A day in the life: FedEx Delivery Driver 

Thanks for the comment! Means a lot coming from another FedEx Ground driver and I’m glad I’m not the only one who really liked the job! I still think it’s one of the best jobs out there!🙌🏻 (can depend on the route though as well.. some I’ve covered for I definitely wouldn’t want daily lol)

So how you all liking those new pay cuts

@@ice1012001 that pay cut was for FedEx inside sales..🤓 thanks for checking though!🙏🏻

Same

I start tomorrow as a fedex ground driver any tips? And do you get the same truck everyday?

Appreciate what you guys do!🙏🏻

One of my favorite parts of delivering to small businesses was getting to know the owners and managers. I have became really close with many over the years and I wouldn’t trade it for anything! Makes going to work feel worthwhile when you know that your work means something to someone other than your employer🙏🏻❤️

Thank you! Really appreciate the compliment😊

Thank you for the compliment🙏🏻

It always baffled me when I’d hear drivers talking $h!t about loaders loud enough so they could hear them..And then thinking it was a surprise when their truck wasn’t loaded well. They’d always ask what I did to get my truck loaded so nicely and I’d just say, “I don’t know.. guess they like me” because I knew them trying to fake being nice wasn’t really the answer😆

Thank you, means a lot! I grew up playing sports and have always enjoyed the team aspect of working together. Just showing appreciation to my loaders made my truck so much more organized. After giving out gif cards during peak season my truck was near perfect every day and my relationship with my loaders was really good. Miss a lot of them know that I’ve moved onto other things.😊

Dude, that’s awesome! So few contractors have both home delivery and linehaul so it’s awesome you got that opportunity to work for one! I myself started linehaul 6 months ago🙌🏻😎

@@mutchler87 don’t you need truck driver school for class A? I have the license I just struggle big time with backing so I stopped pursuing class A.

Thanks so much! Appreciate the compliment and the comment. Sounds like you were one of the good ones! Glad you’re liking Amazon. Heard lots of good things from other Amazon drivers as well🙏🏻

Wow, that’s great to hear! I really appreciate the comment😊

You’ll do great! Just remember you t will take you awhile to learn everything and for it to become second nature. It will also take your body some time to get used to the job. Just take your time in the beginning and don’t rush. (Luckily summer is the slower of the seasons) If you’re a good stable employee and make it clear to your employer you’re a team player and take the time to build trust, they’ll likely treat you with respect. Let me know how it goes!

Thank you, appreciate you! I use to work for USPS as well.. once you’ve been at FedEx for awhile, 50 pounds sounds great lol I’d deliver 160-180lb packages at least a few times a week! Sometimes to the 3rd floor of an apartment.

Thanks man, appreciate it! Yea, I miss the kids on my route that would wave every time I drove by, the families that would leave me snacks and those were so excited about me showing up😆 Always made my day that I made their day by simply doing my job🙌🏻

Wow, thank you!🙏🏻

Thanks for the compliment! And that makes a lot of sense. I’ve never really had the occasion to ask an Amazon driver since I rarely ever saw the same once twice but that makes a lot of sense!🙌🏻 Thanks for commenting!

Yep, can confirm. Former Amazon Delivery Associate when Amazon had their own drivers. Totes are in order as long as the warehouse associate stacks it on the cart in order; otherwise the driver has to put them in order - wasting time. Now I work Field Quality Assurance making sure drivers have the resources they need on the road to successfully make deliveries; and resolve escalations made by customers, including property managers.

Àmazons navigation software and silly àlgorthyms is their weak point.youll understand this when you drive for Amazon

Thanks for such a nice comment!🙏🏻 I appreciate the subscription as well! Almost done with the video.

O ne thing you don't do is ring door bell or knock on door.

