"Over time, I've really toned my legs, lost 17 kg." Belarusians share their experiences as couriers in Poland

Illustrative photo. Photo: "Salidarnasts"

"The most expensive orders were during frosts and all winter holidays"

Andrei is 42 years old. For a long time, he worked in construction as an emigrant. For the past six months, he has been working as a courier.

— Initially, courier work was a side job for me. I took orders when it was convenient on the way to or from work, or when I was driving my wife. This was enough to cover fuel costs and car depreciation. Now I'm in a period where I'm changing my profession, taking exams to switch to a different job.

So, since November last year, I've been working exclusively as a courier for Uber and Glovo. I work 12 hours a day. During this time, I manage to deliver an average of 20 orders, but sometimes it can be 25.

The convenient thing is that you decide whether to take an order or not. Each delivery has a different price. I don't know if the price of the order itself matters, because we are only told how much the delivery is valued at.

Of course, they pay more for long trips and for deliveries during peak hours. Weather conditions also affect payment. The most expensive orders were during frosts, and also on all winter holidays. Moreover, during this period, there were almost no bicycle couriers, which meant we, in cars, got all the orders. From December until the beginning of Lent, I had good earnings, even considering fuel expenses and car depreciation.

I get paid every week. For two months, after all deductions, I had approximately 500 euros a week left, and 2,000 euros is a really good salary in Poland.

Before Easter, with the start of Lent, my earnings sharply decreased, and the number of orders completely dropped. If before they came in continuously and I had to choose more profitable ones, refusing some, then during Lent, there was approximately one order every half hour. And that one might cost 10 zlotys, of which 5 would go to fuel and car depreciation. That is, you could earn a couple of euros an hour, while in winter I made between 6 and 15 euros.

I mainly deliver ready-made food and very few groceries from stores. Half of the orders are for KFC and McDonald's, followed by various kebab places, and only about ten percent are not street food, but orders from different restaurants.

I compared my opportunities with those of bicycle couriers. On the one hand, they don't have fuel costs, but on the other hand, not everyone will travel more than 10 km.

Since there are few orders, now I have time to sit, learn the language, and read something. But overall, I hope to pass my exams soon and switch to another job with stable pay.

"I covered about 50 km a day. And over two years, I rode 5-6 thousand kilometers"

Vyacheslav is 26 years old. After two years of working as a bicycle courier, he got another job.

— Before this, I worked in an office in Belarus for several years. Switching to a bicycle, I felt the difference immediately. Constantly in the fresh air, a lot of physical activity, changing locations before my eyes — as couriers joke, an ideal job for someone with ADHD.

At first, I didn't even have my own bike; I borrowed one from a relative. I downloaded the app, submitted documents — and within two days, I was registered and sent this big backpack that all couriers use, a phone holder with a handlebar mount, and a power bank. The latter was bad, so I bought my own.

I worked for Glovo for a year until they significantly cut the payment coefficients. Afterwards, I switched to another company.

A good coefficient is always available in bad weather, then you can earn twice as much. In one day, I managed to do 18-20 orders. Sometimes the company offered bonuses for every five orders beyond 20. You think, I've already delivered two, just a couple more — and you'll get more money. But doing so much with your own legs, without electricity, meaning on a regular bicycle, is not easy.

Most couriers ride electric bikes. I only tried one once. But it turned out to be profitable only if it's your own. Paying 200 or more zlotys (50 euros) a week for rent is not profitable. And not everyone can afford to buy one, as the cost of an electric bike is comparable to a small car — starting from a thousand euros.

— A car courier noted that cyclists don't have to pay for fuel or sit in traffic jams.

— That's definitely an advantage. There are no traffic jams on a bike. You can also deliver orders to historic places and the Old Town, where cars are usually not allowed.

No fuel needed, but there is depreciation. Bicycles often break down, and repair costs are very high. For example, my brake cable snapped, and the mechanic charged almost 60 euros. He tightened the cable and changed the brake pads, even though I didn't ask him to.

Tires often get punctured because the tread wears out quickly. If you only change the tube, it's 70 zlotys (17 euros), together with the wheel — 150 zlotys (36 euros).

— You said that you can earn more in bad weather, but what's it like to ride in the rain or frost?

— In the rain, you get soaked to the bone. No special suits help. All your clothes can be wrung out after such a workday. Once in the rain, I even slipped on tram tracks and fell. Luckily, that was my only accident in two years.

I've seen bicycle couriers who work all year round. But in reality, it's quite difficult to ride even at -2 degrees Celsius. I bundled up a lot, wore a balaclava, gloves, several pairs of pants. In severe frosts, I personally couldn't ride for more than two or three hours on the bike; I just couldn't physically endure it. I feel sorry for those people who are forced to ride in any weather.

— How do you deliver drinks on a bicycle?

