By Jen O’Rourke
While being run off their feet may be good for the bottom line, for two of Metro Vancouver’s biggest courier companies the forecasted resolution of the Canada Post strike was welcome news.
Since the rotating strikes started in early June, Canada Post had reduced its mail delivery to three days a week and began locking out employees on June 15.
The result: an overall increase in business for Vancouver’s courier companies, mainly on the messenger services side.
For Terry Preist, general manager of PDX Courier Services, business increased about 30% since the strike started, the majority in overnight delivery, a service most customers normally rely on Canada Post for.
“The way we run our company is very similar to the post office, the only difference is we obtain signatures, so it’s more like a contract, you’re not getting returned mail,” said Preist.
Richmond’s Quick as a Wink Courier Service Ltd. saw a rise in business of 20% to 25%, according to general manager Mike Giordano, mainly in messenger service.
“We [were] seeing a lot of envelope traffic,” said Giordano.
Based on previous experience, Preist was able to ensure PDX was prepared for the spike in business and that it would come at no cost to existing clientele. He explained that while it’s nice getting new business, it’s important to ensure that existing customers remain a priority.
“You’ve got to help out where you can but our first commitment is in ensuring our existing customers receive service,” said Preist.
With its main clientele coming from construction companies, law firms, film companies and financial institutions, industry booms are inevitable and often result in a higher volume of business for PDX.
“We go through these booms with the types of companies we primarily deal with … this isn’t entirely new,” he said.
In preparation for the strike, Preist made sure his staff was adequately prepared and could manage an “all hands on deck” approach. He also added a few extra mountain bikes to the mix to aid in deliveries downtown.
However nice the increase in business was, both Giordano and Preist looked forward to things returning to normal.
When asked if he was looking forward to the strike ending, Giordano said, “Yes definitely, business as usual is always nicer.”
He may have to wait a little longer than expected.
On June 20, the Harper government put forward a bill to Parliament to enforce back-to-work legislation to end the dispute between Canada Post and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers.
Though an announcement was expected by June 23, nothing had been declared by press time.
Meantime, Canada Post launched an ad campaign scheduled to hit the press later this month that encourages customers to get on the “epost” system to avoid delays in dealing with bills.