A Courier Story

I am a ground-courier for a company called Streetwise Special Delivery, which means I drive for a living. That may not sound too exciting, but it is! I get to deliver almost anything you can imagine...to anywhere...and at any time of day or night.

We deliver everything from computer parts to crime lab samples to court documents to chocolate cookies, and our client destinations cover the entire Bay Area, California, and beyond.

The key to our success is delivering whatever is needed ON time, every time, and to the customer's satisfaction... without exception. It's either be consistent, or they'll call another delivery service. There are NO second chances.

If this fails to generate enough excitement, challenge, or variety to my career...there is one final perk that puts the icing on my cake. I get a lot of satisfaction from the appreciative smiles and warm handshakes customers give when a delivery is there early, or their day is saved. I know now that I've helped to make a positive difference somehow!.

I'll share one very special example: We deliver highly controlled medication to critically ill hospice patients dying of cancer or other terminal disease. They are often surviving in the hopeful comfort of thier last days..

A highly specialized hospice care company provides us with pharmacy pick-up information, nurses instructions, and patient addresses where the medicine is delivered to a designated family member or home-care nurse.

This is a unique type of delivery that requires security, safety, and special respect,,,.not just for handling controlled prescription drugs, but, also handling the sensitive mood of the receiving family. It is in this atmosphere, that I enjoyed my most memorable delivery success.

I was called out of bed in San Jose to drive to Walnut Creek to pick up medication bound for a needy patient in Fairfield. I left the house at 12:15am with a deadline of 2:30am. With no traffic and no need to break speed laws, everything fell into place....and I reached the patient's home early, at 1:50am.

As it turned out, the grieving husband ran out of his wife's much needed pain medicine hours earlier, and wasn't expecting me that soon. When he answered the door I couldn't help but see his worried face flash open a relieved smile. Upon signing my release form he began to cry, and then extended me a warm hug of appreciation.

"ThankYou so much and God bless You", he said. I felt shivers down my spine while driving way, bound for home with a little lost sleep, and a lot of self-satisfaction and purpose!!

Thanks, Drive safely, and with purpose.

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