Mark King is living up to his last name. The Victoria-based courier has been crowned courier of the year by his employer, FedEx Canada.
King, who has worked for the company for seven years, was one of four FedEx Canada employees named as couriers of the year after customers voted based on the courier’s knowledge, reliability, helpfulness, proficiency, timeliness and amiability.
“It was a surprise,” said King who will get an extra week of paid vacation and $500 cash for the award. “They did have a film crew on the Island last week under the guise of filming people who were enthusiastically participating in the contest, but finding out that I actually won was a great surprise.”
FedEx Canada said King’s commitment and superior customer service set him apart in the seventh annual contest.
“With Mark’s pleasing personality, strong work ethic and enthusiasm, it’s no doubt that he is a recipient of this award,” said senior manager Terry Macklin.
King’s route covers much of downtown Victoria and Fairfield, which he said may have given him a slight advantage in a contest like this because of the predominance of regular business clients.
But according to one of those regular customers, King still brings his A-game every time. “Mark is the best. He always remembers everyone's names and is courteous and professional,” said Katie Hughes of the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria.
King, who loves the job because of the personal interaction with customers, driving and the combination of working both indoors and out, said he already has plans for that extra week off.
“I’m in the middle of renovating my house, so every bit of extra time off I usually devote to pounding nails and cutting boards, and there’s a little bit of money with the prize so that will buy a board or two,” he said.
