Breakaway News Volume No. 16 Issue No. 11 November 2011

Thanks Again

Now that everyone in the city is reeling from hyperglycemic overload from Halloween, it’s the perfect time to remind everyone of the next calorific holiday on the calendar: Thanksgiving! No wonder we can’t lose those last five pounds! Anyway, whether the turkey you ordered is five or 15 pounds, be sure to call us to have it delivered, along with all the fixin’s. We promise not to eat it along the way.

Hellas on Wheels

NPR reports that Athenians are doing something drastic to get around their city while their economy tanks: They’re bicycling! Once left only to the poor and the foolhardy, Athenians say they are saving on gas, and getting to work, despite strikes and protests. The humble bicycle to the rescue!

Daylight Reminder

The days get shorter during the winter months, but one thing we do really speeds it along. This month, Eastern Standard times arrives on November 6^th, at 2:00am. So remember to turn your clocks back, and enjoy the extra hour of sleep.

Warehouse

Our customers love having us hold inventory for them prior to shipping, and now we’ve got more space to do it in. We’ve experienced an expansion in available space in our warehouse, so give us a call and let us house your wares. 

Sync This!

Smartphones, iPods, Blackberries; they all have to be synched with something, giving us that sinking feeling. We miss the days when it was just the kitchen sink. (laugh now!)

Reefer Madness

Alright, we can tell what you’re thinking after reading the headline, and no, we are not about to start servicing clients with glaucoma. In trucking parlance, a “reefer” truck is a refrigerated truck, and we’re about to acquire one. That means that if you have something that needs to remain frosty all the way to its destination, you can call on us. Pretty darn cool.

People, Power, Pizza

Occupy Wall Street has been going strong for about a month, sparking movements across the globe, but still, protestors have to eat. What are they eating? Liberatos Pizza. The pizzeria, which now has an “OccuPie”, has even taken donation orders from as far away as Italy, Germany, and Greece. That’s branding for you!

Stump the Band

Last month we asked what item was used before pumpkins for jack-o’-lanterns, and why. Turnips were used prior to the pumpkin (a New World item) to either ward off evil spirits, or remember souls in purgatory.

T-Shirt Question

The official car of Boston’s mayor uses the plate number “576.” What is the origin of this enigmatic number? The first person to call Gil Ortiz with the correct answer will win a coveted Breakaway T-shirt.

Breakaway News Volume No. 16 Issue No. 10 October 2011

Spook City

October is here; ahhhhh the autumn weather! The falling leaves, the crisp air, the fall fashions! Most of all, the sugar rush at the end of the month when the little ones come back from trick-or-treating laden with enough candy to kill a diabetic. For this All Hallows, Breakaway has hired zombie couriers, who will be happy to deliver your consignment of confections to your home so you can distribute them to the children. If zombies can ever be happy, that is.

Space and Beyond

With the end of the space shuttle missions, it’s become a lot harder to deliver items and personnel to the International Space Station. Naturally, that’s where Breakaway Courier comes in! We’re in talks with NASA right now, trying to get them to let us handle their deliveries to the ISS. The main sticking point is that we haven’t quite figured out what vehicle we’re going to use to get there. Once we do though, that contract is ours, baby!

Trucking Reminder

Stuck with some large items to move? Doing a photo shoot and have a lot of furniture to schlep? Have a body you need disposing of? If the answer to that last one is yes, we’re calling the police, but if it’s yes to the first two, feel free to call us. We have a varied fleet, from box trucks to lift-gates, all looking for something to do. Except dispose of bodies, of course.

Escort Service

Brooklyn bicyclists are starting a volunteer escort service for women living in Park Slope and Prospect Heights, in response to a spate of sex attacks. The Brooklyn Bike Patrol will come and escort any woman walking home alone late who calls. Call Jay “Rocket” Ruiz, of reality show Triple Rush, at (718) 744-7592 for a cycle volunteer. 

AY Is Back!

