Start with the facts: Benefits of messengers Are messengers reckless? When is a license just another label? What is the disguised name for employee? Messenger Appreciation Messenger Memorial The IFBMA
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'It's like a video game,' dispatcher says Coordinating courier deliveries on two computers requires precision Houston Chronicle, June 23, 2005 By Andrew Guy Jr It's late afternoon on a recent Friday, and James Winfield hovers at his desk, frantically trying to steer an armada of bicycle messengers to the right downtown buildings. A dispatcher for Mach 5 Couriers, Winfield has the responsibility of making sure the packages arrive at their destinations. Customer service representatives take orders from clients, but the dispatcher has to control the moving pieces with the precision of an air traffic controller. To accomplish this, Winfield has two computers at his desk. The one on the right records new orders; the one on the left tracks those that have been assigned. In the middle is the radio he uses to talk to cyclists. Last-minute legal filings make Fridays the busiest day in the messenger business, and Winfield is scrambling. Most of Mach 5's dozen or so bikers juggle multiple orders, speeding through the downtown construction and traffic haze. They can't wait too long for elevators, they can't stop and chat with friends. "OK," Winfield tells a cyclist who seems overwhelmed. "Let's drop at Caroline, pick up at McKinney, pick up at Lamar and call me." On the edge of Winfield's desk is a magnetic board with drawings of all the major buildings downtown. He keeps track with magnets labeled with each cyclist's name. "It's kind of like a video game," Winfield says. "You have to keep them going in a circle." Things can get demanding. "Some companies call and request service within 15 minutes," Winfield says. "But we can't always promise that. I'm not going to kill somebody by tossing them around downtown. It gets dangerous out there." Winfield, 29, has been a dispatcher for four years. He was a bike messenger for several years but decided to give it up "after getting hit for the third time." "It's just that dangerous," Winfield says. "A lot of drivers don't think we belong on the streets, so they don't care." It's about 4 p.m., an hour before the end of Winfield's shift. A night person comes in at 6, but there is little business at night because most packages have to be delivered by 5 p.m. The orders keep coming. "Let's go to 301 Preston right away," he radios a cyclist. "And try and get in and out, please."
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