Tuesday, February 23, 2010

It's A Family Affair in the Courier Delivery Business

How long have you been working for your current employer?

Online statistics show that the average worker stays on the same job for 4.5 years. This is a far cry from the days when our parents and grandparents retired from the company that hired them right out of school.

My company currently looking for qualified candidates (SAMEDAY COURIER SALES POSITION) in the courier industry, and it is disappointing to review resumes that show applicants change jobs every year or two. I ask myself if I really want to hire someone, train them, and watch them leave the company just at the moment we are breaking even on our investment in them?

Here’s another sentence ending in a question mark! Would you want your son or daughter coming to work with you at your current job? Be honest. They hear you complain about your job at the dinner table and they see you arriving home exhausted, oftentimes frustrated, from a hard day at the office.

Now, let me tell you about a secret gem of a company based in Philadelphia. It is in the same- day delivery business and has been for 26 years.

Much like those start-up computer companies of recent vintage, American Expediting Company began in the family garage with owner Vic Finnegan running the entire operation along with his small family. As demand for his services grew, his nuclear family couldn’t match the need for manpower. It was time to begin a company family. Enter Ray Keough. Ray was hired to handle the expedited delivery services. Shortly thereafter his daughter, Karen, came aboard to manage the accounting processes. She, in turn, hired her daughter Nadine to augment her growing department.

With the addition and growth of the company’s multiple vertical markets, i.e. Medical Delivery, Facilities Management Services, Legal Courier Deliveries, etc., there was additional need for Operations people. Enter Mike Murphy, an experienced dispatcher, a former corporate banker, and now the Operations Manager for the Philadelphia office. Joining him each day at the office are his kids: Lauren, Mike Jr., and Sean all experts in Customer Service and Dispatch functions.

These are just the blood relatives among the staff of people in the Philadelphia office who have been with the company 5, 10, and even 20 years. There is a family here, not just the blood families but a real company family and for me, in this society, that is incredible.

But, let’s look at the other American Expediting offices; the American Expediting service in Pittsburgh includes the Sanner Family (husband, wife, and son); the Raleigh site includes the Preston family; the Orlando location includes the Caraballo’s; Harrisburg has the Snow’s who just added their second set of twins to their family, who will be expect will be driving for us in 2026. And, finally, in Detroit we have the Matanzas family.

We are either masochists, or we really love what we do. The next time you are out shopping for a company to help you with your same-day, rush delivery, or expedited courier needs, ask yourself the question…do I want to work with that big corporate black hole where I am a small part of their business, or should I choose the company that will treat me like I am one of the family?

5 comments:

  1. Talking about family. What about the Dillon, Harrigan and Buck/Anderson clan. Cathy Harrigan started part time in our PHL location. Then in turn her sister Jenn Dillon was brought in to the company as a CSR in PHL. When Jenn got the position to manage the Westville office Lorraine(Jenn's aunt) was bought in to take Jenn's position in PHL as a CSR. Shortly thereafter Michael Dillon (Jenn's brother in law) joined Amex in the accounting dept in PHL. Then Sheri Anderson (Lorraine's sister in law) joined American Expediting as a part time driver. Two months later Sheri was bought in as a full time CSR in Westville. A few months ago Ashley Anderson (Sheri's daughter) joined the company as a part time CSR. Talk about a family affair.

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  2. Gee, I was only a piece of mail in a PO Box

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  3. 23 years in my job for me. I guess that makes me a dinosaur these days. I agree with you on the investment statements. It is also true that companies sometimes panic and let people go at a drop of a hat.

    The times that we live in.

    JoeM

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  4. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  5. Hi, nice post. Well what can I say is that these is an interesting and very informative topic. Thanks for sharing your ideas, its not just entertaining but also gives your reader knowledge. Good blogs style too, Cheers!

    - The courier Minneapolis

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