Couriers deliver and collect documents and packages at airports, companies and private residences. They usually drive in a light delivery vehicle and respond to calls from the courier depot.
Courier companies get their business by offering their clients a superior, safe and fast service. The courier is therefore under constant pressure to ensure speedy delivery and security of packages in this competitive industry.
They receive the materials to be delivered, and the information from the recipients, such as names, addresses, telephone numbers and delivery instructions, communicated by telephone, two-way radio, mobile phone, or in person. They load their vehicles with the listed goods, ensuring that they are loaded correctly and that they take precautions with hazardous goods. The most efficient routes for delivering goods are planned and followed, and the goods sorted accordingly.
The courier ensures that customers sign delivery receipts and that parcels for delivery are correctly packaged, addressed and accompanied by a completed waybill form. They may need to obtain payment or arrange for recipients to make payments, and they must record information, such as items received and delivered. On completion, they check with their home offices in order to confirm deliveries and collections and to receive instructions for other deliveries.
Other tasks are to perform routine maintenance on their delivery vehicles, such as monitoring fluid levels and replenishing fuel, and to unload goods from large trucks and load them onto smaller delivery vehicles.
Courier companies
The courier with the necessary experience and capital, can start their own business.