Thanks Boss! Means a lot coming from the Plunger Papi himself!🪠🤴🏻

Oh absolutely, once they’re getting full it’s a different thing and that’s when even if they’re anywhere near the correct location it’s a win!🙌🏻

Thank you so much! A friend told me it was LONG WINDED🤣 But I wasn’t making it for guys like him so I didn’t take it personal lol Obviously I have to ask if he started off as your pool boy?😉😆 Lol That’s awesome! Going the UPS route once you’ve realized you enjoy the delivery side of things is a good path for sure!🙌🏻

@@mutchler87 Haha! Nah, he wasn't my pool boy. Lmao! Yea, he enjoys not having a supervisor micromanage everything he does at work. He does his thing in "Peace". Fingers crossed 🤞🏾 he gets in. Love from, 🌴ampa! ✌🏾

@@taurussun2228 Hah had to ask 😂 If he doesn’t, and enjoys the peace you get from not being micro managed.. there’s some other good routes to go with FedEx.. either express or freight are awesome but have full benefits and retirement.. could be a semi driver and just do local work. Tons of options but hope he gets what suits him most!🙏🏻😊

@@mutchler87 ✨💛😀

Amazon Flex delivery sucks.... Maybe not all location but , here in Vancouver, BC... Amazon station they're fukin give Flex driver for the most route to downtown , apartment where is no parking, customer not home, customer not answer the phone, customer don't want to leave at lobby. So fukin shjt.

Not that hard for $1000/wk. I enjoyed the work and didn’t find it too hard.

Let me know how it goes or if you have any questions!🙌🏻

Thank you! Happy New Year🥳

Thanks for such a genuine compliment! I think the culture is largely determined by the manager of each contract, but I’ve noticed the culture also changes based on the management of the station. If they’re gonna be treating the management team on the contractor side with no respect and constantly harping on them/looking over their shoulder, it trickles down to the individual driver. I’ve been incredibly blessed by working for good contractors, but I have worked for a few that weren’t so great and I essentially just created the workspace I wanted. If a manager was constantly calling me and questioning me, I’d tell him in no uncertain terms that this wasn’t the peak of my existence and if he’d like to keep me around, he needed to take a chill pill😆 I think any job can have its hiccups, but I truly enjoyed this one because each boss figured out on their own time that not only did I not need micro-management, I wouldn’t put up with it. I was kind, but firm.

Hello,I just had a interview with a contractor through Fedex called Pranwi logistics, hope it's not as chaotic n pays not bad.

Have you ever heard of Pranwi logistics contractor before?

@chelseahutcherson7936 chaos can happen but the key is to focus on one delivery at a time. If the pay makes sense to you I think it can be an enjoyable job👌🏻

Thank you! One of the most genuine and thoughtful comments I’ve ever received! Means a lot!

Thank you🙏🏻

Thank you! I really appreciate it!🙏🏻

Always a nice change up loading on the van lines. Had to laugh at the sticker segment. It's a universal concern for sure haha

@@davidbourgault1369 😆 I get it would’ve annoying as a loader but a sticker on the bottom or back of a box is essentially useless.. if I’m gonna spend an hour replacing stickers I’d rather just load my whole truck💁🏼‍♂️😂

Thank you. Agreed! Hard to beat the freedom the job offers while also making pretty good money and not having to take work home!🙌🏻

Thank you! Already really enjoying it!🙌🏻

Thank you!😊

Appreciate that!🙌🏻

Thanks for the super kind comment!😊 There are definitely drivers out there who take packages back when they could’ve delivered them but I’d say they’re extremely rare and most enjoy the job and work hard!

Also, love the profile photo…😂

@@mutchler87 thank you so much!

@@mutchler87 your such a nice person we need more people out there in the world like you

@@itzrowz ❤️

Thank you! Rambled a bit and left some things out but it was a fun learning experience!

Great video! Good job man you did great!🔥

Appreciate that! Loved my time in Arizona but enjoying Texas now😊

@@mutchler87ayyy I’m in Texas haha

Thanks for the comment! Glad it could help😊

How's it going so far? Road test for me tomorrow

Thanks for the comment! The only thing I would confirm before making the switch, after looking at some contractors in the southern/southeast states, very few pay as well. I’m not sure how that compares to Amazon, but since the cost of living is quite a bit lower than the western states, it might even out🙏🏻

no way which amazon warehouse you worked at? ive worked at the Arlington Hts warehouse and Mundelein.

@@darkangel13915 I worked at DIL5 in West Chicago

@@mutchler87 yeah I’ve noticed that as well, but the cost of living in TN is drastically lower than other states, so it evens out!

@@CarlosMartinez-pt1ok oh ok, I’ve went and worked their a couple of times before, Use to deliver up in the Elgin Area. You guys had a pretty huge warehouse, compared to ours, I’ll say.

