Sandra Wood of West London was disgusted at the re-delivery options offered by her chosen parcel delivery firm DPD. So, she called in the Daily Mirror to investigate, watchdog style!
DPD is owned by Geopost and the Mirror article first decided to get down and dirty with their financials, claiming that they had a profit of £34m last year – insinuating their re-delivery charge option is the reason for their prosperity.
The standard option is free.
It could be delivered Monday to Friday between 7.30am and 7.30pm.
DPD says, unhelpfully, that it cannot offer a more specific time than this gaping 12-hour window. Unless you pay.
Which brings us to the “upgrade option”. Sandra could have it delivered before 10am on a weekday, or on a Saturday morning, at a cost of £11.75.
“So if you work on weekdays you have no choice but to pay a huge charge to get hold of your own property,” said Sandra.
An anonymous post on the Mirror web site in response says:
The yellow card also gives the option of leaving the delivery in a safe place, all the customer has to do is sign the yellow card in the appropriate place, give details of where they wish the consignment to be left and leave the yellow card for the DPD driver to use as a Proof of Delivery. This costs nothing.
This is a tricky one, I agree that £11.75 is a high price to pay for a more specific delivery window. However, you must remember that many parcel networks don’t offer any such option whatsoever. I feel it is a tad easy to pin this one on DPD, the issue with delivery windows are industry wide.
This last-mile issue and getting the timing right to minimize inconvenience to the receiver has long been a controversial one. However, given the advances in technology, route planning, GPS tracking and such forth, waiting in all day for a delivery now really should be a thing of the past. We think it is high time the big boys really step up to the play in this area.
151 comments on “DPD Delivery Charges Investigated by Daily Mirror”
Give it time I hear by next year 2010 DPD will text customer a delivery slot within 1 hour. And they currently have full GPS tracking of drivers. They current have an ETA time slot if you call customer service but that is how the satnav system decides, which will never be as exact as the drivers.
As already mentioned, if you order an item for nextday delivery tell the SENDER to put a note to leave safe or with neighbour, Or for the love of god send to a work address!
The ETA system is never going to work, as once you have scanned your parcels for delivery, and asked the Saturn unit to optimise the route (put in the best delivery order) using the inbuilt satnav, it sends you to shops that are not open until 9.30am or even 10am and our deliveries start at 8am, a machine is never going to know when every company in the country opens and closes.
It cannot adjust for busy school run areas, road works and closures, so the hour time slot is fantasy, but we have been told we have to achieve it by 95% or face disciplinary action (even the sack).
Anon (27th) Can't we create one then?
My thoughts exactly Lee. We are technologicaly advanced enough to be developing such systems now – not in 10 years time.
I'm not saying it would be easy, however it is a major issue which needs to be addressed by the big firms. In my opinion, the one that invests in developing such systems will win in the medium-long term for certain.
How would you create a system that knows when a shop owner gets out of bed to open his shop, I have been to two today that say open at 9.30am, but they were still closed at 10.30, so that’s the hour time slot gone for that shop, now as I know she will open later I could call back, but if I do, it will make me late for someone else’s hour time slot.
So you say that’s her fault for being late to open, but that is just one example of how the time slots don’t work, on some days I can deliver to 70 separate address before 2pm, but then on a bad day I might only be able to deliver to 50 in the same time, how would a machine sort that? I would have to sit and wait if I was going to fast, so I could hit all the time slots, that would make me deliver less parcels in the time allocated, so making the service more expensive.
The Saturn sorts the route out so you do the nearest drops to the depot first, and that is between 8am/8.30am, what happens if those people will not be in at that time as they have the school run to do, I know those things, a machine cannot know that, so I do those drops later in the day when I know they have a better chance of being in.
I use optimisation, it works, it sorts out the best way to do a route and the sat nav guides you. so as long as the post codes are correct you have no problem. as for eta that tells you that you have an hour window to do that deliver an is seperate from optimisation, that works too, I know because i do 100 plus stops using both systems everyday and without rushing in a very large city i get 98% everyday. this will make waiting in all day for your delivery a thing of the past, just as long as sender uses it, but you can always ring and ask for the timeslot.
Wow that’s incredible, you have a machine that knows when all the shops are open,so if you leave the depot at 8.30am and the saturn says your first drop is a shop that opens at 10am ,how do you deliver in the hour time slot? just out of interest what time do you leave the depot, and what time do you return, and you must be a franchise driver.
This is interesting, keep the discussion going….
Actually the system doesn't work. The map the optimisation and sat nav uses is ancient. It also has errors that would send a novice miles out of their way (and waste their deisel). It has allot of post codes but not all the roads that go with them. Woe betide you if you live in a house built in the last eight years. As a driver you still need to drive with tomtom and a map!
The eta system is based on the normal driver for that route – I was nearly 2 hours ahead of it the other day and as i understand it my only obligation is to deliver in the route order – if i'm early thats the systems fault, not mine, so I don't wait. If i wait I don't earn and the other 130 deliveries are at risk of not being delievred.
Sounds harsh but we're not getting paid any extra to use this system.
Brilliant idea but i wouldn't want to be in customer services when it goes live. Those awkward squad customers who expect the earth now will be a nightmare when we miss their "estimated" time slot.
As a DPD driver myself I can clarify that the ETA system will and does work. If the drivers would only help the company to fine tune each route, individually, as I have, rather than go out of their way to complicate the issue and make sure that it fails. The customers are going to get the SMS message direct to their mobile phone and be given the 1 hour slot free, gratis and for nothing.
Being on a regular route and by putting my deliveries and collections in the order in which I intend to do them, and sticking to it rigourously, I can confirm that for every day of last week I hit 100% of the 1 hour ETA window. To be exact I was within 10 minutes either side of the Saturns delivery time.
Get to grips with this lads, think outside the box, run with it, make sure that it works and the world will by your oyster. We will be the best by a country mile.
The company aren't investing all this time and money to watch it fail. Please look at the bigger picture for once.
Excellent comment above, that's the attitude were looking for!!
"were looking for" or "we're looking for", as in WE ARE, not WE WERE. eg. We were outside our ETA's last week, but we're not this week! Shoud re name this the "DPD Drivers ETA Discussion Forum".
Question, who will buy you an oyster? "Think outside the box" – great pun, but even if you can "get to grips with it", "running with it" may breach health and safety guidelines.
Euphemistically yours,
Phillip
I put a lot of suggestions to my depot boss when this system came into being, and lo and behold 2 months later after a total nightmare they have decided to actually implement some of the ideas, although they are not saying they are mine!
We have finally got away from doing the run in sequence, and we now just have to hit the ETAs, all I need now is a mig jet to get to my drops in the time scale given, I leave the depot at 8.40am, and it says my first delivery is between 8 and 9, because its a timed delivery, so from then on I have about 10 minutes to get to my next stop, and it goes down from there, I end up being about an hour and more out by the end of the day.
Also Could someone please explain how, if your a customer, when you receive a text on your phone telling you we will be delivering your parcel between 10.30 and 11.30am, and you have already left for work as most people will have done by the time we set off to start delivering, you are going to be in to collect that parcel.
This system just makes every parcel a timed delivery and we get nothing more for doing all that effort, this is just a sales scam, if the customers are lucky 5% will be able to take advantage of the ETA, but as most of us leave the depot at about 8am most people will have left for work by the time we tell them what time we will arrive.
If we have a two-hour time slot as I suggested in the beginning, it gives everyone a fighting chance to actually help the customer and us.
idiots. Put your route in blooming drop order dont optimize. I work for DPD and it took a few months to sort my route out, due to my average speed of 50 mph.
The Company policy is 9-5 on business. If they open at 10am then thats not your problem unless you know this. You can go back later in the day if you have finished or go back the following day after 10am. and next time remember this!!!
My eta's have worked for a whole week with no fails 100% ETA. most guys who dont wanna help sort their ETA are franchise's. I spit on you all grrrrrr
i bet you wingers are franchise?? hahahaha
Do you deliver to shops and private addresses? It will be difficult for someone to just head home at 11am, won't it?
