It's been four years since we published the story of Ievhen, who is well known by Lukianivka area locals. Ievhen is now actively looking for a job as a scooter delivery man in Kyiv. If you have a job opening, please contact us.
November 2018
"I have been living on Pymonenko street since 1976. I grew up here, I know every little path, every crack in the fence where you can make a shortcut. Kyiv is my city. At the end of 2002, I worked as deputy head of security department at a shipping firm, I was framed, deceived, and needed to find a job quickly. I had a scooter, and I decided to take a courier job for about six months as a distraction. And now I am still doing this — 15 years of experience as a courier driving scooter. In the pas few years I have been working for Express Mail.
People think mail delivery is very simple, you just deliver mail and nothing more. I draw routes in my head all the time, I have 8 hours to get to 35-40 places, sometimes you need to pick something up and take it back.
I can drive about a hundred kilometers a day sometimes. It is clear that you don't use a navigator — it's rather difficult while driving only two wheels. 90 percent of the information is in my head, and driving around downtown is not complicated for me, I know every street.
There was a time when I was asked nicely to deliver three large bottles of champagne. Of course, I refused: it's dangerous and uncomfortable, and very hard to deliver safely. It's impossible to drive a scooter on our roads. Many employees of our company use cars for delivery, and there are also walking couriers. And I like the scooter, I'm used to it. It is especially pleasant to work in spring, when we have warm weather and light wind. t's very cold in winter, of course, but what can we do? No pain, no gain, as they say.
It's a good thing there's no uniform and noone cares what I wear for work. The main thing is to be nicely cleaned. And since I have been engaged in military reconstruction for 30 years, I collect various military uniforms and hatwear. I have a Polish cap, an Austrian cap, a hat of the US cavalry of the Wild West, sometimes I can go out wearing even a cowboy hat.
It is a common misbelief that a delivery man is an inferior person. Pretty much everyone has gained some kind of status now. A postal courier is not a customer service employee. When they start offending me, I ask, "My dear, do you need it or do I? Send it if you want, don't send it if you don't want". I don't live on tips, I have a salary. I am a logistics man, a post office employee."
March 2021
"I have been working in the Lvivski Kvartal (appartment building in Kyiv) as an yardman for nine months. I was fired from FedEx at the beginning of city quarantine lockdown last year, like most couriers. A friend offered to work here, and I agreed. I can't work in food delivery, I'm not a waiter, I'm a postmen. It's completely different.
For some reason, it is believed that only some alcoholics work as yardmen, but why? It's an ordinary job like any other. My working day lasts for six hours, with one day off on Sunday. Depending on the prestige of the building, the yardman salary is 5-10 thousand hryvnia per month.
Since the times of my youth, Lukianivka area has changed for the worse, most of the parks, and there was a dozen of them, disappeared. They are replaced by gloomy boxes of new buildings.
The 'Start' stadium and the Mala Opera, which used to be a Tram workers club and a cinema, remained. When I didn't like a poster of "Kyivska Rus" cinema, I often went to that club to watch movies. There was a complex with cafes, pharmacies, clothing and shoes repairs where we have McDonald's nowadays. A lot has changed.
Of course, I miss the work on my scooter at a post office, where I spent 15 years of my life, but I hope that soon I can buy myself a motorcycle and catch the feeling of freedom again."
Ievhen Ivanov, scooter delivery man, yardman
Comments