Courier Expert

Has anyone got a landline number for Courier Expert looking at joining up but I'm not paying silly phone rates to do so

Saynoto0870

01733 860228

Haven't tried the number.

No doubt Andy will correct us if it's wrong.

Also, they publish a txt only number, so you could ask them to call you: 07537 402594.

hth

Tim

Dont expect miracles Ted.

Joining can be done online with no need to phone the 10p/min phone line.

Say no to 0870 is a very useful site. As is moneysavinexpert .com

Also for anyone who isn't aware, 03xx numbers come out of your inclusive minutes on most mobile networks. Provided your on a contract that is.

01733 860228 didn't work last time I rang it

You can ring the

mtvan.com Ltd said:

Also, they publish a txt only number, so you could ask them to call you: 07537 402594.

hth

Tim

No one who uses an 0870 number is gonna call you, get real that's why they use an 0870 to make money out of it!

The only 08 number I ring is the free to call 0800, doesn't cost me anything.

Gecko Couriers said:

---

Joining can be done online with no need to phone the 10p/min phone line.

You got it :)

Just to clear up any conspiracy theories, we do not use an 08 number to make money. Many other companies use these numbers purely for the purpose of reducing incoming calls to a manageable level, so so do we.

Our aim is to discourage phone calls and steer people towards using our website instead, where it is free to sign up as a new courier.

We also have a text only number, where 'existing members' can text us a request an immediate call back if they are currently out on the road with no access to a land line and on a job for us.

Andy

So would you call him back?

MK BIKES said:

---

So would you call him back?

As i explained above, the callback facility on the text only number, is only for existing members only, who are currently carrying out a job on our behalf, not for general enquiries.

As I already explained, we are trying to keep these type of phone call to a manageable level, as staff are being kept on the phone answering general questions, while they should be dealing with important deadlines relating to sameday deliveries.

Andy

Hmm. Email notifications invite me to phone an 0843 number to bid.

Lol, seems to me that he makes more money out of selling bibles and website memberships than actual courier work.

So that's a no then.

Scott Reid said:

---

Lol, seems to me that he makes more money out of selling bibles and website memberships than actual courier work.

It would appear you're right seeing as most of their posted jobs don't get allocated to anyone. (I suppose admin will delete this post too...)

RGM Courier Services said:

---

Scott Reid said:

---

Lol, seems to me that he makes more money out of selling bibles and website memberships than actual courier work.

It would appear you're right seeing as most of their posted jobs don't get allocated to anyone. (I suppose admin will delete this post too...)

Every job advertised on mtvan, either gets allocated to an mtvan member, a member on another exchange we advertise the same jobs on or in most cases, to one of our reserve couriers - who also get alerted at the same time. There are also quite a few mtvan allocations that do not get recorded on the mtvan system as it is down the the individual controller to remember to do it - once you do your first job for us you get added to our own system which negates the need to book every job through here.

Scott Reid said:

---

Lol, seems to me that he makes more money out of selling bibles and website memberships than actual courier work.

We hardly sell any manuals these days as there is no money channelled into promoting them. Now we have free memberships, it really is the smallest element of our total revenue it has ever been.

Courier Expert said:

---

RGM Courier Services said:

---

Scott Reid said:

---

Lol, seems to me that he makes more money out of selling bibles and website memberships than actual courier work.

It would appear you're right seeing as most of their posted jobs don't get allocated to anyone. (I suppose admin will delete this post too...)

Every job advertised on mtvan, either gets allocated to an mtvan member, a member on another exchange we advertise the same jobs on or in most cases, to one of our reserve couriers - who also get alerted at the same time. There are also quite a few mtvan allocations that do not get recorded on the mtvan system as it is down the the individual controller to remember to do it - once you do your first job for us you get added to our own system which negates the need to book every job through here.

From what I see is, you allocate a job to 1 member on here who then puts it on courier exchange. I only need to look at your feedback to see who it is and I see them a lot on Courier Exchange as well from the same member. My guess is you get this certain member to post it on Courier Exchange on your behalf

East-Lancs Sameday Couriers Ltd said:

---

Courier Expert said:

---

RGM Courier Services said:

---

Scott Reid said:

---

Lol, seems to me that he makes more money out of selling bibles and website memberships than actual courier work.

It would appear you're right seeing as most of their posted jobs don't get allocated to anyone. (I suppose admin will delete this post too...)

Every job advertised on mtvan, either gets allocated to an mtvan member, a member on another exchange we advertise the same jobs on or in most cases, to one of our reserve couriers - who also get alerted at the same time. There are also quite a few mtvan allocations that do not get recorded on the mtvan system as it is down the the individual controller to remember to do it - once you do your first job for us you get added to our own system which negates the need to book every job through here.

From what I see is, you allocate a job to 1 member on here who then puts it on courier exchange. I only need to look at your feedback to see who it is and I see them a lot on Courier Exchange as well from the same member. My guess is you get this certain member to post it on Courier Exchange on your behalf

NAUGHTY MAN.