Appreciate that, moved onto something else though😬😆 Enjoyed it for 6+ years though!

Glad it could help! Feel free to reach out if you have any questions🙏🏻

I mean, sure.. luck has something to do with it but every time I started at a new station they would do a terrible job, leave packages all over the back of the truck, miss-load , load them with the stickers facing down or backwards… then I’d build a relationship with them and ask them nicely and give them positive reinforcement when they’d load it well. Always took a few months to get them loading it how I wanted.

@@mutchler87 I gotcha and I'm glad you were able to build a relationship with the package handlers. Unfortunately at my terminal they come and go so fast. Ill try to start to build something up and before you know it, BAM, a new person. It's all good, I dont plan on being there after peak anyway.

The contractor has to buy the trucks, but drivers don’t buy trucks. Typically when a contractor buys their routes the trucks are included in the purchase price! Glad you’re liking it!🙌🏻

@@mutchler87 interesting! Good to know, thanks 😃

Thanks man, I appreciate you tuning in! Hoping to have some more videos coming out soon about my next venture! Which station do you work out of?

Yea, I use to be that driver. Found out people respond to positive reinforcement and incentives rather than seeing a driver pissed their truck isn’t loaded well. Took me a while but for my last 5+ years my truck was always loaded better than most👌🏼

Thank you! I’d say I manage myself well, and have always felt like someone trying to micro managing was so incredibly insulting to my work ethic and level of common sense💁🏼‍♂️😆

Vegas was probably the cleanest station I’ve worked at, but Chandler AZ was right up there. Usually correlates with how well it’s ran as well🙌🏻🙏🏻

Also thanks for the comment! Felt stressed trying to fit 6 years of a job into one video on my last 2 days, but it was a fun experience either way!

Thank you!

When I started it was somewhat similar.. we had our phones but navigating to each individual stop was a huge waste of time so learning your route was super important! It’s also getting crazy with how much volume a small area can demand.. it’s gonna get to the point where each delivery truck only covers a few square blocks!

Thanks Doug Hefernan

@@silkroad1201 😂😂😂 Got the reference right off!

Wow airborne express! I remember them!

Appreciate that! Took me a bit but I really enjoyed it once I hit my stride!🙏🏻

@@mutchler87 that’s awesome man, it shows. No doubt you’ll move up fast

@@nicksacco5041 I ended up driving linehaul for the past 10 months and now I moved into real estate investing.

I totally get it.. going in THAT late wasn’t normal for me, typically around 11am/12pm I’d get there.. the route in Vegas kinda got me use to it.. if I went in and left right at the buzzer, my route would be done by 1pm and I’d have 2 hours to wait for a business pickup. So I started gradually going in a bit later until one day I went in super late and I realized the last 2 hours or so of delivering I was doing it in about 20° cooler weather during a Vegas summer.. started to appreciate it and the more quiet roads both to and from work!💁🏼‍♂️ But I loved the flexibility of it! If I occasionally wanted to be done super early my boss would flex my route to someone else and I’d catch a flight out as early as 4pm for a 3 day weekend and then still work Monday after flying in.. made me super appreciative of the job!

Thank you🙏🏻

Thanks for the watching! I’ve never closed the driver door unless I was on the highway or it was raining.. 🤷🏼‍♂️ The bulkhead we are suppose to have closed but 1. I kept it open for effect of the video, and 2. I typically only close it when going onto major roads. Not while driving in neighborhoods.

@@mutchler87 Thats fair, the video looked great! Maybe its just an express rule.

@@obailzy it’s probably a FedEx Ground rule too.. who knows, contractors typically don’t bust the balls of their drivers unless FedEx MAKES them. And usually that only happens if enough customers complain about something lol

Sounds a lot like my route in Vegas!🙌🏻 I always averaged between 40 and 50 stops per hour, also because the houses were so close together and mostly had short driveways. I could’ve been done by 1:30/2pm but I had a pickup at 3pm so instead I’d come in at 10 and be off at 4. Anything over 120 stops was $1.20 and a daily base of $160 so I’d average between $220 and $250 a day and loved it the most of any of the 6 routes I had in my time at FedEx Home Delivery.

