !

  I agree, there are far too many who really have not got a clue, or ................... just don't care.  Communication is the key and is not a difficult concept.

 There is no excuse for not answering a phone, or obtaining a legible POD!

Fortunately I do not need to use subbies I do not know very often,  our vans being tracked makes such a difference, maybe it would be a good thing if ALL vans were trackable it would certainly avoid a situation like you had to experience.  

Hope your customer was understanding?

I Use "Communication is a top priority" when selling our service to potential clients as i get the impression that most customers feel left out of the loop and tend to worry if their goods are on time or not.

I personally call the drivers for updates and always stress "call me if you are stuck for more than 15 mins". Delays do happen and it always shows that you are giving the customer the attention they deserve by giving them updates.

I agree to a point...customers just want the job picking up and delivering...the GOB is for my peace of mind, the only time the customer need know anything is if their is a major problem enroute that will jeopardise the delivery timing if applicable, so as to ensure they're still open, still going to be there, or to get an alternative address.

Although ive only just started in the business i know from all employment that communication is key, without it nothing works.

Quote  "I shouldn't have to remind a driver to tell me GOB, to have to chase a POD, it should be part and parcel (pardon the pun) of what we do surely to god???!!!"

It should be, but sadly there seem to be many that really have no idea. What use is a POD if the name is not legible for example?    

It really is better to keep all work 'in house'  and only use subbies you trust!

If the need arises [and it does] to use a 'new courier' there are no second chances!

Most simply couldn't care less then moan about lack of work

Hello Im new here but very old and have done this for a while.

I run my company (a small company at J36 M1)

Most of my business is serving the large companies basicly were are a subbie company to DHL UK Mail , DX and anybody else that will have us !

Its a buger sometimes and I toyed with the idea of having a salesman and getting business of our own but its OK this way !!

Your post raises an argument that I have always had with myself (because there is nobody else to talk too)

The customer is paying a big price the job is then being done by another company at a lower price . The customer expects a Top notch service but his job is being done at a lower price and so not commanding such a good service . The customer does not know this and one has to question the rights and wrongs over this whole subbie issue .

Over the years I have seen the quality of couriers get poorer and poorer and just maybe the answer is now that when charging a customer a good rate maybe its better to get your own drivers to do the job and give the customer the service he has paid for !

The yellow thing has done some damage I service provider was drop by DHL because he yellowed every job they gave him and the quality was poor and he was politly removed .

Tradition values in this indstry have gone

Quote "Over the years I have seen the quality of couriers get poorer and poorer and just maybe the answer is now that when charging a customer a good rate maybe its better to get your own drivers to do the job and give the customer the service he has paid for !"

In a nutshell what I said before!

I see the main problem as being communication, if you are not being told on GOB ASK!  However the more underlying problem is what service have you requested? In my mind in courier work (not next day) their are two service levels, Same day & URGENT all too often urgent jobs are being quoted as same day, same day meaning we'll have it their some time before close and we'll hunt around for other items to go with it, (the problem with your 5 hour job is that there are plenty of places along the route), when you accept a price that appears to be low for urgent you should be questioning it, if its not same day you will recieve.

I feel i may open a can of worms with this one but here goes anyway.

Some very good points here, but in the 9 years I have been doing sameday, there is only one meaning of Sameday in my book, and that is urgent has you say the customer is paying good money and 90% of the time wants it there asap, I cant understand people taking this amount of time to do a job, you can pick up at the arranged time or you cant it`s that simple, there are too many deadlines to be met, sorry but these type of people should not be in the the category of sameday couriers.

Like you said communication is vital, without it in this game we are nothing, you are left there panicking what has happened and worst of all what do you tell you customer, it makes you look like a unproffesional set up, I have done lot`s of subby work in my early days, and companys I have done work for where constantly phoning me for updates and me phoning them with any traffic problems you need a good relationship with anybody you do work for.

Which brings me neatly onto another point...we all want to grow our business, and to do that we rely on CX MTvan or our own network built up over the years.....the problem with that is we're only as good as the last job we did, and if that job has been severly cocked up then it can be very damaging to our reputation and growth....growth can actually have a detrimental effect on your business and ultimately destroy it....If we have a reputation for availability, and you then give me twice as much work, can i still supply you with the vehicles you need?...and if i can't then i lose exactly what it is my reputation is based on.....fortunately in the case above it hasn't damaged us...BUT it so easily could have....and there is the warning for those of us who get complacent from time to time.

Unsustainable growth Mr Speed !!  Where the growth is unsustainable thats what you mean

 I have this problem on the end of my big toe !!!!

I have a rather blunt instrument that may well be able to take care of that if you need it

I've had jobs sameday to the Netherlands collect friday deliver anytime over the weekend up until 9am Monday, sometimes it more of the security aspect

trying to co-load stuff is recipe for disaster!
the only way I find it works is you see a job you will be able to squeeze into the time scale
you tell them  your situation, I have to be at  A by this time I would be at B by this time roughly, if this works then give me the job if it does not then don't!

it's not rocket science,
working together is much better than working against one another,
it would appear that people coming in to make a fast buck and grabbing as much as they can in a small amount of time will crash and burn very quickly,
and dropping people in the crap will not be tolerated!!