I quoted for a job on there at what I thought was a reasonable/doable rate. The quote is now down at £80 for 202 miles! The guy who has quoted that has to do a 30 mile trip to pick up! 232 miles for £80 -- absolutely stupid. I wonder what it will eventually go for? Possibly pay the client to take it for them. I dont think this is CE's fault just idiots in cars looking for £20 for the day!

The problem I have with CE is, he wants it done at none do-able prices from a drivers point of view and he is encouraging these non legal drivers by using them. I have looked on his feedback and a majority of drivers that he has used, has no GIT. The to me is encouraging drivers to carry on without being legal and i'm sure more members will agree with me aswell.

Darren you have done a number of jobs for mr expert.. Where did it go wrong from your point of view?

I followed his feedback and your right.. The same freight forwarder is doing all his same day retail jobs.

If that's the case it means the likes of me and MK bikes haven't a hope of getting a job from the expert

Mr G Courier service- I take it personally said:

---

Darren you have done a number of jobs for mr expert.. Where did it go wrong from your point of view?

I followed his feedback and your right.. The same freight forwarder is doing all his same day retail jobs.

If that's the case it means the likes of me and MK bikes haven't a hope of getting a job from the expert

Do you and MK really want a job from the expert, I know MK seems pretty keen

Mr G Courier service- I take it personally said:

---

Darren you have done a number of jobs for mr expert.. Where did it go wrong from your point of view?

I followed his feedback and your right.. The same freight forwarder is doing all his same day retail jobs.

If that's the case it means the likes of me and MK bikes haven't a hope of getting a job from the expert

I sent you a message james, might explain a lot

Mk is surrounded by retail parks and would clean up if given the chance... He told me hes not even on the reserve list.. surely Some of that Argos stuff can be carried by bike

As for me well.. Same story.. Big city surrounded by retail parks and yet on the reserve list... Lots of questions but sadly no answers

Admin have said they are doing more to sort out the insurances for profiles, maybe when this is done it might stop these non legal drivers from being used on this site, please hurry admin :)

Non legal drivers? How? The site has tightened up mate.. I'm sure no-one can slip through the net any-more

The same freight forwarder is doing all his same day retail jobs. If that's the case it means the likes of me and MK bikes haven't a hope of getting a job from the expert I agree with Mr G, I have applied for many jobs on CE and got... NONE. even though some have been less that 30 min to collect. I do get the odd call to do a ten minute job.

East-Lancs Sameday Couriers Ltd said:

---

The problem I have with CE is, he wants it done at none do-able prices from a drivers point of view and he is encouraging these non legal drivers by using them. I have looked on his feedback and a majority of drivers that he has used, has no GIT. The to me is encouraging drivers to carry on without being legal and i'm sure more members will agree with me aswell.

We ask to see a scan of the couriers policy or agree to cover the GIT ourselves.

Darren - regarding rates, you have done a few jobs for us in the past and from what i remember, you were happy with the rates we paid you.

Mr G Courier service- I take it personally said:

---

Darren you have done a number of jobs for mr expert.. Where did it go wrong from your point of view?

I followed his feedback and your right.. The same freight forwarder is doing all his same day retail jobs.

If that's the case it means the likes of me and MK bikes haven't a hope of getting a job from the expert

We always need more people to do retail jobs :)

East-Lancs Sameday Couriers Ltd said:

From what I see is, you allocate a job to 1 member on here who then puts it on courier exchange. I only need to look at your feedback to see who it is and I see them a lot on Courier Exchange as well from the same member. My guess is you get this certain member to post it on Courier Exchange on your behalf

It does not work how you have described it.

However, you have raised a good point, which is that there are available jobs which end up with certain suppliers, purely because we have had no reasonable offers from other MT members within the timescale needed to cover the job. So I would say to all MT van members, if you are looking for more work, and see a job you are interested in, then please put in a price as soon as possible, because there is work there for the taking.

Andy

Courier Expert said:

---

Mr G Courier service- I take it personally said:

---

Darren you have done a number of jobs for mr expert.. Where did it go wrong from your point of view?

I followed his feedback and your right.. The same freight forwarder is doing all his same day retail jobs.

If that's the case it means the likes of me and MK bikes haven't a hope of getting a job from the expert

We always need more people to do retail jobs :)

Always said "pay peanuts you get monkeys"

Courier Expert said:

---

East-Lancs Sameday Couriers Ltd said:

From what I see is, you allocate a job to 1 member on here who then puts it on courier exchange. I only need to look at your feedback to see who it is and I see them a lot on Courier Exchange as well from the same member. My guess is you get this certain member to post it on Courier Exchange on your behalf

It does not work how you have described it.

However, you have raised a good point, which is that there are available jobs which end up with certain suppliers, purely because we have had no reasonable offers from other MT members within the timescale needed to cover the job. So I would say to all MT van members, if you are looking for more work, and see a job you are interested in, then please put in a price as soon as possible, because there is work there for the taking.

