Here’s a typical day in the life of Go People Runner Ben Brandwood – all wrapped up with a few of his most memorable highs and lows, and favourite anecdotes.
It all starts at Go People’s digital headquarters
For any Go people Runner, it all starts at our digital base – the Go People app. That’s right, there’s no depots here! The shifts roll in and it’s all about securing the ones that best suit your schedule by applying through the app. Then, it’s all systems go.
“When you get a shift, it’ll tell you where you need to start on your routing screen – and you can set a reminder on your phone for the time and date too,” says Ben.
“It’s pretty easy, you press number one for the first pick up address and hit navigate which brings up the navigator and you start driving. Once you get there, you check you’ve got all the packages for pick up by checking them off through the app. And you hope the retailers will have them all there ready and waiting!
“Then, you’re ready to start delivering. Number one on the list then becomes the first drop off address and you follow the routing screen”.
“I got stuck in a lift once for half an hour going up and down – you do have days like that”
Ben says one of the things he most enjoys about running for Go People is feeling like you’re spreading a bit of happiness around. “Most of the day is spent sitting in the car listening to tunes and saying hello to people, handing them flowers or chocolates. The smiles and the happiness you spread are quite infectious!”
But of course, it’s not always smooth sailing; there’s always a chance something can go wrong. That’s why Ben says it’s really handy to know there’s a button on the app to call the sender, recipient or Go People team if you ever run into any unexpected problems.
“I got stuck in a lift once for half and hour going up and down – you do have days like that – but it usually all flows nicely”.
“I’ve tried working for other delivery companies, but I didn’t find their app very user-friendly; they didn’t flow, and the companies were generally not as responsive with feedback and enhancements like Go People.
Ben pays for his own parking tickets to ensure he does the best job he can
He goes the extra mile in every sense
And what would life be without those people who are prepared to go the extra mile every once in a while. That’s right, like Ben!
“Once I had a delivery of flowers to Mount Druitt hospital, but it turned out no such person existed in the hospital. We tried for half an hour at 6.30pm to find the whereabouts of this person until the sender finally revealed that it should be Liverpool hospital – a fair bit further than where I thought I was going.
“I could have taken it back for delivery the next day, but I thought ‘I have nothing else on, so I may as well drop it off’.
“Another time, my car broke down in Sydney CBD, so I started delivering things running on foot. I negotiated with the parking inspector to not give me a ticket while I waited for the NRMA and delivered my packages”.
Ben says Go People endeavoured to find a replacement delivery driver, but he beat them to it – managing to get everything delivered on time with a bit of good old-fashioned physical excursion. And his efforts paid off – thanks to the bottle of Scotch he received from the Go People team the next day and the box of doughnuts he received from the dessert box company he was delivering for.
“They were very thankful I put that extra effort in and didn’t just throw in the towel,” says Ben.
“That day was one of my most difficult, but it was actually one of my favourites too.”
Spreading the love – it’s rewarding
But reward isn’t all about Scotch and doughnuts for Ben. He told us he feels most rewarded on the job when he’s delivering flowers.
“You have to be sensitive because you don’t always know first up that flowers are being sent for positive reasons, so I always show up at the door with a blank face.
“But to see people’s faces when it’s a great surprise is a really rewarding feeling,” says Ben.
“Valentine’s Day is great. It’s really busy, but it’s great to be giving people surprises from their significant others”.
For Ben, Valentine’s Day is easily the busiest time of the year. This year, he clocked up a total of 48 deliveries in one day! To put that in perspective, a typical day would usually see Ben making 26 deliveries and travelling somewhere around 150kms.
It was awkward, but funny…
So, what’s been his funniest moment as a Go People Runner so far?
“You can be tracked by the sender or the person receiving the package – so on one occasion a sender called me en route and said ‘can you give my boyfriend a hug when you get there?’
“I showed up to the office and there was a news crew doing an interview. All the big wigs in the office were there but I did as I was asked; I gave the guy a hug and took a photo.
“It was easily one of the most awkward but funniest occasions, but I think his girlfriend was really pleased I actually went through with it”.