Delivery Driver Jobs – it is a great job that brings people lots of joy!

Delivery drivers almost always bring us good news or rather good things. That present your mom sent you for your birthday or that product you recently purchased from Amazon or the new handbag you are shipping from Paris must be delivered through a driver, and this is why we love delivery drivers.

But, have you ever wondered what it takes to be a delivery driver? Or how one can become a delivery driver? If you are thinking of taking up this noble profession, then, you need to know that it is a great job that brings people lots of joy.

There are many delivery jobs that I shall tell you about, but first I want us to understand what this job really entails, and if you decide to do it, where can you start, and what is available for you?

What does a delivery driver really do?

Well, this may be obvious. They deliver packages. True. Of course. But there is more.

A delivery driver is responsible for ensuring that your package is delivered as efficiently and complete as possible, which means that you should receive it whole, and in the right condition. This is their main responsibility.

His other duties include;

• Loading and unloading their trucks.
• Driving to their destinations regardless of the weather conditions.
• Tracking your shipment and delivering it on time.
• Troubleshooting any issues with a customer’s order.
• Maintenance and management of the delivery truck.
• Processing payments made on delivery.
• Handling food deliveries safely.
• Installing deliveries that may be problematic.
• Keeping the company informed on his whereabouts.

Most delivery drivers work round the clock, especially for companies that deliver even on the weekends and holidays. Some of them will drive all night long in order to get to their destinations on time. This is highly taxing, and if you are going to do this job, you should be ready for such working hours.

In fact, you will find that delivery jobs intensify around the holiday season due to the number of gifts being sent from one place to another. If you are not the kind of person who can work weekends and holidays, then this may not be the right job for you.

What skills should you possess as a delivery driver?

Good interpersonal

One of the most important skills is good interpersonal skills. You must be able to speak to people in a friendly manner. Being a delivery driver, you will meet many different people, and you may never know just what you are delivering to them, but it is good to always be willing to talk to them, even if it is just hi, how are you doing, and goodbye have a nice day.

Some companies have systems for rating their drivers, and it is a good idea for you to be polite so you can always have a nice review from clients. It may elevate your status or even contribute to a promotion and more responsibilities at work.

Other important skills include;

Driving:

I’m sure you are like duh! A delivery driver must know how to drive. Yes. He must. But there is more to driving than just moving the truck or vehicle forward.

You should watch some of the popular videos on YouTube that show some serious driving skills. With these videos, you get to understand that driving is not just driving. Driving well, is a skill you learn with time.

A good delivery driver should be able to drive carefully and with minimal accidents. The contents they carry are sometimes fragile, and if they do not drive carefully, they could be responsible for lots of damages.

So, if you want to succeed as a good driver, you will need to take a driving course, and skills test in order to get a commercial driving license (CDL), which will allow you to drive big trucks and even lorries.

Customer service skills:

I have already talked about this, but it is worthy of another mention. A good delivery driver must have excellent customer service skills. You are actually in the service industry, and you must ensure that your clients are happy at all times.

Customer service skills also include ensuring that you deliver the packages in perfect condition, and also ensure that the customer gets the right package.

It will also involve solving customer service-related issues such as tracing a lost package or finding the customer’s right package in case you deliver the wrong one. This is highly sensitive, and a good delivery driver must ensure that they are compassionate, understanding, and caring of the customer’s feelings in such cases.

Time management skills:

In most cases, packages will have an expected time of arrival. Customers are also able to track their packages online, which enables them to know where the packages are at all times. As a delivery driver, you must be sensitive to time.

Time is what sets delivery companies apart. If you are working in a company that is always delivering packages later than they promised, then you are failing terribly, and you may not be in business for a very long time.

It is understandable to have personal family issues or even other types of issues, but as a driver, time is of the essence, and you must always endeavor to deliver on time.

Problem-solving skills:

The problems you are likely to encounter are broken packages, wrong addresses, terrible weather conditions, anxious customers, etc.

If you are going to excel as a delivery driver, it is mandatory that you learn how to handle such matters whenever they arise. This means you must be able to comfort the customer, and not just give empty promises, but promise and deliver on your promises.