Andy

Isn't that classed as sameday urgent then? which in my opinion a different classification of pricing ie top end price scale?

Courier Expert said:

---

East-Lancs Sameday Couriers Ltd said:

From what I see is, you allocate a job to 1 member on here who then puts it on courier exchange. I only need to look at your feedback to see who it is and I see them a lot on Courier Exchange as well from the same member. My guess is you get this certain member to post it on Courier Exchange on your behalf

It does not work how you have described it.

However, you have raised a good point, which is that there are available jobs which end up with certain suppliers, purely because we have had no reasonable offers from other MT members within the timescale needed to cover the job. So I would say to all MT van members, if you are looking for more work, and see a job you are interested in, then please put in a price as soon as possible, because there is work there for the taking.

Andy

Yes it does and I've been it many times. I've seen many jobs you have posted on here and was post on Courier Exchange by the company you use to post them on there at the same time you post them on here. I do get the alerts when they are in my local area or if im out on the road. Seems strange how you use the same company and im sure Courier Exchange would be interested in what is happening aswell

Gas Motorcycle Couriers said:

---

Courier Expert said:

---

Mr G Courier service- I take it personally said:

---

Darren you have done a number of jobs for mr expert.. Where did it go wrong from your point of view?

I followed his feedback and your right.. The same freight forwarder is doing all his same day retail jobs.

If that's the case it means the likes of me and MK bikes haven't a hope of getting a job from the expert

We always need more people to do retail jobs :)

Always said "pay peanuts you get monkeys"

I agree Gary, I always charge a fair rate because when I do a job, its done the way it should be done. I've no bad feedback from anyone on here or Courier Exchange yet.

East-Lancs Sameday Couriers Ltd said:

---

Gas Motorcycle Couriers said:

---

Courier Expert said:

---

Mr G Courier service- I take it personally said:

---

Darren you have done a number of jobs for mr expert.. Where did it go wrong from your point of view?

I followed his feedback and your right.. The same freight forwarder is doing all his same day retail jobs.

If that's the case it means the likes of me and MK bikes haven't a hope of getting a job from the expert

We always need more people to do retail jobs :)

Always said "pay peanuts you get monkeys"

I agree Gary, I always charge a fair rate because when I do a job, its done the way it should be done. I've no bad feedback from anyone on here or Courier Exchange yet.

Oh and never wil get bad feedback :)

What a surprise, the job from Gosport to Guildford is on Courier Exchange by the same member

East-Lancs Sameday Couriers Ltd said:

---

What a surprise, the job from Gosport to Guildford is on Courier Exchange by the same member

And Glasgow to Newcastle tut tut

If these jobs are being advertised elsewhere, it is because we have not received any bids on mtvan! The work is there for the taking, you only have to give us a reasonable bid :)

Andy

What is a reasonable bid? I quoted what I thought to be a reasonable/doable price which ended up half of what I bid. If Most of us who supply our own rather expensive GIT/H&R/PL/Fully Comp insurance most of which is in excess of 2500 on top of supplying a well maintained, reliable, road legal van are pricing against car drivers who are working on the premiss of earning a "bit of beer money" who run about in normal cars with no GIT of their own, what chance do we have of winning any bids? It depends upon which side of the steering wheel you are on to justify what is a reasonable bid

GeeGee vans said:

---

What is a reasonable bid? I quoted what I thought to be a reasonable/doable price which ended up half of what I bid. If Most of us who supply our own rather expensive GIT/H&R/PL/Fully Comp insurance most of which is in excess of 2500 on top of supplying a well maintained, reliable, road legal van are pricing against car drivers who are working on the premiss of earning a "bit of beer money" who run about in normal cars with no GIT of their own, what chance do we have of winning any bids? It depends upon which side of the steering wheel you are on to justify what is a reasonable bid

In relation to the above mentioned jobs, any bids would be better than no bids at all.

In relation to other jobs, it depends what else has been bid and they are all different. However, we pay our own 'trusted members' 66p per per mile and standard members 60p per mile for small van jobs. Hopefully this will give you a rough idea.

On the subject of reasonable bids, what would Courier Expert deem a fair price for a 2 mile job that may well have many more times that in dead miles? Surely not £1.20?

Strange this, I have just posted a reply which has either been deleted or has not been allowed. I will reply again. I understand and acknowledge the rates you post but that is not the point I am trying to make. My point is; as a professional courier/owner/driver I have had to invest a reasonable amount of money in order to carry out my business, this investment includes the cost of a van, buying the required GIT/H&R/PL/Fully Comp insurance. I have to ensure my vehicle is roadworthy, legal and dependable at all times this means a full maintenance package or a very regular service programme. Again on top of this to remain legal there is the handsfree and satnav system etc etc the list is endless. To cover this outlay I have to bid successfully for work at a rate that is acceptable to myself and the client ( job provider). If my bottom line is, for example, 50 ppm as my lowest possible price how can I compete against a car driver doing this for 25 ppm as somebody has just quoted on CE for a job I bid on. I cannot compete with that, therefore that job goes to the lowest bidder. When bidding on a same day job for which you pay your published prices, I have "been unsuccessful" on my last three attempts. Although this sounds like a gripe, it isnt it is just a plain statement of fact. There are too many people out there looking for "pin money".

