Sunday, October 4, 2009

Mark on Blaming the Bike Couriers



"I’ve been a bike courier for 27 years, always in DC nonstop. We don’t make no money anymore, though, and the courier companies are hiring new people who don’t know what they’re doing. They are firing all of us veterans and taking on all of the rookies for cheap. Come on, man, these rookies don’t know the busines and they don’t have people’s respect.

"Most buildings want customer service. They want the courier to be polite, respectful, and to dress well when he comes inside the office. Now, these new couriers have no respect and because of that, none of us can go inside of offices because clients don’t want to see no raggedy looking rookie courier, someone who doesn’t take a bath or turn his radio down, come inside the office.

"Things also changed when the
Capitol Hill police officers got shot and with the Anthrax scare, they didn’t want us in the buildings no more. Whenever anything goes wrong, they blame the couriers. Then, when the terrorists came in, that really blew it for us. We had enough problems dealing with the fax machine. Now, we got to deal with terrorism!

"Nowadays, the only people that’s making money is the security because every building you go in, you got to see a security guard. Back when I was doing work, there were no security guards. You could go in the building, drop off a package and leave. Today, you have security in the lobby and one on each floor. I think everyone is too paranoid.

"Now, I’m working in a guaranteed company that isn’t going nowhere, so, if I can maintain and keep coming to work everyday, I might be out here for another 15 or 20 years."

Read more about DC bike couriers
here.

8 comments:

Alex said...

Nice story... I think I remember seeing him around back when I was a courier in the 1980s! That was before email, and before fax had really caught on... I'm actually amazed the industry still exists.

Yonas H. said...

This is great. Thanks for posting.

Anonymous said...

Being a current bike courier, I can say this- there is plenty of work out there for those who are willing to hustle for it. For those who choose to sit on a park bench and get high all day, they have no one but themselves to blame. It is aggravating to keep reading these interviews where the only people quoted are the part timers, whiners, and washed up park dwellers, but i guess they are the only ones with time to do an interview.

gwadzilla said...

oh man...

DC Unabiker has no respect!

it is a perspective worth hearing... Stuttering Mark's that is...

the word on the street from all the vetrans... the industry is drying up

over hiring... I think that has always been the messenger business way

gwadzilla said...

here is DC Unabiker...

DCUNABIKER

I will say... he does hustle and roll

Anonymous said...

joel- not debating the perspective, not disrespecting anyone. I am simply venting that every article, blurb, news piece, whatever, seems to be playing the "dying industry angle". The industry, like the rest of the world, has evolved dramatically. I just feel that when you live in the past you severely limit your future

Anonymous said...

Amiable fill someone in on and this post helped me alot in my college assignement. Thanks you on your information.

Anonymous said...

Mark is right on! I rode for years in dc and could make as much as 900 a week! now companies are hiring, like Mark said, ROOKS. Companies evolve but must understand, more money means better riders, better attendance and solid customer base. I've thought about signing on with a decent paying company but they either have ten bikers or horrific, biased dispatchers. OP ridin a fixie!