No I am not a franchise driver, and the reason they are complaining is because they are being told to slow down, to hit their ETAs! Pure madness, these guys are self-employed, would you shut your shop when it’s making the most money?
So your saying don’t optimise, what happens when someone does a different route everyday, taking out over 50 drops in an area he does not know, so he has no idea what time places open and close, and how long it takes to get from one postcode to another.
How to you scan that in drop order????? Of course your ETAs have worked your doing the same route day in day out.
I know what you mean mate. I was 40 mins a head of my ETA and was told to stop and wait for the time to catch up, I refused to do this and I still ended up with 5 NTA's and going over my working hours.
And yesterday since adjusting my settings again, I was 10 mins over my ETA time but with no NTA's lol.
Why cant we start off with a 2 hour slot?? I'm fed up with all theses yellow cards.
i can tell you how to get round these stupid ETAs,just do the run in the order you want and if you start to get ahead of your ETAs,just cut the bar code of the parcels,and get the punter to sign on paper.
then you can scan the bar code as the ETA hits and sign the punters name on your saturn,as they say on compare the meercat…….simples !!
That last suggestion is fraud.
As above your GPS will record you delivering these items in the wrong address. You will get sacked for for the above.
As with any new system there are flaws but the company are learning from these and making ammendments to the system elimanating these the people who have taken the negative view of ETAs are the real down fall to the project instead of giving feedback on where things are going wrong they throw the dummy out of the pram the drivers who communicate there issues to the depot management can have ammendments to there profile making the route work to them but its far easier to just gripe
Sorry but this system is unworkable in the real world, when you are sat outside a customers house, and he comes out and you have to tell him he cannot have the parcel for 5 minutes, is just sheer madness, if we get behind now we are being told to NTA 5 drops to catch up on our times and if we have time go back later, so now your passing a drop but cannot do it, we are bringing back more yellow cards than ever now, and using more fuel because we cannot just stop and deliver at a place your passing because the ETA will be wrong, and it’s a shop so they don’t care what time they get the goods .… lunacy
And the new software lets you have more time per stop, but why is it not stop selective, like supermarkets that do not open their gates for ten minutes! Then you could add ten minutes on to that stop, but no, we can just add more time to every stop what use is that, we just get more ahead.
And as some one mentioned fraud, we are being told to add time on to our depot leaving times so it takes into account the massive queues in traffic every morning leaving the depot, that cannot be right.
It used to be a great job where you got time to talk to people and get know them, all the customers I used to go to say " you don’t have time to say hello anymore" we have lost all that customer service.
Why wont someone just listen to the drivers and give us a two hour time slot…. less stress, everything delivered on time, and good customer service.
As someone else said simples!!
I use to love my job at DPD, I HATE IT NOW!!!!!!!!!! This stupid eta thing is getting me stressed out every day-every hour-every minute. IT DOESNT WORK!!!!!!!!!
my profile has been messed around with so many times recently. last few days i've dropped from 100% to 77%,and my timed drops have gone from 4/5 mins per drop to 2/3 mins per drop and swapits gone from 5 mins to 7/9 mins.my departure time has been changed too,from depot, by the time you get on your route your up your own a**e alday,as one of the lads said the other day " were gona kill or be killed", there making us drive like idiots. who's gona pay our speeding fines and collect our points.i do 107 to 110 aday pref 90,mainly privates so the saturn doesn't add up driving from a to b, getting out of van,opening up rear door, picking parcel,walking up path/flats/stairs etc,knock on door,wait,get parcel signed(yellow card or find a neighbour),walk back to van,start engine and drive from a to b again and again.all this in 2/3 mins. i heard depot managers are getting 8 grand a piece for implementing this.
thanks guys, it’s nice to see that a lot of you are finding the same problems as us, it’s just a matter of time until someone gets killed trying to hit the targets, what are the union doing about all this …nothing !!,as far as I know!!.
What is going to happen when the government drops all the speed limits to 20mph and 50mph, a lot of councils have shown massive interest in average speed cameras to blanket residential areas, so how many drops will you be able to take out then.
I too used to love working at DPD, I met some really nice people on my run and had time for a quick word with most, I used to help some of the old folks with swapits, and you know when you see something suspicious, people trusted you and I have had some really nice comments from people who I have helped especially farmers who are out in the fields and are never in to get their parcels of vaccine for the cows.
But all that has stopped now, the CEO has a poster in our depot, it says "IT STARTS AND ENDS WITH THE CUSTOMER" no it does not IT STARTS AND ENDS WITH YOUR ETA now.
I used to take out 70+ drops a day, and finish at 3.30pm but with the ETA, after I have scheduled my Saturn it says I will finish at 5.3opm, because the sat nav built into the Saturn does not know the short cuts I do, so I am an hour in front after about 30 stops, and if I get a SOM to readjust all the driving and stop times, its past 9.00am before I get out, and then the pre 10.00 am deliveries are late.
Its the same at every depot. I myself have been taking less stop so I can keep within the ETA time, This affects the business as Im an employed driver leaving an over spill, which ive never had to do before lol. Just means more couriers covering work ONE MAN can do!
The maps are so out of date its un real. Most of my roads are dirt tracks and unnamed roads, So I can doing anything from 30-50mph some are even national speed limit. This is were the satnav fails as it cant have different speeds for certain roads.
TOMTOM NAVMAN etc do it fine but this shitty Co-pilot is proper budget.
Only bonus is when the Satnav says you have exceptions for DUTY I laugh and go, oh Mr Som I can only do 40 stops today.
Drop the hour slot and change it to an Two hour slot.
It seems fairly clear to me.
The first incident of fatal RTA caused by a driver being harassed by an onboard computer which is instructing him to drive faster or face sanction will lead to corporate manslaughter charges.
The system should only be considered as HELPFUL and shouldn't be slavishly followed. Profiles can be adjusted to improve individual drivers performance. Softly softly catchee monkee. Given some time the B2B and B2C will appreciate being able to utilise delivery windows, only a small percentage concern themselves….. otherwise the timed market would be far bigger. Seems to me too many people are expending huge effort chasing a specific small market share, often the cheapskates and whingers anyway.
I don't work for anyone presently but do have thirty years experience of this industry. Those above who have commented on not having time to be cheery are speaking truthfully and with common sense.
If the coffee swilling deskjocks spent a few days with drivers instead of poncing about in their blue skies they would realise how important the friendly face is to their business success and ultimately their job security. Sadly most of them think their drivers are plebs.
As a DPD Franchise driver myself and also from the point of view of some "company drivers " i speak to, i totally agree with these so called " Negative " coments . The system is a prime example of technology losing touch with reality.
All rounds are different some have more residential some more shopping precincts and some more industrial estates,all offering different problems/issues relating to this system.
For me there is a massive health and safety issue that the tech guys are not aware of because without actually do this job you cannot experience the pressure that is put on the driver to achieve these outrageous targets.
What about the recent extreme weather conditions !! These targets have not been reduced to compensate for snow ice etc and if there has been in any such way it is with a great reluctance to do so. Who the hell is responsible for this !!
DPD you are leaving youself wide open !! The disclaimer in the software is also legally a floor !
DPD Manchester have a parcel for delivery to me according to their tracking system. It has been in their depot for 10 days. Following several phone calls, which did not even result in the courtesy of a call back, they have now admitted they have lost it and told me in no uncertain terms, to deal with the sender……
Rudeness on a grand scale…
Evening all. I was thinking of applying for a franchise with dpd but having read all the above i'm thinking maybe it's not the smartest move. Just wondering though do they pay per drop, if so does the amount paid depend on the locality of the run. ie do you get more per drop if your run covers plenty of miles. Also what are dpd like to work 4. cheers.
Hi mate, DPD overall are good to work for IF your an employed driver like myself. Franchise drivers do get a raw deal.
