This week I had quite an adventure with about 500 telephone books and 1000 orange plastic bags. I was looking in the Sunday paper and stumbled across an employment opportunity to deliver telephone books. "How hard can that be?" I said to myself. So, I called the number. The next afternoon I'm sitting in a cheesy motel/hotel meeting room watching a training video on a 9 inch television screen.
The trainer is telling us this is a hard job -- the organization piece, not the walking. He's also telling us that it's not for everyone and if we get out there and decide it's not for us -- just bring back what we don't deliver. Okay -- organization is a cinch for me -- I'm still thinking that this can't be bad (obviously ignoring the statement that this job is not for everyone.) I get my route -- relatively small -- and my street is included. I look at my street and realize that several houses are missing. The boss says to give them phone books anyways and just write down the addresses so I can get credit for them (that means extra money.)
I'm given a box of 1000 orange bags -- all telephone books delivered to residences MUST be in a plastic bag and MUST be placed by the hinged side of the door. I also have to carry a GPS device around my neck and push a button each time I leave a book and either circle the address or write it down each time I'm on a porch. So, not only do I have to carry all these books, I have to carry a pen and paper -- and oh yeah -- and for all those folks who called to decline a phone book, they still get a door hanger, so I'm carrying those too.
As I'm alerting the boss that there are several addresses missing, an older "gentle"man walks in and slams down his box of bags complaining that this job is not for him and that after walking around for four hours he could only find four addresses. I'm not worried -- I've figured out how to get around that, just deliver anyways -- and I'll get extra money on top of that!! I proceed to leave the cheesy room, retrieve my truck and head out to the back of the motel/hotel and get 18 bundles of 36 telephone books loaded into the bed of the truck. I drive 25 minutes homes only to realize that I left my box of bags at the "office." I have the kids help me unload all 18 bundles and head back out. I return an hour later and start bagging.
After I start, I realize I need to put them in something so I can easily carry them downstairs to my truck. I locate some old laundry baskets (that goodness I'm a pack rat) and load up three of those. I haven't made a DENT in the bundles -- so then I just start stacking them on the living room floor. After 75 minutes of this -- I decided that I need some living room floor space and quit.
The next morning I and a friend get an early start -- load up the truck and start walking. I realize as I'm carrying a gazillion books -- they are heavy!!! I'm sure I forgot to push the GPS button several times and there are MANY addresses missing that I have to hand write on my log sheet. Worst of all -- all of my neighbors' houses have stairs to get to the front door -- some are only 5 or 6 -- but most are about 15!!! Uh-oh -- I think reality is setting in....
About an hour and a half later my friend and I stop at another friend's house and beg for some water. They are ever so helpful and we even get some water to go.... we start back up and as I glare at each new set of 15+ steps, I realize that this is SO NOT WORTH it. I really wanted to finish that last street, but alas, it was not to be.
We head home and I try to figure out how long we've worked (two of us for about four hours each) and I realize that I have only delivered about a quarter of my books....... I do the math ..... I'll be lucky to get $13-$20 for all that work, and on top of that, I have to share it with my friend -- I'm going to make about $4/hour!!!
I took the books back that afternoon and then had to drive back the next day to pick up my check. So, with all 4 driving trips (about 20 miles one way), 1 hour of bagging and 3 hours of delivering (times 2 people) I made a whopping $30 -- that I will have to share -- so I really only made about $15. I'm sure I spent more on gas then I earned -- luckily I'm not smart enough to figure out how much I actually spent to travel to the cheesy motel each time. Lesson learned -- there is no easy way to make money :)
Night all.
Virginia
