hypo hanna
Well-Known Member
Seems like a no brainer to me. Lets compare.
Walgreens is an expanding company with a solid future selling inexpensive salves and sundries to aging baby boomers who will be on a tight budget. This should keep them growing for at least the next 10 to 20 years.
FedEx Express is a contracting opco of a poorly managed corporation. Management has no faith in its employees and feels it can solve its many problems and replace many of its workers with technology. They try to do this on the cheap ignoring any input from the end users so usually the software fails. (Power pad, electronic drop box signage etc)
Walgreens merchandise with the exception of the medications is not time sensitive. You most likely will have a route of certain stores you will deliver to every day. The stores order would be picked and ready for you to load if it isn't loaded for you in the morning. You will know where you will be going, in what order you will be delivering, who you will be seeing etc.
FedEx express P1 is due in most areas by 10:30 and pickup windows are as small as an hour. (These commits would not be a problem were it not for the incompetent management that fouls up your efforts at every turn.) when you do fail on a commitment by as little as one minute you will be blamed for it. The pace will be Walgreens x10.
Starting pay is about the same. I can't say for Walgreens but at FedEx you will most likely will never top out and any cost of living raise you might get will NOT cover the cost of living.
With the way Walgreens is growing you should have plenty of opportunities to move up.
With FedEx the only realistic avanue for a driver to move up is as a station operations manager through a degrading process called "aspire", (formally known as "leap". A slightly less degrading process.) Being an ops manager will be the most dangerous period in your career. You and your fellow operations managers will have to compete for drivers hours in a blood thirsty back stabbing contest where only the most ruthless mgrs with no conscience survive. AM mgrs vs PM, PM vs PM, AM vs AM. without a strong SM to keep all of this in check you could easily find yourself compromised and out the door. this is why so my good drivers will not risk their 20 + years of service. From there (if you survive), you will find opportunities to go to many other less insane parts of the company. But at least as far as my district is concerned, it is the only path available to a courier.
FedEx insurance stinks and it gets worse with less coverage and more expensive every year to the employee.
With Walgreens in the medical industry, I can't imagine their health insurance being worse the FedEx. I'm 99% sure they get their meds at cost.
