A delivery day is won or lost in the first half hour. The best driver in the city still arrives late if the list is wrong, a parcel is missing or the phone is flat. This lesson is about the work you do before the wheels turn.
What a delivery really is
Delivery is not just driving. It is four jobs in a row.
- Take the right parcels on board.
- Carry them safely and in good time.
- Hand over each parcel to the right person at the right place.
- Prove it with a record that shows what happened.
If any one of the four is weak, the customer sees a failed delivery, even if you drove perfectly. Most of this course follows those four jobs in order.
Know what is on your list
Before you load, read the whole delivery list once, from the first stop to the last. For each stop, look for six things.
- Address, including the unit, floor or complex name.
- Who receives the parcel, and a phone number.
- How many parcels are for that stop.
- Time promise, if the customer was given a time or a window.
- Special instructions, such as "call from the gate" or "business closes at 16:00".
- Anything unusual about the parcel: fragile, heavy, needs two people, must be signed for.
Reading first takes five minutes and shows you the problem stops early.
Count before you close the door
Count the parcels you were given and match the number to the list. Do this before you leave, while the person who gave you the parcels is still there.
- A parcel with no line on the list needs to be raised with the office before you go.
- A line on the list with no parcel needs to be raised too.
- A parcel that is already torn, wet or crushed should be written down at pick-up, not found at the door.
A problem spotted at the depot is easy to fix. The same problem found at the third stop is an argument.
Sort so you can find things
Sort the parcels by stop so that you can lay your hands on the next one without digging. Keep small parcels together in a box and fragile ones where nothing can fall on them. Loading and securing a vehicle safely is a topic of its own.
Your own kit
A few small things save big delays.
- A phone with a full charge, and airtime or data if you use it for calls and maps.
- A pen that works, for when the app does not.
- Whatever your company requires you to carry, such as a company ID.
Example numbers only. A driver is given 18 parcels for 14 stops. At the depot the list is read and the parcels are counted. There are 17 parcels. One is missing. The driver tells the office before leaving, and the office finds the parcel on another trolley. Without the count, the customer would have been told "not delivered" for a parcel that never left the building.
- Delivery is four jobs: take, carry, hand over, prove it.
- Read the whole list and count the parcels before you leave.
- Raise missing, damaged or extra parcels at the depot, not at the door.
- Keep your phone charged and carry a pen.