“I have my work so deep in my blood that I sometimes see myself sorting parcels, planning my daily route in my dreams. There’s nothing weird about it – after all, I have spent so many years doing this job,” says Algirdas Rozga, a courier for two decades. This 66-year-old Klaipėda native told us about the unseen side of his work, his typical working day, and his loyal clients whom he knows on a first-name basis.
On track for 20 years
“I am Venipak’s oldest courier,” says Algirdas. “I remember how 20 years ago, when I was 46, I was looking for work and discovered a good offer. I got the call, we met at a mall in Klaipėda, had a chat. Back then, the volume of parcels was quite smaller, and Klaipėda had all of three couriers.”
According to Algirdas, while Vilnius and Kaunas already had their parcel terminals, Klaipėda was just setting one up. “I was in charge of the whole Klaipėda region. As the company grew, they built a warehouse, hired more couriers. I learned the ropes, got on track, and have been doing my job to this day. This is the way I am; I hate to toss around,” says the courier who knows his home town and all of its neighbourhoods inside and out.
Growing with the company
Algirdas has had to deliver parcels in Klaipėda, Plungė, Telšiai, Skuodas, Kretinga, Šilutė, Šilalė. The man remembers how, two decades ago, when Klaipėda did not have its own warehouse, they had to sort and stack the parcels outside.
“But that did not last long: first we got a smaller warehouse, then a bigger one, and the volumes of parcels started to gradually grow. We’ve had all kinds of them: small, large, heavy. When I was young, the size and weight of the parcel did not scare me much, but now the management are sparing me ones that are bigger,” says the man with a smile.
Couriers shouldering Lithuania’s weight during the pandemic
Algirdas remembers that the volumes of parcels used to be quite smaller than they are now, with online commerce having gained such momentum: “People are ordering everything online, even food. They say it is the best kind of service, when all they have to do is open the door and have the package handed over to them. When the pandemic struck, it was couriers that shouldered the weight of Lithuania. We were careful about our work, we wore masks and took every step to protect ourselves.”
According to Rozga, the volumes of parcels that grew during the pandemic never went back down again—people realised how convenient it was to order everything online and pick it up at a terminal or have it delivered to your doorstep.
“The amount of work always goes up with major holidays approaching, so much so that they hire additional couriers. Or, as I put it, they call on the reserves,” says the man in jest.
Up at 4 a.m. without an alarm
On his regular working day, Algirdas gets up at four in the morning and reports to the terminal by six: “I am used to it, it’s in my blood, and I don’t even need an alarm clock—I always wake up of my own. I am also used to turning in early and go to bed at around eight or nine p.m. I am definitely getting enough of sleep.”
The delivery man says he has trained quite a number of rookies in his career that spans two decades. Many of them have stayed on the job; of course, there have been those who left to work abroad only to return to where they started after they have tried their luck overseas.
“Young people look for opportunities and it is no wonder that they leave to seek fortune abroad. I have never quite felt the call of foreign lands, and why should I fluster? But there are quite a few couriers who come back: today, doing this job, finding your way around the different addresses with navigation at hand is not that difficult, even though over that many years, I have managed to learn all the addresses by heart,” says Rozga.
Clients turned friends to help you when you’re caught off-guard
According to Algirdas, he has had all kinds of clients on his job, yet the modest man lives by the maxim that the client is always right: “There are regular clients who know that Algiukas will always deliver on time. Some of them, I know on a first-name basis. We have forged a bond and a friendly relationship over all these years.”
The man is happy with his friendly workmates and manager who are always there to help, should you run into some difficulty. “I have never been in an accident, but if something happens when you’re on the road, a colleague will come and help. Sometimes you get caught off-guard and have your truck stuck in mud in Rusnė or Šilutė—in that case, you always have your colleagues or clients to rely on. We have clients that know farmers who will roll up in a tractor and pull you out,” says the man, referring to the contingencies he has experienced on the job.
Talks about life and work with workmates and the manager
In Rozga’s words, he always goes to work with a smile and they talk both about life and personal affairs with the colleagues and the manager.
“As I say, we talk and we feel better. I have been with the company the longest, also, I am one of the oldest couriers, and the manager treats me sparingly. I have now found a foothold in Palanga and I think I will end my career in making deliveries there,” says Rozga.
The man says he will keep on working for as long as he is healthy enough to do it. “I will go on working for a bit. But then again, as my brother is wont to say: you also have to live for yourself – after all, you can’t take all the money”, says the man with a laugh.