Man. I'm a doordash/uber eats driver in Queens. At most, I make 4 deliveries an hour. Even after let's say a 12 to 15 delivery day, I'm shot. But as a 50 yr old man, I guess that's normal. If I were in my 20s, I'd prob be able to do something like FedEx.

@@magamaga1827 it’s totally different with DoorDash.. you have to realize how dense delivery areas are now.. I use to cover 7 square miles, my last 2 routes were closer to 1-2 square miles. Much more deliveries per neighborhood now. Each delivery you night drive an average of 200 years or so.. maybe a quarter mile max between your furthest deliveries.

Signatures are sooo fucking annoying. Cant just drop and go. Most of the time the people arent home so you gotta code it which messes with the flow for me

Thank you! I think this job helped me a lot with rolling with the punches. You start to realize stressing over situations doesn’t change them and usually makes things worse. My boss called me a few months in a row to make sure I couldn’t come back to work for a pay raise, so I take it they do miss me😆 Appreciate the comment and thanks for watching!

Thank you! Really appreciate the kind comment🙏🏻😊

That’s smart, I’ll typically do the name after the number but this apartment charges a few to use their lockers so a lot of the residents don’t use them😏

I hear ya, when I first started the best we had was a stack of papers with Mapquest directions😆 Only going to get easier and easier as technology gets better!

@@mutchler87 the drivers now a days have it way to easy lol!!!!

@@galindojuan1 100% From not having yo load their trucks, to having a near perfect delivery sequence figured out for them!

No way, that’s awesome! Thanks man! I couldn’t help but notice your dedication to commenting! I do the same thing if I’m trying to get my comment seen👏🏻 Just re-watched it today to prep for finishing up my next video and I made a ton of mistakes, etc but it was fun to make’

I’ll follow you back, didn’t realize you posted videos!🙌🏻

@@mutchler87 Thanks Alex! Have a great summer! I'll be watching your next video!

@@MaddenMorrisRU-vid just hit “Play All” on your videos while I’m doing some things around the house👌🏼

That’s so awesome! I had several houses on my route start doing the same. It was usually just during Christmas but during Covid quite a few people started doing it. The kids would even leave sweet notes with sidewalk chalk thanking the delivery people❤️

@@mutchler87 yeah we got great feedback from all the drivers, so I’ve just continued to do it. We order so much stuff and it doesn’t take much effort on our part to buy some extra stuff at Costco to show our appreciation for all the late nights and hard work. Our biggest issue has been keeping the squirrels from stealing all the snacks! Had to put everything in another cooler. They have eaten through 3 different plastic containers trying to get chips and candy hahaha 🐿️

I find the management plays a big role in the quality of the work done by the package handlers… some stations are super organized and some are a bit now chaotic. I’d say this station in Chandler Arizona was about average.. not amazing but not great. They also had the movable stands to place large packages but didn’t have them for every spot. Only the routes that were very consistently heavy had them at their parking spot. Appreciate the comment and the compliment 🙏🏻

Thanks for saying that, it really means a lot!

🙏🏻😊

Thanks🙏🏻

I would often see them on my route sorting through the mess and it looked awful 😕

Seems like with all of the advancements in technology Amazon has access to, they’d be way ahead of the game in sorting a truck/route🤷🏼‍♂️

Even though all my days were hard, loading was literally the hardest part of my day. As you only had 20min. I had sweat dripping down my face most of the time. Felt like I was being set up to fail most times

@@victoriaminder520 yeah i deffo have sweat dripping off my face every morning. And we’re definitely set up to fail every day lol. They should have the warehouse people load up our vans every morning tbh

@@mkloven101 i know the feeling it's ridiculous IAM a delivery driver as well at Amazon but the downfall to having the warehouse load the vans is it probably never be organized and not to mention IAM always waiting on my carts that are never ready imagine them loading are vans smh

Absolutely! I’d have guys say I couldn’t do their route as fast because it was difficult but when I covered for them I’d do it as fast or faster and then I’d see how they organized their truck (or lack thereof) and know why😬😆

I worked as a temporary letter carrier for about 7 months. Couldn’t see myself lasting 20+ years under that type of management but enjoyed aspects of it for sure.

Thank you!

