What does a delivery driver do?

A delivery driver's general responsibility is to ensure that the packages are being delivered to the destination safely and timely. Delivery drivers must be able to communicate well with the delivery team for the most convenient routes and assigned schedule. A delivery driver also has to check with the customer should there be any concerns regarding the items delivered to guarantee satisfaction and accurate service. Delivery drivers should also have basic knowledge of engines in case of any system malfunctions on the road.
Delivery driver responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real delivery driver resumes:
- Foster strong customer bonds with all clients on route by providing the best possible customer service.
- Perform daily pre and post trip inspections on the delivery vehicle in accordance to safety and compliance standards.
- Provide AAA roadside assistance to customers, including jump starts, lock-outs, tire changes, gasoline service.
- Deliver groceries to clients while executing exceptional customer service.
- Work in high pace environment often multitasking and establishing customer orders
- Deliver drugs and assemble medical equipment upon delivery to pharmacy patients daily.
- Consolidate and deliver orders, maintain store cleanliness and present excellent customer service.
- Recognize for dependability and timely and efficient deliveries, which produce high rate of customer satisfaction.
- Used RF gun to properly verify equipment in order to organize inventory.
- Load, unload, install and set-up refrigerators, stoves, washers, dryers
- Ensure safety and storage regularities for housing of goods and supplies according to OSHA
- Operate forklifts, order pickers, clamp machines and RF scanning systems and computers.
- Deliver product to accounts while operating CDL equipment in urban environments.
- Operate a forklift to lift and move pallets or metal structures and place in truck for deliveries.
- Used pallet hand jack to move pallets to and from loading dock and to different location within the warehouse.
Delivery driver skills and personality traits
We calculated that 12% of Delivery Drivers are proficient in Math, Basic Math, and CDL. They’re also known for soft skills such as Customer-service skills, Hand-eye coordination, and Math skills.
We break down the percentage of Delivery Drivers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Math, 12%
Understand basic math, computing, and GPS.
- Basic Math, 11%
Perform basic mathematical calculations and read maps.
- CDL, 10%
Delivered product to accounts while operating CDL equipment in urban environments.
- Customer Satisfaction, 6%
Monitor and immediately report problems with assigned equipment operations, product quality, and customer satisfaction to transportation supervisor and/or dispatcher.
- Customer Service, 5%
Processed all general customer service requests, interacted efficiently with business customers providing information regarding goods and deliveries.
- Excellent Interpersonal, 5%
Exercised excellent interpersonal communication with customers.
Most delivery drivers use their skills in "math," "basic math," and "cdl" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential delivery driver responsibilities here:
Customer-service skills. The most essential soft skill for a delivery driver to carry out their responsibilities is customer-service skills. This skill is important for the role because "when completing deliveries, drivers often interact with customers and should make a good impression to ensure repeat business." Additionally, a delivery driver resume shows how their duties depend on customer-service skills: "trained for hazmat, customer service, computers, hand held scanners and printers. "
Hand-eye coordination. Many delivery driver duties rely on hand-eye coordination. "drivers need to observe their surroundings at all times while operating a vehicle.," so a delivery driver will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways delivery driver responsibilities rely on hand-eye coordination: "handled customer orders according to delivery schedule with store management coordination. "
Math skills. delivery drivers are also known for math skills, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to delivery driver responsibilities, because "because delivery truck drivers and driver/sales workers sometimes take payment, they must be able to count cash and make change quickly and accurately." A delivery driver resume example shows how math skills is used in the workplace: "deliver pizza's, basic math, folding boxes, dishes, taking orders over phone and in person, costumer service"
Patience. A big part of what delivery drivers do relies on "patience." You can see how essential it is to delivery driver responsibilities because "when driving through heavy traffic congestion, delivery drivers must remain calm and composed." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical delivery driver tasks: "received many recognition for my workskills usedstrength, patience, customer service"
Sales skills. A commonly-found skill in delivery driver job descriptions, "sales skills" is essential to what delivery drivers do. Delivery driver responsibilities rely on this skill because "driver/sales workers are expected to persuade customers to purchase new or different products." You can also see how delivery driver duties rely on sales skills in this resume example: "operated a hazmat cdl vehicle delivering hazmat products to customers, customer service, in store sales. "