Stop rates are dependent on distance from depot to your route. You get extra for delivering Premium stops and collections, ideally if you have a route which is more businesses then residental you can make a killing. As you only get paid for stops you DELIVERY!! If you lease a company van it aint cheap. Plus if it brakes down you have to hire a van at cost to you while company fix it.
your best off buying your own LWB van and be an independent courier and get paid a day rate. many depot are having their routes changed to 1st and 2nd wave, which again affects the franchise more so then employed drivers.
I am odf, and find the whole system frustrating.
No two days are the same, its says on certain swapi-its that the driver will wait up to 15 mins, does the saturn factor this in? no…how many times do you have a swap it for a company with no name on it…nightmare, as for being early, if the customer is in what is the harm in giving him the parcel, after all its his.
With regard to the eta time given, this is not a time the customer has chosen you are forcing it on him.
If your parcel says 10-11 how do you get round that?? you still need to take half a days holiday, all customers want to know is
1.Is my parcel going to be delivered today?
2.If I ordered three items, why do dpd only ever deliver one or two!!
3. Will it be am or pm???
Nuff said job done
I THINK THE NEW ETA SYSTEM IS BRILLIANT. IT IS GOING LIVE AT THE MOMENT. I LOVE BEING ABLE TO SEE THE ONE HOUR WINDOW WHEN MY CUSTOMERS GOODS WILL BE DELIVERED, THEY LOVE IT TOO! THEY NOW KNOW WHEN IT'S OK TO POP OUT TO THE SHOPS OR PICK THE KIDS UP FROM SCHOOL, WITHOUT MISSING THAT IMPORTANT DELIVERY, AS LONG AS THEY ARE IN DURING THE ETA SLOT. ONCE ALL YOU DRIVERS GET USED TO IT, IT WILL BECOME SECOND NATURE. REMEBER, THE CUSTOMER IS KING!
YOURS IN APPRECIATION OF ALL THE HARD WORK DPD DO.
AMY CHANDLER
hi guys,
i am thinking about becoming a franchise, and wondering ifany of you guys have any advice, email me at [email protected]
cheers
kevin
Are you guys being paid for deliveries that fail the time slot?
Kevin see here
http://www.dpd.co.uk/careers/opportunities/owner_driver_franchisees.htm
yes we all get paid, but soon when ETA goes live im sure employed staff will be disciplined if they fail, and franchine will be breached and possibly fined.
today I was 1hr outside my ETA window due to bad weather and accidents. all my ETA failed and a few where NTA. This can happen alot this time of year, and will cause more problems with customer ringing up saying your driver is late.
time for a new job me thinks lol.
yes atm but that will be the next thing, no money if it's outside the time slot!
Im also looking at starting as a franchise with DPD. It says the fee is from £1300. Is this correct or is there hidden costs with it. Also if you lease their vans how expensive are they. Any feedback would be great ta in advance 🙂
Its around £1000.00 as a deposit, You will have to pass a credit check as well.
Total cost a month for leasing a company sprinter is about 600.00 a month.
But be warned if it breaks down and needs to be repaired YOU have to hire your own van while its being repaired. you cannot claim for the hire van on insurance either. if in an accident you pay the excess and VAT, Even if your not a fault you still have to pay the VAT.
I would myself lease or buy my own van, so if it breaks down you get a temp one from lease/warranty comapany.
And if your off sick, or van breaks down and you cant get into work you get Charge 150.00 a day.
Still intrested?? lol
Hi, i have recently started as an ODF in Maidstone, DPD is an exciting company to work for and are only trying to secure there position as one of the leading couriers in the country, if this means ETA's and changing how they operate we must at least give it a chance!!! Nothing is impossible just somethings take a bit longer to get right. I'm hitting my targets pretty much every day and have found out im going second wave,what do they say a change is as good as a rest. Start positive and good things happen, start negative and nothing happens!
whats NTA mean?
No Time Available, Drivers can only work a 11hr 30mins a day.
I am reading all this with so much interest, it’s great to find that all depots and most drivers are having the same problems; I always said from the start that the principle of ETAs was a good one.
it was just not thought about long enough, it would work superbly if we had a two hour window, the people who dictated this system were the phone companies we deliver for, they thought we were amazing for saying we could do a 1 hour time slot, so why didn’t we say a two hour time slot in the first place.
I love this job sometimes, I used to have a route were I would have paid DPD to employ me, I did 60 to 70 drops a day and the people roughly knew what time I was coming, and I loved having a quick chat, and with it being very rural was happy to help out some of the old folks and the farmers, by leaving parcels with the local shop or neighbour, people love a friendly face, now it’s all rush and stress, and I hate it, I used to do 4 yellow cards a day now it can be as many as 20, doesn’t that tell you something !!…..I know more than a flaming machine.
I can only deliver 40 to 50 drops in the same time now because the sat nav dictates the roads that I have to take, if I take a short cut it does not know about, I end up 15 mins ahead of myself, but if I take the route it says I am on time, I am sorry but didn’t DPD employ me because I could do the job, I knew the area and I was honest and hard working, none of that has changed.
But now they just want a robot to do the work, well I aint no robot, I am a people person and the yes the customer is king, I have various customers who have home addresses on the parcels but I know where they work so if they are not in when I get there, I take them to their place of work, and all in the ETA, because I have to yellow card the house as the Saturn says.
why do I have to sit outside a customer’s house for 10 mins while he stands there watching me and I say he cannot have his parcel because I know a quicker way to get to his house, and I have to stick to my ETA, so he will have to wait 10 mins, how stupid does that make us look?….very!!,sorry mate you are going to be late for your doctors appointment because you have to wait for this machine to tell me you can have your parcel.
hi
i am looking at being a driver for dpd, not a franchise driver. can someone tell me what sort of wages dpd pay per year?
thanks
hi
i am looking at being a driver for dpd, not a franchise driver. can someone tell me what sort of wages dpd pay per year?
thanks
[email protected]
Its crap, go to UPS they pay the highest out of all the couriers.
Its apalling the ETA system does not allow for traffic, does not allow for security gates to open, does not all for elderley or disabled people to take time opening doors, and on top of that a solicitor friend of mine is looking at the legality of it.
The ETA system, would be a great idea if it gave you a two-hour window, I have heard there are 4 depots trying out something called second wave, where they change your hours to start at 8am and finish at 4.30, and insist you do between 70 and 80 drops per day, and that’s every day! And also insist on overtime, so you don’t get home till 7pm every night, and you have to optimise the Saturn every day.
I didn’t think they could change your hours unless you agreed to it? and they cannot make you work overtime can they ?
DPD Hierarchy are completely obsessed with the ETA sysytem and that mindset has been funnelled down to the lower echelons of Regional Management, the puppet depot Managers and the mindless SOM'S. It appears to be far more important than high cost premiums (no longer a priority) and cetainly ahead of driver safety and consideration for what can (or not) be feasibly achieved in a working day. Some idiot from DPD chose to present the ETA 1 hour slot to Orange in a weak manner to retain the contract – no thought or rationalisation was involved. Orange were quick to realise the gaff and held them to it, job done ! Now DPD are completely ETA driven at the expense of all other issues concerned with the business (like running it professionally etc) – 95% + customers don't care or know about Eta, they are happy to receive it on the day it is intended for delivery. They are and will continue to get an inferior service in order to appease Orange and the 5% (Max) that recognise the ETA facility.
This system WILL lose DPD good and loyal employed and ODF drivers and will ultimately lose the Orange Account for not achieving the standard they dictated. A strong Union would have intervened but the DPD representation is very poor. The employees will soon be getting disciplinaries for poor ETA results, is this in the original contract ? – ODF drivers will get breaches of contract – was that in the agreenment ? I agree with previous comments that a 2 hour window would have been workable, however the 1 hour window will be DPD's demise – it is far too stressful for the driver – you may as well have a complete route of premium deliveries, the effect is the same.
As for first and second wave deliveries – it can and does work in some busy city centres, outside of that it is a false economy. The real target is to get the efficient routes off the Owner Drivers to employed personnel (to keep the depot stop rate down) and push the more costly routes on to the owner drivers so as to shift the heavy cost routes to them. I am neither in the enmployee or ODF camp as I am nuetral to both but the system is riddled with problems.
