top of page

PigeonShip / Purolator Driver Training

For PigeonShip drivers delivering Purolator packages in Canada

Videos

The PigeonShip/Purolator driver training consists of the 5 videos shown below. If you prefer a text version, scroll down. The content of the videos and the text is the same, so that you can choose your preferred method to learn.

After finishing the training course, please read the FAQ section below. Those are the most common questions asked by the drivers who join PigeonShip.

Text

1. ARRIVING AT THE PUROLATOR TERMINAL

. Arrive on time at the Purolator terminal wearing your safety vest and bringing your marker/sharpie. Your PigeonShip driver lead or the Purolator terminal manager will inform you of the arrival time in the terminal WhatsApp group in the morning.

. Park your vehicle at a legal parking spot at the warehouse. Please make sure that your vehicle is clean and completely empty. On very busy days, you will need to maximize the space available.

. If it's your first day, meet the PigeonShip Lead Driver or the Purolator terminal manager and introduce yourself as a new driver.

. If needed, help the PigeonShip team sort packages (only required at some pickup locations) or follow instructions of the terminal/driver lead.

---------------------

2. PICKUP PROCESS

2-a) SELECTING PUROLATOR TERMINAL AND PREPARING FOR THE “SCAN-IN” PROCESS

 

. Log into the app and tap on the ACTIVE DELIVERIES tab.

 

. Tap on the barcode icon in the top-right corner (the one that reads “scan-in”).

 

. Select your Purolator terminal with the correct address from the list / tap PROCEED / select the terminal again (but now you should only see your terminal) / tap PROCEED again.

 

. Tap again on the barcode icon in the top-right corner and the scanner will open. You’re ready to start the “scan-in” process.

2-b) “SCAN-IN” PROCESS (FIRST ROUND OF SCANNING)

. Take any of your packages and scan the fuzzy barcode AT THE TOP (NOT THE ONE AT THE BOTTOM, SO MAKE SURE THAT YOU APPROACH THE LABEL FROM THE TOP, WHILE SLOWLY MOVING DOWN).

. You will start seeing on the screen the packages that you scan. Keep scanning the rest of the packages (click on the scanner icon, scan the barcode AT THE TOP, click on the scanner button, scan the barcode AT THE TOP, and so on). Once you have already scanned around 10 to 15 packages, we recommend you to tap on SAVE in the top-right corner. You will be taken to the “Active deliveries” tab, and this time instead of being empty, it will show the “bundle” that you’ve just created (the bundle is basically your route, it includes the packages that you’ll be delivering that day). The number shown in the top-right corner of the bundle, inside a square, is the number of packages included in that bundle. You can also see the pickup address, and one of the drop-off addresses included in your route (this info is not very useful, don’t mind about it).

. EXTREMELY IMPORTANT: the first time you tap on “save” you create your bundle for that day, but it doesn’t mean that you’ve finished scanning all the packages for that day. We recommend you to tap SAVE every 10 to 15 orders, to avoid app issues. Every time you tap SAVE, you will need to continue scanning more packages for that day. When you do this, IT IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT THAT YOU DON’T CREATE A NEW BUNDLE. YOU NEED TO ADD THE REMANING PACKAGES TO THE SAME BUNDLE THAT YOU’VE JUST CREATED. To do this, when you’re in the “Active Deliveries” tab, instead of tapping on the scanner icon (as you did at the beginning), you will tap on the bundle first, select your terminal, and only after that, you can tap on the scanner icon and keep scanning. This way, the packages will go to the same bundle that you just created. If you have more than one bundle for the same day, it will be impossible to create an efficient route, and your day will be awful.

2-c) OPTIMIZING THE ROUTE

1. Once you’ve tapped on SAVE for the last time (when you finish scanning all your packages for that day), tap on the yellow arrow to go back to the “Active Deliveries” tab. Tap on the bundle to enter it. Tap on DELIVERY DETAILS (written in yellow letters) at the top of the screen, and select the “Purolator” scanner.

 

2. Tap on the ARRIVED FOR PICKUP yellow box, in the center of the screen. Tap CONFIRM. You’ll see a green checkmark and the “Arrived for pickup” area will turn grey.

