bidding

There is a lot of talk about courier companies expecting jobs to be covered for next to nothing, and a lot of driver fustrated at not winning bids on work....as well as it being bloody quiet.

I agree completely with what you are saying about the BIG companies. We have lost some lovely accounts to them over pricing which is why we now use the exchange sites to get back loads on our empty vehicles . With 100 vehicles calling clear all over the country i gotta try to get backload where ever possible.

Hey speed you have hit the 'nail on the head' what you say makes sense.

Speed is indeed correct.

Earlier i put job on from notts to fleet and got 5 calls, I didn't give it to the lowest bidder i gave it to the nearest courier who is able to collect quickly and came across well on contact.

On the other hand a courier called and asked about the job and i said i'm sorry a courier who is nearer has already collected and is en-route, Before i could say i might have another coming out in about 30 mins he grunted ahh forget it and put the phone down on me.
I   dialed 1471 got his number and he's now on my do not use list as if he's like that with me what will he be like with my clients!!

Well done Notts politeness and curtosy costs nothing!

yes i find it staggering how some "self"called professional couriers come with major attitude, moan about all the "newbies", moan about courier companies and are rude, arrogant and think everyone owes em a living.....or is that just Brits generally....lol

seriously tho....politeness costs nothin and WILL get you noticed

Yes you're right Rob, as will good, easy to understand written and spoken English.

We all do wot we need to do to survive...no matter wot we think we should be doing.

we can all be busy fools though

But surely you have to pay your drivers more for night work ??  Taxis charge more for night work, We pay our drivers +30% after 18.00 hrs.Otherwise they just dont want to work .

Well we all have to draw the line so as not to be Busy fools but no we don't charge out of hours

It's very true about how we come across. I have always got the job I had been interviewed for as I interview well. It's a mixture of politeness, intelligence, confidence and amiability. I've found this has also worked for me when it comes to subbers as all I have spoken to have reacted well. OK maybe some have even less work than I have (no names no pact drill) but it doesn't change the fact that they wanted me to represent them should a job come up - as several have. You don't have to be a genius to work it out. You sell yourself first and the business second.

Royal mail sameday pay the extra for out of hours. 1800 to 0700

yeh to bring it up to the rate it should be during the day....lol

Is RM sameday worth joinng?

Or joining?

from the threads i've read no...but it seems to vary depending on the area

Hmm ok Rob fair point, but there seems to be a small amount on here that dont have any idea what the rate should be. Some even quote prices they have carried out jobs for and its laughable. You mention adapt, well how do you adapt to this.
European courier company joins an exchange from an eastern european country.
Advertises luton curtainsiders at 70pplm
200 vans currently in the UK with that figure expected to double over 6 months
Price is also for returns to eastern europe with no ferry / tunnel fees as these have already been covered on their outward journey.
Each van entering the UK has 5000 leaflets to distribute anywhere they see fit.
These prices are for anyone. Trade or end user.

http://www.royalmailsameday.com/drivers/application/how-we-work.asp

I think the 18.00 hrs bit is historical with a lot of companies. However i do think its time we all need to re-think the courier game . We have been going for 30 years and things are becoming a struggle, The drivers earn about the same now as they did when i started here in 91 .. That is not a good sign of things to come ....

i wouldn't pay attention to stuff like that

Yes Dan when i started it was 1800, sat and sundays too, but its just not sustainable....I'm glad you can still get away with it, we can't....like i said anyone in employed work nowadays are finding that sat and sun are seen as just another day...as are nites.

Royal Mail are actually members and used to put work through mtvan (a long time ago).

http://www.mtvan.com/courier-directory/rmcs

If you work for RM, petition them to allocate the work to you through mtvan and leave you the feedback.

