Pete, thank you. I have watched you and you have inspired me. My old man has been a class 1 driver for 40 years and im nearly finished with a 24 year career in the navy and always been drawn to being a self employed. Owner driver is my way forward.
there are 3 main ways to load a van with parcels eg multidtop etc which of these do you prefer? move every parcel in route in loading bay and put in drop order on floor and then scan route in exact order etc or walk up and down route in loading bay trying to find the parcels in the order you have routed on app on phone or pda etc or turn up to 7.5t already backed on bay and loaded for you by a loader etc i can do any of the 3 but prefer van or truck already loaded or move parcels on floor to drop order etc not the greatest fan of walking up the loading bay trying to find the parcels etc but can do this method tho
Hi Pete I am a multi drop driver for Amazon have been for 5 years. The way it works with Amazon you have lots of companies that work on the behalf of Amazon They are called DSPs and the pay rate varies between them the money is good but you will work hard you do 9 hour routes generally without break as there isn't time the cost is around £200 a week for van rental and insurances to make more money I would recommend having your own van and insurance but using their rental to start with is a good way to see if it's for you
as a guide on 7.5t drops etc 10 drops in 3 or 4 counties is an easy day 15 drops is a bisy day 20 drops is hectic day and about the limit excluding 7.5t parcel multidrop which used to be about 40 drops on bulk 7.5t parcels etc
Hi Pete, enjoying your vids and learning from your experience; cheers. In recent weeks I've done both Amazon Flex and Hermes self-employed shifts in a car, which I'm using as a way to see what I think about setting myself up with a van and looking into other avenues based around driving. From what I've seen, if someone is looking to do some adhoc work I have to say Amazon p*ss*s all over Hermes. Hermes MIGHT be ok for you, if you are happy to do several regular days every week of really poorly-paid work with a useless app and crazy deadlines pressure. With Hermes you are NOT in charge of what you do and when. You can't pick and choose shifts or routes. Amazon is better-run and pays better. I've seen lots of vids where people are working out how much they earn per hour; in my opinion that is looking at it wrong - this is price-work and you simply decide if it is worth your time and vehicle expenses. There will never be a reliable hourly rate with multi-drop. Keep up the good work, much appreciated.
Adnydrum, thanks for replying. I do a 'Monthly multidrop' video where we discuss stuff like this and I'm going to use your comment there if that's okay. TCTM, Pete
multidrop should have its own licence category because not everyone can do multidrop etc eg there should be a multidrop card that is completed by a transport manager at each parcel carrier etc that shows which routes a person can do competently incl amount of drops + collections at each parcel carrier etc 5 x 1 hour tests at the top 5 busiest parcel carriers eg loa
many drivers working direct for parcel companies lost the routes they had been doing for years as more routes were taken over and wrongly made self employed routes which they should never have been which left drivers 3 choices go self employed which many didnt want to do so they either went on driving agencies or left the driving industry completely over the last 20 years or so the driving industry has gone from hardly anyone self employed to a virtually almost completely self employed industry and thats why there is a driver shortage because many skilled experienced multidrop drivers refuse to go self employed because doing the same route each day week in week out is not a self employed job and should never have been made one
I worked for Hermes for 12 months 2018-19 with a Ford Fiesta and 570 litre roof bag.Six day week netted a maximum of £1600 for a month.Very poor client.Had issues keeping children out of their sub depots where 200kg cages rolled around like a meat grinder.Got caught by the Guardian paying less than minimum wage.If you do less than six days you are a cover courier.However hard you work the minute someone turns up prepared to do six you’re gone.When you join you will get the round nobody wants.The one that is more rural than urban.Some couriers on other rounds had to employ people so they could have time off as they couldn’t get cover.Why do people do it?Desperation I suspect.Age discrimination is well documented in the uk job market.300,000 are displaced annually from employment due to mental health stigma.The rich poor divide was at it’s widest for 30 years pre pandemic.It’s getting wider all the time.Amazon is better organised but their employment practices are appalling.I no longer even shop at Amazon.
I know ppl who do good with amazon but the days are long so when you break it down its not great. Can't beat finding your own jobs. Multi drop is just like been employed but with no benefits
Will be honest, was hermes courier for 18 months as sub contractor, through all that time, where was nothing as organise your time as you want, you are always forced to take extra areas to cover. My record was 486 stops in one day, was having to work 6 days a week and one sunday a month, so sometimes it was 13 days in the row. Then loading/sorting parcels depends on depot where you are, it can be that you will load/sort under the roof, or under the sky (weather conditions is not existing in hermes) even if parcel is soaked you have to deliver it... if parcel went missing after delivery completed you have to pay for it from your own pocket.... if someone will ask why I stayed with hermes for so long even if where is nothing good, answer is simple - was having really good relationship with all my customers in BN16/BN14 postcode area, it was all thanks to them
Good on ya . Most i ever did was 216 . That was B77/78/79 .... so a town centre and loads of bloody countryside . To manage this i was in the van at 5.30am off to collect in Birmingham then 20 miles to the delivery area . I finished around 10pm . Most days it was around the 80/120 drops and a finish around 5pm but then would have to take the returns into B/Ham and do a debrief so would get home about 8pm .... The 10pm i didnt return as it was closed so dodged that bullet . I was on 1.50 a drop . A new manager came in and dropped it to 1.40 ..... then 1.20 meaning i then dropped bellow mini wage . The day he threatened to drop it to 1.10 starting the next week i complained so was sacked ! ... made no odds as i wouldnt work for that rate . Take a bow SMS / SDS
My record was 222 on IV19. Was a hard slog. Customers made the job. When I left my phone blew up the first few days asking why stuff hadn't been delivered/collected. It went on for nearly over a year to be honest. Still got the odd text asking if I was Hermes. Felt bad because I really wanted to direct them as best as I could but can't because Hermes are a difficult bunch to contact.
@@alistairsmith2901 ohhhh yes . Never done hermes but see the posts on facey and try to offer advise as people just dont get it ..... £2.50 to send a parcel 300 miles the next day and they expect a butler service ! ..... I was dropping off passports , credit cards , home office documents , OU stuff and odditys like crappy vacs that didnt do alot . When someone was flying out tomorrow and the passport service hadnt got it together in time i would get chased in the street ! . I would say simply dont moan at me , i just drop them and dont have it on board , get your arse to peterbrough right now otherwise someone isnt going anywhere . Not sure it sunk in but i hope so . I also used to get joy out of the crazy buggers who moan if you do 21 in there street . Id make an extra effert to see if they would burst a blood vessel . I dont drive on paths anymore but would be found from time to time doing 40-50 on theres just for the crack . I also used to park in front of the local speed detector van for 10 minutes just for a laugh ( they bugger off after 10 minutes ) and just did what you needed to do so made bestest friends with all the traffic wardens and shop owners with a combo sized space outside there place . I got really fit as i would jump gates ( bastard countryside for you ) and jogged to most jobs . You get to feed a few ducks ( chips and ham sandwiches ) , pet the odd cow ands speak loike a yokal to thars local farmeers . It was fun . Sad it came to an end to be honest .
