What does a delivery service driver do?

What is a Delivery Service Driver?

A delivery service driver is someone who picks up, transports, and drops off packages within a small region or urban area. Most of the time, they transport merchandise from a distribution centre to businesses and households.

What does a Delivery Service Driver do?

Most drivers plan their routes, and have a regular daily or weekly schedule. Others have different routes each day, and these drivers generally receive instructions to go to a delivery location at a particular time, and it is up to them to find a way there. They must have a thorough understanding of an area’s street grid and know which roads allow trucks and which do not. A delivery service driver must:

• Load and unload their cargo
• Report any incidents they encounter on the road to a dispatcher
• Follow all applicable traffic laws
• Report serious mechanical problems to the appropriate personnel
• Keep their truck and associated equipment clean and in good working order
• May accept payments for the shipment
• Handle paperwork, such as receipts or delivery confirmation notices

Light truck drivers, often called pick-up and deliver or P&D drivers, are the most common type of delivery driver. They drive small trucks or vans from distribution centres to delivery locations. Drivers make deliveries based on a set schedule. Some drivers stop only at the distribution centre once in the morning, and make many stops throughout the day. Others make multiple trips between the distribution centre and delivery locations.

Driver/sales workers are delivery drivers with added sales responsibility. They recommend new products to businesses and solicit new customers. For example, they may make regular deliveries to a hardware store and encourage the store’s manager to offer a new type of product. Driver/sales workers also deliver goods, such as take-out food to consumers, and accept payment for those goods.

What is the workplace of a Delivery Service Driver like?

Delivery service drivers spend most of their time on the road. Delivery service drivers have a physically demanding job; when loading and unloading cargo, drivers do a lot of lifting, carrying, and walking.