When a deadline is a deadline

We often deliver parts and components for telecoms businesses to their customers.

These businesses have an engineer on standby and when the parts and equipment are delivered, they go to work. The telecoms companies give us deadlines to meet and schedule their engineers days accordingly. So we deliver by 12 midday, the engineer is scheduled to start the installation at 12.15 after it’s unloaded and signed for.

One telecoms company we deliver for, canceled as as the client felt we were to expensive and decided to go with Royal Mail Same Day delivery, with a guaranteed delivery of 12 midday. They stated that Royal mail Same Day was £20 cheaper than us, and they would use them.

Well, midday came and went and then their telecoms equipment  eventually arrived, 90 mins late. The engineer on was on standby at £75 an hour, plus vat. Same day delivery with guarantees, don’t always work as the vehicle used isn’t a dedicated vehicle. The company thought they were making a £20 saving it actually cost them £90 more – that’s the difference in delivery for us and for them.

We know how to deliver to a deadline. We know what not meeting it means.

For us 12pm, means 12pm not 1.30pm.

We know next time they will be using us, they told us so. It’s nice to be appreciated and even nicer to be recognised for doing what we actually say we do.

Kevin