So my £56 bid for a small van to do this one was not reasonable?

http://s148.photobucket.com/user/DennisN2007/media/CDVzpsffa0cdba.jpg.html][IMG]http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s15/DennisN2007/CDVzpsffa0cdba.jpg

Hmm, doesn't look as though that screenshot would show up.

The job was pickup Bristol BS5 7BD before 8am 12/03/2014, deliver Romsey SO51 8AB before 12:00 on 12/03/2014. Suggested Car, 107 miles. For which I bid £56 the night before, so no doubt about my ability to pickup on time.

Does the thing work now? (what a useless thing that we can't preview [or edit] posts).

http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s15/DennisN2007/ScreenShot2014-03-11at192247zps50569a8e.png

Maybe it only accepts jpegs?

http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s15/DennisN2007/ScreenShot2014-03-11at192247zps9ee09522.jpg

Aha, sussed it at last!

AJM sameday Couriers said:

---

Mr G Courier service- I take it personally said:

If that's the case it means the likes of me and MK bikes haven't a hope of getting a job from the expert

Do you and MK really want a job from the expert, I know MK seems pretty keen

I nearly pissed myself laughing, but not quite as much as when one of his clueless controllers phoned me up to cover a job, he said he got my details off MT van, I said you don't read the forum much then, if I did a job he'd be using my address before you could say "dodgy ethics"

I would not say anything like that Denis. If you can do a job like that, 107 miles for £56 that is your prerogative. Did you have a backload? If not then your 107 miles then becomes 214 (assuming you live near to either the pick up or drop off) so £56 to do 214 works out that your ding a job for very little indeed. I would suggest that you would not cover your on costs let alone make a wage. I cannot comment on your personal situation but I know I could not do a run like that for that sort of money. I have just been browsing another site and noticed a "backload" from somewhere in Scotland. The job believe it or not is 214 and "it pays £40 on delivery, not much but something towards petrol" is the wording on the job. I would ask is the job supplier charging the client £40? I would not think so. But by my earlier posts there will be someone who will. Attitudes like this affect us all, I am not a greedy man or a troublemaker but I am also not a charity. If you dont cover costs you will soon be depending on charity

GeeGee vans said:

---

I would not say anything like that Denis. If you can do a job like that, 107 miles for £56 that is your prerogative. Did you have a backload? ........................ I have just been browsing another site and noticed a "backload" from somewhere in Scotland. The job believe it or not is 214 and "it pays £40 on delivery, not much but something towards petrol" is the wording on the job. I would ask is the job supplier charging the client £40?

I don't think Denis had any intention of doing it, it was maybe to prove a point.

This sort of jobs tend to be sold by people creating "runs" of several low value jobs, one comes in that they have nothing to go with it, so rather than run it at a loss they try to palm it off

Dennis said:

---

...what a useless thing that we can't preview posts.

There's a live preview directly beneath what you're typing (and directly above the post reply button)! It says 'Preview' at the top.

GeeGee vans said:

---

Strange this, I have just posted a reply which has either been deleted or has not been allowed. I will reply again. I understand and acknowledge the rates you post but that is not the point I am trying to make. My point is; as a professional courier/owner/driver I have had to invest a reasonable amount of money in order to carry out my business, this investment includes the cost of a van, buying the required GIT/H&R/PL/Fully Comp insurance. I have to ensure my vehicle is roadworthy, legal and dependable at all times this means a full maintenance package or a very regular service programme. Again on top of this to remain legal there is the handsfree and satnav system etc etc the list is endless. To cover this outlay I have to bid successfully for work at a rate that is acceptable to myself and the client ( job provider). If my bottom line is, for example, 50 ppm as my lowest possible price how can I compete against a car driver doing this for 25 ppm as somebody has just quoted on CE for a job I bid on. I cannot compete with that, therefore that job goes to the lowest bidder. When bidding on a same day job for which you pay your published prices, I have "been unsuccessful" on my last three attempts. Although this sounds like a gripe, it isnt it is just a plain statement of fact. There are too many people out there looking for "pin money".

I can't tell you what to bid, as that is up to you, I can only give you guidance on what we pay our members.

I can only suggest you put forward your best price and it will be considered. Bear in mind that on some jobs we receive no bids at all (therefore no competition) and sometimes we even have to resort to calling up MK Bikes :)

Andy

Is this a Dutch auction site? I offer quotes not bids.

Kehoe Light Haulage said:

---

Is this a Dutch auction site? I offer quotes not bids.