— You have to learn how to properly pack anything that might spill, always bracing it from all sides. In the Old Town, I rode standing up on the cobblestones, and in some sections, I got off my bike altogether.

But still, I periodically spilled something. The worst were the cardboard cups from McDonald's. Other fast-food restaurants had metal cups for transporting drinks. Customers were always understanding; they usually got their money back. And nothing was deducted from me.

— How much can a bicycle courier earn?

— At first, I worked 7-8 hours a day, then I realized I wasn't making enough money, so I started working 10-12 hours. I know some people worked 14 hours without days off.

I still kept a couple of days off. I earned 800-1000 zlotys (190-240 euros) a week, a few times it was 1400 zlotys (335 euros). Tips are not common for couriers, though once someone wanted to give me as much as 100 zlotys (24 euros) as a tip, but I refused because that's too much. If they gave 10-20 zlotys (up to 5 euros), I took it. On average, I managed to earn 1000 euros a month.

— How many kilometers can you cover delivering orders?

— I covered about 50 km a day. And over two years, I rode 5-6 thousand kilometers.

— But you're not a cyclist. How did you adapt?

— The first few days were pure hell, I couldn't feel my legs, there was extreme physical exhaustion, shortness of breath. I constantly had to climb stairs in old houses without elevators in the city center.

At first, I couldn't even work a full week without a break; I needed at least half a day, sometimes a full day, to recover. But over time, such training benefited me: I really toned my legs, lost 17 kg, developed my breathing, and started breathing freely. In general, I felt much better; my mood simply lifted from both the physical exertion and what I saw around me.

You could say I learned to enjoy the moment — riding, listening to music. The cycling infrastructure in Poland is excellent. Another advantage of this job is that you can adjust your own schedule. However, the salary is still small for Poland. So, over time, I got my driver's license and switched to a minivan. But I still have my bike, and whereas before I never rode just for fun, now I really love it. I didn't think cycling would have such an impact on my entire body, both physical well-being and mental state.

"Every day I carry bikes and pet food weighing 30 kg"

Alexey is 23 years old. For the past six months, he has been working as a courier for the international express delivery service DPD.

— I deliver parcels. For this, they gave me a car, which I can also drive home. Fuel and car maintenance are at the company's expense, and my personal trips come with a 50% discount. I figured it's cheaper that way than driving my own car anyway.

There are a lot of parcels. On average, during a typical seven-hour day, I deliver about 120 parcels. At 5:30 AM, I load them at the warehouse and take them to my assigned area. I get paid 2 zlotys for each recipient. That is, if I delivered 10 parcels to ten apartments in one entrance, I get paid for each one.

It seems like pennies, but there are many different surcharges: for oversized items, they pay twice as much; for weight over 32 kg — three times as much. My monthly earnings are at least 5,000 zlotys (about 1200 euros).

Before Christmas, there were even 160 parcels. On such days, you work more, but the earnings are also higher. I usually work 5 days a week, but if I want to earn a bit more, I can work on Saturday. On weekends, a higher coefficient is applied; for example, last Saturday I worked only 4.5 hours and earned over 100 euros additionally.

— What do Poles send?

— Parcels correspond to the season. For the winter season, they order winter tires, all winter equipment: skis, suits, etc. Now it's spring, so they order bicycles, summer tires, garden tools. Pet food is ordered year-round. And that's one of the heaviest parcels.

Poles traditionally order a lot of clothes, even furniture — shelves, wardrobes, small refrigerators, there was a water heater. There are many small private businesses here; all these shops order goods for themselves by mail.

Among the unusual: one regular client in my area orders canvas every week and at the end of the week sends finished paintings. Also in my area, there is a craft beer shop and all sorts of fish to go with it, which they also prepare themselves. This fish is constantly being sent all over Poland.

— How do you lift a refrigerator, even a small one?

— If a parcel weighs more than 32 kg, I'm not even obligated to take it out of the car. To carry heavy parcels up to 32 kg, I have an iron hand truck. But sometimes, I've asked the customer for help if the item was awkward or impossible to carry alone.

— How do you assess your physical fitness?

— Oh, I've gotten really strong, I even like it myself. Because every day I carry bicycles, pet food weighing 30 kg. And first, I load all these boxes at the warehouse, then I unload them and carry them to customers.

— Are there women in your service?

— Not many, but they have limits on parcels up to 5 kg. Women can serve several areas, but they only deliver small parcels. They also work with parcel lockers.

In another company, I also worked with parcel lockers. It's easier because you don't need the language, and the dimensions are smaller. You can send parcels up to 15 kg via parcel lockers. However, by working with clients, I greatly improved my language skills. It might seem like the vocabulary is the same, but over time, regular customers appear, with whom you meet regularly, gradually get to know each other, and start exchanging information.

— Is your salary enough?

— I share an apartment with a friend. About 1000 zlotys (240 euros) goes to food. And I always save something, because money is left over.

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