phases...

an interesting fact about working at a messenger company is that all, with the exception of maybe two, companies go through a phases of good messengers and so-so messengers. you can go half the year with a really good crew and the second half with a crew that at least shows up.

i see this transition happening for me in the very near future. its not really the way i want to start off the new year, especially cause of the whole tax season but i guess i'll just have to deal with what i got. its not that the cats i have right now are bad its just that some of them are rookies, which means you have to constantly keep tabs on them, make sure you route them, and try not to overload them to much. the rest of the crew is compiled by hard workers but older and not as fast. age doesn't have much to do with speed cause i've had the pleasure of working with older riders who rock out but with this crew the age definitely shows, especially in cold weather.

the main reason for the transition is losing your good riders. 6653 has decided to go back to school. for some reason he has it in his head that he's better off with an education...good for him. alot of my riders deserve better than what the streets offer so i hope things go well with him. the downside is that i miss out on a guy who can rock out 40 or so runs a day without blinking. not only that, the man has asthma...its crazy. he would show up and sometimes would have to take breaks cause the weather would affect his breathing. even through this he would still be very dependable...he also would not deny car work. distance or weight would not be a factor...he will be missed.

we lost 6682 not too long ago because he found a teaching oppurtunity in argentina. im sure it'll be a great experience for him and he's moving on from messengering but he is definitely missed by us all in the office. he never was down and out...he always had a smile on his face and would never deny work. there were plenty of times when i had to send him on super nasty runs...distance, weight, or several pick ups out of the john hancock(freight elevator is horrible) and he would just reply...10-4 or no problem.

about a week ago we lost 6674...he was a bit crazy but good. there were times when he would forget to pick up packages. there were times when he routed himself completely wrong which would cost packages being late and, more important, waist alot of energy and killing his legs. i know it sounds like im complaining about him but even though he needed to just take deep breaths and relax he rocked out a huge amount of work. he had a drop at 33 W Monroe...freight there can sometimes be a pain but not as bad as other buildings. we were not aware that the package he had was supposed to be a roundtrip. he gets to the drop and is waiting for a signature...he's holding about three more so waiting is beginning to piss him off, as well as, me. he finally gets the signature but...

6674...hey julio?

j.dot...yup. you got a sig yet?

6674...yeah i got it but expect a phone call. the dude up there was an asshole. completely ruined my day.

j.dot...alright, well...dont worry about it. if they call we'll deal with it but for now i need you to keep rolling.

he keeps working and i get the phone call. apparently some words were exchanged between 6674 and the client. i wish he would've never said anything cause i got him his waiting time so he was getting paid extra and i bought us time on his other packages. either way...things were said and not much more i can do. now he had to come in and explain his story and, according to company rules, he had to take a drug test. test came back positive and he was let go...fuck.

im glad i at least have a crew that will show up and do the best they can. i know they are trying hard and its very difficult to move in the winter but there out there. now i just sit and wait to see when the next phase will happen and what kind of riders i get...peace.