5 Ways to Stand out and Get Noticed as a Delivery Driver

5 Ways to Stand out and Get Noticed as a Delivery Driver
Featured image credit: simonkr/iStockphoto.com

There’s a pretty good chance that, in this lifetime, we’ll see delivery drones and autonomous trucks delivering packages to customers.

However, given the regulatory hurdles, it might take a few more years for self-driving trucks to be available to the masses and so human drivers will continue to deliver packages for some time. Yet, as a delivery driver, you can stand out from the crowd by leaving a positive impression on your customers.

Whether you’re a beginner, or a FedEx delivery driver, or an expert delivery employee, there’s always room for improvement. Follow these five delivery driver tips to excel at your job.

#1 Practice Defensive Driving

Not everyone on the road drives well. Some drivers speed; some wander into another lane because they are texting on their smartphones; some drivers follow too closely or make sudden turns without signaling. Though you can’t control others’ driving behavior, practicing defensive driving 101 techniques can help you avoid the dangers caused by their negligence and ensure vehicle safety.

To be a responsible driver, only focus on driving by avoiding distractions like talking on the phone, texting, eating, or changing music. Also, part of staying safe is being aware of other aggressive drivers around you and anticipating what the other drivers might do so you can make the appropriate adjustments ahead of time. This will help reduce your risk of a road accident. Practicing defensive driving is also essential for the reliable and safe operation of a company vehicle.

Want To See For Yourself How Route4Me Can Boost Your Profits?

Whether you want to slash the time it takes you to plan routes for your drivers, increase the number of stops they can make, or keep your customers satisfied knowing that your drivers show up on time… Route4Me helps you achieve that!
Start Free 7 Day Trial
Route4Me

#2 Know Your Vehicle

A good driver knows that distracted or drunk driving may lead to accidents. A good driver also knows his or her vehicle operation and can respond to potentially dangerous situations. Does the motor vehicle have enough power to execute overtaking maneuvers safely? How hard should the brakes be pressed to stop the vehicle completely? Is the vehicle equipped with ABS brakes?

Knowing your individual vehicle and having basic mechanical knowledge can be extremely helpful when you are on the road. Knowing how to take care of minor issues on your delivery vehicle can also save you time and keep your delivery vehicles in good shape.

#3 Ensure a Superb Customer Experience

As a delivery driver, you represent your brand. So, don’t underestimate the importance of being friendly, smiling, and greeting the customer. If you are always slacking, arriving late for deliveries, dressing shoddily, or being rude to the customers, your customers will switch to a competitor. If you come across a demanding customer, stay calm, and hear them out.

Though timely delivery is a priority, traffic and weather conditions can sometimes wreck even the best-laid plans. Yet, keeping the customers informed of any delays and updating them with new ETAs are surefire ways to graduate from “good” to “great” service delivery.

Also, a small gesture could go a long way. So, carry a pen for customers who are paying with a credit card or use an eSignature app.

#4 Always Be on Time

There’s something very satisfying about delivering a parcel on time and seeing that smile on a customer’s face. So, make sure you’re always on time. Timely deliveries also tell your customers that you take the scheduling seriously and can be trusted.

With several route planners on the market, ensuring timely delivery should be easy. A route planner makes you a time multiplier by automating the route planning process and planning the shortest or fastest routes within minutes, while taking into account factors like traffic congestion, weather forecasts, specific delivery time windows, and roadblocks. Also, if a customer changes his or her delivery slot at the last minute, using the dynamic routing technology in your delivery route planning app will enable you to re-optimize your route without impacting the other scheduled deliveries.

#5 Be Honest

Having high ethical standards may not seem to be a mandatory skill for good delivery drivers, but moral choices manifest in a multitude of ways. For instance, it’s essential to have a good conscience to ensure that you are not slacking, not deviating from the assigned route during work hours, and not making personal use of company vehicles. Ethics are essential for handling trivial matters too. For instance, do not succumb to fuel theft by using the company fuel card to buy fuel for your personal vehicle. Honesty is best tested when you know no one is watching you.

Conclusion

To be a good driver, you don’t need to have split-second reflexes or the eyesight of a hawk. As long as you are responsible on the road, obey the rules, and ensure customer satisfaction, you’re on track to becoming a truly valued driver.

Want To See For Yourself How Route4Me Can Boost Your Profits?

Whether you want to slash the time it takes you to plan routes for your drivers, increase the number of stops they can make, or keep your customers satisfied knowing that your drivers show up on time… Route4Me helps you achieve that!
Start Free 7 Day Trial
Route4Me

About author: Rahul Dasgupta

Rahul Dasgupta is a content writer with over 20 years of work experience. He holds a master’s degree in computer science and has written thousands of blog posts on route planning and scheduling, making it easy for readers to learn about these complex topics. Rahul enjoys playing tennis in his spare time and loves cuddling with his pet labrador Shinu. Rahul is a big fan of Roger Federer, Messi, and Bill Gates - he admires their drive to be the best at what they do and their philanthropic efforts.

Route4Me

About Route4Me

Route4Me has over 40,000 customers globally. Route4Me's Android and iPhone mobile apps have been downloaded over 2 million times since 2009. Extremely easy-to-use, Route4Me's apps create optimized routes, synchronize routes to mobile devices, enable communication with drivers and customers, offer turn-by-turn directions, delivery confirmation, and more. Behind the scenes, Route4Me's operational optimization platform combines high-performance algorithms with data science, machine learning, and big data to plan, optimize, and analyze routes of almost any size in real-time.