Owner Operator Jobs for Couriers – Is Appearance Everything?

Is there really a difference between trucking and courier work? Do owner operator jobs in the courier domain have the same rules as those in the haulage business? There are some good questions there and maybe even some good-natured controversy. Let’s have a look at some of the differences – and this is not just about the size of the load being carried or the nature of owner operator jobs.

Stereotypes

If you asked the average member of the pubic to draw a courier and a transport driver, the chances are that you’ll get two very different results. One (the transport driver) might involve jeans or overalls and an individual style, while the other might be shown in a uniform and possibly a cap. Why is this? Is it a fair reflection of reality?

The differences

The reality is that owner operator jobs in trucking and courier work, may (but not always) operate quite differently. If you think about the truck driver, when collecting or delivering, their domain is often seen as the loading bay or delivery warehouse. Quite often they’re likely to be dealing with forklift trucks and their drivers – though they may get into a loading bay office to get some paperwork from a dispatch clerk.

By contrast, as a courier, we’re much more likely to be taken into the inner sanctum of “the real office” and have someone personally hand us the documents, package or carton, that has to be taken somewhere.

Why is that? Why can’t a lot of courier packages be sent to the loading bay like other goods? Why do couriers often seem to get slightly different treatment to freight drivers, at the collection or delivery points?

A crazy theory

Maybe it’s to do with the fact that ‘courier’ has a different connotation to ‘driver’. Perhaps a courier sounds more personal, like someone you’d entrust on a special mission – a sort of intermediary between two parties, carrying a special gift or message. Maybe this is where dress codes and uniforms apply. Maybe couriers are admitted into the special places of a company, sometimes even into the exalted presence of the boss himself/herself, as they’re a privileged rank – just like the medieval couriers of old.

So, if you’re engaging in owner operator jobs for a courier company, you may have to watch your dress and keep up standards. After all, if you do so, once day you may even make it to the ultimate level – you’ll be offered a cup of coffee while you’re waiting!

Norman Dulwich is a correspondent for Courier Exchange, the world’s largest neutral trading hub for same day courier jobs in the express freight exchange industry. Over 2,500 transport exchange businesses are networked together through their website, trading jobs and capacity in a safe ‘wholesale’ environment.