Quotes, bids and offers are all welcome :)

Quotes, bids and offers are all welcome :)... But not accepted above. 60p

BusinessBuddy said:

---

Quotes, bids and offers are all welcome :)... But not accepted above. 60p

Incorrect, when we have had no offers on a job, we will consider all sensible possibilities.

GeeGee vans said:

---

I would not say anything like that Denis. If you can do a job like that, 107 miles for £56 that is your prerogative. Did you have a backload? If not then your 107 miles then becomes 214 (assuming you live near to either the pick up or drop off) so £56 to do 214 works out that your ding a job for very little indeed. I would suggest that you would not cover your on costs let alone make a wage.

I'm local to Bristol. So I happen to know that my "normal" fastest routing to Southampton is Bristol, M4 to Newbury, then down A34 and M3. Everybody does it that way, that's the 107 mile route and plans on my satnav at 1hr 43 minutes. HOWEVER, this was a job with four hours leeway from pickup to delivery, sameday urgent, but obviously not a screamer. If I choose to avoid M4, the distance comes down to 68 miles (a gallon of diesel each way) and the time goes up to 1hr 59 minutes - an additional 16 minutes out of the four hours! I priced my bid at roughly 82pplm!. I only put in the bid because I thought it was significant that the suggested mileage made it 52pplm and therefore expected him to jump at my price.

I don't do 107 miles for CitySprint's 47pplm, I don't do 107 miles for Royal Mail Sameday's 50pplm and I don't do 107 miles for TNT's 54pplm. But with Courier Expert telling us he pays 60pplm, why didn't he fall for my 52pplm bid, submitted 12 hours before pickup time?

Dennis said:

---

GeeGee vans said:

---

I would not say anything like that Denis. If you can do a job like that, 107 miles for £56 that is your prerogative. Did you have a backload? If not then your 107 miles then becomes 214 (assuming you live near to either the pick up or drop off) so £56 to do 214 works out that your ding a job for very little indeed. I would suggest that you would not cover your on costs let alone make a wage.

I'm local to Bristol. So I happen to know that my "normal" fastest routing to Southampton is Bristol, M4 to Newbury, then down A34 and M3. Everybody does it that way, that's the 107 mile route and plans on my satnav at 1hr 43 minutes. HOWEVER, this was a job with four hours leeway from pickup to delivery, sameday urgent, but obviously not a screamer. If I choose to avoid M4, the distance comes down to 68 miles (a gallon of diesel each way) and the time goes up to 1hr 59 minutes - an additional 16 minutes out of the four hours! I priced my bid at roughly 82pplm!. I only put in the bid because I thought it was significant that the suggested mileage made it 52pplm and therefore expected him to jump at my price.

I don't do 107 miles for CitySprint's 47pplm, I don't do 107 miles for Royal Mail Sameday's 50pplm and I don't do 107 miles for TNT's 54pplm. But with Courier Expert telling us he pays 60pplm, why didn't he fall for my 52pplm bid, submitted 12 hours before pickup time?

He didn't fall for it because 'he' (i guess this is me) does not do the controlling, the courier controllers decide who get's allocated work and if there are any issues, they refer matters to their manager (again not me).

Please also bear in mind that jobs are also advertised elsewhere and are also offered to our reserves. We would certainly pay our own reserve courier's the going rate (even if that is more money than has been offered on here).

Certainly for a job that doesn't need picking up until the next day, I would suggest that the controllers would wait a while and see if a courier expert reserve courier gets in touch, before rushing to allocate the job to the cheapest offer on an external exchange like this one.

Andy.

Blimey he does have ethics after all!

You priced it at 82 or 52?

Mr G Courier service- I take it personally said:

---

You priced it at 82 or 52?

I priced it for the mileage I would do - 68 miles at 82p (wasn't actually 82p, I priced at 80p and rounded it somewhat).

Now I know where I am going wrong. As an OD, I always quote 70pplm. Anything less and I stand no chance of paying my way. As explained by others, being an OD requires a lot of spending, and we need to try and make it back with a bit of profit. With business being some what quite at the moment, getting bids excepted is proving difficult. As I am also on Courier Exchange, I manage to keep going. I hardly bid on this exchange, as when I do I never hear back. All I see is loads of bids on a job, which seems to remain available long after it should have been delivered. If I discover how to get work from this site, then I will bid a bit more. Until then I will continue with the routine I am currently doing.

Hi Frank, I think this is because courier exchange GTM's auto expire, whereas on here they don't. We want to receive bids and would encourage yourself and everyone else to do so. Regarding your rates of 70 pplm, that would secure the job if that's our only offer or best offer.

The word "bid" always get's me - hate the term.

Quote - fair enough - we see it all the time, eg : Van clearing in manchester for example and a job alert comes through, manchester - northampton and the words "please text bids to 07*** *****" - gets deleted straight away and not given a second thought.