Interesting commments. Makes me wonder if the DPD Hierarchy are actually monitoring this. I certainly think that DPD's competitors are in order to make the ETA work better for themselves and then target DPD's customer base with a better improved and cheaper option. I don't think that DPD have taken into this ETA lightly – yes it does sound like do it or else mentality for the employee's and ODF's. Not to sound like I'm taking sides but should this work and DPD generate new business and keep old, surely that is a good thing, not only for it's staff, but for the future of parcel delivery. Let's face it this industry is customer lead – it either changes with the life styles of the customer in this 24/7/365 world or it dies. One comment I read here was "Customer is King" – that may be true but the real kings are the ones that have the foresight to change what they offer to us customers in order to continue in a very competitive market.
To make ETA work you have to have a strong workforce, a dedicated and loyal workforce. Drivers do know more than a machine – a machine is only as good as what you tell it to do. Drivers in my opinion would make the best people to programme and formulate the basics that the system needs, afer all they are the one's who are the companies ambassador's not the man in the suit doing power point presentations. Change is always difficult, no matter what it is. it's how we embrace it.
Employed V's ODF – Employed everytime.
Can someone in birmingham let the Suits know that the letter "E" in ETA means ESTIMATED!!!
Definitions of Estimated on the Web:
estimate – an approximate calculation of quantity or degree or worth; "an estimate of what it would cost"; "a rough idea how long it would take"
estimate – a judgment of the qualities of something or somebody; "many factors are involved in any estimate of human life"; "in my estimation the boy is innocent"
estimate – appraisal: a document appraising the value of something (as for insurance or taxation)
estimate – judge tentatively or form an estimate of (quantities or time); "I estimate this chicken to weigh three pounds"
estimate – a statement indicating the likely cost of some job; "he got an estimate from the car repair shop"
ETA what a joke they wont be happy untill a driver is killed or kill some 1 by driving to fast trying to keep in the eta get rid!!!!!
That is why there is a 1 hour window – because the time of delivery is estimated – if it were not estimated it would state (for example) 'your parcel will be delivered at 11.32 am' (prompt!)
Better off telling the suits that timed deliveries, yellow cards and UTL's have increased significantly because of the demand of ETA achievements. Timed deliveries are now regarded as non priority, Yellow carded deliveries can not be reattempted at a later time in the day because it will impact on the ETA result and difficult to find addresses can not be afforded the time to search for and find because the next delivery ETA might be compromised.
Today's buz word requirement is negating all the basic elements of the normal service provided.
That is why there is a 1 hour time slot – to allow for the estimation. Otherwise the tracking system would read (for example) 'your parcel will be delivered today at 11.35 am' (prompt!)- the 'estimation' allows 11.05 to 12.05.
For interesting reading try, DPD terms and conditions of carriage (updated feb 1st 2010)
Section 7-paragraph (f)
(f) Any timescales for delivery given by the Company through its ‘Estimated Time of Arrival’ (‘ETA’) service on its web tracking pages are estimates only and, if the Company is unable for any reason to fulfil any delivery within any specified ETA, the Company shall not be deemed to be in breach of the Contract or have any liability to the Customer.
So if they want to discipline anyone for not hitting ETA targets, just point this out!!
That's an intersting post (28 March 2010) – ETA's have become the dominant factor within all DPD depots at the expense of Premium (pre 10/12 & PM deliveries) and all other service issues, as indicated in an earlier post. The routes that are lowering the overall ETA percentage achievement are now being highlighted on a daily basis and details are are being put up on the notice boards to indicate which drivers are falling below the standard expected. It is being made clear that this must be addressed quickly otherwise these drivers will be subject to disciplinary procedures. This was always going to be the next step, it was inevitable. This is a significant change in terms of employment contract and should not be accepted lightly by any employee (or Francisee). The Union will be unlikely to assist in a positive manner as DPD have them well and truly under control, so it is probably more likely that any employee finding themselves under pressure on this matter will need to seek outside legal advice and support. Any decent legal Agency or Solicitor will walk this one easily in favour of the employee.
The ETA system, in essence, is a fantastic opportunity to move forward in this industry sector, however, in this instance it has been implemented far too quickly without thorough user consideration and at a total lack of regard, or canvassed input, from the employees tasked with achieving the results. In it's current format it will ultimately fail.
hi all,
i used to work at dpd now left after this eta thing. the job was taking alot out of me physically and mentalley. dont get me wrong its a good idea what dpd have put we got to work ten times harder and cover more postcodes to make the same money we made before, thats the problem.if they want this to work lets increase the per drop rate with smaller areas to covers every1 happy. they use more cabs to cover overspills so where the logistic in that, why dont they pay us the extra instead of the cabs that get £150 a day. believe me once you leave you wont regret it its that decision i made. you make the same amoount being on the buses hint!!
Never mind DPD use TNT.
Great sevice, very helpful on the phone and always willing to get an eta and the redelivery is FREE!
We have used most of them – DPD, Interlink, DHL, Fedex, UK Mail, TNT, Amtrak (when they were still in business) and UPS – The worst of the lot, by far, were TNT, absolutely appalling service. The best, probably DPD & DHL. Well run major companies with good procedures and infrastructure. Employee v ODF – ODF every time – they are generally more prompt, more professional and certainly have a better business attitude than most of the the employees.
Good luck to DPD with the ETA sysytem – good idea but not a new one. Parcelforce tried it some time ago but ditched it because it was not a high priority requirement by their customers and it had a detrimental effect on all other aspects of the business (timed deliveries, carded deliveries etc,). DPD will go through the pain barrier before realising it is probably a waste of time, in the meantime they will have taken their eye off the competition, Pity really because the ETA sysytem is a positive move forward, just sounds like it needs a lot more thought and research work first.
i am an odf covering upto 140 drops a day 80% rural and 60% privates ,when i started i only had to do about 60 drops to clear what i earn now (6 years ago) on frequent occasions over the years i have been forced to sign new blue prints which contain lower drop rates infact recently back in July called in office and told to sign new contract ammendment @ 10% less there and then (6.30 am)i said i wanted to look at it and was shouted at to sign now and i cannot take home to read or he will suspend me for something then breach me i signed under duress then everyone else did .They cap your earnings and constantly mess around with your money .Then there bring out ETA and expect everyone to be full of enthusiasam about it .Let me tell you i get home and by 7.30 pm asleep i cannot think about anything at all and as for hanky panky well maybe its my age but i sleep through any molesation of my body now . What is going on ?? who are this new breed of suited people who do not understand basic daily problems of the industry .Look at previous coms on ETA .The problems could all be resolved well most if the suits would care to listen to there workforce or do there think we are only parcel deliveriers who are not worth the time to listen to!!.Just recently a visit to the depot was made by a senior HR manager and reg manager enquiring about staff morale asked the SOM ! not the drivers get my point??? . AS ODFS we need to set our own forum and maybe a collective voice of concerns which the company could learn from which in the long term could be positive for all concerned .Where is this annuaualle conference monthly news letter who runs the company ? Who is in charge of ODF ? what is the contact details etc .Who paid for ETA system was it the 10% drop in turnover forced on us? do your maths
ETA's are not the best but all you moaning that you cant do as much as before? If your employed dont do as much. I used to average between 90 – 110 deliveries a day back on bonus was earning a cream! Now on basic wages I will only do 70 maximum. For whoever says the system doesnt understand how long things take to do thats what you change the time for those stops for. Franchisers . . . I feel sorry for you lot, you do get so much crap, but some people do earn alot. ETA is gettin the company alot more business and soon there will be a new bonus for us too.