Im wondering if every station is the same..? Because I’ve heard from many they’re not in order much at all, and some say they are.. wondering if some stations are simply better than other like they are with FedEx🤔

@@mutchler87 I’m sure that it’s somewhat different at each station. Before I moved to my current home, I used to work out of the Iowa city, IA hub and I felt it was very organized. I worked for a 3rd party contractor as a DSP, and oddly enough the owner of this DSP had a brother who owned a 3rd party running FedEx Ground out of Cedar Rapids, IA. She stated that Amazons system was superior to the FedEx being ran out of Cedar Rapids.. But honestly I think a huge part of both companies are the successes of the management team running the individual locations and properly training each said employee making the process run efficiently. I have always felt that if I had problems, it usually wasn’t a company strategy that was messed up, but rather a poor management team who didn’t run it as it should.

@@juniortrucker3389 absolutely agree! I’ve found some Amazon contractor owners think it’s superior because they were able to pay drivers $17-20 dollars when a FedEx driver doing a similar route would be making more like $25-$30. But it seems that since it’s not so new and they’re needing drivers just as much they’re becoming more competitive!

You should see the look on people face when they run out with excitement and I’m like, “oh I’m sorry, I was just checking a text…” no packages for you today..😆

@@mutchler87 hahahahaha

Appreciate the comment! Wish I would’ve made one sooner. Enjoyed making it!

@@mutchler87 yea no problem bud you did a great job! When I was driving and started out it could be really confusing for the new guys especially here in Columbus 😂 we had and have so many after the first day their gone. Especially on roll off

@@Dozerman525 lol yea, I saw several quit their first week and some regular drivers walk off the job during peak because they couldn’t handle the amount of packages they saw on their truck 😂

@@mutchler87 lol 😂 I hear ya…. A little backstory I was raised on a farm born n raised around equipment and was always an operator I was with the railroad for 3 years then to trash as a driver and you wouldn’t believe what I’ve seen I told all the new guys prepare for anything and they’d be shocked to see what I’ve seen especially starting at 2 am you see some things lol now I’m at the landfill as an operator but I still have my class a so I’ll fill in and it’s always an adventure

@@mutchler87 I love it!!!!

Thank you! Means a lot!🙏🏻

It’s a love hate relationship for most drivers but I convinced myself to love them😆

same we order the biggest size dog food and my mom asked the driver about it and he says he likes the challenge😅

@@diamondly6250 I was telling my mom, that for the next Auto ship, we should leave out some snacks and drinks for them

@@diamondly6250 my kinda guy🙌🏻😆

It is somewhat possible depending on the contractor and the route..the only problem is, even light days your truck travels the exact same amount of miles.. so another truck covering one route doesn’t work very well. The amount of drive time is too much so when someone isn’t there, multiple routes have to cover it. Essentially you’d just need to find a route near you that wanted to do the same thing and your manager would have to know you could both handle it. (You’d do his route one day while he had off, and vice versa.) *Super long answer but the only other reason you can’t “set your stop count” per say, is everyone that is capable of doing their route typically want as many stops as they can.. there are definitely days where some routes get overwhelmed and you can make extra money doing a section for them, etc.. but just to say “I want this amount per day” isn’t very likely as FedEx doesn’t decide the customers ordering habits.. some days your route will just be unusually light or heavy and it’s up to your manager which way he flexes the load. And it definitely slows down after sunset depending on the area. In Vegas I had a route that every single house had the same address marker and they were all well lit, whereas in Oregon I had houses that didn’t even have house markers or were hidden behind trees, etc. 😑

Let me know how it goes! It might take awhile to get use to it physically👌🏼

Thank you! First time filming anything so I really appreciate the compliment🙏🏻

Sorry to hear you hated it but I appreciate the comment. Not a forever job for me but was a really good fit for me for a good chunk of time!

Sounds like you were an awesome loader and I’m sure the drivers were super grateful to have you!🙌🏻

Why does no one care about packages being shipped? I had two alternators ship through fed ex, and both of them cam in dropped and broken.

