Common Courier Mistakes to Avoid

Whether you have set up a business that exists entirely online or you are moving into the position of having your products shipped out, there are some common mistakes that are always going to be worth avoiding. In this blog post, we are going to be looking at a few of these in closer detail to help you avoid repeating them yourself.

Not Training Your Drivers Properly

Driver training should be treated as a priority as these are the people who are actually going to be getting your packages from A to B and interacting directly with your customers as well. In terms of safety, a fleet defensive driving course is certainly a great starting point. You should also train in areas such as the proper practices for the loading and unloading of a vehicle, as well as how to manage a route in real-time. Don’t forget about the customer service element of the job as well. People are going to remember how they are greeted by their delivery driver when it comes to thinking about whether or not they will order from you again.

Using Poor-Quality Packaging

Packaging may not be a detail that you have thought about too closely, but it is certainly one that is worth bearing closely in mind. Instead of just choosing the first box you see that seems a roughly appropriate size, instead you should test is properly to see how well is does in transit. You should also ask questions of how easily it fits together and if it is going to fit through a mail slot or not. You should also consider the padding in the package that helps to ensure the item does not become damaged along the way. Of course, if your product is easily breakable, this is bound to be even more important.

Not Focusing on Attention to Detail

When you are shipping out packages, it may seem like there are a million and one different details that you have to pay attention to. If you do not juggle them all effectively, this is where problems can start to arise. You have the weight, size, package type, and all the associated costs to factor into it. Also, ensuring that you take a correct address from a customer is important, and you should also think about the distances that will be covered.

Not Estimating the Delivery Time Correctly

While next-day delivery services have revolutionised the industry in a big way, many people are simply happy knowing that their package is going to arrive with a clearly established timeframe. Therefore, you should do everything that you can to ensure an accurate estimate of when that important package is going to drop through the mailbox. Think about the different speeds of delivery service that you are going to offer and how easily and realistically that you are going to be able to achieve all of them.

Avoiding these common courier mistakes can seriously help you achieve successful deliveries.