I had been working as a sameday courier since January 2014, about three weeks into my new carrier path, and I had been making just about enough to keep myself going.
The thing that really frustrated me was that I wasn’t getting any of those vitally important back-loads. It’s all very well getting that first out-bound collection to say London, Liverpool or Leeds, but if you end up coming back empty then it cuts the jolly old bottom line in two. And I had been crawling back home at about 50 or 60 mph, to cut back on the jolly old fuel expenditure.
Then one day in February, I secured a sameday collection from Redditch to Edinburgh. I had to pick up the parcel that evening and have it delivered the next morning for 0800 hrs.
I set off from Birmingham at 0200 hrs in the morning, giving myself 6 hours for a 5 hour journey, allowing an hours grace in the event of any mishaps, and wouldn’t you know it, they closed the M6 at J 6, brilliant. I didn’t get back on the M6 till about J 14, had to wend all the way through Wolverhampton and beyond, this cost me a good 40 mins delay. But, nevertheless, I made the sameday delivery at 0757 hrs, with a whole 3 mins to spare, good old me.
Then I set about looking for that all important back-load. And after about an hour’s search I got one! Yipee! I had to go a bit further North for the collection, but made the pick up in good time, and set off with my back-load to Slough. This was a massive journey, 400 miles and about 7 hours travelling.
As I came back through Edinburgh, I was contacted by a Co. on CX, who asked if I could do a collection for them from Edinburgh to Heathrow. I couldn’t believe my luck, the collection was just minuets away, as was the delivery from Slough. It wouldn’t compromise my first job, so I took that on board as well.
After a starvation of those all important back-loads, I had secured two in one day. But, there was a sever weather warning going back, with camera enforced low speed limits. This persisted all the way into England, and even got worse, as the bridge at Warrington was closed to all traffic, which meant all the motor-way stuff had to come off the M6 and go through Warrington during the rush hour.
That was great fun! But I managed to get to the first delivery still on time, and I made the second, which had to be delivered by close of play that day, at about 5 minuets to midnight. And then I faced a two hour journey back to Birmingham, finally touching down home at about 0300. I had been on the road for 25 hours with only about a half hours break on the way back.
Such is the lot of a sameday courier. But at least I had broken my run of no back-loads, and had a very profitable day.
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