JOHN MAKONI
Interventions that start at the grassroots have been known to have better chances of success and of bringing about sustainable turnarounds.
The Courier Guy demonstrated that it is the embodiment of this philosophy in more ways than one recently when it acknowledged and rewarded the design efforts of a pupil at Hoërskool Menlopark and those of her school in the Pretoria News Design-an-Ad competition.
Grade 11 learner Vlasta Kaffka was the lucky and deserving recipient of a R5 000 cheque courtesy of The Courier Guy for her outstanding advert of an astronaut delivering a package from space, an artwork The Courier Guy adjudged as exceptional in its execution.
The Courier Guy also made a separate cheque of R5000 to help assist with the needs of the school's design department.
Vlasta's design was intended to underscore the seemingly endless possibilities and options inherent in The Courier Guy business model, one which many would agree has all but revolutionised couriering since The Courier Guy emerged on the scene 18 years ago.
"I wanted to show that the sky's the limit when it comes to sending your package with The Courier Guy," Vlasta said.
Hoërskool Menlopark principal Schalk Reynders and design teacher Ilze van Niekerk proudly shared in the moment and expressed delight at the school's continuing successes in Design-an-Ad (DAA) as well as its long running association with The Courier Guy.
Head of practical subjects, Mariana de Klerk, has spearheaded the school's Pretoria News DAA programme for many years.
Reynders lauded DAA for affording learners a chance to be creative and for extending their professional horizons. He said the school encouraged those who
exhibited talent to pursue designing as a career.
Van Niekerk for her part thanked The Courier Guy and the Pretoria News for inspiring pupils to reach their creative potential.
The Courier Guy sees its attempts to nurture young talent as instrumental in making a difference in safeguarding a brighter future for tomorrow's custodians.
Helga Steenkamp, The Courier Guy National Franchise Manager, thanked Vlasta for distilling her company's vision brilliantly: "You just captured it so nicely," she said of Vlasta's drawing which featured orange paint and fine line prominently.
Steenkamp also commended Hoërskool Menlopark for its consistency in DAA,including for fulfilling expectations for the brief of the company's famous payoff line: "We would love to handle your package."
Helga Steenkamp and Deon Van Rooyen with Adrian Fidler (Pretoria News) Vlasta
Kaffka and Hoërskool Menlopark principal Schalk Reynders.
She said DAA was part of the corporate culture at The Courier Guy and that employees nationwide participated in voting for the submitted designs.
She encouraged clients to go online and utilise the now-revamped, user-friendly website seen as the perfect interface in a fast-changing digital age.
"We want people to know that The Courier Guy is involved all the way when it comes to handling their packages. Even if you don't have an account with us, you can use the website for non-account holders ( www.xoc.co.za) or you can visit a kiosk store in your area to send your package," said Steenkamp, who lauded Vlasta for "making us shine" with her rendition of The Courier Guy vision.
The Courier Guy attributes its success to word-of-mouth marketing and to its empowering owner driver concept. Its pioneering model aims to turn ordinary people into business people in their own right thereby helping create employment and social upliftment.
Its independent driver representatives use their own vehicles to get into business.
There are 70 vehicles servicing Pretoria, 189 in the Greater Johannesburg area and just over 475 vehicles in The Courier Guy network currently.
Drivers and their assistants are always looking for leads to potential new customers.They may do so when collecting or delivering a parcel and ask if you would like to be contacted regarding rates and services. Every five successful appointments earns them a nice bonus.
All it took for someone to be a driver representative was a driver's licence, a good record, good social skills and a certain level of competency, in other words,responsibility, said Steenkamp. She noted that a matric qualification was essential for depot and kiosk staff but not a prerequisite for working as a driver or porter with The Courier Guy.
The Courier Guy's Pretoria Area Manager Deon Van Rooyen said he made between 20-30 stops a day and that the company had made inroads by servicing previously neglected stakeholders.
"We don’t just deal with the big companies. We work with online shops and people who work from home, to name only a few. Even if you send one parcel per week we’ll open an account for you," Van Rooyen said.
The Courier Guy runs extensive community-based initiatives of which the DAA competition is but one. "Currently we have 55 kiosk stores nationally, with 10 – 15 opening in the next 6 months and every kiosk store must have two community projects in a year," said Steenkamp, stating that the first kiosk's outlet opened in 2014 and that her company ran its own DAA competition with schools in 2016.
The Courier Guy loves to handle your package anywhere, anytime – book now!