Post dated 10th April – you open with saying your route = '80% rural and 60% private' and close with asking us to 'do your maths' – you might want to reconsider that one. Also, if you are doing rural (village locations etc) and privates (residential locations) there is not a chance you will get any where near 140 deliveries per day. You would need a very heavy mix of business (Indusrtial Estates) and Town centre drops to achieve those sort of figures. As for the July 2009 10% cut by your Manager, the reason he confronted you in such a desperate manner is that it should have been implemented in May 2009. The rest of the ODF's in the DPD network took the first hit at the end of January 2009 and the second at the end of May 2009.. So you got a couple of extra months at the increased rate. Your depot Manager then came under serious pressure for not implementing the second cut and hence his method of dealing with you in July. You should have stood your ground, he had no basis for a breach, it would not have been carried through by the Franchise dept.
As for Franchise Contact details, they are clearly printed on your monthly Invoices.
The Annual conference will never happen because there is little interest in ODF's by DPD and all the costs, Hotel stay, loss of earnings, commuting, etc. would all have to be met by the ODF, therefore resulting in few if any ODF's agreeing to attend.
Post dated 11th April – don't understand a word – total drivel !
certainly would not re new my contract
You won't be given the option to renew your contract – ODF's are no longer a requirement for DPD.
if only the comment made on 10.05.10 knew what they were talking about!!
What makes 16/05/10 poster think 10/05/10 poster does not know what he/she is talking about ? – Nothing suggested to back up that claim. It would seem 1st poster has some insight and 2nd is just being hopeful. If I am wrong, tell us why ! – If you believe poster 1 is talking rubbish tell us the real deal.
We have had 2 new ODF's at our depot and they are looking for more.
DPD will always need ODFS as they are cheaper then employed drivers.
in reply to 17.05.10.
Odf is the way the company is looking to go forward.
The second wave coming soon will be done mainly by odf.
This keeps the cost down, and claws baack the cost of the 200 new vans ordered by DPD, as I work in the franchise dept i think i should know!
Some depots are recruiting new ODF's, but screwing them down on the stop rate and giving them rural areas to deliver in. Beggars can't be choosers.
In reply to 18/05/10
If you work in the ODF dept then you should know exactly what I mean. ODF contracts are now far removed from the original ODF contracts whereby Franchise operators were recognised as an asset and were rewarded accordingly. The current wave of contracts are entirely different, as you are aware, and are designed for low cost short term purposes (hence 1 year deals). They are short term because it takes a few months for a New Franchisee to realise he can not possibly make a good living from the rate agreed and moves on. DPD are not concerned about this as they can soon find someone else to take out another Franchise agreement at the low rate. Consistency and continuity is lost but an ongoing rein of low cost cover is achieved by DPD. As i said earlier DPD are NOT interested on ODF's, only the huge saving they can achieve from under paying ill advised new franchisees. Your post verified the above – Franchisees are designed to pay the costs incurred elsewhere by DPD and for cost saving purposes. Second wave will never work with ODF's – it's not rocket science.
This has made interesting reading. The ODF brochure that has been sitting on the table for a while will soon be transferred to the bin
I was a an ODF and earning approximately £2400 after all my costs were deducted, bearing in mind this was 4 weekly and not monthly i think it was a pretty good deal. That was doing on average 65 stops a day. I am thinking of going back, im just hoping the eta's wont affect how it used to be, although i do believe that your delivery time can be altered to say 1 minute per stop, it may seem low, but surely this would off set any time you can make up by taking short cuts. I have seen the blue prints and the stop rate is 30p less per stop i still think it is worth doing. Maybe the person that works in franchise could answer this, 18mths ago whn i last did it, i was paying £400+vat for my van, what are they charging now?
regards
Jimmy
i am an odf and have been for just over a couple of years, i was tempted by the grass is greener attitude that the company was using to sell the franchise's, yea when i started as an odf the money was good and for the first year all seemed quite rosey.
However the winds of change meant that the company needed to save some money and the first port of call for the company was to screw the odf's.
I got hit for at least 450 quid a month and i know other guys who lost a lot more.
I am working harder, doing more stop's earning less. Is the eta really the issue, or is it that all depot drivers and odf's are fed up with being bullied into doing more work without being finacialy rewarded.
and as for jimmys comment 7 june 2010 you must have been on a one hell of a good rate then.
I am a wife of one of the ODF's. I think the company should be investigated and brought to trial. The way they treat ODF's is nothing less than CRIMINAL.My husband is out of the house 14hrs a day and earns less money now than he ever has. He is constantly tired and never wants to go anywhere or do anything, our children suffer too because of this.I wish you guy's would grow a back bone stand together and fight for what your worth. As for the unions there, your a waste of time, stand up for these guys and do your job.If there are any managers/directors who read this and want to challenge me on what I am saying leave me a note on here and time/date to meet with you I will be there. I am sick to death with the way you treat these guys and I feel you should go and spend the day with one of them and get into the real world of the ODF's. They are the back bone of DPD and it's about time you recognised this. Very fedup wife.
I would love to bet that all the Manager's/directors have a great WORK/LIFE Balance. What's that I hear all the ODF's shouting !!
For wifes comment. ODFs dont have a union as they are all classed as self employed, unlike employed drivers like myself have a union which isnt worth a toss.
ODF's can come together but have no rights, I mean the contract they sign has to stay in the depot and cant be taken home to read properly. I have read through some of the contracts and they state you do as DPD say, they have to supply the ODF's with work but that can be just 1 stop, and legally DPD arent breaking their contract.
I wouldnt advise anyone going down the ODF route, if you desperate go else where as ALL depots will have 1st and 2nd wave drivers which for employed drivers means working later and no overtime, and ODFs working even longer by waiting for late collections and as they are paid per stop and not time, so they will seat about not making any cash.
Most ODFs have left out depot and gone to Ukmail and UPS.
Responce to post on 16 june 2010 & 18:55
Why is the Union not "worth a toss"? The Union in DPD does not run the company or make opertional decisions. The Union is there to ensure fair practice and protect your job.
ODF's can join the Union but as it has been mentioned they are classed as self-employed, they would however have access to legal help and perhaps discounts on insurance etc etc. If the ODF's at DPD are feeling that they are being victimised then they need to get together and meet with the management rather than jump ship and complain.
Responce to the "fed up wife"
If you're husband is doing 14 hrs a day – he should be earning alot of money every four weeks. If he isn't then he needs to discuss with management his route and perhaps negotiate a better stop cost or change routes so that his stop cost and productivity give him a better income. Doing 14 hrs a day, something not right there – that would mean a 0600hrs start perhaps with a 2000hrs finish = 120+ stops?
Overall – this forum or blog or whatever it is all started over Yellow Cards and the delivery charges. DPD have listened to the senders and to the receivers. It has come up with ETA, the receiver gets a message and you get options for redelivery – even when a Yellow Card is left it has the option for the receiver to sign it and leave for the driver with instructions that DON'T COST anything.
It would be nice to hear from those out there that have had no problems and the ETA has worked. I know they exist.
ODF's – you guys need to understand, yes without you the company would not be where it is, but, you guys know what your getting into and it surprises me when you complain about being messed about that you believe that your above that. Employed drivers know what is expected and do the job that they are paid to do. It would be interesting to see what would happen if the employed driver came in at 0600hrs and cleared there designated area and left the ODF the runners, blocks of flats, bulk stops with no parking, premiums spread all over the areas, and the only way to make your stops up with are 5, 6 or 7 postcode area's – makes you think, ODF's are needed – yet you take the p*** and moan when you get caught out and treat the employed driver like their there to serve you, think again – you're both on the same team.
i guess the person who left the response on the 19th june is a manger or supervisor for dpd. iam a ofd driver iam at the depot at 6 every morning sometimes dont get in till after 7 at night. my round is really crap it covers 4 postcodes i have asked my manger to chage or sort my round out he agrees its crap but still nothing has been done.
the mangers treat ofd like shite. All ther botherd about is the eta,s
if they need a favour they are so nice but if u make a mistake u never hear the last of it. for all the crap iam taking iam not taking home 300 quid a week. no breaks no rest just rushing around al day. then today got told we are getting a 2% pay increase now thats a joke my drop rate is #1.61p now its going up 3p a drop not worth a light. iam giving it 1 more week then handing my notice in. if any 1 out there is thinking about a franchise DONT DO IT. they wil b extra nice 2 you giving u a blue print what u should b earnig all chatty and treat u like a mate. then u sighn the contract and they just ignore u and give u no help or support at all,
Ref the response on the 19th June, I have no problem with eta system, …Yeah right, its flawed as you well know, and funded by the money you stole of me when you reduced my rate, and gave me no choive on the matter, when can I have it back???
