quota(s)...

the days haven't been too bad lately...sure, they could be better but it's been steady. before the day even starts i get a call from triple-6-5...

6665...hey julio.

j.dot...what up?

6665...hey, im headed in. starting a little late.

...not sure why she calls to tell me she's running late. i/we're pretty used to her being late. it's not a huge deal cause six-five is a bit older...not that it matters much but i/we do take it lighter on her.

j.dot...cool. let me know when you get in and i'll check to see what pops.

6665...alright. remember, i only need 15 today.

...i know, i know. 15?! there's no way others want to just have 15 but six-five isn't as strong of a rider as others and, as i already stated, she's a bit older than most of our other riders. you would think that getting her 15 in a day would be easy but it has been slow...this is the main reason she pushes for 15. it's a liveable amount of runs...crazy but true.

the same happens with 6464...everyday is a little different. he doesn't quite say that he's only looking for 15. instead, i hear from him sometime after lunch time...

6464...ok. lets see. im at city hall and i only need 7 more.

j.dot...seven. well, today is your lucky day. i think we can make that happen. head to 21 clark for three.

...sometimes he calls me and says he needs three more, sometimes 2, 8, 5...and you get the idea. the point im trying to get at is that work has been slowly picking up but in the meantime some of our cats have figured out how many runs they need a day to be able to have a good enough check for the week. it sucks that it's come to that but hopefully things will pick up again.

although, it was nice the last few days when we were able to go over their quotas...as six-five put it...

6665...as long as there's work i'll stay all day and all night. other than that...give me my 15 and im ok.

...peace.

for once...

i finally have a pretty good story to tell...i know im usually reporting how bad things are but not today. today i won't tell you about how 6689's bike went down and he was forced to walk all the way back to base. front axel finally bit it and the rear one is very close to saying good-bye...sorry kid is all i could say. i won't tell you about the 30mph winds and the sideways rain...it was a damn near typhoon out there, all day. it was non-stop rain and wind...i am not even exaggerating. how there was so much work i couldn't give my guys too many breaks to let them take a breather. the best i can do was give enough time for a cigarette now and then but then i had them hustling again.

today im gonna tell you about how to make things go by quicker through these hectic days. anyway, im going to tell you about good friends. today was a friend of ours(i say ours meaning the little crew we hang out with) birthday...jessie, sure she's vegan but damn is she cute. well, now the bridge of communication begins among a few of us about what to do...we came up with the idea of having jeff perkins from cuttin'crew to deliver some flowers to her. why perkins? well, when you click the links you'll know why...ha! i place the call to fourstar where josh picks up and answers...

josh...hey, whats up julio?

j.dot...i need a favor kid. i need perkins, and only perkins to deliver some flowers
to a friend of mine. it's her birthday and we want to get her something special.

josh...sure, umm...what do you need?

j.dot...well, the trick is that i can't pay you cats till later and perkins is gonna have to find a flower shop somewhere...then he has to buy whatever he finds and take it to the lovely jessie.

josh...no problem.

...i didn't get to dispatch the order but perkins did call me to see what the details were. i inform him of the situation and he says no problem. this is what i love about messengers. they come through no matter how bad the weather is. thank God the flower shop was just around the corner cause i can't imagine perkins riding around with the balloon and roses through this sh*t.

soooo...long story short, this is me publicly saying how much i love messengers...especially fourstar for coming through on the silly order and my crew for rocking out all the work in these nasty days...peace.

bridge of communication...

the car and bike board have a love/hate relationship...they/we have a symbiotic relationship. we have one car board rider on the bike board but we do have other cats on the bike board willing to rock out some distance and/or weight. the money is better and in the slow days...keeps you rolling. when it's slow on the car board the dispatcher starts asking for bike jobs to dish to his drivers. it might not be that much money but it does keep them rolling...which in the end, both sides want to do. we even have a walker that has a foldable cart that can help out with very heavy packages and/or multiple boxes being delivered within the loop. some customers pay for a helper with certain jobs because of the amount of work being transported or the size of the order, which means i have to get a biker/walker that i am willing to lose for who knows how long...oh wells.

