I had my longest work day yet.
And it was only 5.5 hours.
It felt so, soooooo good.
42 stops per hour with an absolutely packed truck meant literal sprinting for the entirely of my day. Still, it felt amazing to have one day without any management responsibilities. No email chains to corporate, no fielding calls from the team, no spreadsheets, no training, no attempting to solve a myriad number of problems that I’ve never experienced, let alone been trained to handle. Just go in, organize the truck, and deliver like there’s a hell hound one step behind you.
Focus on efficiency. Between spotting a house, and getting back in your truck after a successful delivery, there are a hundred little things you do. These hundred things all take up a certain amount of time, and when you multiply this by two-hundred stops, those small pieces of time add up. That’s why a skilled driver can deliver 200 stops in 6.5 hours, an amazing driver can do it in 3.5, and a fresh one in 12+.
There is NOTHING too small or insignificant that you can’t reduce the time it takes to accomplish. Today I tested out a new method for removing my seat belt each stop. I decided it was quicker to grab the belt with my left hand as apposed to my right, leaving my right hand free to simultaneously shift into park milliseconds before my right foot fully depresses the brake pedal. Left foot? Already propelling me out of my seat and towards the packages, before the seat belt even has a chance to fully retract.
Take that mindset, and apply it to every. Single. Aspect of your delivery routine. That is how you join the inner circle. And let me tell you... There is definitely an inner circle. The best guys don’t get paid hourly, or with a set daily salary based on their route.
Oh no.
They get paid per stop. I’m not at liberty to go in detail here, but I will say that the absolute top tier of drivers are very far into six-figure territory, simply because they make their company so much money and get compensated fairly for doing so.
Anyways,
We’ve been substantially heavier than peak (Thanksgiving to Christmas) and there is no sign of that slowing down. I’m hiring new guys weekly, trying to buy new trucks, new gear... It’s tough though since every other service provider is also experiencing insane, unplanned for growth. Lots of demand for gear, and the supply can’t keep up. Trying to make do.
Adding to the chaos, we work with corporate employees who are technically not within our chain of command, yet the successful and timely completion of their job has a profound effect on how well we can do our own. Case in point, sometimes they can’t keep up with the belt when loading in the morning, and we’re left to sort out this shit. Nothing worse than a guy having to spend an extra two hours in the morning sorting packages, knowing all the while that he’ll be working two hours later, and have two hours less time before he has to come back again the next morning, praying to dear God that the next morning goes smooth...
But again, tough times for everyone all around. None of us were ready for such a massive increase in volume. At the end of the day, we’re all in the same boat.
Goodnight oppo. I’m taking a nap, then celebrating Cinco De Mayo with my roommate and others who don’t have the luxury of quarantining themselves away. Gotta stay sane somehow.
Craving a cucumber drink, but that would require a store trip...