And he’s looking so relaxed and happy about having gone to India that we can’t stand it. New York’s intrepid traveling general manager says that the trip was amazing, and he has the photos to prove it. Check out his blog entries on our website, and you can see some of them. Now, if we can only stop him from doing yogic headstands at his desk while chanting Om.

Gridlock Galore

When sending items by truck, it’s good to know your “gridlock alert” days. This can include U.N. sessions, dignitaries visiting town, or other such events. Bicycle couriers aren’t as affected as trucks, but even so, they can experience slowdowns because of security. Listen to traffic news to gauge conditions, and plan accordingly.

Stump the Band

Last month we asked what is usually sought after by either pigs or dogs, is referred to as the “diamonds of the kitchen,” and can command hundreds of dollars per ounce. The answer: Truffles. In 2009, white truffles went for €10,200 per kilo.

T-Shirt Question

For Halloween jack-o’-lanterns are made from pumpkin, but what was used before and why? The first person to call Gil Ortiz with the correct answer will win a coveted Breakaway T-shirt.

Breakaway News Volume No. 16 Issue No. 9 September 2011

Labor’s Reward

September is here, and that means summer is just about finished; the kids are about to go back to school, and, of course, you can’t wear white after the 5^th, which Labor Day falls on this year. Breakaway salutes all of America’s workers, who put in the hours to help promote all of our prosperity. Our messengers, we’re proud to say, promote prosperity on the streets everyday. All without wearing white, of course.

Fit to a Tee

How many times have you tried and tried to call in to answer our vaunted trivia question, only to find that another customer has beaten you to it; no t-shirt for you! Well, now there’s an easier, although un-free, way of getting a Breakaway t-shirt; shop online, at breakawaystore.com! They come in various fashionable colors (not white!) and will make you the near-envy of everyone in your office. So, what are you waiting for? Get clicking!

Hardcore Couriers

Hurricane Irene came flying into the city last month, and like a lot of bad house guests, she trashed the place. Damage was minimal, however, because most everyone heeded official warnings and shut everything down. Well, almost everyone. We were open and ready to go, even in the teeth of the ‘cane. However, since no one else was open, we were all dressed up with nowhere to go.

Store More

Office bursting at the seams? Can’t find your red Swingline stapler under the tons of promotional material you need to move? Breakaway has short-term storage here at our HQ warehouse. Our logistics staff can get all your movables out of your hair, and to where it needs to be, so you can concentrate on the important stuff. You’ll be glad you did!

Andy in India

This September, Office Manager Andrew Young will be on vacation in India. His duties will be taken up by office stalwart Gil Ortiz. Please try not to fill up his voice mail unless necessary, and be sure to use the phone tree to find the office personnel that can best help you.

Rising Again

Unofficial rides by our messengers near Ground Zero show an optimistic sight; Freedom Tower is now higher than the surrounding structures. You can’t keep industry, service, and patriotism down. You can, however, procrastinate.

Stump the Band

Last month we asked what astronomical event happened every year between July and August? Answer: The Perseid meteor shower, which hits its peak around August 12^th and is always a big hit with amateur and professional skywatchers.

T-Shirt Question

It can command hundreds of dollars per ounce, and is neither plant nor animal. Usually sought after with either dogs or pigs, they have been called, “the diamonds of the kitchen.” To what are we referring to? The first person to call Gil Ortiz with the correct answer will win a coveted Breakaway T-shirt.

scaffold during the quake

What does an earthquake feel like?

I have a pretty nice little perch here in Midtown Manhattan on the 10th floor with lots of windows facing north and south. The first indication that something was amiss was just before 2 PM. I felt something move through my stomach first...a certain queaziness...is this what cat's and dogs feel when they react before earthquakes hit? Immediately after that a wave moved through everone all at once in concord with the floors and walls. We were all stopped short for a second then a phone operator said "I don't feel good". Our IT guy Marc had been installing a white board on the wall behind me and was striking a hammer...we looked at each other and it took a second for me to internalize that it would be impossible to make a building shake with a hammer. A text from my wife came through..."Our building is being evacuated" and I thought...In Manhattan being in the middle of a street surrounded by huge buidings that could fall on you might not be a good idea. Perhaps the sheep meadow in Central Park. 