Now we could quite easily quote on the work and possibly "OUTBID" anyone else, but refuse to do so on the basis of that if one can't even pick up the phone to accept a quotation then they're not worth dealing with, the term "bid" just clarifies even more why we wouldn't bother.

I'm sure plenty wouldn't get too hung up on the bid / quote phrase, but in my personal opinion all it does is degrade the quality of the service you provide, (in my opinion) when you are asked "so, what's your bid mate" - followed by a end call from our end.

We don't really care if people want to call it a bid, quote or an offer, it gets treated the same way whatever terminology is used. For text messaging, the word 'bid' has the least number of characters and is easiest to type, so makes sense to use it in that way.

We prefer texts/emails rather than phone calls, as there is a written record and it won't get lost. The chance of a message making from a phone call, to a post it note, then physically travelling to the correct desk is no where near as efficient as an email or text message.

Andy

Each to their own i suppose Andy - what works for you might not work for others.

That's something we can agree on then :)

Do these busy couriers have time to answer the phone?

I dont get the sameday retail car jobs with 0 miles, surely the lazy bar stools could carry their own stuff?

Could I ask what I think is a pertinent question? Why is it the same guy puts in ridiculously low bids/quotes/offers for work? Would this in turn make others lower their bids/quotes/offers which we all know is one way of driving prices down. What would happen then if this one guy happened to win ALL the jobs he bids/quotes/offers on? He would have some serious driving to do or end up letting a lot of people down. When these people let others down it reflects on both the drivers and the industry. Comes back to that famous saying about peanuts and monkeys. A similar thing used to happen in another industry I was involved with some years ago when certain people put ridiculous prices in for jobs then turn up and and argue the price wasn't enough

I don't know who this is, but please message me privately and i'll take a look. However, that aside, our main problem is not receiving any bids at all on some jobs or rather not receiving them quick enough.

Andy

GeeGee vans said:

---

Could I ask what I think is a pertinent question? Why is it the same guy puts in ridiculously low bids/quotes/offers for work? Would this in turn make others lower their bids/quotes/offers which we all know is one way of driving prices down. What would happen then if this one guy happened to win ALL the jobs he bids/quotes/offers on? He would have some serious driving to do or end up letting a lot of people down. When these people let others down it reflects on both the drivers and the industry. Comes back to that famous saying about peanuts and monkeys. A similar thing used to happen in another industry I was involved with some years ago when certain people put ridiculous prices in for jobs then turn up and and argue the price wasn't enough

Just to set the record straight for anyone else reading this, Geoff is not referring to sameday jobs posted into mtvan. He is in fact talking about economy jobs (backloads/returns) advertised by our customers solely within the courier expert hub.

The 'same guy' Geoff is referring to, has so far completed 86 jobs in the last 6 weeks, on behalf of Courier Expert (both sameday and economy), and is one of our most respected and reliable couriers.

Andy

Andy as i cant receive text alerts via mtvan maybe you would like to install my App.. Now available at playstore for Android

Andy, the "same guy" I may have been referring to might very well have completed 86 jobs for CE as you state, and I do know the difference between a same day and an economic job, however, if, like you state, these jobs have been done as backloads/returns on behalf of CE then it would be safe to assume, would it not, that there must have been an outward journey to begin with in order to quote/bid/offer for the return/backload. That being the case, I wish I had the same foresight to know what jobs I will be doing in two-three weeks time in order to quote/bid/offer for the said economic work to provide said backload. On the assumption of doing the 86 jobs in six weeks would it be safe to assume therefore that there would have been 86 outward journeys also? Given a normal working week being 5 days, over a six week period that would allow for 30 working days, 86 returns for CE plus the possible 86 outward trips would mean a possible total of some 172 jobs divide that by 30 and this would mean an average of 5.7 jobs per day. If we then take the job I queried (which would have a total of 664 miles for this one particular job) then I would wonder how the other 4.7 jobs were done on this particular day. Add into the melting pot- working constantly 5 days per week and assuming a mileage as mentioned a possible 3000 miles per week would be expected which would be 18000 over a six week period, when would the vehicle get serviced? Or do quick fit do a service whilst on the road now? I must say that my reasoning behind the assumed mileage is the fact that it appears to be only the runs over 100 miles are being quoted on. I might be wrong on this as I dont check every single job and what has been quoted/bid or offered on, just the ones I might be interested in.

Hi Geoff, he has done 86 jobs in total since mid feburary, which includes retail, sameday and economy. I don't know any other facts such as total mileage etc, all I know is how many jobs he's billing us for. I think he probably doesn't want to share his secrets, if he's bidding on the same jobs against other people.

This guy is not unique though, i ran off some stats and discovered our top courier (someone else - a birmingham based courier) has done 505 for us in the last 6 months. Again, a mix of retail, sameday and economy.

Andy

Courier Expert said:

---

Hi Geoff, he has done 86 jobs in total since mid feburary, which includes retail, sameday and economy. I don't know any other facts such as total mileage etc, all I know is how many jobs he's billing us for. I think he probably doesn't want to share his secrets, if he's bidding on the same jobs against other people.

