I'm back! And also, I work a pretty urbanized area, so I see the UPS, Express, and FX Ground guy all the time. Paid per stop is the most efficient way for a contractor to pay an employee. If volume is low, the contractor doesn't lose anything. Both employee and route owners income are dependent upon volume. Paid per stop guarantees the contractor will always be able to afford pay roll. I'm a different scenario VS a Midwest route with low volume. I have benefits from a second party, so I don't need them from my employer. Even if I worked somewhere with a benefits package, I'd opt out of it because my healthcare is top notch and hardly costs me anything.
I steadily clear gross over $1100 a week. I work my ass off for it, but it sure beats MvDonalds. Ground/HD isn't for lazy people, if you want to earn big you have to work hard. Performance based pay (pay per stop) makes it very profitable for myself. I often do my route plus 40 stops from the route next door to me. The boss man isn't going to give you 200 stops if he knows you're going to have 50 DNAs. So you work your ass off and secure a solid paycheck.
Is it a career? For me, no. But there's plenty of drivers in my terminal who own houses and have been there for 10 years or more.
You can tell what contractors pay VS those that don't just by looking who pulls up to work in what vehicle. My company all drive late model newer vehicles. But you also see a ton of jalopys in the parking lot. You get what you put in it to it. I give it my all and I do very well.
