Tauranga Aramex courier Richie Mudaliar says small moments with customers make the job worthwhile. Photo / Greg Bowker
When Richie Mudaliar pulls up outside a customer’s house, there’s a good chance he already knows their name.
For the Tauranga Aramex courier, those daily interactions have earned him the highest number of five-star customer reviews across the New Zealand network.
His 174 five-star Google reviews placed him ahead of more than 300 courier franchisees across the country and earned him the 2026 Aramex Franchisee of the Year.
Mudaliar was stunned when his name was announced at the company’s annual gala awards in Christchurch.
“When they announced it, oh, it was just amazing. It was so surprising... you should have been there to see us.
“I did not expect that my number would be in the hundreds.”
Born in Fiji, Mudaliar lived in Australia before moving to New Zealand nearly 20 years ago.
He settled in Tauranga and worked as a manager at McDonald’s and KFC, but always dreamed of owning his own business.
It was his nephew who encouraged him to buy a delivery run that had come up for sale.
“Then the opportunity came up. There was a courier run on sale, so he said to me, ‘Hey, you always wanted to own a business, so why don’t you try this?’”
Mudaliar purchased a small run covering Te Puke, Paengaroa and Pukehina. Three years later, he expanded into Arataki, Pāpāmoa, Welcome Bay and Greerton, building one of Tauranga’s largest Aramex territories.
“I loved it and I’m still here, and not changing anytime soon.”
His work days start at 4.30am, sorting through freight before heading out on the road. Businesses are delivered to first, followed by residential customers later in the day.
He said on an average day, he delivers 200 to 300 parcels – all on his own.
Ten years of experience has taught Mudaliar one simple recipe for success: treat every customer the same.
“There’s nothing left, or any customer forgotten. Every customer to me, whether big or small, they’re all the same to me.”
He said he makes a point of remembering customers’ names.
“I’ve got lots of names in my head, like I see them every day and they’re quite happy to see me every day.”
Mudaliar said relationships with elderly customers have become especially meaningful as they sometimes need extra help with parcels.
“So I take it inside the door, and the next time I go, they’ve got chocolates for me. At Christmas time, they always remember to have like a cookie or candies for me. I mean, small things do count.”
He believed attention to detail had also helped grow his business.
“My van is stacked nicely. Packages aren’t thrown around. When customers get the parcel, it’s the same way it should be.”
But for him, success came back to the small moments.
“A smile on your face makes the person on the other side go, ‘Oh, look, he’s cheerful’, and that can make someone’s day.”
Mudaliar recalled a Mother’s Day a couple of years ago when a last-minute flower order on Friday afternoon needed to be delivered from Te Puke to Ōmokoroa.
No Saturday delivery was available and the flowers risked arriving after Mother’s Day. Instead, he made the trip across the city after work hours.
“They thought they weren’t going to get it, so I said, ‘Hey, I’ll take it’.”
He said the flowers arrived within hours of being ordered.
Mudaliar had no plans to slow down and planned to break his own customer review record next year.
Aramex Oceania regional director Mark Little said Mudaliar’s number of five-star reviews was remarkable in an industry where customer feedback is far more often complaints.
Little said the Courier Franchisee of the Year award considered customer retention, operational performance, and customer reviews.
“For Richie to get more than 174 five-star Google reviews is unbelievable. Most people don’t congratulate a courier when a delivery’s done well.”
Little said Mudaliar’s review count was the highest among Aramex franchisees in New Zealand and reflected the care he put into his business.
The award was presented at Aramex’s annual gala awards in Christchurch, attended by about 100 staff and franchisees from around the country.
Little said Mudaliar’s business performance was impressive, but it was his humility that stood out on the night.
“It was quite emotional. It was unusually emotional for a courier franchise to be as humble and as emotional as he was.”
Zoe Blake is a multimedia journalist at the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post.