Phantom Couriers Nanaimo and Bees Delivery

Mark B: Hi, it's Mark from Top Local. I'm here with Mark Huggan of Phantom Couriers in Vancouver. They are Vancouver's favourite courier service. One of the fastest growing courier service in probably Western Canada, and is in the top 100 fastest growing companies in BC. And probably is even edging towards the top of that right now, given how they've been growing through this pandemic. How are you doing today, Mark?

Mark H: We're doing great today. Thank you. Busy day, that's for sure. 

Mark B: So the Nanaimo location is open and rockin'. What's going on? Tell me a little bit about your new Nanaimo location. 

Mark H: Yeah, for sure. So we were busy in Nanaimo and we were always just sending things from the lower mainland to Nanaimo. We thought we really need to get a presence over there so I partnered up with a friend of mine that owns a printing company, Print Three. And we've got space inside Print Three that has a street address so we are running an office out of there with walk-in service and same-day delivery in Nanaimo. So right now, we're going between Ladysmith and Lantzville focusing in the Nanaimo business thing.

We joined the Nanaimo Chamber of Commerce, which is exciting. And we're going to be joining up with the local BNI Chapter in Nanaimo as well. This next Thursday, I think. 

Mark B: Cool. And again, is that a full service? Is it just parcel delivery? What kind of stuff are you guys doing in Nanaimo? 

Mark H: Like I said, we fly things over there all the time and our courier picks up from Harbour Air and delivers legal documents, mainly. Wine. We've been doing a lot of wine from the coast over there. And then we're working with Pomme, a grocery store, and doing all the grocery deliveries out of Pomme. So we're doing B2B,  B2C and we've got a bit of e-comm starting out. 

We're doing everything from small parcels to larger deliveries. Just the same as we're doing in Vancouver. We've even got a freight hook-up out there with Diamond Delivery. 

Mark B: So I know there's a local number to come but right now people can use +1 844-899-5447 to get a hold of you in Nanaimo?

Mark H: Yeah easily. It just comes right to our phones here in Vancouver and our system is networked into Nanaimo. So what we see here, we see there. We've got the same functionality. Like, I'm looking at the GPS now and I can see the drivers and trips happening in Nanaimo. I don't have the GPS in the plane, though. Otherwise I'd watch it fly over.

But other areas on the coast, like Sunshine Coast, we watch the ferry go over with our driver on it so it's fully tracked and traced while having time expectations that we're honouring. We can totally manage it and it's fun.

Mark B: So that's Nanaimo. How's your week been? What's an interesting story from this week?

Mark H: Do you have kids? You know, like I ask a million times, "Hello children. What'd you learn at school today?" "Nothing... wait, calculus, biology, science, how to weld, team work." You can't see the trees for the forest. Everyday is filled with interesting things and I am de-sensitized to chaos. Nothing much, just delivered life saving medicine, paid out 50 mortgages, certified 500 million in cheques, delivered a wedding dress, an engagement ring, grandma's ashes. NOTHING. Pretty quiet week.

But I was going over my notes and we actually delivered live bees. You saw it in the news a couple of years ago where big trucks are pulling around beehives and letting them go because bees are having a hard time with pollution, cellular towers, pesticides and all this stuff. So at BC Bee Supply, they have live bees that they ship out to people who will put them in their gardens or rooftops and get them into the ecosystems. 

So we got a call. I saw it in the morning and I was like, "Oh, that's interesting." And then I forgot all about it. They were 100% packaged and the delivery went perfectly. I was just imagining a Steve Martin movie or something, like these things flying on the side of a car. Nothing went wrong. They got delivered. It wasn't even one of our regular client on either end. It was a person who just phoned us up and paid with a credit card. 

So I'd be interested in meeting anybody from BC Bee Supply and seeing how they're getting their logistics done. And I think bees are kind of cool. So yeah, it was a lot of bees inside of a car. I mean, come on, you've seen it, right? One bee in your car and you go insane but this person had like hundreds of bees and a hive. Another normal day at Phantom Couriers. 

Mark B: So there you go. If you need anything delivered, even your live bees. More than one at a time though.

Mark H: Yeah, for sure.

Mark B: Phantom Couriers in Vancouver, Nanaimo or Sunshine Coast, is rapidly expanding across the province of BC and Western Canada at (604) 899-5447 or +1 844-899-5447. Check it out. They're worth every penny. Any package, anywhere, Phantom Couriers gets it there. 

Mark H: Thanks man. 

Mark B: You bet.