DPD Driver Franchise

popeye206753

I'll have to wait, an see what they come back with. Are there issues if you bring undelivered items back then,  due to no where to store it or a neighbour to give it to. What do you mean by a decent wage, can you quantify that with a figure.

WeeManMike

popeye206753 said:

I'll have to wait, an see what they come back with. Are there issues if you bring undelivered items back then,  due to no where to store it or a neighbour to give it to. What do you mean by a decent wage, can you quantify that with a figure.

If you're self employed, in my experience if you don't make a successful delivery, you don't get paid, simple. Which is why you try 2,3 even 4 neighbours to make sure you get a successful delivery and then get paid.
A decent wage for you is hard to quantify compared to what is decent for me. What is decent to me, might not be decent to you etc.
The way to look at delivering parcels like any job is to look at the amount of hours you're working and what you bring home each month and if you're not happy, increase the hours you work or change jobs to a higher paying one.
When I was self employed there was no limit on the hours I could and would work. Sometimes I would do regular 14hr days, sometimes only 10/11hr, which were normal days. Most days I wouldn't take a break, just to make sure I got home 30/45 mins earlier.
You'll find most courier companies that require you to be self employed will turn a blind eye to your days hours and breaks etc, they will also not consider you self employed if you regularly bring parcels back undelivered for no other reason other than you want to go home regardless of the reason, family etc and you'll soon find they will come up with an excuse to terminate your contract if it happens too often.
Now I'm employed I'm legally only allowed to be on duty for 11hrs and so my monthly hours is down but my wage is only slightly down from when I was self employed, so for me it's been a win win situation, along with obviously now getting paid holidays, no one telling me I have to stay out on the road to delivery everything etc.

popeye206753

Thanks appreciate you taking the time to respond. 

LittleVoice

WeeManMike said:

popeye206753 said:

I'll have to wait, an see what they come back with. Are there issues if you bring undelivered items back then,  due to no where to store it or a neighbour to give it to. What do you mean by a decent wage, can you quantify that with a figure.

. . . .
A decent wage for you is hard to quantify compared to what is decent for me. What is decent to me, might not be decent to you etc.
. . .

Indeed what is a "decent wage" for one is not necessarily the same for another.  I think that was why you were asked to quantify (ie put a figure on it).  Then the poster could decide where that would be in their own view.

WeeManMike

LittleVoice said:

WeeManMike said:

popeye206753 said:

I'll have to wait, an see what they come back with. Are there issues if you bring undelivered items back then,  due to no where to store it or a neighbour to give it to. What do you mean by a decent wage, can you quantify that with a figure.

. . . .
A decent wage for you is hard to quantify compared to what is decent for me. What is decent to me, might not be decent to you etc.
. . .

Indeed what is a "decent wage" for one is not necessarily the same for another.  I think that was why you were asked to quantify (ie put a figure on it).  Then the poster could decide where that would be in their own view.

Well yes I could have said my actual wage now, but 1: I'm employed and I believe the this main thread is about self employed courier work and 2: I'm not telling you my actual wage, so ner.
Also if you want to know a decent wage being a self employed courier then good luck, simply because every route is different with a different amount of deliveries and therefore the driver will earn a different amount.
In my previous self employed role there were 40+ drivers in the depot and I'm pretty sure non of us earned the same. Some had quiet routes and were always moaning that the wage was sh*te, some had really busy routes and were more than happy with the wage but moaned about being too busy.
Some companies I know of will give you a ball park figure of 28k up to 40k take home but others won't. 
It's a case of having to try the job as a self employed courier and see how it goes imo.

LittleVoice

WeeManMike said:

LittleVoice said:

WeeManMike said:

popeye206753 said:

I'll have to wait, an see what they come back with. Are there issues if you bring undelivered items back then,  due to no where to store it or a neighbour to give it to. What do you mean by a decent wage, can you quantify that with a figure.

. . . .
A decent wage for you is hard to quantify compared to what is decent for me. What is decent to me, might not be decent to you etc.
. . .

Indeed what is a "decent wage" for one is not necessarily the same for another.  I think that was why you were asked to quantify (ie put a figure on it).  Then the poster could decide where that would be in their own view.