Rob, couriers do drive other than small vans, you seem to have a few listed.
This is just 1 company and 200 vans is a fair chunk of the UK covered.
Ask your drivers, majority of laybys are full of them , all with sleeperpods and all tramping

I know...i'm just saying most sameday work is pick up NOW for delivery ASAP and is small items...reactive rather than proactive....and this part of courier work can't really be nicked by these guys

I think **** splint have nationwide saturation in mind like mcdonalds.
This may work well in London but how long will it be before the turnover of owner drivers is that high they rely on newcomers to the industry as a workforce.

well the service outside london is not good...and their cheap prices seem to grow once you have received your invoice so quite why anyway gives em the time of day...i find it very bleedin annoying to be honest....

Must be an "area" thing then Rob as 75% of the work posted around Leicester is for transit size upwards.
The border force agency at Dover conducted a survey over a 2 week period on non lgv vehicles and found on average 150 a day coming in and 50 a day going out.
The maths dont look good

**** Sprint dont really pose a threat to us its actually made us busier, due to fact they have such a bad reputation in the local area, Should have added they brought a courier company in the same town as one of our offices .....  several large-ish accounts rang our office asking to see one of our reps .... What goes around .. Comes around ... 

Maybe cos we're near London yeh

all the foriegn van drivers are swamping the market now i know guys who have been doing european work for many years regular customers and all of a sudden them lot take over charging £200 to take loads back anywhere in europe even cx are recruiting more and more foriegn drivers based in poland and romania we need to get rid of them.

Can I ask why you guys are censoring out 'CitySprint'?

cos i spell it with an SH instead of a C

cmon admin catch up lol

I don't k**w why. we keep censoring them.

> cmon admin catch up lol

It's pretty fast moving on the mtvan forum today!

its about the only thing that is moving today

City sprint are currently market leaders wonder why, A prob to do with the crap rates B prob the fact that every Tom dick & Harry who'd built up a reputable courier business over the years has decided he's now beginning to struggle through this tough patch, who then decides rather than face a winding up order may aswell sell up so there for him & his company get bought he's employed then by city sprint to run & mange that depot with the big wigs watching over him & controlling his business they then get larger & can afford to charge stupid rates & pay there drivers the rates they do offering them doubles & trebles, even then only paying 50% for the first one then some thing stupid like 15-20% for the second & prob 10-5% on the last & still charging there clients full whack on all 3. Then they'll promise u back loads which you'll be lucky to get half the time espically if your in London central & whilst Tom dick n Harry continue to help em grow he's bound to em for minimum 3 yrs before he can move on to start another business! 

So , what is a sustanable value cost to quote. Fuel, insurances and the van (small in my case) , vaguely cost the same nationwide. We, the workers take the hit in the pocket.
So if you are up north, should you be happy with .35pplm ? as your mortgage is half the cost of mine ,  and down there in Tonbridge, don't you deserve .55pplm as your pint is £1 more than mine ?

Twoticks you need to work out what your competion is, no need to under quote them just offer them a good service. I pay my drivers apr 70ppm on direct and 35-50 ppm on return loads dependant on where they are in relation to collection and delivery locations .. Small vans ..

point to point has put in a nutshell what we're all up against

and twoticks why oh why is it all "its the driver that gets hit in the pocket" and "we do all the work"...where do you think our jobs come from...thin air?....no..we work bloody hard to get the work we do...and we have to cut our margins continually cos we, like you, can't increase our prices cos someone out there will nick our work. Everyone expects more and more for less and less...it's not just you....so  stop being Mr Harddoneby.

And that is one way.
Shody goods, made by exploited workers , brought by those who now the price of everything and the value of nothing.
Still Mcdonalds does reasonable coffee any time of day.
Britain is also capable of bespoke quality goods, true artisan design , nurtured and refined , crafted by dedicated professions, and reward in more ways ,than the sum of their parts.
We all reflect our characters in our work.
Horse's for course's and all that.
So my very reasonable  rates reflect my polite manner'ed nature, my svelte ironed attire, a macdonalds coffee habit, and 55bpm  heart rate cos' life is too short to stress over it.

Mr Speed. Lighten up.
Its a forum . I'm was not pokeing at you, But i am now.
Get off your perch and stop pretching, as if yours is the only way.
This forum should push the debate.

I like my perch...you get to see a lot from up here

Rob thought the comments about his perch were totally unfounded

so there