Behind the scenes of a London delivery driver – is this the least thankful job in the UK?

We’ve all got our own Evri and DPD horror stories – parcels ‘delivered’ that are nowhere to be seen, notifications telling us we are not in after sitting in the living room all day.

To top this all off, parcel delivery has the worst customer satisfaction score than any other sector in the country.

We all love to stick the boot in delivery drivers – who more often than not get a bad rep from members of the public.

But what is the day in the life of a London delivery driver like and what goes on behind the scenes?

Metro was invited along to a ride along with Hived from its new West London base in Hayes, West London  – an all electric fleet founded in 2021 which is reducing London emissions by 76%.

Since it was founded in 2021, Hived has grown in size and works with brands including Nespresso, Uniqlo, Zara, John Lewis and Pip & Nut.

Kevin Smith, 29, has been a driver for Hived since July 2021 and was one of the first employees to work for the company.

‘There’s been a variety of different things that have happened to me over the years,’ Kevin told Metro.

‘Before my time at Hived I’ve been shouted at by customers that have literally left me shaking.

‘You just never really know where you are going to go. Some of these places include grand homes that have huge corridors adorned with paintings and gardens acres big.

‘You meet many different interesting faces and people along the way who you wouldn’t expect. 

‘All the way to the other end where I couldn’t get proof of delivery once because I knocked on a door, the door slowly opened and a hand just emerged from the crack to slowly grab the parcel in silence and remove it.

‘Other times people can look at you blankly and be confused as to why you are on their doorstep.’

Drivers for Hived typically arrive for work anytime between 7am and 9.30am.

Out and about with Kevin, the whole driving experience is streamlined and processed in comparison to pictures we often see of other delivery drivers running around and chucking packages around left, right and centre.

If a person isn’t it, drivers like Kevin take the extra step of delivering to neighbours, and they log this on the app which feeds the information back to base.

The whole point is a focus on fewer deliveries in comparison to other companies and a focus on quality.

The duration of routes chosen by drivers can range from six hours and nine hours, with the flexibility to choose what kind of route they do.

In the new West London depot, cages are put in the order in which drivers like Kevin do the deliveries so the process is streamlined rather than chaotic.

Hived drivers also use an app in which they can see their nearest deliveries which helps optimise routes and cuts delivery times.

Improving customer experience is at the heart of the operation and this is done by drivers writing down notes for their delivery and uploading multiple photos as proof of delivery.

Kevin revealed that the great quality of a driver is ‘perseverance’ and said: ‘We’ve all been in traffic and know road rage well.

‘To go through that everyday, there’s a sense of patience that you need to have as a delivery driver.

‘You need resilience as well because you never know if you will be able to deliver a parcel to the actual address if that person isn’t in.’

It is this sense of resilience that delivery drivers need when it comes to toilet breaks.

In Inner London, delivery drivers are legally entitled to access toilet facilities at businesses they visit for deliveries, and businesses are obligated to provide this access.

But Kevin revealed that if you are not delivering to businesses, he often asks politely if he can use local facilities.

‘Businesses are very understanding when it comes to the need of delivery drivers,’ he said.

‘The hardest part of the job though is when it is a cold winter’s day and it is bucketing with rain – a lot of parcels are paper.’

Kevin added: ‘I think delivery drivers do get a bad rep and it depends who you ask.

‘My first ever job when I moved to London, my boss and I used a van and he said “now I drive a van I can just yell bad things at people”.

‘I think the van driver reputation, especially in a place like London, isn’t the best.

‘But this is a job where I get to provide great customer experience and have a good impact on the environment.

‘Hived is changing the reputation of delivery drivers which is something that is really cool.’

Founder of Hived, Murvah Iqbal, said that while she has embedded sustainability into the ethos of the company, it is the tech and AI that has helped streamline Hived’s delivery service.

She also says this has helped everything from customer satisfaction, to counteracting fraud and the added costs that come with failed deliveries.

‘This is where other delivery firms are going wrong – they are behind the times,’ Murvah told Metro.

‘Their systems aren’t talking to each other whereas ours use real time information.

‘Other companies will need to adapt their technology to keep up with a digital first age.

‘It is about a tech and AI first system – something that is really lacking in the delivery service across the country.

‘We are excited about the growth of Hived for the future because this is a growing market.’

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