Sam Rockwell, founder of Hotline Couriers was a courier rider for six years, where he worked for just about every courier service under the sun. Dissatisfied with the treatment of courier riders, he decided to start his own company.
Supported by the City of Sydney, Hotline Couriers was established five months ago, and the business has grown rapidly. Hotline Couriers serves as a co-op courier company, ensuring that each employee is paid a liveable wage, is insured, and receives super contributions, amongst other staff entitlements.
For Sam, Hotline Couriers is a great alternative to current courier service models that currently exist. Sam says: “One of the things that I noticed from my last jobs for courier companies is that a lot of the companies use an outdated model. They’re trying very hard to make profit off the hard work of someone else, and those models mean that you just end up ripping off the guy who is doing the work.”
Run by couriers themselves, and being a co-op, the company wants to provide a great, safe, and happy workplace for couriers, which they believe leads to better service for the customer.
Employees couldn’t be happier with the care that Hotline Couriers provides for them.
Employee Juan Pablo says: “I like working for Hotline because it’s like working for a friend, and you’re not working for a big company, or another company that would take most of the profits. Some companies might take 90% of what the customer pays, but Hotline only takes 10%.”
Diego Lara has recently been working for Hotline Couriers but says already there is a noticeable difference. “Other companies don’t want to pay, pay tax or superannuation, nothing. It’s better with companies like Hotline Couriers, who use your ABN, and give you better pay and respect” says Diego.
So far, the business has been met with open arms by consumers. Sam says, “Most people are pretty keen to support the local co-op and the local business vibe and the ethical aspect.”
The difference between services has been noticeable.
“A lot of my clients noticed that the couriers they were using were super disgruntled and not happy and doing a bad job because of it” says Sam. Sam says that clients have noticed a significant difference in service due to their Hotline Couriers being paid well.
Hotline Couriers are currently branching into food delivery services, offering an ethical alternative to what is currently available in the market now. Hotline Couriers hopes to grow in this sector to ensure ethical delivery spreads throughout the courier business.
Hotline Couriers can be contacted here.