@@Sktzo no one? You do realize the company you ordered through could’ve also done a better job packaging your alternator right? Packages break no matter how careful you are.. they go down conveyor belts, they’re handled 4-6 times on average and no one person is intentionally trying to damage a package. Best of luck with your 3rd alternator, but if it’s broken please come back to my video and blame anyone in my comments who said they work for FedEx.👌🏼

@@mutchler87 They sure did; every time I went on vacation, they'd threaten me (in fun) and, after I'd get back, tell me all about how badly their trucks were loaded while I was gone. Sad to say, though, most of the package handlers I worked with weren't that great and those who were any good tended to quit and become drivers. That's what I ended up doing, with a pause so I could finish school. But, upshot is I can do a good job on the road now instead. :)

​@@Sktzo My first question is, which FedEx network were they shipped through? This question being posed in order that I can speak directly (or not) to the particular ways of the network. I'll also observe that, in the general sense, it is much less a matter of people not caring about the packages being shipped as it is one of sheer volume outweighing anyone's individual ability to care. When I was on the van lines, a heavy volume day was around 8,000 packages. That was coming up on two years or so now. These days, 8000 is around the average, if not on the lighter side some days - and this is a small terminal. Larger terminals and hubs handle much higher volumes. Even if everyone who touches a package at every point along that package's journey from shipper to recipient handled it gently, there still exists the potential for damage. Why? Because that is simply the nature of the system.

Appreciate that!

That’s awesome! Always glad to hear there are people in other aspects of the job who enjoy what they do! It’s such a needed workspace and I feel like the work can be rewarding since it’s very task oriented. You start unloading something, and when it’s done, you have absolute proof right in front of you that you’ve completed the task! So many jobs are just aimless tasks and there’s no sense of competence😏 Thanks for watching and for the comment🙏🏻😊

I’m working for another contractor doing linehaul for FedEx😊

I know the UPS drivers I knew were ALWAYS swamped.. the guy that had the same area as me would always have at least 50-80 stops more and would be out a good 3 hours longer. When I delivered in Oregon the UPS guy had told me he had to file a grievance multiple times in one month because they kept over working him😬 But if you’re looking to make a career out of it UPS is the obvious choice! If I had started delivering 5 years earlier I would’ve tried to go full time at UPS. Portland even got so behind in drivers they opened up to non union employees for a few months but I passed on it.. as much as I loved the job I always knew it wasn’t the right career path for me long term🙏🏻

They work you guys too hard. That's too many deliveries to do each day .

@@frankiesdaliydrinks eh, Money has to come from somewhere.. the prices of shipping packages is already high enough and with fuel prices last 2 years the contractors margins were made razor thin! So I didn’t mind working hard for my income🙃

@@mutchler87 much respect mate. Not many people can work that hard day in and day out. Keep on keeping on👍

@@frankiesdaliydrinks thanks boss! Took me a bit to get use to it for sure, but then really grew to enjoy the physicality of it🙏🏻

I got to where I really enjoyed them too! Kept me from getting too soft 👌🏼😅

RU-vid algorithm working overtime to show you this video..🙌🏻😂

Damn.. yea.. I literally saw that at every terminal.. just never was unfortunate enough to work for a contractor like that and never accepted hourly for a job that makes more sense to be paid commission😬🙃

I hope that FedEx shareholders showed up to help you guys. Remember, never work hard for any American company.

@@PilotVBall Why would the shareholders show up to work? 🤔 And why would working hard for a company from another country be any better?

Thanks Aly😊

😊

That would absolutely make my day!😂 Me and the UPS guy were really close. Use to stop every day and chat for a bit.. really cool guy. Always thought it would’ve been fun to stage some sort of scene in a crowded area where we got out and acted like we hated each other😆

Glad to here you liked it for the most part🙌🏻 Yea, I honestly don’t understand why some contractors won’t spend the money for that app or one similar.. there are several really good ones now! I made $1000/week when I did Ground that was 6 years ago.. it was a pretty good route.. 5 days a week and $200 a day wasn’t bad but it had a lot of pickups so it felt more constrictive. With my contractor in Vegas I made about $1000 a week only working 30 hours per week.. easiest route I’ve ever had! And during peak season the best 3 weeks would be about $1500 and I’d still put in less than 8 hours a day! Plus a bunch of gift cards, candy, and snacks🙌🏻😊

I’m about to start. Why did you guys quit? If you don’t mind me asking

@@vincentbryan1962 I quit simply for more money doing something else. Great job overall once you get use to the physicality of it🙏🏻 There are a lot of contractors out there, some better than others but I’ve found a good manager makes the biggest difference.