Well yes I could have said my actual wage now, but 1: I'm employed and I believe the this main thread is about self employed courier work and 2: I'm not telling you my actual wage, so ner.
Also if you want to know a decent wage being a self employed courier then good luck, simply because every route is different with a different amount of deliveries and therefore the driver will earn a different amount.
In my previous self employed role there were 40+ drivers in the depot and I'm pretty sure non of us earned the same. Some had quiet routes and were always moaning that the wage was sh*te, some had really busy routes and were more than happy with the wage but moaned about being too busy.
Some companies I know of will give you a ball park figure of 28k up to 40k take home but others won't. 
It's a case of having to try the job as a self employed courier and see how it goes imo.

So actually it's not about quantifying what you consider a decent wage (and I couldn't care less what you (an anonymous person) earn, it's not me who wants to do this type of work) it simply isn't to possible to say what a wage would be more exactly than probably in the range £28K to £40K "take home".

popeye206753

Ok with that said then, would you suggest one quiet route, with a second busy route. Would pay decently ie £200 a day after expenses etc.

WeeManMike

popeye206753 said:

Ok with that said then, would you suggest one quiet route, with a second busy route. Would pay decently ie £200 a day after expenses etc.

Well remember this is only from what I've experienced at one particular company so it might not be the same for them all.
Id say don't go expecting to be able to get a 2nd route, simple. It takes most drivers a few years to be even offered 2nd routes let alone get them (some depots don't have the space to fit any more routes in, so you'll never be offered one.) and in my experience your 1st route has to be dealt with almost perfectly with no missing parcel issues, no days off by you, no vehicle issues (e.g you damaging it regularly) etc.
Then you'll have to find a driver willing to do the 2nd route and receive less money for doing it.
By this I mean that on a 2nd route, you the franchise owner would receive the money for the route(whatever was delivered on it) and then you'd take your cut and then pay your 2nd route driver.
Why would you do this as a 2nd driver and not just take the franchise on yourself and earn the full amount of money?
 I never understood some drivers getting 2nd routes and then getting a driver to work for them doing it, but they'd get paid less for doing it than if they took the route on by themselves. 
I got asked quite a few times if I'd like to get rid of the hassle of running a route myself and just drive for another driver on their 2nd route. I would always just say in the politist way possible no thanks its no hassle running my own route and earning more for doing so! 
With regards to daily take home pay, it 'really is' hard to pick a figure because it all depends on the routes and how many days a week you work.
But let's say you want a take home figure of 200 per day for instance, let's go with only working 5 days a week all year (no holidays or sick etc) and no weekend days (good luck with no weekends) so 5 x 52 = 260 days x 200 per day = 52,000. I didn't know anyone with 2 routes at my old place that took home anywhere near that.
Maybe just maybe, if you had two really good routes, had no missing parcels, had no van damages, no sick days, no injuries, had no days off for holidays for the whole year then you might get close to that but otherwise I'd doubt that was achievable anywhere tbh.
Again, this is only from my experience of being self employed at one courier company and now being employed at another but seeing their self employed drivers routes, and they are very similar to my old place.

popeye206753

So that being said, is there a huge burnout rate.  Of people giving up?

WeeManMike

popeye206753 said:

So that being said, is there a huge burnout rate.  Of people giving up?

In the company who i worked for they mostly had self employed drivers, there was a high turnover of drivers yes. Not necessarily to do with burnout as those that can't hack it physically don't last more than a few months imo, which is strange in itself as it takes that long for the body to get used to the high energy demand of the job. 

During the 2 years I was self employed there were probably 12 or more drivers who came and went, either due to underestimating the physical demand of the job, just not being suited to it or not going into it understanding what the job requires.

And on top of that there were probably another 5/6 who left as they just had enough, the route wasn't good enough or their family lifestyle changed but the job doesn't so they had to leave.
I always recommend anyone who is unsure about becoming a courier to try delivering for amazon or hermes. They don't have to sign a contract, you can do it for a day, a week or a month, see if you enjoy it and if so then look for something with one of the big courier companies.