The Chainlink

any messenger jobs out there?

I'm thinking about a job change. (I have my best ideas on snowy January mornings.) Does anyone know if any messenger companies are hiring right now, and/ or have advice re good or bad companies to work for?

Thanks!

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Permalink Reply by olloyd1 on January 28, 2009 at 12:16pm
The easiest companies to get in with are the crappiest, from what I've heard. But everyone has to start somewhere
Permalink Reply by Jen P on January 28, 2009 at 12:44pm
Heather, a snowy January morning is the best time to go apply for messenger jobs. Plus, you've got experiance of the highest degree...

I'm going to send you some companies that I think would be best for your caliber.
Permalink Reply by niconico on January 28, 2009 at 5:45pm
shits slow right now! but i think standard may be hiring... from what i understand their rates suck, but its work. chicago messenger i think is always hiring, you've just gotta fork over a bunch of dough to buy the bag and uniform before you can start. good luck with the job hunt! maybe i'll see you downtown one of these days.
Permalink Reply by cutifly on January 29, 2009 at 10:03am
Anyone want to start a messenger service ? I have the good Chicago phone number ending in 4500 and can handle all the phone, computer work, etc ... Just need someone to drum on business. I am sure it would not be hard to execute deliveries because there is also so many bikers ready to rock already. I am all about good service and taking care of people, so if anyone is down send a note off list.
Permalink Reply by lauren sailor on January 29, 2009 at 4:07pm
if you're not totally set on the messenger idea, what about food delivery? jimmy john's and potbelly's both use bicycle delivery. for jj's you get base pay plus tips (which tend to be better when the weather is worse!), and i believe potbelly's is just tips (but you don't have to do work in the shop if the deliveries are slow).

to echo niconico's comment that things are slow, i have to add that a lot of messenger companies are losing work because their clients are doing less work.

from what i hear, apex is a decent place to start. dunno if they're hiring, though, but it's worth a shot since they have hourly pay. (so you'll get some cash even if things are slow)
Permalink Reply by niconico on January 31, 2009 at 10:25am
finding the bikers ain't the tricky part.... its the clients!

cutifly said:
Anyone want to start a messenger service ? I have the good Chicago phone number ending in 4500 and can handle all the phone, computer work, etc ... Just need someone to drum on business. I am sure it would not be hard to execute deliveries because there is also so many bikers ready to rock already. I am all about good service and taking care of people, so if anyone is down send a note off list.
Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on January 31, 2009 at 3:19pm
For those of you willing to create opportunities, I wonder if it might be worth asking some local restaurants that DON'T currently have bike delivery if they'd consider trying it - with you. In areas with enough density (most lakefront neighorhoods, Oak Park, Evanston, etc.), perhaps some restaurants might consider it.

The Potbelly locations I've seen using bike delivery tend to use one or two people and they stick around. The 55 W. Monroe location has had the same delivery person for at least 2 years. She seems to keep busy.

I've noticed a change in the Loop messenger market - more trailers, some of them making post office runs.
Permalink Reply by Kate on January 31, 2009 at 11:46pm
I've done Potbelly bike delivery for 2 years now. Stores in the northside have delivery bikers who, both deliver, and work in the store at slower points. Potbelly stores downtown all have "self employed" bikers. We work for a guy who basically acts as a dispatcher. We get 2 bucks per delivery plus whatever tips we get, that's it. I love it, personally.
Permalink Reply by cutifly on February 1, 2009 at 11:25am
Thank you Pete, the City is always trying to screw you and reach in your pockets. Everything is too complicated and I will stick with the programming. Thank you for the article.
Permalink Reply by heather s on September 23, 2009 at 7:50pm
So ten months later, I've decided to go for it. Can't handle being stuck in a cubicle all day anymore. Anyone have any new suggestions to add? And, is anyone familiar with Advanced Messenger Svc.? They seem to be hiring.
Permalink Reply by Glenn on September 23, 2009 at 10:41pm
Its awesome to read all this. I'm a seasonal worker and my work season ended early(bad). I;m going to look into all this myself. I live in a college town so maybe the JJ an potbellies thing might work, or a few local eating places.
Permalink Reply by Justin K Prim on October 22, 2009 at 9:30am
When I came to Chicago a few months ago I was really trying to get into the messengering world. When no one was hiring, I started my old job again at Jimmy John's. I have to say, compared to that story of the pay at Potbellies, and what I have heard from the current state of the messenger world, JJ's is pretty ok. If you can set it up right, which luckily I did, you can make as much as the lowend messengers are making. I am making $8/hr working about 30hrs a week (which is a lot for JJ's). I can count on making $20 a weekday in tips, sometimes a lot more. So I can usually count on $300 per week which is what one messenger company told me was the minimum before like $150 in fees per week! Plus JJ's has minimum wage for when the work is slow. And you only have to work 4 hours a day and you get to be inside for part of the day when it's cold. And added bonus, you can wear a JJ's bike jersey!!

So it definitely beats any other minimum wage job because you make tips and ride a bike.
The downfall vs messengering is that instead of just biking all day, you have to make sandwiches, clean bathrooms and tables, clean other stuff, and work with the potential dorks/fratguys that usually work at a Jimmy Johns. I have worked JJ's now for almost 3 years now and I like it pretty well.

I also work in the near north area, so suburban tips might not be as good, and possibly some JJ's dont have bike delivery. In the city limits, I think they ONLY have bike delivery. And on foot too.


ps. Hi, my name is Justin and this is my first post on chainlink. I just found it yesterday and its' SOOO cool.

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