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      CommentAuthorMackerel
    • CommentTimeOct 1st 2007
     
    After a couple of years of rotting in an office I've decided to stop just booking couriers and actually give the pedalling a go. I used to commute by bike, I'm pretty fit and I've got a reasonable knowledge of London (although my knowledge of the City is a bit duff).
    I've got a few questions that I hope you can help with:
    What's the best way of finding a job with a company that won't shaft you? The agency I worked at used Greyhound, are they any good?
    Will I get laughed out of town for using a geared mountain bike (I need cash before I can build a single speed)?
    How much can I expect to earn a day?
    What's the best type of jacket to wear i.e waterproof and warm?

    Cheers
    Mackerel
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      CommentAuthorPapa44
    • CommentTimeOct 2nd 2007 edited
     
    What's the best way of finding a job with a company that won't shaft you? The agency I worked at used Greyhound, are they any good?

    here: http://www.londonmessengers.org/FAQ

    Will I get laughed out of town for using a geared mountain bike (I need cash before I can build a single speed)?

    who cares? 26" wheels are more maneuverable in traffic and gears will help you to start with, do you want to work or be cool?

    How much can I expect to earn a day?

    fuck all. to begin with. £50 a day should be the least you earn in the long run

    What's the best type of jacket to wear i.e waterproof and warm?

    err. yeah. waterproof and warm is a good idea (not too warm though, you'll just sweat). and get some padded cycling shorts. your arse will thank you.
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      CommentAuthorMackerel
    • CommentTimeOct 2nd 2007
     
    Thanks for the advice. £50 a day isn't too bad, at least you're out and about. Is there a basic day wage or are you always paid per drop?
    Oh and also, bags, do firms usually provide them or is it better to get your own, I know they can be quite pricey?
    Ta
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    As the best rider Greyhound have had for bleedin' ages (I'm not there now!) I wouldn't advise anyone inexperienced to join them. They're Ok for a bit of a laugh, if you know the score and they know you know the score, but they are a bit cheap and cheerful. Some fairly decent cyclists have worked there this year - Hello to Kieran and Marcel - but most of the time they don't average £50 per day. I usually did, but in six months I only broke £300 four times and nobody else has earned that much there for bloody yonks.
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    I'm not sure we're allowed to do "Worst companies" on here, but for earnings (as opposed to being thieving slags or treating riders like dirt) firms to avoid like the plague include Post Haste, Pegasus, West End, Mercury and Courier Systems. I'd certainly avoid Premier - a.k.a. Maffier Despatch - of the larger firms.
    I still say Reuter Brooks are the best, and decent earnings can be made at Creative, Cyclone and Pink of the smaller firms and City Sprint, Lewis Day and E-Courier of the more visible ones. CYC are still doing big guarantees as far as I know.
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      CommentAuthorBuffalo Bill
    • CommentTimeOct 2nd 2007 edited
     
    You are more than welcome to start a 'worst companies' thread on here. In fact, I would be more than happy to see one. And a 'best companies' thread as well, if you wanted to start one. I obviously can't, because I work full-time for a London company, and thus would lay myself open to accusations of bias.

    As long as you don't say anything grossly offensive and/or manifestly untrue, you can post anything you like here.
  8.  
    Ah yes, William....but would you hold to that if your lot were bought out by Courier Systems tomorrow?
    (Terrible thought, isn't it?)
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    Well, that's not likely to happen, is it? And I would probably be out of a job the day after tomorrow if it did, don't you think?
  10.  
    True, Bill. On both counts.
    • CommentAuthorsleepy
    • CommentTimeOct 3rd 2007
     
    "CYC are still doing big guarantees as far as I know"

    not anymore according to porno.

    it's a shit business

    • CommentAuthorlurkette
    • CommentTimeOct 3rd 2007
     
    god, that episode of twelvety still brings a tear to my eye. can't believe he got done like that. :cry:

    i used to work for greyhound as a telephonist about 12-13 years ago now. i wanted to be a push bike rider, but they wouldn't let me 'cuz i'm a gurl an' shit. i think things are less sexist nowadays. i remember a crackhead controller and reading the guardian a lot. i remember that we had yusuf islam/cat steven's account. i also remember that the sales rep was andrew ridley's brother (as in WHAM!) and that he looked like george clooney (*dreamy sigh*). i shall forever have a soft spot for white leather motorbike jumpsuits because of him. probably not the kind of info you were looking for though, is it? :wink:
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    They still have Cat Stevens on the books!
    • CommentAuthorlurkette
    • CommentTimeOct 3rd 2007
     
    i thought he was dead! :shamed:

1 to 14 of 14

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