@@vincentbryan1962 pretty much wanted to make more money. My goal was always to be a truck driver or hotshot for few years then own my own business. These contractors make so much money they’re literally millionaires

I'm ground and I get paid per stop plus per package. Ground drivers should insist on per package pay since they can pick up and deliver large quantities of packages to/from a single company

Agreed, I wouldn’t be at most contractors if I had a family and needed insurance. My last contractor was new and offered nothing, not even holidays paid, but the 3 years I spent at the contractor before I had 3 weeks paid vacation plus paid holidays. I think it’s a good job for those who’d rather have their money go to their bank account than their healthcare. (I’ve never been to a hospital once in my life so healthcare wasn’t a priority of mine) But I transitioned into a company that pays double and offers all benefits. ie: healthcare, 401k matching, and PTO.

Yeah my boyfriend has been working Ground for 6 years and he's diabetic and his health care is crap, just to get his blood drawn cost him 400$...

@@jenniemarie7904 he should go to another contractor with better healthcare. Plenty of opportunities out there. When he started he knew their benefits.. sounds like it’s time for a change.

I get the same with my contractor except we do get some holidays. My year is coming up during peak.... So yeah prob not getting my vacation till after peak... Also I'll add that he offers bonuses for 100 stops or more for the day and 100% for the week. One route I used to do I would get an extra $350 just in bonuses every week!

@@37Sith yea, my last contractor was base of $160/day at plus $1.10/20(depending on if it was smart post or not) per stop over 120.. I’d typically average about $320 per week in commission putting me over $1000 for the week. And quite a bit more during peak! I’d usually do 270-340 stops a day during peak so they money was really good. $1500 take home was pretty common during peak but that was 6 day work weeks.

I drive linehaul now and it’s quite different for sure.. less hard on the body overall but the delivery days tended to fly by.. I enjoyed my time delivering but thankful for the pay increase and less physical strain🙏🏻

@@mutchler87 that's awesome dude. We are slowing down and they cut a bunch of drivers routes so most on the extra board are sitting home or working the dock. Anyways be safe out there

Thank you! Been enjoying it so far🙌🏻😊

All trucks have heat, about 30% of the trucks in Phoenix have A/C. When you’re delivering it’s not of much use (110°+ heat sucks all the cold air out anytime the door opens) but it does feel much better to and from your route and while taking a break. When you’re done you just drive back to the station, park your truck and leave👌🏼 (the only time this might be different would be during peak season.. you might ask if anyone needs help, but you aren’t required to. You will find that operating as a team isn’t a bad idea though because there will be a day you need help🙏🏻)

Don’t work for Amazon it’s trash, try your best to go straight to FedEx Ground or FedEx Express and get paid your times worth

Essentially just look for a contractor that pays the best. They often also have the best management since they understand taking care of the driver is in their best interest. Also don’t allow yourself to get overwhelmed with a crazy full or hectic truck.. even the days that seem like they’ll never end or that you aren’t making progress, you just have to deliver one stop at a time🙏🏻

@@ttoyota6614 I can somewhat agree, only time I’d say it’s better is some people really need benefits for healthcare and such (I’ve never been to the hospital in my life and have no desire to make less for healthcare.) But I do know there are some opportunities for people to do contract work for Amazon and they do relatively well.

UPS is the best of them all, they pay WAY more and people stay with them, you can move up to linehaul and not delivery and make more money. all the rest the turnover rate is bad...it is hard stressful work that wears out your body.

I really appreciate the comment! It really depends on the driver and the day. Technically we’re allowed to mark it “wrong truck” and bring it back, but we’re also encouraged to deliver all packages. If I found a package on my truck that was for a different route, I’d typically deliver it if it appeared to be anything important (food, wine, a possible gift, or anything at all around Christmas) but if I could tell it was some random box of things that the recipient wouldn’t be all that concerned about being a day late, I’d just mark that it was on the wrong truck. Especially only making $1.10 per stop, if it was gonna add more than 10 mins to my day, I’d just bring it back to the station.

That’s exactly how it was when I started. Had to load my own truck for a little over a year.. they’d load about half of the Ground trucks but the home delivery were all out on pallets, typically 8 of them behind the truck numbered 1000-8000. For the most part they’d be on the right pallet but toward the end of the sort they’d get really lazy and just start stacking them on the back 2. Paper manifest and a Mapquest printout from stop to stop if you wanted it.

