Courier Services - Buyers Guide

Courier Services - Bike Couriers

In major cities they are everywhere – bike courier services are a fixture in metropolitan areas and are used by companies wanting to make quick deliveries. Bike couriers are often used instead of cars or other couriers because of their speed and the fact that they are not subject to the same kind of traffic hold-ups to which car delivery services are prone. Bike couriers are a breed unto themselves. The whole courier subculture has very little to do with the business community they serve and they have their own ethos, worldview, hangouts, their own fashions and even their own terminology from other people. Bike couriers have been around for a very long time, but it is only recently that they have managed to cement themselves as a niche in today’s global, urban subculture.

One of the most obvious ways to tell that bike couriers have become an influencing part of our culture is the bleeding of their fashion sense into popular style. The one-shoulder backpacks favoured by bike couriers are now commonly seen by those who hardly, if ever, sit on a bike. The funky, uncoordinated look of their outfits was also a major influence on designers a few years back.

The bike courier is often seen as a nihilist sub-culture – a view exacerbated by their portrayals in movies and on television. While bike couriers are not all as portrayed in the media, there is a definite clique that must be broken by newbies if they want to be accepted. Before any new bike courier can be counted as part of a city’s messenger fold, they have to prove themselves to the others by performing at a certain level for a set amount of time. Only once they have passed such a test will they be accepted into the group.

Bike courier services were all set to be wiped out several times over the years. Each time a new technology came out that allowed people to send documents quickly and easily the end of bike couriers was foretold. It happened when the fax machine was first introduced in the 1980s and just a few years ago with internet technology having been refined to the point where large files could be sent virtually. However, bike couriers services have managed to survive and are still around. In places where winter conditions are a reality for much of the year, bike couriers can still be seen plying their trade. With bikes outfitted with chains on their tires and with winter gear that cuts wind and freezing temperatures, bike couriers brave what few people would ever attempt on icy street conditions.

In a world where technology is taking over in a big way, bike couriers have managed to carve a cozy spot for themselves in the business world. Although they may never run the corporations themselves, the businesses they serve would be unable to run properly without them. So, the next time you need to have something delivered, you might want to find a bike courier service to do it for you – they will get the job done quickly and efficiently.

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We needed to outsource some pre-sales work to a telemarketing company and I dreaded the search process. I knew it could take days to find companies, and then repeat my basic needs to each and every one. Filling out your form and having them come to me was a huge time saver. I hired a company in a week and so far we've been very pleased with the results.

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New York, USA