Visual ability. Another skill commonly found on delivery driver job descriptions is "visual ability." It can come up quite often in delivery driver duties, since "to have a driver’s license, delivery truck drivers and driver/sales workers must be able to pass a state vision test." Here's an example from a resume of how this skill fits into day-to-day delivery driver responsibilities: "loaded delivery truck according to load list and followed all safety procedures including performance of visual driver's checklist. "
The three companies that hire the most delivery drivers are:
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Delivery driver vs. Driver/installer
Drivers are responsible for safely transporting people, packages, or goods from one destination to another. They should be familiar with the different routes that may be taken to reach the desired goal. They should be expert navigators and may use navigation apps to help them along the way. They should also be familiar with the basic mechanics of the vehicle they are using and the proper maintenance and cleaning needed to ensure that the car is running well. Drivers are expected to have excellent customer relation skills, a strong sense of direction, and superb organizations.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between delivery drivers and driver/installer. For instance, delivery driver responsibilities require skills such as "math," "basic math," "customer satisfaction," and "excellent interpersonal." Whereas a driver/installer is skilled in "dot," "safety procedures," "dryers," and "install appliances." This is part of what separates the two careers.
Driver/installers really shine in the education industry with an average salary of $43,857. Comparatively, delivery drivers tend to make the most money in the manufacturing industry with an average salary of $43,400.The education levels that driver/installers earn slightly differ from delivery drivers. In particular, driver/installers are 0.1% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a delivery driver. Additionally, they're 0.0% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Delivery driver vs. Driver
A delivery specialist is responsible for handling customers' inquiries and concerns regarding an organization's goods and services before proceeding with delivery plans. Delivery specialists demonstrate the products' features and other necessary information before the customers purchase the products. They also coordinate with distribution and warehouse centers to ensure the adequacy of stock to avoid delays and follow shipment details. A delivery specialist should be highly communicative and organizational, especially on updating customers' information on the database and accurate processing of payments.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that delivery driver responsibilities requires skills like "customer satisfaction," "excellent interpersonal," "delivery vehicle," and "cash handling." But a driver might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "safety rules," "dot," "safety regulations," and "post-trip inspections."
Drivers may earn a lower salary than delivery drivers, but drivers earn the most pay in the manufacturing industry with an average salary of $39,688. On the other hand, delivery drivers receive higher pay in the manufacturing industry, where they earn an average salary of $43,400.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Drivers tend to reach similar levels of education than delivery drivers. In fact, they're 0.6% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.0% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for delivery drivers in the next 3-5 years?
President & Chairman of the Board, CVTA
Delivery driver vs. Delivery specialist
A Route Driver is responsible for delivering and transporting supplies or goods within an allotted time. The tasks will vary upon the organization or industry that a Route Driver works for, however, most of the time, the duties will revolve around picking up and dropping off packages at particular destinations ranging from homes to establishments, and communicating with customers. Furthermore, Route Drivers must keep their vehicles in clean and sound condition, report to supervisors should there be any issue, and adhere to the company policies and regulations at all times.
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a delivery driver is likely to be skilled in "basic math," "excellent interpersonal," "cash handling," and "tractor trailer," while a typical delivery specialist is skilled in "exceptional client," "product knowledge," "inventory control," and "hr."
Delivery specialists typically earn similar educational levels compared to delivery drivers. Specifically, they're 3.3% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.2% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Delivery driver vs. Route driver
Even though a few skill sets overlap between delivery drivers and route drivers, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a delivery driver might have more use for skills like "excellent interpersonal," "cash handling," "dependability," and "multitasking." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of route drivers require skills like "dot," "working independently," "post-trip inspections," and "routine maintenance. "
Route drivers enjoy the best pay in the manufacturing industry, with an average salary of $47,349. For comparison, delivery drivers earn the highest salary in the manufacturing industry.The average resume of route drivers showed that they earn similar levels of education compared to delivery drivers. So much so that theyacirc;euro;trade;re 0.0% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree by 0.1%.Types of delivery driver
Updated January 8, 2025











