Courier, ambassador, counsellor
“It never gets easier, you just get faster.” Greg LeMond, (*1961), US-American former cyclist, triple Tour de France winner
Whilst most of my peers were busy completing their national military service, crawling through mud and the like, I completed my alternative civilian service riding around on an electric bicycle carrying out my duties as a bike courier. For a year I delivered groceries and medicines to households, relieving city centre traffic congestion.
What I initially thought of as a dream job at the start of my cycle courier career turned out to be an act of perseverance for me, especially in the colder months. As a last-mile delivery cyclist I wasn’t only exposed to the weather, but also to a broad range of specific customer requirements.
Perceiving the tensions of conflicting interests from different stakeholders was one of the permanent features of my daily activities. One of the things that everyone could agree on, at least, was that it’s best if you’re fast. The company I worked for guarantees deliveries in three hours.
Often a delivery only takes a fraction of this time, however. Sometimes I even overtook a customer on their way home from shopping. This led to clients getting rather used to fast deliveries and thus becoming suspicious when it took a bit longer. Some households even called my manager with complaints after just two hours, believing that the delivery should have been there by then.
My office didn’t receive live updates of the delivery status, which is why complaints were initially deemed justified. What followed – the shrill ringtone of my courier’s mobile phone – still, even today, sends a chill down my spine at the mere thought of the memory.
The faster, the better? Not always.
As a courier, I learned after the third call that the person at the other end of the line is never the bearer of good news. People only call when something hasn’t gone according to plan.
It usually rings in most impossible situations – for example when circling a roundabout or just when I’d taken the first bite of my lunch. When it comes to picking up the phone, however, the same applies as to the service itself – the faster, the better.
Never pick up the phone on your bike though. Not only for our safety, but also because our orange courier jackets were recognised by everyone in the area. As a courier I was part of the public perception of our services – almost like a brand ambassador. When handing the goods over on the doorstep, the courier remains in this role. Whether customers want the goods to be handed over in person or to be deposited is noted on the delivery note.
These options don’t represent all types of handovers, however. Some people are happy when a few minutes extra are included.
In the beginning, I stuck to the company dogma, simultaneously preached universally – the faster, the better. As I racked up more miles, I expanded the principle. Faster and better, sure, but we must always also have time for our customers. For it’s their pearls of wisdom and their gratitude that drive couriers almost as powerfully as the electric motor on our bikes.