At our depot we are going to all stop doing saturdays in protest, this was a great company, you are ruining it for us all
I know a great idea!!!
1.Invest a lot of money in the eta system for the orange contract ..
2.Introduce a second wave for the orange contract…..
3.Order 200 new vans for the orange conract…
O bugger no orange contract
dpd is crazy
i worked as a franchise for 3 years at nottingham but left because of the way the managers and Soms treat you, bullying is rife against odf and they really couldnt care 1 bit. i am now at HDN earning easy more than £30,000 with 5 weeks holiday a year
I am thinking about taking up an ODF positon with DPD but can anyone tell me what sort of salary you are on if you are just employed by them and not buying a franchise?
As a HDNL Manager I can confirm that Post dated 8th July 2010 is living in dream world. He will not be earning any where near 30k per annum and is not elligible for any holiday without either pre arranged cover or cover by us without earnings.
Dream on sunshine !
DPD Employed Salary is approx 15k basic + overtime. Bonus scheme possibly being reinstated later this year.
in reply to post 10th july by HDNL manager!! i am employed now sunshine ,£100 a day for 48 hours on a 4 day shift + loads of overtime if i want it and 5 weeks holiday a year , oh and no more bullying
Re post dated 14th July – (And I am not the HDNL Manager from post dated 10th July !) – Your figures dont stand up – £100 per day on 4 day shift equals circa 20k per annum, not 'easy over 30k'. It would appear the HDNL Manager was right then. Also, if you are doing 12 hour shifts (4 days for 48 hours) when are you going to fit all that overtime in ? And, your 5 weeks holiday (?) will be paid at basic rate, so the circa 20k is probably more like 18k. As for the supposed bullying – this is 2010 not 1930 for gods sake ! – surely you would have had the nouse to stand up for yourself if it was really that bad.
I think you have painted a somewhat distorted picture
Re post 14th July – 52 * £400 = £20800 + overtime gained £150 upwards depending on availability ( at present performance pay overtime about £220 per week over last 5 weeks ) if you want the overtime its there, if you dont need it then you dont have to do it.. its not the run in to xmas yet 30k is there to be had, i admit sat and sun involved, of course not every week but the 5 weeks holiday are very much appreciated.
as for the bullying, 1 man or women finds it very hard on there own when they are self employed
Re post dated 10 july. is that all the basic salary is for an employed driver? thats dreadful!!
you lot want to try working at stoke depot the manager GARY SUMNALL what a 1st class WANKER never listens to anything anybody says just likes to put you down, never seen so many people leave as i have in the past 6 months since eta has come in 90 stops aday down to 50-60 reply was basically tuff
Yes, 15k per annum is appalling but they know they can get away with because there are always people looking for 'driving' jobs – no qualifications required, virtually anyone can do it (very low skill rate) and continuity of employment is not an issue with them – if they come & go frequently it is not seen as a problem as there are always people waiting for a job of this nature. UPS pay by far the highest rates in this sector (average 26k per annum, basic), the rest are all pretty much as per DPD. The major difference with DPD is that they have no employee loyalty at all at the grass roots level of drivers, warehouse staff, administrators and any other hourly paid staff. It is a very archaic working environment that revolves around senior management and profitability only. There is no value attached to the core business that actually generates the profits and allows the functionality of the business. Unless you are desperate for employment, avoid DPD !
Where are u getting 15k from? Down in london we are on £18.5k basic. I average 2hrs overtime a night. last year I earnt £23k
WHERE ARE TNT IN ALL OF THIS? AND HOW DO THEY COMPARE WAGES/SUBBIE WISE?
It's amazing how things snowball, this blog started about delivery charges. It seem's now that it's all about ODF and who's the best to work for. It doesn't matter which company you work for, YOU will allways find something to bitch about. As the saying goes "the grass isn't allways greener on the other side".
I think the days of make a "quick buck" are over – it's servival of the fitessed. I suppose at the end of the day a job is a job no matter if your ODF or employed.
Hi my time is up as a franchisee after 6 years i am handing in my notice which is not done lightly 4 weeks .Having to do double amount of drops ,fuel prices ,the horrendous costs of there hire van, the forcing of signing a 10% less varible agreement ,the stress in morning sorting out route in eta format . the pressures on manager,soms to bully ,the inability of franchise dept to sort this issues out ,the higher management lack of appreciation of what is acheived by all there drivers under immense pressure is simply taking its toll .Just maybe Charlie or Dwain would go undercover (TV prog ) to go back to grass roots of the company .I used to say i am not any driver i am a DPD driver with an edge of pride ,not anymore just worn out stressed to breaking point and broke .i could go on and on but alas there wont listen and sit in there dapper suits watching power point presentations from people who have not got a clue .
ref post dated 24.07.10. servival of the fitessed???? think u should use spell checker
could be worse alex crowe could be in charge…..
re post 26th july…
fully agree with you, good luck m8 and take care
Well he is not in charge anymore !! – he has been removed from his role in Gloucester and is now in a downgraded position in Birmingham. It took a long, long time for his superiors to realise he wasn't depot manager material !
well mr spell checker i am blogging !! but you sound such a fit thing
i know a great idea, take drops of the odf give them to employed drivers…then order taxis because there is too much work for the employed drivers…
I left DPD in warrington (appleton thorn) in feb of this year due to ill health i could no longer go on, at the end my son was driving for me and I wasn't making any money we (the odf's) had all been put on a 4 day week during the recession and our stop rates were also cut, I would like to know wether those rates have been put up since the inception of PREDICT after having read that over 2500 customers have signed up for the service, this must surely mean that there is a cost implication to the customer, however I don't suppose any of this has been passed on to the hard working odf's who by the way are the backbone of the DPD system and mark my words you will see more and more of them appearing at every depot, until they get themselves organised on a national level
I'm not an odf but an employed 7.5t c&d; driver. My basic is 15k + overtime, I and the vast majority of all the drivers (ODF & Employed) in our depot are constantly fighting the SOM's and Ops manager everyday with regards to ETA's and the routes which constantly change. I average 60 stops a day (towns & rural tight arse lanes) and regulary put in 12hr days not cos we want to but more like we have to because they cut our hours so we start later and rarely not out the depot before 9:30am some of us have a 90min drive before we get to our first drops. The ODF's are doing 100 to 140 drops and not all on the same rates. We have this 2nd wave on several routes with these ODF's average £2-2.50 stop cost basic rate compared to the basic £1.65 that non 2nd wave ODF's receive. This is blatantly unfair the later still have daily collections to get to and still get less. I get to work with some really great ODF's but also quite a few bad apples and it's these ones that bring a depot down to its kness and make it harder for the rest of us. I totally agree with having Dwain,John or Charlie going undercover because I'd like them to see the corners that are cut daily. I can't tell you which depot or even which region I'm at cos I know for a fact they regulary monitor us especially facebook!! Just one question how many days training do new employed drivers get with there respective OJT's at other depots??
Hey mate Im an OJT from region 1. We are supposed to give new starters upto 6 days training.
First day is induction day inc health and safety, videos and sign off's
Second-Fifth day is on the road with an OJT.
Sixth day they go by themselves unless they require more training.
This wasn't kept to earlier this year but since we complained about the quality of new starters the National OJT guy came down to kick the managers arse so the 6 day rule is adhered to.
wage vote went well !
