Couriers And Messengers | Same Day Courier Services, Essex

Posts Tagged ‘Couriers and Messengers’

Does your business need to look at its deliveries?

Posted on March 11th, 2010 No Comments

One of the interesting things that come about when you are chatting to other businesses is how little they care about their reputation after they have gained their customer’s business. I shall be quite blunt, after the customer has paid, a lot of businesses seem to think that is the end of the relationship with the customer until they want to sell them something again.

: Image via Wikipedia

When a courier service collects late, that reflects on your business. It may be the traffic, it may be the company you use is short staffed but your customer doesn’t really care about that, and you sound less than professional when you start blaming someone else for what is essentially your problem.

It’s your problem because it’s your customer and your reputation, if you continue to use a courier service that doesn’t quite do what it says on the tin, then you lose business. That 10% you thought you were saving your company is now costing it, cheap courier services always cost twice as much and then some.

Then there are the customers that simply don’t come back, the courier that delivered was late, out of communication (or one that we recently heard – had placed the package in the wheelie bin, which was emptied soon after), it all affects your business, your bottom line. This means more money has to be spent on acquiring new customers, customers that could have been kept, if only your courier had delivered.

Things like not using the correct service for the type of product delivered, because you were busy saving money also cost you customers. The little things make a difference, like meeting a production deadline. There is much talk about going the extra mile, how far do you really go?

Next time you think you are saving your company some money, ask the boss how much it costs to acquire the customer in the first place.
Does your courier deliver more than just your products or do they deliver a bucket load of grief?

Kev
0800 917 7084

Posted in courier services

The courier at the gate…

Posted on February 4th, 2010 1 Comment

I recently read in an online forum about a lady who had had 30 boxes of nappies delivered by a courier service and they had left them at her gate.

: Image via Wikipedia

To make matters worse, the gate opened outwards and the boxes were stacked so she couldn’t open the gate, which meant that she had to climb over the gate to get to the nappies, move them, open the gate and then bring them in… needless to say she wasn’t very happy. At the time it was snowing and all this was done in the snow, at low temperature.

Firstly, couriers deliver kerbside to kerbside. Which means they are without obligation to lugg it up your driveway and put it in your hallway. Often the courier companies drivers will do it out of kindness. It’s nice to thank them at this point

Also it should be remembered that should a courier chose to help the customer by delivering right to the front door and through the gate, they are probably not insured. They have been instructed by their company to deliver just to the kerbside, and they know if they slip on the customer’s pathway they could be out of work whilst they recover. They may have to claim against the householder for loss of earnings if it could be proved that it was their fault that the courier slipped on the pathway.

What a nightmare! For companies that want to provide that extra bit of customer service, do they risk the customers wrath or their employees wrath? It is a rock and a hard place scenario. You understand why your postman is not delivering in the snow and the ice, but people rarely cut slack for the couriers that they are expecting.

Think back to your job, are there certain procedures that must be followed in order for you to do it? What do you have to do to prove you work in a safe manner? The chances are you know all about assessing for risks in your business, and you understand why a courier service will also assess the risks, and sometimes they will have no choice but to deliver to the exact guidelines they are issued with.

It’s not being a stupid delivery driver thats failing to understand your needs, it’s a conscientious employee doing their job correctly.

When booking your courier service we feel it’s important to have couriers that think, and understand what is going on and what the risks are. If you do too, then we’d like to hear from you.

Sarah

Posted in Courier Business, courier services

Do you currently pay a fuel surcharge on your courier services?

Posted on January 22nd, 2010 No Comments

As you may have noticed over the last 7 months the cost of fuel has risen steadily. For us couriers that means an unavoidable increase in our operating costs.

How some couriers deal with the higher fuel prices is by adding a fuel surcharge to you bill, this can be an extra 5 or 10%.

Over the course of a few weeks this can significantly increase your transport costs.

So what do you suggest we do to make your deliveries more cost effective for you?

We don’t charge a fuel surcharge, as our services are bespoke courier services, each price and quote is tailored to each delivery. As a customer that means you only pay for what you need and use

We recycle packaging for our customers too, and can return it to their depot and save them significant amounts in packaging costs.

Our drivers drive safely and as fuel efficiently as possible, and that makes a difference to our fuels bills. There is no need for us to charge extra for any fuel consumption with the price increases.

So when booking your same day courier service, remember to ask about the fuel surcharge before you get a shock when the invoice comes in!

Kevin