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Making time for your delivery

March 7, 2011 By

Often a delivery takes seconds, the item is handed to the customer and then they sign and it’s completed from the customers point of view.

From our customers side of things, they are still waiting delivery confirmation so when the courier returns to their vehicle they then phone that through, and the job is almost complete for them.

For the courier, the job is not complete, they have the next delivery to do as well and each one takes a varying amount of time from seconds to hours.

Yes, hours…

Sometimes customers are unable to take a delivery at a scheduled time -

  • They may have no space in their warehouse
  • They may have staff out at lunch
  • They may need a forklift to unload

It’s important that you let the company you book your courier service through know there may be delays and they can take that into account when they do their schedules. Delays that can’t be built in often occur waiting time which makes the delivery more expensive.

Think about making time for your delivery before you ring through the booking, you can save yourself some money and some hassle.

Sarah

 

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Let’s talk about cancelling your delivery

December 20, 2010 By
Croquembouch wedding cake
Image via Wikipedia

The snow has made things hard for us same day couriers, we have to complete the same distances but use more fuel and more man hours to deliver things “as normal”.

We go above and beyond normal duty to see items get delivered. For example On Saturday we delivered a wedding cake to Birmingham from London. The booking was made a week ago and I left the house at 5am to reach London for 7am.

The wedding cake had to be delivered by 2pm to the venue. Our client confirmed this, and I left London at 7.10 am and drive up to Birmingham, through the snow, through the ice, through a blizzard.

Non stop, well sort of, at one point I travelled 20 miles at 11 miles per hour. The roads were treacherous and there were plenty of stay at home warnings and only travel if you have to warnings.

I reached Birmingham at 2.01 pm

I found a deserted venue.

No one was there to sign for the cake, the roads were clear and there were no cars in the car park.

I called my client, who called their client who promptly told them that they were glad they called as they rang 30 minutes ago to cancel the delivery as they had decided to cancel the wedding a few days ago…

Communication is the key to all deliveries. From getting the right vehicle, to the correctly trained driver to the correct delivery address, communication is the vital component to making a delivery success.

Cancelling a delivery isn’t always possible at short notice, you a still liable for it once the collection has taken place.

If you are on the receiving end of a delivery think carefully about how long it takes  for the item to reach you. You cannot cancel a delivery that is 6.5 hours into a 7 hour journey. Fuel and man hours still have to be paid.

You can cancel a delivery with notice, in the case this customer they knew a few days ago that the wedding wasn’t taking place. They should have informed everyone in the chain, including the delivery drivers.

As I pulled out of the venue car park, another van was pulling in. The driver wound down the window and we had a quick chat – he wanted to know where to go to get the disco gear signed for… another delivery not cancelled in time it seems.

It works out to be very expensive for everyone involved.

Remember when booking your deliveries to read the T&Cs

Kevin

Same day courier services

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What is a courier service?

July 6, 2010 By

Working on our latest ebook, one of the questions that came up in the feedback was “What exactly is a courier service, and what are the differences?”. So I thought I would start of with the easy one ;-)

What is a courier service?

A courier service  according to Wikipedia is

A courier is a person or a company employed to deliver messages, packages and mail. Couriers are distinguished from ordinary mail services by features such as speed, security, tracking, signature, specialization and individualization of services, and committed delivery times, which are optional for most everyday mail services. As a premium service, couriers are usually more expensive than usual mail services, and their use is typically restricted to packages where one or more of these features are considered important enough to warrant the cost.

Simple really… except for the small fact that there are many types of service and used for many different things. All have their unique points and advantages for the customer, hence the writing of the ebook, which will make courier services easier to distinguish from each other as well as save time and money for the customer.

At this stage I would like to give thanks to two people who have helped me no end in clarifying the ebook project in my mind – Ann Godridge and Mike Korner.

Now, I must stop getting distracted by making the Forbes top 100 websites for women list and Stephen Fry commenting on a blog of ours and get to work on the book :)

Of course, if you would like a copy, you are welcome to sign up for our newsletter where we send monthly parcel discount codes, packing tips and other useful information. The link for this is under Kev’s photo.