Yep we turned down the 2.5% increase, works out to be about an extra £7.00 per week. Since this ETA system and more work load It should be 5.0%, considering DPD made £14 million pound net profit last financial year. We are the lowest paid drivers but yet are no.2 courier in europe. Its like Easyjet staff earning more then Virgin alantic staff!! lol
No, the wage deal stinks ! – The Union are well and truly DPD dominated, they have fallen sucker to to a well below the deserved outcome. Sad that the Union have convinced the members and non member emoployees that this is a good deal. Get real, DPD's current business and profitability standing is way beyond the pay deal you are getting – when they were suffering you took the hit big time (way beyond the level of reduction in profits they took), now things are looking somewhat healthier they are offering you a fraction of the percentage increase in revenue and profits they are enjoying. Fact !!
Responce to comment 6th September 2010 22:29
Think – Without the Union the company would have opted for a PAY FREEZE, to protect it's profit. The Union prevented this.
The Company, without the Union MAY have given 1% or the 2.85% and YOU the employees would have no choice but accept an automatic payrise. The Union bring the best of what was offered to YOU the members to decide. From what I have seen the Membership have voted strongly NO to 2.85% and now it's back to the negotiating table (so the comment about the Union convincing the members and non members that this was a good deal, in actual fact did not work – Point of Fact though, Non Union members DON'T have a say in this – they cannot vote).
Non Union members DO need to get off the fence and SUPPORT the Union and increase the Membership so that the company cannot give below standard pay offers. The Union is only as strong as it's Membership – REMEMBER THAT.
From what I see at DPD, I agree that the staff deserve more than whats on offer. Forget bonus's – they lead to unfair payments, corruption and bullying by managers. The money wasted there should be given to all. DPD have reportedly said they want to be the market leaders by 2012, well I can tell you – pay your staff market leader wages and you'll be the market leaders.
Geopost as a whole seem to have to many Directors, Assistant Directors, Managers, Supervisors and Assistants to those – Geopost need to start streamlining that side of the business, not only does this lead to poor man management but, eventually they forget what the business is about. Perhaps some of the earlier comments about those Directors and under managers should get out there, do the job that they are reaping so much from.
Good luck with the payrise.
You make some good points (sept 8th post) – but, you have no idea what DPD may have offered as a wage increase, however, knowing they had to negotitae with the Union they were happy to imply they were looking towards a pay freeze – its a very good starting point for a negotiation ! – In reality they knew an increase would have been the outcome but may have budgeted for perhaps 3%, but would start at 'pay freeze' in public for the sake of negotiations. The result is, you, as Uniom members believe you have gained a 2.5% increase by being the almighty Union, when in reality you have lost 0.25% that would have been awarded if you werent there as a negotiating tool. Also, this does apply to memebers and non members of the Union (despite what you protest in your post) as the increase, whatever the result, will apply to ALL employees. I am not a DPD employee, but have had many dealings with Unions on pay deals from a Management perspective and I can assure you that the Union membership 'protection' is a complete myth. The vast majority of employees would be far better served by a non membership scheme. This is backed up adequately by the fact that most workforces with a non obligatory union membership (which is almost all) have a very low percentage of Union members. Most employees have seen the light.
you should work at Nottingham , they decrease your money, bully you and when you try and resolve a genuine problem that would without doubt affect a drivers well-being and also pose a danger to the public, all you get is if you don't like it bring the keys back and go find something else
wow u lot winge & they say women are bad. thanks though you have all sucessfully put me off becoming a ofd!!! also does anyone know if the agencies are the ones who advertise on behalf of dpd?? such as 365 hror direct 2 trade??
If that is the real situation – hand your keys in and go find something else ! -A Company with that outlook and attitude towards emoployees do not deserve to have decent employees ! – let them pay peanuts, treat them like fools and end up employing idiots, agency workers and monkeys. DPD are seriously going backwards at an alarming rate – it is entirely their own fault.
Just thought i would comment again, i was thinking of becoming an ODF. I decided to bite the bullet, and i. must say whilst the eta's are a pain in the arse, you can work around them if you have to (im sure you know what i mean)! but i would say 99% of the time its fine. As far as the stop rates go, my route is fairly rural so i have a £2+ stop rate even so i would say i have to do at least 85 stops a day to make it pay and that means 10-12 hour days, but lets face it, this is a self employed role, and working for yourself is not easy, but i now get a good weekly take home pay, compared to my previous job which i just couldnt live on let alone have some luxuries in life, My advice to anyone thinking about an ODF route is this, if you are prepared to work hard knowing that sickness and holidays are not included, then the return will be in your favour, (our depot has freelance couriers that will cover you if needed) I love the job, but sometimes is very stressful, as yes the company has certain policies i dont like, mainly to do with the lease of their own vehicles but every employer has
policies that people dont like, its a fact of life, hope this helps anyone pondering becoming an ODF.
lets see if your so cheerful in january when you have got no drops and are working four day weeks…
Never had a problem in January before, January is almost as busy as December ! So…. cheerful we will probably be on a 5 day week plus Saturday mornings. Thanks for your good wishes though !
the odf drivers in the gateshead depot get treated like shite,,,that is down 2 the manger KEVIN WILSOn and his side kicks,,,no mangement skills. in fact no skils no wonder the last few months a few good lads have gone,,
think your comments could relate to any depot mate, clueless management and second wave is a joke,
bloody hell! I've just filled out an ODF application for the stoke depot and am now seriously considering whether to post it or not!
If any ODF working out of Stoke can get in touch with me either to tell me not to bother or tell me that its not that bad I'd be grateful. I wouldnt expect an easy ride, but likewise, i've had enough of employers taking the piss, and i'm from an insurance background!
please email me if you can help with a "warts and all" description of what life is like as an ODF
Cheers,
Clint
[email protected]
I have been with dpd for 8 months as a employed C+D driver and i have enjoyed it so far,yes it long days and can be challenging but overall its ok. The only thing that really fucks me off it they way the SOM's never talk to you unless they want something,they preach about how we need to portray a customer friendly image yet they all walk around with faces like a smacked arse and complain all day.if they hate there jobs so much then why don't they leave and let people that want to be there have them!!. it seems mental that nearly every comment on here goes along the same lines yet everything just carrys on the same!
Wee i left DPD as an ODF in August straight into another firm with my own van not leased and to put it simply best move i ever did .
The management of DPD like probaly most in large plcs ,i am sure go on a course in how to lie ,have no respect, and most of all bully by intimidation .whilst cloning the style of the directors who there look at as godlike.
Im an employed driver from a london depot, What really annoys me is the ETA system. Sometimes Im early if I get them alternative date text come through which fails a delivery for another day. This part is crap as you still have to wait for the time to tick over, You may as well go to the address and leave a card lol.
Now what makes me laugh is, when I have been early/late for my etas I get told you will get sacked blah blah blah, now only a few customers get the text message. The sender has to sign up to the eta system. So we are giving everyone an ETA time but they are unaware of it. So if im early or late they still get the parcel!!
One day I asked most customer if they got a text, out of 75 stops only 6 said they did!! so whats the bloody point???
I get on average 15 yellow cards a day (2nd wave), and some even get the text message but dont bother to reply to it.
I say we should scrap the two day attempt, go for one day. leave a card you can rebook it for another day for free. if no reply after 2 days send it back. or if they asked for it again and arent in charge them. that would make life easier then banging on about a percentage number which does F all to the job.
i work at stoke depot, dont bother applying mate they treat u like dirt, give u no help, my advice is try a decent firm not dpd
If you already have a job DON'T do a DPD franhise
There's a good chance you will be better off on benefits!!!!!
I'm looking at becoming an ODF out of Warrington, but 90% of the comments on here are negative towards DPD. Is it really that bad? Does anyone have anything positive to say?
ref posted 09.11.10 dont bother mate, it really is that bad
is it me or do you find it really annoying when you arrive at a customers only to find that the 2nd wave driver is also there delivering the 2nd phone!!!
Not as annoying as turning up to do a daily collection that's out of your way and that don't have anything to collect even though they phoned the depot 3hrs earlier to say they didn't need us today and of top of that I'd spoken too the depot twice 20mins ago. Then back at the depot on the whiteboard there's the message in red marker pen as bold as brass!!!!!
