The Side Hustle Thread (split from Bees with AZD)

Quote: AZDuffman

Pick up bags, deliver. Repeat. If I was retired I would do this to pass the time.

No you wouldn't. It gets old real fast. I had
a company in the 80's that was part of the
cab co, and did exactly what you're doing,
delivering 'lost' luggage. Worst job I ever
had.

People constantly complain about you. Even
had a driver get shot with a 22 on somebodies
porch. He sued everybody, the guy who shot
him, the airline the luggage belonged to,
me. It destroys your car if you do it long enough.
The wear and tear of driving 50 hours a week.
If you sit and do the math, and take into consideration
all of your expenses, including depreciation on
your car, and having to pay twice as much in
FICA taxes because you're self employed, you'll
find you're not making all that much.

Wait till the first time you get accused of pilfering
somebody's suitcase. It will happen, people love
to claim something valuable is missing so they
can file a claim against the airline. I had a couple
bags burst open on me all on their own. The
stuff people have when they come back from a
trip is truly disgusting.

The worst part was there was no timetable. I had
a pager and I came to loathe that thing. If the airline
had a bag, they would page me. I had 2 guys working
for me and if they were gone, I had to do it. 6AM
9PM 11PM, didn't matter. 80 miles away, didn't matter.
Only had 4 hours sleep, didn't matter. I got rid of
it after a a year and a half, sold it to a guy who hated
being home with his wife and kids. He did it for 10
years, I think.

Quote: Evenbob

No you wouldn't. It gets old real fast. I had
a company in the 80's that was part of the
cab co, and did exactly what you're doing,
delivering 'lost' luggage. Worst job I ever
had.

So far it is not bad. Not totally "on call." We have "sweeps" several times a day which is when we load up. Load my truck and go. Now, currently I have no set time, so I some days I have to wake up and hope. OTOH sometimes they set me up days ahead. Currently I did not work today and do not know tomorrow, but I know F/Sa/Su. And if I get done early I can request more work. I am getting to know a few people who do not want to get heavy loads so they can call me.

Kills your car? Cars were made to be used. Mileage deduction makes much of the earnings tax-free. I had one person complain because their bag was destroyed, told them to call the airline. Warsaw Pact limits liability. My bigger worry is houses without good numbers. Some are down private roads. Lucky for me I have since having a paper route had to find houses so my instincts are pretty good. Dirt road in WV last night, not fun but GPS takes the "ouch" out of it.

The thing is, I like the solitude. I hate having to "look busy" at a desk. If my work is done, let me surf the net until more comes in. One place told me to do that, then sent me home early when someone claimed I was looking at guns. I was found not guilty but they did find just how many pages I looked at in the 5+ hours of dead time a day. I would rather ride around alone than be a phone monkey again.

It is a flexible side hustle currently a food-in-the-fridge hustle. I am resigned to the fact that I will probably never have a regular, long-term job again. 1 year is now long term, I have clients not a job. Even in this sporadic gig I make at least what I would doing HUD-1 prep or some other brain-dead work.

Winter was the worst. Gets dark at 5pm and I have
to deliver one bag 60 miles north is a snowstorm.*
Then drive home. 5 above zero and I have to get
out of the recliner at 8pm and take load to 6
different out of town places. No GPS, no cell phone.
Summer wasn't so bad, but all winter was nuts
because people take so many vacations to warm
places and take everything they own with them.

You'll see. Oh yes, you will see.

*You think, oh I'll wait till tomorrow and take
them then. Oh no you won't. The airline always
calls the person as soon as they get the bag
and tells them it's on the way. If you try and
delay it, the customer screams bloody murder.

Quote: Evenbob

Winter was the worst. Gets dark at 5pm and I have
to deliver one bag 60 miles north is a snowstorm.*
Then drive home. 5 above zero and I have to get
out of the recliner at 8pm and take load to 6
different out of town places. No GPS, no cell phone.
Summer wasn't so bad, but all winter was nuts
because people take so many vacations to warm
places and take everything they own with them.

GPS takes the ouch out. One guy older than me and one kid asked how I did it years ago as a PCO. The guy just didn't know the life of pay phones and maps, he was impressed how we did it. The kid he didn't even know we used this thing called a map.

Quote:

*You think, oh I'll wait till tomorrow and take
them then. Oh no you won't. The airline always
calls the person as soon as they get the bag
and tells them it's on the way. If you try and
delay it, the customer screams bloody murder.

No waiting, show up, sweep, call if needed, load, and drive. About 1/4 go to hotels, which is easy to find but you have to get a sig. Had two went to two hotels right next to each other so get paid for both. Like I said, I will do it over being a phone monkey again. Last time I did that I almost had to be medicated for depression.

I never failed to find a house because I
had good maps. And there were payphones
everywhere if I got lost. I don't remember
ever taking a bag to a hotel. The hotels
had vans at the airport and the airlines
gave the bags to them. I worked for
NW and they lost a lot of bags in the 80's.

I got to see the airline biz from the inside.
I spent a lot of time in the back and saw
what the agents had to go thru with
customers. People getting on planes
can be the rudest assholes on earth.
And when their bag gets lost, they really
come unglued.

Wonder if there is a study about heart attacks and guys who drive for a living. My Dad thought all that hitting brakes every time you got cut off, plus all the anxiety had to take its toll. All I know for sure is he had to quit when he got cataracts and a lot of his buddies dropped dead in the next 10 years or so.

Quote: buzzardknot

Wonder if there is a study about heart attacks and guys who drive for a living. My Dad thought all that hitting brakes every time you got cut off, plus all the anxiety had to take its toll. All I know for sure is he had to quit when he got cataracts and a lot of his buddies dropped dead in the next 10 years or so.

Sitting down all the time and not moving at all (most office drones at least get up and move around occasionally) is not good for you at all...

Quote: TheCesspit

Sitting down all the time and not moving at all (most office drones at least get up and move around occasionally) is not good for you at all...

Maybe. People who go to the gym every
day also drop dead a lot. Many people
who are forced into a sedentary lifestyle,
like those with movement problems,
often live long lives.

I've been around long enough to realize
just about everything doctors thought
was bad for you, they have backed off of.
The list is very long. It seems to be a matter
of your genes more than your lifestyle.
If your grandfather and your father died
of a heart attack at 50, you can live the
best lifestyle possible and it probably
won't help much.

Quote: Evenbob

Maybe. People who go to the gym every
day also drop dead a lot. Many people
who are forced into a sedentary lifestyle,
like those with movement problems,
often live long lives.

I've been around long enough to realize
just about everything doctors thought
was bad for you, they have backed off of.
The list is very long. It seems to be a matter
of your genes more than your lifestyle.
If your grandfather and your father died
of a heart attack at 50, you can live the
best lifestyle possible and it probably
won't help much.

I've forgotten the stat (brain degeneration), but there is something about if you can't walk a certain distance, your life gets significantly shorter.

Now that can be skewed obviously. People who actually roll their own wheelchair can keep fit if they are active enough.

Quote: rxwine

I've forgotten the stat (brain degeneration), but there is something about if you can't walk a certain distance, your life gets significantly shorter.

Stephen Hawking is 73 and hasn't walked
anywhere in 30 years. He's the poster guy
for couch potato.