@@mutchler87You are absolutely right about the back two pallets part. That extra ten feet was way too much out of the way. Later on, I got my manifest after I was loaded. I forgot about the Mapquest part. I used a Garmin Drivesmart GPS that would take voice commands. It made things go quicker because I was reading the address out loud to the GPS. Occasionally, the Garmin would struggle so I reverted to Google maps through my phone.

In theory that could work but much of the items shipped with FedEx are time sensitive. Medications, formula, etc. Some can’t really be ordered early because of shelf life, etc but I’m sure they’ll find ways to gradually become more efficient!🙌🏻

Not at all, I would just check Craigslist for local postings. For whatever reason craigslist is always the best option to find delivery driver jobs for FedEx Ground. What city do you live in? And just keep in mind, it took me a while to learn the system and how to keep that mindset throughout the day. But once your body gets use to the physicality of it, it becomes much more enjoyable! My favorite thing was driving down the road with both doors open jamming along to my favorite song😎

Same here, craigslist has always been my go to when it comes to job hunting. I live in Los Angeles.

@@maxahissou7574 Let me know what you find! For some reason I’ve found that southern Cali isn’t always the best pay, which is weird since it’s so expensive to live there, but occasionally you can find a good contractor.

Both my recent contractors in Phoenix and Vegas were busiest Tuesday through Friday, Saturday was still busy but not quite as much and then Sunday and Monday were pretty light. That’s how my truck is loaded🤷🏼‍♂️(maybe I just didn’t explain it well) ..this was a really light day, almost abnormally light.. but it’s loaded 1000,2000,5000 and 6,000’s are on the left (if you’re looking from the front of the truck) and 3,000, 4,000, 7,000 and 8,000 are on the right.. My last contractor used GroundCloud and I definitely preferred it, but the PackageRoute app did have some good options as well and was better with driver input like adding gate codes/package locker codes to popular addresses on your route. As well as any info you’d like to include like preferred time to pickup/deliver, where to leave the package, etc.. also easier to edit addresses and delivery sequence.. but GroundCloud is still superior in my opinion for ease of use.

Forgot to ask, what station do you work out of? My route was much busier in Vegas and I had the bigger truck as well. I was the new guy in Phoenix though and since I already had greener pastures planned, they didn’t give me their more lucrative route and I was ok with it! Typical in Vegas after Covid was about 190-220 stops and busy would be 220-260. (Obviously much busier than that during the holidays.)

@@mutchler87 I get gate codes on my scanner. When I scan the package it will show me the code and will speak out the delivery instructions(leave in front door, box, ect). Ground cloud works best when you circle each stop individually in your route. If you circle a cluster, it will not map out a convenient/chronological path which is annoying. I have an apple tablet for ground cloud/navigation, and then a scanner

@@zerohr8515 that’s cool, I honestly one my route so we’ll by the time we got GroundCloud I already had it committed to memory. But I would use it for holidays if the routes ever flexed at all.

Absolutely. I changed the order of my second route to avoid a school zone during dismissal time and shaved an hour off total delivery time🙌🏻

@@mutchler87 That’s funny. My route has 4 schools that I have to hit so learned to get those out of the way early 😂 One time I got stuck in a driveway needing to back out right before dismissal (directly across the street from the school) waiting for all the buses to pass by, it was 5 minutes I had to wait. Never again 😂 I have the Post Office as well so I keep in mind when they close for lunch break. Once you learn your area you can plan accordingly and life gets easier on your route.

@@40III absolutely, sometimes taking 10 mins to go out of your way is really a time saver when if you wait until it’s on your way the traffic and congestion is way worse!

You have no idea how appreciated that is!🙌🏻 Saves so much time! My first time at my last station I thought they had either ran out of stickers or were messing with me.. there were maybe 10 labels showing in the entire truck.😆 Took me about an hour and 15 mins to find them all and face the labels properly and even then my boxes weren’t in order at all🥴 Took me about 3 months of asking nicely and leaving notes thanking them for doing such a good job before my truck was just about perfect!🙏🏻

@@mutchler87 my drivers that I load for only want me as their package handler it took me a few months to get used to it but now it’s a bad habit lolz plus I’m very picky about how I load things that’s a habit of mine as well I have to be organized with everything