4 Typical New York Courier Service Issues and How to Prevent Them
To successfully compete in today’s demanding retail marketplace, running an effective in-house delivery service or outsourcing to a reliable New York courier service is necessary.
Gone are the pre-pandemic days when same-day delivery was seen as a luxury.
Due to the likes of Amazon and other retail giants shipping goods swiftly to the doorstep, your customers now expect the same.
If you are a start-up or run a small business, it’s easy to assume that the cost of delivering via a professional New York courier will break the budget.
Thankfully, that’s no longer the case, and there are now New York delivery services like Metrobi that provide a cost-effective and reliable alternative to trying to deliver items yourself.
But logistics is competitive, and many companies claim to be the best.
How do you know which New York courier service to use? And how do you avoid running into courier service issues?
See below four common New York delivery service pitfalls and suggestions on how to prevent them.
Damage To Goods
There’s no point in putting time and effort into making or supplying a fabulous product if it arrives with your customer broken or damaged, especially if it’s a fragile item or perishable goods.
Customers expect their products to be securely packed and arrive in top condition. If that’s not the case, they will complain, may leave negative reviews online, and are unlikely to order from you again.
But a lot can happen during transit, so it’s essential that you use a courier that employs professional drivers who can carry the goods correctly and that they are shipped in suitable vehicles so that they arrive safely at their location.
For example, large parcel carriers and conventional shipping companies use big trucks and carry multiple items of different sizes. This increases the chance of loss and damage unless they are correctly placed and secured in the vehicle.
In contrast, a local New York courier like Metrobi uses a range of vans, minivans, SUVs, and box trucks to deliver items safely. You can specify the type of vehicle and even the drivers you wish to use according to the item you need to be delivered, which will significantly reduce the risk of your goods getting lost, broken, or damaged.
Furthermore, all Metrobi drivers use tablets that take photos of the items when they reach their location. These devices also capture the recipient’s signature as proof of receipt, so if you encounter a dishonest customer or receive a complaint about the delivery, you can accurately assess the issue.
Late and Unreliable Deliveries
One of the most challenging aspects of running a delivery service in New York is ensuring that products arrive at their destination on time.
Customers often reorganize their plans to receive their goods and parcels and don’t like to be kept waiting!
Delivering items when you say you will is imperative, but doing so is rarely as easy as it seems, as you need to deal with New York City traffic.
If you know NYC, you know that getting even a few blocks in a vehicle can be challenging.
New York is ranked the fifth busiest city in the world, and it’s estimated that drivers go a maximum of just 10 miles per hour in many places.
To avoid traffic and give your package the best chance of arriving on time, a good New York courier service must use technology to navigate their drivers and avoid congestion.
This advanced route optimization technology alerts the couriers on which routes are free-flowing and directs them if there are accidents and hold-ups.
At Metrobi, we’ve taken the technology one step further and incorporated a state-of-the-art GPS that allows you to track your delivery on our platform in real time. This is a real advantage if you or your customer ever question where an item is or need to state an estimated arrival time.
Limited Staff or Times of Service
All New York courier services differ, and some logistics companies only specialize in delivering certain products or may not have enough drivers or vehicles to reliably provide you with round-the-clock support.
Suppose you supply a product like medicine, or you regularly need to carry urgent reports or food items overnight. In that case, you must ensure your delivery service can cater to this.
Ask the service if they offer 24-hour support, and what happens should you run into a problem or need an urgent delivery out of hours.
Ensure they have an adequate number of vans, drivers, and support personnel available to ensure they meet the needs of your business and can deliver the goods every time. If not, consider another service.
Professional New York delivery companies like Metrobi understand their service needs to be flexible and provides you with 24/7 access to couriers across the city. They also have a team of professional local drivers to deliver goods quickly, even during The Holidays.
Unrealistic Pricing and Hidden Costs
Outsourcing to a courier service in New York costs money, so do spend time researching any prospective company before you agree to use their delivery service.
The price of same-day delivery in New York varies considerably.
If budget is a concern, remember that the cheapest courier is not necessarily the best.
It costs money for a delivery service to insure and maintain the vehicles and payroll the drivers and support staff needed to run a reliable courier service.
Keeping up with the latest traffic-beating technology and ensuring all the drivers are trained to provide a professional front for your business also costs money.
This is why a professional New York courier service should not cut corners and should offer you their services at a competitive price – with no extras hidden in the small print.
Metrobi offers a clearly priced subscription-based New York delivery service based on your delivery volume. Our subscription is flexible and can be upgraded at any time, and it provides you with 24/7 access to our pool of drivers, a wide range of vehicles, and round-the-clock support.
To learn more about Metrobi, request a callback.
