Urge for value chain thinking in courier services

Freelancer is a glittering term that attracts people who want to work for a company and enjoy a certain level of laxity or freedom, such as deciding when to work and close. That freedom comes with a lot of strings attached to it.

According to Kingsley’s (2023) thesis, online food delivery partners (OFDP) are trading flexibility for job satisfaction, and a rapid decline in job satisfaction among the couriers was clear. There is no financial freedom since many delivery companies have changed the payment scheme significantly, and the couriers earn less each time a new payment scheme is introduced. Unfortunately, the couriers were never involved in further payment scheme negotiations.

Earlier, it took an average of 9 hours to make 100 euros, which today takes almost 11 hours. Furthermore, the price per delivery task, per kilometre and per double or triple task fee has dropped drastically, and the waiting time bonus payment has been obliterated.

Also, the use of third-party vendors is creating dissatisfaction among couriers. These third-party vendors sell various packages to couriers, e.g. accounting, insurance, car parking services, and work gear. These offers have favourable prices, but couriers experience it unfair that the delivery company gets a share of each purchase.

End customers suffer

The level of professionalism has dropped, as some couriers are lowering the customer service, e.g. by not using heat bags and being unpolite.  Due to the lack of customer care and support towards couriers, customers suffer, and they must wait longer.

The heart of this is the bad treatment of couriers in restaurants. Kingsley (2023) found out that some restaurants refuse the couriers from using their toilets, entering the restaurant until the task is marked ready, guiding them to use the backdoors to the restaurant and being rude in general, without seeing them as an essential part for gaining happy customers.

Improvements are needed and required

The working environment is not attractive anymore. Couriers can deliver the best service when they are enthusiastic and considered as a part of the team. This can only happen when trust and integrity exist, accompanied by open two-way communication. Engaging employees at the right level increases their understanding of the company’s mission, vision, and strategies, thereby keeping the organisation profitable by enhancing the performance of the couriers (Jarvis et al. 2016).

Most couriers shifted to full-time work two years ago, partially due to Covid-19 but also due to the freedom and possibility to earn money. However, the current situation has made many couriers choose financial stability over flexibility, making them return to their previous jobs. Yet, customers are using courier services more and more, and they are also demanding better customer service. Therefore, it would be wise to pay attention to the value chain of the courier services and the motivation of all partners instead of just thinking about increased profits.

References

Jarvis, A., Morales, L., & Ranadive, U. 2016. Achieving Customer Experience Excellence through a Quality Management System. Quality Press.

Kingsley, N. E., 2023. The overall impact of enhancing customer service engagement on customer experience. Thesis. LAB University of Applied Sciences, Lahti. Cited 21 Nov 2023. Available at https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2023112832117

postcardtrip. 2019. Uber, syö, toimitus, kuriiri. Pixabay. Cited 21 Nov 2023. Available at https://pixabay.com/fi/photos/uber-sy%C3%B6-toimitus-kuriiri-paketti-4709288/