 

3. Tap on the REQUEST OPTIMIZATION green button, then tap the REQUEST OPTIMIZATION yellow button, then tap on GET OPTIMIZED ROUTE (it’s the same button, it just changes the text). When you see the pop-up message that reads “Route optimized successfully”, tap “Ok”, and it will take you to the “pickup tab”. Here you will see that the green REQUEST OPTIMIZATION button has disappeared. IF YOU STILL SEE THE GREEN BUTTON THAT READS “REQUEST OPTIMIZATION” IT MEANS THAT YOUR ROUTE HASN’T BEEN OPTIMIZED. IN THIS CASE, REQUEST OPTMIZATION AGAIN. At this point, go to the home screen of the app by tapping on the yellow arrow in the top-left corner twice.

2-d) DOING THE PICKUP SCAN (SECOND ROUND OF SCANNING)

. Tap on ACTIVE DELIVERIES, tap on the bundle, and you will be on the “pickup scan” page.

. On the “pickup scan” screen, scroll down and tap on the SQUARE SCANNER ICON located below the “Arrived for pickup” button on the right side. DO NOT USE THE SCANNER ICON IN THE TOP-RIGHT CORNER, that one is only used in the scan-in process, which is already finished.

. Once the scanner opens, take ANY package and scan the bar code ON THE BOTTOM, so this time you’ll need to approach the package from the bottom, slowly moving up.

. After scanning each package, you will see a pop message that reads “Package sequence number …”. If that number is (for example) 7, that means this package will be 7th stop in your route. Write that number on the label with your marker, but make sure you don’t write it on the bar codes or on any other important info. Tap “Ok”, and you’ll be taken back to the pickup tab.

. Repeat the same process with all the packages: tap the scanner icon, scan the barcode at the bottom, write the stop number on the label. As you do this, organize your packages in groups of 10 (Example: keep packages numbered 1-10 together, 11-20 together, and so on).

. If while scanning an error comes up as “Not Found” or “Request Forbidden”, set that package aside in a separate pile and notify the manager at the end, but continue scanning all remaining items. The PigeonShip driver lead or the Purolator terminal manager will tell you where to place those packages.

. Once all packages are scanned properly, the app will grey out the scanning section. If the scanning area is not grey, it means that in this second round of scanning you haven’t scanned all the packages that you scanned in the first round. Look around… it shouldn’t be far.

2-e) TAKING THE MASTER PICKUP PHOTO AND COMPLETING THE PICKUP

. Once the scanning area is greyed out, tap on the camera icon on the MASTER PICKUP PHOTO section and take a picture of all your packages. Tap “Ok”, and the MASTER PICKUP PHOTO area will grey out. As you can see, you need to go through all the areas from top bottom, and as you complete each step, the area becomes grey.

. Once the “Master pickup photo” area is greyed out, tap on PICKUP COMPLETE, then CONFIRM.

. Tap on the green PROCEED TO DELIVERY button, and the app will move from the “Pickup” tab to the “Delivery” tab, and it will show you the address of the first delivery.  

. Load all the packages in your vehicle, starting with those packages with “high” stop numbers. For example, if you’ll deliver 57 packages that day, load first the 50 to 57 group, then the 40 to 50 group, and so on. The last group you should load is the 1 to 10 group, cos you’ll deliver those at the beginning of your route.  

. Before leaving the warehouse, make sure you have door knockers and return labels, both provided by the Purolator staff at the terminal.

---------------------

3. DELIVERY PROCESS

 

. On the DELIVERY tab, the app will show you the address where you need to go, in the “Delivery address” section.

 

. Before you start going there, tap the IN TRANSIT button, then CONFIRM.

 

. Tap the NAVIGATE TO DELIVERY button to see the best route to that address.

