You know how once in awhile, you come across something your friend shares on Facebook — amid the never-ending flood of cute animal/baby or funny/crazy/outrageous viral videos and inconsequential articles that tell you "why it's better to date a person with black hair" — that really puts things into perspective?

This is one of those things, and it concerns many of us — yes, you, especially you who shop online.

Facebook user Nurulhuda Izyan, a carpenter by trade, says she spent a couple of weeks assisting her father, a courier, in his work, and from the looks of a lengthy reflection she posted to her page, she gained quite a bit from it.

It's worth reading in full — which is why we've reproduced it below — but in case you haven't got the time, here's what we took away from it:

- Couriers deliver anywhere between 30 and 80 parcels in a day.

- They get paid roughly $3 per parcel they deliver, whether it's 10 pairs of shoes or an envelope — and in case you're wondering, no, their fuel and vehicle rental isn't subsidised.

- They have a 12-hour window to deliver all the parcels they are given, and there's no overtime.

- Every parcel they fail to deliver (because the recipient isn't home), they waste an average of 15 minutes, which then exceeds regular carpark grace periods and results in the courier getting charged. Put in perspective, this adds up to 12 and a half hours for 50 undelivered parcels, without any breaks in between.

- Even if you're a regular customer of a certain online site, you can't expect a deliveryman to remember your address or the name of the condo you live in, simply because they deliver to thousands of addresses every month, which are wiped clean at the end of each day.

- Speaking of condos, every locked gate a courier needs to call for assistance with opening stalls him or her further, so if you live in one, and the courier's already contacted you, be a chum and help clear the way for them to move through quickly.

- It's really tough for a courier to tell you where they might be "in half an hour", because the circumstances surrounding the places he is going next will greatly impact how fast or slow he is, in large part because of the above-mentioned points.

- A courier's job is to deliver a parcel to your door, not to help you "place it here" or open it, much less install or set it up for you. Anything beyond leaving it at your door is done out of the courier's kindness.

Here's her entire post, which we've copied in full below for your convenience:

I have been a courier's assistant in the last couple of weeks. It involves lots of elevators, guard house, roads, traffic lights, doors, knuckles and some getting lost. I have come across nice people, friendly elderly who love a quick chat, and then there was a rotten tomato encountered by the courier partner (disclaimer: dad).

Doing this job tore down the frustrations I had as a consumer. You know that part where you had to opt for delivery times and they would only deliver during the day and the option is 2-6pm? Who on earth has time to wait for four hours, am I right?

Here is what I realize: to you it might be just one parcel, but to the courier, it is one of the 30 to 80 parcels for that day. This argument is valid for every gripe you have. It is not an excuse, it is a fact. You see, it might be one parcel you paid a whopping extra $25 for shipping. To them, it is one of 30-80 parcels they have to deliver by 9pm of which they get paid about $3 a piece (no matter the weight). This is before fuel and vehicle rental. In short - not much.

They will commence slightly after 9 am and have a delivery window period of 12 hours.No overtime payment. Just pure luck and parcels. Needless to say, time is literally money.

Most of the loss probably comes from customers not being at home. Imagine this, they park their vehicle, get up to the house, press the bell or knock for five minutes. No answer. Make a call. Again. No answer. (Occasionally a sleepy man opens the door.) Return to the carpark, drives out - 15 minutes. Pay for carpark charges. Or it could be a condominium with carpark tower numbers that do not match their block numbers and they spend too much minutes driving through the whole maze.

If they had to do that for every parcel, on an average 50 parcel day, that would require 12.5 hours sans break. (For many of them breaks are anything they can eat in the driver's seat on the go.) To leave a place after 15 minutes with the parcel still at the back of the vehicle is nothing short of agonizing.

That is also a lot of hours for so little.

You, fellow consumers, can help them. Provide a legitimate phone number at checkout, write the address fully and clearly, and provide the name of the condominiums. The drivers are often driving around the area so many times only to realize this address belongs to Casa de Voila and when they are there, the customer is not home. I know, "Go so many times also cannot remember ah?" Cannot. Because to you, it might be one parcel, one address you have lived all your whole life. But you are just 1 of the thousands of addresses they encounter each month, wiped clean at the end of the day.

Additionally, if you live in a condominium, the couriers have paged you and you have released the gate, opening the door while the couriers are on the way up is sensible and helpful. You already know they are coming, Every minute matters for the courier.

Then, there will be a guy who calls to ask where will you be in half hour? Here's the thing - they cannot promise you. Every part of it depends on serendipitous chance. That they do not lose their way, that it is part of the existing route, that all the customers are able to receive their packages, so when they go out to meet you at your required time, they literally are going out of their way.

Singapore is indeed small but it so dense, the roads are plenty as are the buildings which seem to make sense from a bird's eye view but is not common sense from the ground (the block numbers are hardly at legible eye level.)

And it helps if you could say a little thank you, a little smile, show up punctual at your designated time and be kind. Not only because they have gone out of their way but this could be the reason they missed their family dinner.

Lastly, couriers courier.

The definition of a courier is the following:

a company or employee of a company that transports commercial packages and documents.

- "the cheque was dispatched by courier"

- synonyms: messenger, special messenger, dispatch rider, letter carrier, mail carrier, runner, bearer, message bearer, message carrier, delivery man, delivery woman, conveyor, envoy, emissary, harbinger, herald;

They deliver, that's it. They only have one job (alright, alright). They do not know what is the content of your parcel and asking them twice will not get you any answer. If you did not pay for the additional service, you cannot expect them to open and set up the table you ordered from Amazon or bring the parcel all the way to your kitchen without lending a hand. These are extra services which they could choose to do or not. You did not pay these people, you paid a logistics conglomerate. Every customer is a mere fraction and their job is to get all of it delivered on time. So get off the high horse kiddy ride and treat every delivery person with dignity.

Whether or not you are the customer, be nice if the package is not yours.

All of this boils down to basic human etiquette. Even if you are not expecting a delivery, holding the elevator for a courier guy (or anyone) is a kind thing to do. You do not get paid for being kind but trust me, it feels really good.

Besides, awkward is not a good look on anyone when you later find out the package is yours.

And if you happen to be a security guard, be nice.

It doesn't hurt to give parking directions, the towers, lobby numbers or a "Hi." They are just normal people doing their jobs. Why are some people are at war with everyone?

And you know what, these guys like their jobs. They like the challenge of finding the best route and clearing their load at the end of the day. There are lovely people out there too, a man who tips, a family who invited my dad in for dinner, a lady who gave his colleague a Magnum on a hot day etc, people who wait at doors. It is not about the additional niceties. All I am saying is, what if we try to be kind to one another and let people find a decent living, it makes the world a better place.

tl;dr

1) Be nice to the courier guys.

2) Don't waste their time.

And her original Facebook post:

Thanks, Nurulhuda, for that dose of perspective — the next time you're rushing home to wait for your bought-online shopping, remember to be patient with delivery guys, and do what you can to make their lives easier. They're trying their best.

Top photo from Getty Images.

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