How To Keep Your Courier Customer Satisfied

Happy customers are vital for any business to thrive. As a courier, if you consistently provide a service that satisfies your clients you will not only benefit from repeat custom, but new people will be attracted to your service through the recommendations of their friends, family and colleagues.

Although customer service can seem difficult at times, in reality it is quite simple. To keep everyone happy, you need to manage their expectations, prioritise effective communication and maintain transparency at all times.

Being Proactive

The first step towards brilliant service is to understand what it is your customers actually want from you. Often clients want specific information about their courier jobs, as this helps them feel like they have some control over their parcels. For example, as many people worry their packages could be damaged or lost in transit, they may want to know where their parcel is at any given time and when they can expect delivery. If there is a problem or delay, clients will want to know exactly what has gone wrong and what you are doing to deal with the situation. They may also want to know why a problem has occurred and what effect this is going to have on their delivery.

If you can identify the information people desire, you can provide them with the facts before they have to ask. This proactive approach will help the client feel like they have control of the situation and that you are aware of their needs.

Trust Through Transparency

Building up trust with a service user is very important. Having a good professional rapport with your clients will hopefully lead to a long-term, mutually beneficial working relationship. Making sure all your processes are as transparent as possible will help establish a good relationship. Having a simple, easily-understood pricing model is an example of one step you can take to help both yourself and your clients.

You can make the most of modern technology to provide real-time updates to customers, ensuring them that you are working to deliver their parcel or package on time. Using live tracking and providing clear audit trails of the delivery can reassure clients that their courier jobs are underway and progressing on schedule. The combination of transparency and visibility is usually enough to soothe even the most agitated customer.

How to Manage Problems

Of course, there are always occasions when problems do arise with courier jobs; however, it doesn’t mean you have to lose a client. The key is to deal with issues in a calm and transparent manner. Maintain open communication with the customer and let them know as soon as possible if a problem occurs or is imminent. If you do not have an immediate solution to the problem, let them know you’ll be back in touch as soon as possible.

There’s nothing wrong with admitting when mistakes have been made; in fact, this can actually help customers place more trust in a business, as it shows you’re willing to acknowledge an error and apologise. If you quickly provide an impressive solution to a difficult problem, customers will be impressed and more likely to return to you for future courier jobs.

Communication, transparency and honesty are the most important components of good customer service. If you keep these watchwords in mind, you’ll be ready to handle any situation.

Author Plate

Norman Dulwich is a correspondent for Courier Exchange, the world's largest neutral trading hub for same day courier jobs in the express freight exchange industry. Over 5,300 member companies are networked together through the Exchange to fill empty capacity, get new clients and form long-lasting business relationships.