 

. Once you arrive, check if the “signature” button is active or if it’s greyed out:

a) If it’s greyed out, you can leave the package unattended, as long as it’s safe (for example, a porch). Tap the DROPOFF PHOTO button, and take a picture where the package can be seen, and also the street number or apartment number. See examples of good and bad pictures below. It is EXTREMELY important that you take good pictures, because if the recipient claims that they didn’t get the package, a good picture will prove that you delivered it correctly, and you’ll avoid fines. Once the “Dropoff photo” button is greyed out, tap DROPOFF SCAN and scan the barcode at the BOTTOM. Once the “Dropoff scan” button is greyed out, tap MARK DELIVERED, select the appropriate option from the list, and then the app will show you the next address in your route. Please ring the bell or knock before leaving.

b) if the “Signature” button is active (the background color is black, and the square box is yellow), the package cannot be left unattended. In these cases, somebody must receive the package. Repeat the steps previously mentioned (drop-off photo, drop-off scan), and then tap the SIGNATURE BUTTON. Tap on RECEIVER INFORMATION and input the name and last name of the recipient. Then request the recipient to manually input their signature on your phone. Tap on SAVE SIGNATURE, and then on MARK DELIVERED, select the appropriate option from the list, and then the app will show you the next address on your route.

---------------------​

4. DELIVERY ATTEMPT PROCESS

 

Sometimes you won’t be able to deliver the package. This may happen for various reasons, for example:

- It’s a “signature required” package and there’s no one home.

- The address is a business, and it’s closed

- There’s no safe place to leave the package

- The address is incorrect

- The address on the label is a PO BOX (we don’t deliver to PO boxes)

- The address is out of route

- You can’t enter the building

 

When this happens, you are paid for that package anyways (and you’re paid the same amount that is paid for completed deliveries), BUT YOU MUST STRICTLY FOLLOW THE FOLLOWING PROCESS (THE ATTEMPT WILL NOT BE PAID IF ANY STEPS ARE SKIPPED/MISSING):

 

. Tap on the “Call Dropoff Location” button to call the recipient, and see if you can contact them to complete the delivery successfully.

 

. If you’re not able to contact the recipient, post a “door knocker” on the door after filling the details (on “Route number”, write “QZI”).

 

. Tap on "dropoff photo" and take a pic of the place, showing the address (if there is no place because the address is wrong, or it's out of route, or it's a PO BOX, take a pic of the label). There MUST BE A PICTURE, no matter the reason for the unsuccessful delivery. The pic proves that you attempted the delivery.

 

. Click "Update status” / “Delivery Attempted” / select the CORRECT reason (not any random reason!) / If any clarification is needed, write it in the "Describe" section / Tap “Proceed” / Tap “Ok”.

. Once you do that, the app will show you your next stop. Go back to your vehicle WITH YOUR PACKAGE and continue with your route. You'll need to return that package to the warehouse later.

---------------------

5. RETURNS PROCESS

 

. When you finish your route, take the packages that you couldn’t deliver back to the Purolator warehouse.

 

. On the app, open your bundle and tap on the ROUTE tab, then tap on OTHER. At the top of the list you will see all the packages that you marked “DELIVERY ATTEMPTED” (if you followed the process correctly, it will read “Delivery attempted” in the bottom-right corner of each order. For EACH package that you return that day, follow this process:

 

a) stick a Purolator “Return” sticker on all the packages that you’ll return.

b) pick any package

c) find that package on the app based on the stop number and/or delivery address, and tap on it

d) scroll down and tap on the “Dropoff photo” button (the button will show a green checkmark, but it doesn’t matter) / Take a picture of the package showing the label clearly / Tap “Ok” (this is your “return” picture, and it proves that you returned the package).

e) DO NOT TAP ON “MARK DELIVERED”!! Instead, tap on “Update status” / then “Return order” / “Type address” / “Use current location” / “Proceed”.

. DO NOT TAP ON “MARK DELIVERED”!! Instead, tap again on the “Route” tab, then “Other”, and follow the steps a, b, and c for all the packages you attempted. Once you finish with all of them, the "In progress" tab should be empty and the “Other” tab should only show DELIVERED packages (there shouldn't be any "DELIVERY ATTEMPTED" packages anymore).

 

. Put all the returned label packages in the Purolator terminal returns bin or section.

 

 

 

YOU HAVE SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETED YOUR DAY OF DELIVERIES WITH PIGEONSHIP!!!

bottom of page