The building managment have had construction working on the outdside of the building all summer and were hanging on a scaffold just outside my window. The entire scaffold swayed back and forth and the workers stopped what they were doing long enough to curse in Spanish. Then they started back in working.

How much money do bike messengers really make?

How much money do messengers make?

Over the years one consistent source of confusion concerning the bicycling courier industry is how messengers are paid and how much money they can actually make. The recent reality show Triple Rush did not really address this issue in any detail other then to suggest that bike messengers did not make much money. That can often be true but is not necessarily the rule, at least at Breakaway. I thought I would take this opportunity to look at the issue in some detail and explain how Breakaway pays couriers and meets all wage law obligations.

Most courier companies in New York City compensate their crews in one of two ways; they are either paid a set hourly rate, usually the minimum wage or slightly above, or they are paid via a commission of the total price of each individual run they deliver. In most cases the commission system will result in couriers averaging a higher average hourly rate in a given pay period then a straight hourly system. The commission system also incentivizes couriers to perform at a higher level which provides clients with better service and the couriers with a higher wage. Breakaway employs the latter system with a few adjustments that ensure that we are in compliance with all state and federal wage law. I will cover how these adjustments work in a moment but first I want to actually tell you what I tell new hires about how much they might be able to make in an average week.

On our commission system even a beginning courier will make $4-$5 for him or herself for every delivery they do. So if the can do 10, 15, 20, or 25 runs in a day you can do the math and get a rough guide to what is possible. Played out over an average 5 day week on this commission system even beginning couriers should average $8-$12 per hour for the hours they work. Another sizable group of experienced couriers average $11-$15 per hour and there is a small group of high performing couriers that are capable of $15-$21 as an hourly rate over 5 days. I stress small on the last group. I can usually count them on one hand.

Over the course of any given 7 day pay period (the pay period runs from Saturday through Friday and 99% of couriers only work Mon-Fri); Breakaway compensates 80-95 full and part-time bicycle couriers. Of those full-time bikers there will be a small number, and again…I can count them on one hand, whose net pay will be $6-$700 and sometimes more. A larger group of full-timers, usually 15-20 will have a net of $4-$600 for the same week. Any decent full timer with a little experience should be able to take home $3-$400.

As far as what a part-time courier can make it varies depending of factors like how busy we are, what time of day they work and how efficient a courier they are. Breakaway employs and encourages a large part time crew since in New York there is a ready population of students, actors, artist and athletes who need a part-time job that flexes with their schedule and earns them a good hourly rate.

Now that I have described to you the benefits of an incentivized commission system I want take you through the adjustments we make to this system to ensure its fairness since if misapplied it can lead to couriers who earn below the minimum wage for the hours they work. First off, as a rule our goal is for even the freshest rookie to make $9-$12 per hour since the actual minimum wage is not nearly high enough to live in New York City. We get pretty close on most people but what if we are not close? What if a courier’s commission wage dips below the minimum wage? We have several systems in place to catch and correct this and provide proof to the courier that we have done so. The first thing we do is track all the hours a courier works in a pay period from their first dispatch until their last signature is given. We calculate what the minimum wage would be for those hours and show the courier that number and what they made on the commission in a weekly printout. If they have dipped below the minimum wage they will see that we have added income to bring them up to the legal level. Frankly though, this does not happen very often…a few people on any given week, and if someone is consistently performing below par they risk losing their job for non-productivity. This almost never happens either since the system is designed to ensure it doesn’t.

Any company in this business is obligated to track their employee’s hours and meet minimum wage requirements. Another thing they are also required to account for is overtime. Breakaway tracks any overtime hours a courier works and pays them 1.5 of their regular rate for each of those hours….this means what they averaged per hour for that pay period, on top of their commission.