Sarah

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Do you know what vehicle to book from your courier?

June 8, 2010 By

When  booking your courier service it is essential to know what size vehicle you need for the job.

  • Motorcycle couriers – carry a top box that can take a maximum weight of 8kilos and measures 30 x 20 x 20 cms so is ideal for documents and small packages, and high value but small items
  • Small van couriers can take items between 450-500kgs and their load space is 1.2 x 1.2 x 1 metres
  • Transit vans can take items up to 1000kgs and their load space is 3.0 x 1.7 x 1.6 metres
  • Sprinters / XLB Transits can take up to 900kgs in weight and their load is 4.2 x 1.7 x 1.6 metres

If you don’t know what vehicle, you need to be able to tell the courier the weight and dimensions of the item needing to be delivered.

As you can see from the above dimensions an item that weighs 10kgs but is 40 x 40 x 40 cms has to go by a small van, it’s too big for a motorcyle courier.

The same applies for much larger items if an item is over the dimensions or weight for a transit van or a sprinter, then the next size up is a 7.5 tonne lorry.

Each vehicle has a different cost to you the customer, as each one has different needs. People think a motorcycle courier will be cheaper than a small van courier, but modern motorcycles are highly tuned machines and the drivers highly skilled at driving through traffic – they work at their absolute best when delivering to a deadline, and that is what you pay a premium for.

If a delivery isn’t as rushed, then a small van courier would save you some money (but not a lot).

When booking your courier services you need to know either the vehicle size / capacity that you need or the dimensions of the item being sent.

If you don’t know either, you will get the wrong service with the wrong vehicle if your courier doesn’t ask.

Don’t get overcharged, the devil is in the details, so know them!

Sarah

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Same Day Courier Services – What Are The Benefits?

February 2, 2010 By

A same day courier service allows your business to transport important goods or documents reliably. This can allow your business to convert important prospects and to win successful contracts. Most couriers will also allow you to track your package so you know when the recipient has received it.

It’s important to understand the benefits of using a reliable courier service and how it can increase your businesses reliability and reputation. By understanding why a same day courier is so important you can start to look for a good company with an excellent reputation for reliability.

In this blog posting we’ll look at the 5 main benefits your business will experience from a reliable, same day courier.

1 – Reliability
You want to demonstrate that your business is professional and reliable. Therefore you need to demonstrate this in every area of business that you operate. This includes delivering items to clients and prospects.
If you can impress your clients and prospects with a professional, sleek and timely delivery of goods or documents, you’re likely to retain these clients. It will also increase your businesses reputation through word of mouth. sloppy delivery will have the reverse affect.

2 – Contracts Speed Up
If you can get an important contract signed on the same day, you can begin starting a project much sooner. Using slower, inefficient courier services means delays in starting new contracts which can all affect your businesses cash flow.
With courier tracking in real time you know when your important goods or documents have been received and therefore when to expect a response. Invaluable, when time is money.

3 – Peace of Mind
Being able to rely on a delivery service to get your package to its destination on-time and impress your clients or prospects is a necessity. Once you’ve sent your package you need to be able to focus on running your business, not worrying about if the package will arrive in time.
Peace of mind comes guaranteed with a same day courier and you needn’t worry about goods getting lost or damaged, or if they’ll be delivered on time.
By using a fully insured and legal service you know your goods are in safe hands. Look for a company that employs fully trained staff to ensure safe transport that’s insured, professional and reliable.

4 – Save Time
Why make numerous trips to your local post office or sorting office? It makes sense to focus on running your business. Let the courier pick-up your important goods from your business premises. Save time by letting the experts handle your problem of getting parcels and documents delivered on time

5 – Save Money
Using a courier service isn’t as expensive as you might think. You get great value and if money is an issue you can always choose a non urgent service.
If you need to get an important document signed today, you might have to drive across half the country for a signature. It makes sense to save petrol costs along with wear-and-tear on your car by paying a courier to do the job. You can also avoid any corporate manslaughter issues that you may have if a staff member completed the job.

Sarah
PS if you have any questions, pick up the phone, we are happy to help

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