it's all fun and games until someone gets hurt. where this all goes wrong is when the boards are busy...we(bike board) just can't afford to have riders helping out the drivers because then we shoot ourselves in the foot. i know we all need to meet our percentages and we help each other but sometimes it just can't be done because we need to meet our percentages. i know that one package that the driver board needs help with is only two blocks from the bike zone but if i send him/her to go get it then i have to be willing to lose that biker for 10 to 15 minutes...what?! i know it sounds silly but so many things can happen...package might not be ready, the elevators are taking forever, the package cannot be found, and so on...then what? im out one biker on a silly package. also, those 10 to 15 minutes could be spent helping me and the rest of the crew clean up what we signed up for...the bike board.

sure i want to spread the love, especially if its paying car rates but sometimes, that driver board is on their own. when we are slammed on bike it is very, very rare that you hear the car side ask if we need help. they never check our board to see how backed up we are. me and the other dispatcher just keep to ourselves and get the work down with our crew. it doesn't quite work that way when the car side is stacked...they immediately start asking for help. no big deal...if we have our side under control. i think they don't quite understand that sometimes...we just can't afford to lose out on a few cats so that they can hit their percentages. who are they? we help out both the city and suburban boards...yes suburban. i have yet to send one of the bikers from this company to the suburbs but at my last company i had...ahem, andrew, ahem. we also get bikers to pull packages for the suburban side and meet drivers heading out with them...now i gotta lose that cat for x amount of time to meet up with the driver.

either way...it would be nice if once they would just glance over and see us struggling. me and the other dispatcher are constantly checking out the driver side to see what packages we can swipe. granted, the bike packages don't pay as much but that shouldn't matter much...we all need to hit our percentages. car never realizes we are struggling until they need help and are requesting it...

car...hey julio, got a biker?

j.dot...no man. don't you see my board? still playing catch up from the morning...sh*t, you got a driver?

...for a system based on communication there isn't much. not that we all don't rock the work out it's just frustrating for the bike side to come through and help out time and time again and get no love in return. no big deal(at least thats what i keep telling myself)...one day the bikers will shine and everyone will be praising us...peace.

changes...

chicago is a funny city...one day it can be...



...the next day...



...thank you to my crew for coming out no matter what chicago throws at them...peace.

sometimes...

sometimes im asked to come in on saturdays. we are usually not busy and only about 5 to 7 runs get called in. either way, someone needs to be around to dispatch the few jobs and get the work done. this past saturday was a bit different...we actually had to dispatch close to 15 jobs or so...what?! it's hard to find drivers to get the work done when there's only five and now we have to figure out how to get 15 done...oh wells. we got the work done...no complaints, everyone happy.

now, to keep this bike related and on the saturday theme...it's quaterlies at work. quaterlies happen every three months...it's a sh*t-ton of work. bin after bin is lined up and is tagged...we separate all the envelopes into there proper route bin. you know, all the waukegans go in one, all the oak brooks in another and so on. anywhoo, how is this bike related? the route crew...well, we have about 3 or 4 bikers that handle some of the routes...these bikers are rarely seen by the rest of the crew. these cats only work there routes and call it a day...doesn't bother me much and sure doesn't bother them. they showed up on saturday to separate and fill out the paperwork for their routes...they have a super busy week ahead of them. it's a nice change for them...it's been slow for their routes just as it's been slow on the board. everyone had a big smile on their face on saturday...the sun was shining and the work, well, was more than one could ask for.

on a side note, the benefit of showing up on saturday was the FREE cornbeef sandwich form manny's...

he's back...