This guy is not unique though, i ran off some stats and discovered our top courier (someone else - a birmingham based courier) has done 505 for us in the last 6 months. Again, a mix of retail, sameday and economy.

Andy

I'm sure mean you allocate them to this members and then he puts them on courier exchange. I've seen it on a great number of occasions, lets not beat around the bush. I'm sire it wont be long before this comments gets deleted anyway

East-Lancs Sameday Couriers Ltd said:

---

Courier Expert said:

---

Hi Geoff, he has done 86 jobs in total since mid feburary, which includes retail, sameday and economy. I don't know any other facts such as total mileage etc, all I know is how many jobs he's billing us for. I think he probably doesn't want to share his secrets, if he's bidding on the same jobs against other people.

This guy is not unique though, i ran off some stats and discovered our top courier (someone else - a birmingham based courier) has done 505 for us in the last 6 months. Again, a mix of retail, sameday and economy.

Andy

I'm sure mean you allocate them to this members and then he puts them on courier exchange. I've seen it on a great number of occasions, lets not beat around the bush. I'm sire it wont be long before this comments gets deleted anyway

Hi Darren, As i said, our top courier is Birmingham based, so you will know it is not the supplier you are referring to. Also, I can assure you that he has done all 505 jobs himself.

Do you know how many jobs you have done for us, must be quite a few?

Andy

Courier Expert said:

---

East-Lancs Sameday Couriers Ltd said:

---

Courier Expert said:

---

Hi Geoff, he has done 86 jobs in total since mid feburary, which includes retail, sameday and economy. I don't know any other facts such as total mileage etc, all I know is how many jobs he's billing us for. I think he probably doesn't want to share his secrets, if he's bidding on the same jobs against other people.

This guy is not unique though, i ran off some stats and discovered our top courier (someone else - a birmingham based courier) has done 505 for us in the last 6 months. Again, a mix of retail, sameday and economy.

Andy

I'm sure mean you allocate them to this members and then he puts them on courier exchange. I've seen it on a great number of occasions, lets not beat around the bush. I'm sire it wont be long before this comments gets deleted anyway

Hi Darren, As i said, our top courier is Birmingham based, so you will know it is not the supplier you are referring to. Also, I can assure you that he has done all 505 jobs himself.

Do you know how many jobs you have done for us, must be quite a few?

Andy

Ive not done work for you for about 4-6 months. I have quoted you on many occasions but you alwsys go for cheapest price rather that what service the courier offers. Yes I have done plenty of work for you in the past but nowadays its all the price. Ive even quoted on your work and still found it on Courier Exchange by your so called forwarder. Courier Exchange have already asked me who is posting work you, but i dont want the company to get banned, thats not why im here. Im here to earn a living and make a little profit, but at the prices you want them done is just taking the mickey. Nothing personal andy, i have spoken to you on a number of occasions and i think your a sound guy, this is all just my opinion.

Hi Darren, first of all, i think it is a shame that you are quoting on our work and not getting any of it, as you have always been a great supplier in the past and I would be more than happy for you to do any of our jobs - although I don't choose suppliers any more these days, it's purely down to the discretion of each controller.

However, if you have seen our jobs advertised in places other than our own network, mtvan or vehotrans, it will be because there has been no interest or bids, as they always get advertised on here first before we start looking for prices further afield. One thing I can tell you, if the job is not covered within our own network or mtvan, on average it ends up costing us more money to cover it - so whatever your suspicions are, it is not a money saving exercise, it's about meeting our customers deadlines.

The supplier that Geoff was referring to, who has done 86 jobs (now 88) for us in the few weeks, has been doing a lot of jobs from the north west - so i think that may be having an impact on the amount of spare jobs available in your area.

Regarding prices, of course we have to consider the price when we have multiple quotes on a job, especially as our margins have actually been falling recently. So if there is a choice of quotes, the controllers are going to go for the lower price and if the supplier causes us any problems, we won't use again.

Andy

Just one more thing Darren, if you do see a job advertised on the exchange you mentioned and can do it yourself, please contact me directly and i will look into it. As i cannot see why any job should be advertised elsewhere, if we have a sensible price already from an mtvan supplier. I'm going to PM you my email address, so contact me directly if the above mentioned scenario happens.