Sounds like fun doesn’t it? We always are as honest as possible about how difficult this job is and what the average person is capable of making. Our best 5-8 bikers in a given calendar year will usually make $35-$42,000. That is a small number of people and at that level they must be considered professional athletes. Still though, there is a larger group of people who are able to make ends meet working full or part-time at Breakaway and we feel a deep obligation to help make sure that these couriers who work so hard are compensated fairly.

Over the years the cost of living has risen faster then the rate courier companies can charge clients and this makes it even tougher. The rule of thumb used to be that you charged double the minimum wage for a delivery. When that wage was $4 it was easy to do. Now the minimum wage in New York is $7.25 and it is not possible to double that. It all seems to be just another part of the middle class squeeze that so many millions of us have experienced in our lifetimes.

As a client or a potential client reading this you need to know that Breakaway Courier is an open, transparent company that pays its workers a fair, legal wage for their hard work and that what we are charging you for a delivery is based on these assumptions. It is who we are.

As a potential courier who might apply for a job you need to know that we will account for every hour you work and make sure that you understand how you were compensated. If you apply to other companies ask them how they account for hours worked and if they provide their couriers with proof that all federal and state wage requirements are met. There are many fine companies that meet all these requirements but unfortunately there are some that do not. They will pay you a commission that does not equal the minimum wage. Know your rights and proceed with caution. 

Breakaway News Volume No. 16 Issue No. 8 August 2011

Look! Up in the Sky!

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it’s Breakaway! Well, sort of. We are pleased to announce that Breakaway Courier now has a TSA license, meaning we can now ship by air. The first planes of the Breakaway fleet are almost ready, as soon as our origami specialists finish folding the last of the paper airplanes. You can help; after reading this, fold it into an airfoil and voila! Instant fleet!

Aussie Rules

Breakaway Courier congratulates Cadel Evans, winner of the 2011 Tour de France. Patience is a virtue; Cadel has competed in the Tour seven times, and has been second twice. Cadel becomes the first Australian to win cycling’s biggest race. This year's Tour is also reportedly the most dope-free in twenty years, with the average pace almost three minutes slower than previous tours. Of course, our messengers never dope. They’re just naturally fast.

DUMBO Delivery

Back in July, a client called us to make a pick-up in Chelsea headed to DUMBO. We sent a messenger who happens to be deaf. He also just happened to be holding another client’s item, headed to a Wall Street building with a lot of government offices, which he was instructed to deliver first. Turns out the package for DUMBO was a pair of fake automatic guns, clearly visible in the Wall Street building’s X-Ray. Needless to say, it wasn’t long before the police and Homeland Security got involved, and chaos ensued. Transporting real weaponry is illegal in NYC. The real-looking fake items were confiscated by Homeland Security. Moral of the story: if you intend to ship anything that might attract the attention of Big Brother, call and consult with us first.

Hamptons Vacay

It’s August, and that means that many New Yorkers head out to the Hamptons to get away from it all. However, if you forgot your pool furniture or hibachi, or even your pets, fear not. Call Breakaway for our Hamptons delivery service. You’ll be glad you did.

Sic Itur Ad Astra

It’s the end of an era that we have all watched with fascination, envy, and sometimes, shocked sadness. Space shuttle Atlantis returned to earth in July, officially marking the end of thirty years of round-trip flights to space. All is not lost, however. We’re currently talking with NASA to let us handle all future deliveries to the International Space Station. Official space helmet on, Captain Video!

Stump the Band

Last month we wanted to know which past hockey player got involved in a brawl, wielding a fan’s shoe. Answer: Mike Milbury, a Bruin who fought a Ranger fan, hitting him with his own shoe, in a bench clearing brawl.

T-Shirt Question

It happens every year, between July and August, and is eagerly anticipated by sky watchers. It will hit its peak around August 12^th. What astronomical event are we talking about? The first person to call Gil Ortiz with the correct answer will win a coveted Breakaway T-shirt.

What is to be done?

