Courier Service - Courier Company Secrets That Some Do Not Want You To Know Part 1

There are a lot of great companies that provide courier service who are able to provide very dependable courier services. However, there are far more not-so-good courier companies whose practices are unreliable or questionable, and leave you asking "Where is my delivery?" and "When is it going to finally arrive?" Sorry to have to ask, but which type of courier company are you using?

You might be surprised to know that, the differences between a good courier company and a bad one are remarkably simple and easily distinguishable. That is, if one knows some basic fundamentals to efficient and high level transportation service procedures. Learning some of the practices some couriers use can make all the difference in the world in finding a reliable one; one which will make your company look good and dependable.

Do you find yourself having to call your courier service on a regular basis to ask where your delivery is, and when it's going to arrive at its destination because it's taken much longer than you had expected? Are your customers frequently calling you asking where their product that they ordered is? You placed the call at 8 a.m. for shipment, it's now well after lunch, and your customer still hasn't seen the driver. This does not bode well for your image.

A standard rule of thumb that many courier services go by for a time frame to deliver a shipment on a regular delivery within your city boundaries varies from 4 to 5 hours. A courier company with an aspiration for high level of service will have a shorter standard of 3 to 4 hours. The latter is not as commonly found.

Companies often complain that their courier delivery service has not picked up their shipment for 4 hours, and oftentimes even longer after they had placed the call for delivery. Hearing these stories makes one shudder.

Some will pick up your shipment quickly to "get it out of your face" so you're not concerned, thinking your delivery is well on its merry way. When in actuality, it still hasn't been delivered 5 hours later. You're not even aware of this until your customer calls, fuming that they were told their order would arrive within 4 hours. It's now been 5 hours, and they haven't seen hide nor hair of the driver. "Where is my order???" Gasp! You're now scrambling to make your customer satisfied.

You call your courier service and hear an excuse such as "The Whitemud Drive is a parking lot", when you just drove on it 15 minutes ago and traffic was clear. Now you're more than just upset. You now know that you can't even believe the answers you've been given from your courier, and your trust has been broken. I think you know the answer to that; start looking for a new and more reputable courier.

No one is infallible, not even courier companies. To err is human, as they say. The essential thing is that your courier provides you with an honest answer…"We're so sorry, we messed up! What can we do to make this right for you?" The most logical answer to make everyone happy in this instance would be to get your delivery to its destination immediately, and to provide the service free of charge. Circumstances like this should only happen on a rare occasion.

If your courier company is being openly honest when they've made a mistake, you can be confident if they answer to you that "The Whitemud Drive is a parking lot, there's been an accident" that it was the truth. If there is a holdup with your shipment, a good courier will call to inform you, and provide the reasons for it.

One of the most common practices that a courier company does is to hold back on deliveries to another end of town until the driver's vehicle is so full that it cannot fit another pencil. Well a pencil may be a stretch, but you see where I'm going with this. They will wait until they have a completely full load which could take hours, and then proceed to the side of town they're destined for. And they still have yet to get all those deliveries off once they get there!

When looking for a courier company, ask questions, such as what their maximum time frames are for regular delivery. You may be surprised with the answers you hear. If they hum and haw and try to be evasive with answers such as "Well…that depends on where it's going to and where it's being picked up" without providing a concrete answer, or, "That's a difficult question to answer"…, do yourself a favor and end your conversation right there. That's your cue to keep looking.

Your courier service is the front line between your products and your customers. You need your courier to be a positive extension of your company, making the right impression that will help you to grow your business.

Understanding some of the fundamentals in making decisions for which courier company you use will be one of the most important things your company needs to be aware of. Your best arsenal to prevent a poor company image with delivery of your products is to be informed of many of the less than desirable practices for courier service some of the companies perpetrate and to learn what the industry's best practices are.