6688 is back. remember he was the one who got doored and broke his fingers...well, it was nice to hear his voice again. the man is very good and very fast. he finally was cleared to work...im sure his fingers are in working order again...maybe?!

also, we got an old face working with us...6731. i worked with him at my last company and it was good to see a familiar face come over. he's also very good and fast(notice i didn't put "very"...ha!). anyway, the man started his first day of work on thursday the 3rd of april. he rocked out just the way i remembered...he lives up north so he was able to help the car board late in the day. around 530ish i dished him about 3 car runs headed towards his home. it was perfect and just as i remember...he doesn't mind the work(even if it was starting to rain).

well, on friday things were rolling fine. customers weren't complaining, i had my crew rolling steady, and no complaints from the bikers...i know, i know...messengers not complaining?!! anyway, it's around five o'clock and i got a couple headed on the north-end...i call up 6731 to take care of them...

j.dot...3-1, 3-1

6731...yeah?

j.dot...i got two going north. rock them out for me?

6731...sure. umm, i would like to stay in the loop today if you want me to stay late...is that cool?

j.dot...yeah, i got you.

...he picks them up and begins to head north. after he pops out of cityfront he heads north and gets doored!!

6731...hey julio...

j.dot...what up? what up?

6731...i just got doored...what should i do? should i stick around and fill out a report?

j.dot...up to you bro.

6731...umm, im ok but my front wheel is jacked up.

j.dot...well...umm, i say fill out a report but if you don't need to go to the hospital thats cool with me. that way we can avoid all the drug testing bizz and having you clear for work and stuff.

6731...umm, im not worried about that.

...well, i tell him to stick around and handle what he's got to do. i'll send someone to pick up the two going north from him. he stops me and says that he's just gonna head out and rock the last two packages. he'll ride his wheel the way it is even though it's waaaaaay out of true. i ask him again if he's sure but don't really push too much...in the end, it's up to him and he obviously rather get paid in full for those last two.

i called everyone left out to call it a day and i start to get ready to leave. 6731 calls me back and says he's clean and is headed back to the loop. what?! the entire time im thinking he's going to drop the two and then head home cause he just got doored but...i was wrong. the man wanted more work...fu*k! i really wish i had work to give the man but believe when i say that i will do my best to hook him up.

this is what i love...cats who want to work...peace.

seriously...

alright kids...i know it's slow. it's slow all around from what i hear...as the years pass i hear it..."it's not the way it used to be". we lost another rider today...6707. you know, there isn't much loot to make out there and it's getting harder and harder to make enough to pay rent, eat, and drink. that being said, you can still make money but the trick is you have to, dare i say, work?! i know its a strange concept but seriously...if you show up to work the money will follow.

now, what do i mean by work? working as a messenger is very different...it's one of the most tiring jobs any man or woman can take on. you will be tested both mentally and especially physically. you don't want to ride in windy, snowy, rainy weather anymore. you don't want to deal with that one security guard that for some reason always picks on you. the last thing you want to do is deal with cabbies caring more about where their next fair is going to come from rather than pay attention to you. sometimes waking up in the morning is one of the most difficult things to do, especially if the weeks have been slow. you feel as if it's pointless to show up. all im saying is if you chose to be a messenger you have to understand that to make money you have to work three times as hard as anyone else. you have to wake up and get in as early as possible and you have to be willing to stay as late as you might be needed. i know it sucks to hear that but it's the nature of the industry...the only way it pays is by putting in your time.

thank you track-0-rex for posting the link to the new york post article with squid...

If you want to be a good messenger and make money, you wake up nice and early and be sure your bike and equipment are ready to go. You check the weather so you have the proper gear on. I carry a spare tube and a pump because the main thing that keeps you from rolling is a flat.

I ride in from Brooklyn at 6:30, and I'm ready to go by 7:15. Work starts coming in at 8.

so yeah...i know it's hard but seriously, get up and rock. you have chosen to ride for a living you might as well do what you can to make the job work for you as opposed to working for the job...peace.