Andy

GeeGee vans said:

---

I would not say anything like that Denis. If you can do a job like that, 107 miles for £56 that is your prerogative. Did you have a backload? If not then your 107 miles then becomes 214 (assuming you live near to either the pick up or drop off) so £56 to do 214 works out that your ding a job for very little indeed. I would suggest that you would not cover your on costs let alone make a wage. I cannot comment on your personal situation but I know I could not do a run like that for that sort of money. I have just been browsing another site and noticed a "backload" from somewhere in Scotland. The job believe it or not is 214 and "it pays £40 on delivery, not much but something towards petrol" is the wording on the job. I would ask is the job supplier charging the client £40? I would not think so. But by my earlier posts there will be someone who will. Attitudes like this affect us all, I am not a greedy man or a troublemaker but I am also not a charity. If you dont cover costs you will soon be depending on charity

Hear Hear

Frank Hall Courier Owner Driver said:

---

Now I know where I am going wrong. As an OD, I always quote 70pplm. Anything less and I stand no chance of paying my way. As explained by others, being an OD requires a lot of spending, and we need to try and make it back with a bit of profit. With business being some what quite at the moment, getting bids excepted is proving difficult. As I am also on Courier Exchange, I manage to keep going. I hardly bid on this exchange, as when I do I never hear back. All I see is loads of bids on a job, which seems to remain available long after it should have been delivered. If I discover how to get work from this site, then I will bid a bit more. Until then I will continue with the routine I am currently doing.

:))

HSP Couriers said:

---

The word "bid" always get's me - hate the term.

Quote - fair enough - we see it all the time, eg : Van clearing in manchester for example and a job alert comes through, manchester - northampton and the words "please text bids to 07*** *****" - gets deleted straight away and not given a second thought.

Now we could quite easily quote on the work and possibly "OUTBID" anyone else, but refuse to do so on the basis of that if one can't even pick up the phone to accept a quotation then they're not worth dealing with, the term "bid" just clarifies even more why we wouldn't bother.

I'm sure plenty wouldn't get too hung up on the bid / quote phrase, but in my personal opinion all it does is degrade the quality of the service you provide, (in my opinion) when you are asked "so, what's your bid mate" - followed by a end call from our end.

TOTALLY AGREE

Hi am the same as frank Hall, but you never know, just waiting for the first break,

Courier Expert said:

---

Hi Darren, first of all, i think it is a shame that you are quoting on our work and not getting any of it, as you have always been a great supplier in the past and I would be more than happy for you to do any of our jobs - although I don't choose suppliers any more these days, it's purely down to the discretion of each controller.

However, if you have seen our jobs advertised in places other than our own network, mtvan or vehotrans, it will be because there has been no interest or bids, as they always get advertised on here first before we start looking for prices further afield. One thing I can tell you, if the job is not covered within our own network or mtvan, on average it ends up costing us more money to cover it - so whatever your suspicions are, it is not a money saving exercise, it's about meeting our customers deadlines.

The supplier that Geoff was referring to, who has done 86 jobs (now 88) for us in the few weeks, has been doing a lot of jobs from the north west - so i think that may be having an impact on the amount of spare jobs available in your area.

Regarding prices, of course we have to consider the price when we have multiple quotes on a job, especially as our margins have actually been falling recently. So if there is a choice of quotes, the controllers are going to go for the lower price and if the supplier causes us any problems, we won't use again.

Andy

Regarding prices, of course we have to consider the price when we have multiple quotes on a job, especially as our margins have actually been falling recently. So if there is a choice of quotes, the controllers are going to go for the lower price and if the supplier causes us any problems, we won't use again.

Andy

Andy, if your margins are as low as you say i. E. 5% before VAT then surely it is in your interest to keep the bid prices high. If a bid is at £100 your cut would be £5, whereas if the bid was at £50 it would only be £2.50. I would have thought that these margins would not be viable at such low bids.

I think you are referring to economy jobs here? In which case, you are correct, our current margin is just 5% plus an admin fee of £5. Are they viable?.... Well I'm certainly not going to get rich from economy jobs :)

However, whether bid prices are high or low, Courier Expert as a company don't interfere and it's to market forces to decide the outcome. It's entirely between the couriers and the customer what bids offered and accepted.

It is also worth bearing in mind here, that you might not only be competing with other couriers in our hub, but the customer could have also asked for quotes elsewhere, outside of our network.

Andy

OK mate, thanks for that, I think I am the same as most others and that I have a cut off line which I cannot go below and afford to offer a professional and legal service. Once below that line I would effectively be doing the job for free, consequently I will not bid below my line

Broughton to Farnborough and back what happened?

BusinessBuddy said:

---

Broughton to Farnborough and back what happened?

It's being done today by an mtvan member, both ways.

GeeGee vans said:

---

OK mate, thanks for that, I think I am the same as most others and that I have a cut off line which I cannot go below and afford to offer a professional and legal service. Once below that line I would effectively be doing the job for free, consequently I will not bid below my line

It's a shame that some don't seem to know where that line is though isn't it?!

Speed Couriers Nationwide Ltd said:

---

GeeGee vans said:

---

OK mate, thanks for that, I think I am the same as most others and that I have a cut off line which I cannot go below and afford to offer a professional and legal service. Once below that line I would effectively be doing the job for free, consequently I will not bid below my line

It's a shame that some don't seem to know where that line is though isn't it?!

So very very true, think it is between a rock and a hard place for some

I think some should stick to putting their washing on it instead

That would be in between doing the school runs, the dusting and ironing etc