What can you say about this $32 custom designed wine rack for your hipster bike? I know you are asking like I am.....what can I do about this....how can these people be stopped? In the long term I am not sure there is a way but for now here is what I am going to do: I am going to wait for them outside of the artisinal cheese shop and when they emerge with the perfect roquefort to go with their chardonnay I am going to grab their yoga matt from them and beat them sensless. I am curious if this is not actually a satire. Take a look at the link. 

Amazing but True!!

Another tale from the files of the Amazing but True!

This happened this morning. It is a true story but the names have been changed to protect the innocent and the dumb.

First some background:

The Innocent

We have a messenger, his name is…let’s just call him messenger X. Messenger X has worked here for several years as a walking courier. He walks because he is deaf. We communicate with him via text messages and since he works so hard he does pretty well for himself.

The Dumb

We have a client; well we have thousands of clients… let’s just call this client, client Y. Client Y is in the entertainment industry. Client Y often has us deliver various props back and forth around town for commercial photo shoots. They are very nice people but like many in the “entertainment field” they can sometimes be a bit…hmm…how can I put this in the most gentle way possible… clueless.

The incident in question

This morning client Y called in a pick up of a large envelope from the Chelsea neighborhood in Manhattan to Dumbo in Brooklyn. Messenger X was dispatched this pick up. Messenger X is also holding another pick up for a second client. That delivery is going to the Wall St area to a building with many government offices. Messenger X’s dispatcher…let’s just call him, “Wild Bill”, instructs messenger X to make the Wall St area drop before going to Brooklyn for client Y’s drop. Now it gets interesting.

In order to get inside of the building near Wall St to make his drop off, messenger X must go through a security checkpoint. In the paranoid era we now live in this is a common occurrence and our couriers know the drill well enough. Take off your bag, empty your pockets, take off your shoes, get padded down, go through a metal detector…get prodded and poked, you know… in countries that are bursting with freedom such as the good’ol US of A this is standard operating procedure. The bottom line…messenger X’s courier bag containing his personal belongings and also the large envelope going to Dumbo is put through an x-ray machine. When the security officer looks at the screen shot of messenger X’s bag he sees the outline of two automatic weapons. Now it gets really interesting.

They grab the bag, they grab messenger X, they start shouting questions at him…BUT…messenger X is deaf and although he reads lips very well he cannot understand what they are shouting at him. The building now goes to DEF-CON 5. The police are called and two cars arrive in minutes. Messenger X sends a text to Wild Bill….”being detained by Homeland Security…..two guns were in my bag…HELP”.

Wild Bill calls client Y and ask them…”what was in the envelope going to Dumbo?”….Client Y responds, “two prop guns that we used in a photo shoot”.

 Now the whole ball of wax reaches my desk. First I call the client whose delivery was going to the building where messenger X is being detained. I explain the situation and that they have nothing to do with this but could they please call the building and see if someone at that end can go downstairs and help since the officers holding messenger X are refusing to call us. Secondly, I call client Y and carefully explain to her that fake prop guns are a very dangerous thing for couriers to cart around town in their bag. Client Y is incredulous and is astounded that anyone would confuse a fake….but very real looking….gun for an actual weapon. I calmly ask her what country she has living in the past 10 years?

 Suddenly a call comes in from the officers holding messenger X. I put client Y on hold and take the call. The officer explains that they now realize that messenger X was just a messenger who was deaf holding two fake automatic weapons and not a trans-national terrorist….Whew…and that they were releasing him shortly but were keeping the fake guns and by the way, your client should never send these things around by courier… no kidding officer. Now I put the officer on hold and tell client Y that they have confiscated the guns and you might not get them back. Client Y has a meltdown. She tells me that her boss might fire her and that those guns were worth a lot of money and what are we going to do about it? I resist the urge to let her know just how dumb that sounds but I do tell the officer on the other line what client Y told me. He chuckles and says that they will call our client and tell them when they might be able to come down and sign for their property whereupon they will…”have a little talk with her”. Just another Friday at Breakaway Courier.