Anyway getting back to the original subject that was started back in June 2009. My wife's just got in to find a card from TNT. Talk about unhelpful. Can't get it re-delivered to her work address because the item is from Apple and there's a security risk why? We re-deliver Iphone's, Laptops etc., to any other address in the UK. Okay how about a specified day they can do it Friday but then she's gotta take the whole day off can't even specify a AM or PM delivery or even upgrade to a Saturday. Our service and Yellow Cards are a thousand times better than this. I know ETA's aren't welcome at some depot's even ours but I blame the way management handle it, but to have text or email giving some sort of delivery info today would have been greatly appreciated today, thanks for nothing TNT maybe you should try moving into the 21st Century with the rest of the world!!!!!
Apple won't allow TNT to deliver to any other address, or a neighbour, so they can't. If you want 40 lenghts of conduit delivered to Arbroath, TNT are you people, but just not so hot on home deliveries. They happen to have some of the Apple contract in Europe, possibly because of their "global brand". On the plus side you can call their deopot's direct, not a call centre, and if you ask nicely they will message the driver on the "in cab" and ask for an ETA.
happy xmas everyone at dpd
except the management…keep up the good fight
I love reading this blog, I have worked for DPD for over 5 years now and when I first started it was a great job, in fact one route I was given after being there about a year was so good if I had won the lottery and could have afforded to work for nothing I would have done so, the customers were great the scenery was awesome, and I loved going to work.
Now they just push you to do more and more drops, with no regard for anyone other that themselves, I love the “people matters” mag we get, all it consists of is the management patting each other on the back, and about how many awards the company has won, who the f*** cares? only the ones sat in their ivory towers.
The ETA system would be ok with a couple of tweaks, all it need is …if you get there early and you can deliver the parcel because the customer is in to sign for it, that should negate the ETA for that drop, and you can carry on, the only problem I cannot get round is leaving a yellow card for someone if your early, you have no idea if the customer had a text and are on their way home, so if you card it they are not going to be pleased if they have raced home to find you have already been before the allotted time band.
As I said ages ago, the company knows the ETA system does not work, but the reps can sell it to potential customers, so as a sales tool its worth all the faults, because the senders believe the bull that they are fed. And just for the guys at STOKE I have met your manager and I feel for you, he couldn’t run for a bus, let alone run a depot.
Some people have no clue,
As a DPD driver of six years!
ETA's do work and will continue to work for as long as they are required.
Many big customers are attracted by the ETA system and I have just been given word that we have just won our biggest contract ever and will need to get more staff to cope with the extra parcels and this is because of ETA!!
The ETA system need to be setup for you and you need to work with it,
your road speeds are to slow if your getting to stops early or you have a stop time that is too long.
Speak to your manager, but rembember if he speeds things up you will have to take out more work as you will be finishing earlier!
Buy the sound of your rant your the type of driver I read about on other fourms and DPD could do without!!
The other delivery firms will adopt ETA that is a fact,
ps, ETA got your payrise this year and stopped people being made reduntant be greatful and stop slagging off the hand that feeds you.
Oh dear after filling out my ODF forms decided to look at this blog – not sure I want to post it now. Anyone got any advice on working from the Gloucester or Newbury depot? I've done multidrop before and used to doing 100+ drops a day so not scared of hard work.
Cheers
How is it working from Manchester depot? How is the average earnings from Manchester?
Any one work in birmingham as a odf
ref post dated 24.01 i do indeed work at bham as an odf
ref post date 24.01 at 16:05: hello what is the management like in birmingham? are they fair or a-holes? ive got a meeting in a few weeks. Have you got any tips of the questions i should ask? what are birminghams drop rates like and have you been givin the amount of work you was told you would have.
any help will be appreciated. Could you post here or if you can email me at
[email protected] thanks.
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I hate working for DPD. Used to love it! Im a capable franchise driver who does 100+ drops a day. Your just a c and d driver who pays his own tax, but with more stress!
No holiday, and no sick pay, on top of that as well as paying all your own rates if ur off work ur charged £150 on top! Even if ur on deaths doorstep, thats where they make the money, charging the grafters who carry the company on their shoulders.
They wont hesitate to send there own drivers home to save money on quiet days, but try asking for a day off, even a month in advance, no chance.
My biggest piece of advice for any prospect ODF is to look closely at the cost of leasing a van off DPD, you are charged 4 weekly for lease, plus excess mileage charge and a fixed mileage charge.
DPD hires illegal workers eg full time foreign students on franchise routes..no passport or visa checks.
Woa!! (Post 17 Feb) – are you sure about that ?? – if so, report it to your local Council Office & Tax Office. To become a legit Franchisee you have to satisfy some pretty tough criteria (considering what you are applying to do) – so if that sort of thing is going on it needs sorting.
They employ people on benefits, illegal immigrants, people without driving licences, people with criminal records for theft.
This is just at rushden depot
My advice to anybody who is thinking about becoming a franchise with DPD is don't bother,if you want to work 60+ hours a week and be stressed out to the max then by all means apply,just don't complain when your at the doctor with high blood pressure or heart problems.
cant wait till they give the customer half hour slot!!!
The ETAs HAVE to be set up for each individual driver.If a driver is running early or late,it is upto to the depot manager or SOM's to adjust it so that it reflects the stop rate of the driver and route.
IT IS NOT the responsability of the driver to ensure it is set up correctly.
ETAs are exactly that.Estimated time of arrival.As such DPD can not take any action against a driver who is struggling to keep within his ETAs.
Unfortunatly there are a few in DPD,from SOMS to people right at the top of the company,who "think" they can get away with halfing stops times,and setting the saturn up to do 100000 miles an hour.Well at least they all got a rather nice bonus for all the drivers they stressed out and pissed off.
After 7 years at this once industry leader in customer service,i find it embarrassing that such incompetent fools have managed to brown nose and bullshit their way towards the top of DPD!
well said, the soms are a joke..and just how did the depot managers get their overpaid jobs..the eta system is ok, however, what difference does it make if you are a minute early and the customer is in, you look like a fool sat outside knowing that the next drop is five miles away not the 5 seconds the saturn thinks it is!!! and what retard thought that it would be a good idea that alternative dates now go in your completed stops
I've worked as a subby for most of the parcel companies for over 10 years, i have been a self employed courier since 1999, and had people working for me, i can safely say that DPD are one of the best firms i have worked for, so much so, i have recently become an ODF, yes i work long hours, but yes – i do earn too, maybe if people realised that being self-employed doesn't entail a 9-5 lifestyle, they would be far better placed to make a success of it, if you want 9-5, go and work in a different trade, a lot of the ODFs i've known over the years want to start at 6am, and be finished by 1pm, and don't want to do their collections etc, but then complain that they cant earn a decent living, all i can say is…. get off your backsides and put the hours in
(remember…. todays collections are your deliveries for tomorrow, no collections – no deliveries = no work, no job)
The ETA system DOES work, if you make it work, and, just like any system, it can be adjusted easily enough to suit your route/workload/area etc etc, even more so if you're doing a regular route. It begs the question – how did you manage to route-plan your workload before this system came out? or have a lot of you forgotten how to route-plan already? surely you can route-plan and then schedule it, or is that too taxing? i think far too many people want spoon-feeding.
The ETA system on this scale is new to the industry, and like all new things, it'll have its teething problems, it will take time to perfect it, but if you work with it instead of trying to make it fail, it will be to your benefit. In time ALL the other parcel carriers will be implementing the ETA system, or one very similar to it, it's the future of the delivery industry, so you may as well get used to it.
Looking at some of the posts on here, some of you should think yourselves lucky you have a job, with the attitude shown on here – i wouldn't employ you or have you working for me.
Dave Addams, ODF, London South.
in response to to dave addams, the reason I cant earn a decent living is that i hace to give up at least 20 drops a day to the second wave driver, so i do finish earlier than i used yo, but then have to wait two hours *not earning a bean! for my collections, but if i had those drops i would still be earning
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