When a package gets damaged or breaks, you must be able to deliver another package to the customer as and when promised in order to uphold the image of the company you are working for. Otherwise, you may have a very bad reputation.

What you need to understand going into this job is that life is variable and anything can happen. Learn to think on your toes and come up with solutions quickly.

Delivery driver jobs:

One important consideration you need to make when looking for a delivery driver job is whether or not you shall be required to use your own vehicle because this will involve considerable millage and gas costs, which the company should be willing to reimburse.

In addition, there should be a deal concerning the maintenance of the vehicle. If the job will make you good money, this is a worthy trade-off, but if you will only be making minimum wage, it is really not worth it.

Here are some popular delivery driver jobs:

Food delivery:

Nowadays, almost all restaurants deliver food to their customers, and because people must eat, it is one of the most profitable jobs in the delivery driver niche.

Between pizza deliveries, and Chinese food, not to mention the popular uber eats, you are assured of never going without work at any time. These drivers are very common, and everywhere you look, you are likely to see one of them on the road. The money is good too.

The only formal requirement for this job would be that you are over 18 years of age and have a valid driver’s license as the job will rarely every require you to drive a truck or lorry.

There are some great perks to this job, such as; the ability to work on your own, and if you love driving, you will be driving all over town, and of course, working in the food industry, you get access to some free meals, and discounts.

Limitations;

The limitations are, unfortunately, a little more than the perks.

First of all, you must always be fighting traffic to ensure that you do not deliver cold food. Delivering cold food will mean that your customers will not be happy and in addition, your company may receive a terrible rating.

Another limitation is that you will make more money on tips. You will certainly be equated to a server. This is okay if you find good clients that tip well, but if you are serving people who are stingy, you may not get a good tip.

Finally, moving from the restaurant to people’s homes can be taxing on your car, especially if you will be driving on bad roads. The job will also put hundreds of miles on your car, and you may want to ask yourself whether it is worthy.

Package Delivery Driver:

With package delivery, you may have to look for work in big companies such as FedEx, Amazon, UPS, and DHL, plus you should be able to drive big trucks or lorries.

The drivers for these companies normally drive company-owned trucks from the distribution centers to people’s homes or places of work, or anywhere else the customer has specified their delivery to be made.

Compared to the food delivery driver job, or others we may talk about later, package delivery has got to be the most physically taxing delivery job of all. This is because, these companies sell all sorts of packages, of which some can be quite heavy, and as a driver, you must be able to move them from one place to another, as you can see in the image above.

It can be a tad stressful, especially around the holiday season where customers expect to receive their packages on time, but it is also quite fulfilling when you see a smile on a client’s face after a package has been delivered on time.

In order to work in any of these companies as a delivery driver, you must have a clean driving record, and also a clean criminal record as well.

It is a good job because you get to work for a big company, plus it has some benefits you may not be able to find with other delivery jobs.

Courier delivery

This is a different kind of delivery service, whereby the delivery driver doesn’t deliver packages for their employers, but rather they deliver packages for the employer’s customers. I will explain;

For example, if I am a doctor, and I have collected blood samples from my patients, and I do not have a lab to run the tests, I can contract a courier service to pick up the samples and deliver them to the laboratory for testing. The courier is actually delivering on behalf of the customer.

Anyone can work as a courier; in fact, it is an excellent job for a college student looking for some extra cash because it is a simple job that allows you to work when you want to, or when there is a package to be delivered.

Floral delivery drivers

This is such a beautiful job that brings plenty of joy in the lives of people. Delivering flowers is like delivering joy. It is quite fulfilling to the person doing it.

Usually, you will need to get a job with a floral shop that delivers. They will provide you with a company car which you can use on your routes. Also, the shop will ensure to have a custom-made vehicle for this job so you can advertise their services as you go about your deliveries.

Flowers are sensitive, and you must always take great care when handling them, so they do not wilt as you are in the process of delivering them.

Almost anyone can do this job as it doesn’t have too many requirements in terms of skills, but you must be cheerful and happy at all times as flowers are beautiful.

Finding a job as a delivery driver is easy, but you must be highly skilled, especially when it comes to driving and customer service in order to keep this job.

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