Tips for Avoiding Failed Deliveries
Chit Chats and our partner carriers work hard to make each of your shipments a success! Clients can ship with confidence knowing their package will arrive at the intended destination both locally and internationally. However, there are times when a carrier may consider a shipment ‘undeliverable’. This often results in the item having to be returned. While there are a variety of reasons why a package cannot be delivered, there are a few precautions you can take to avoid costly failed deliveries.
Prevent Shipments with Incorrect Addresses
Sometimes, customers can make a mistake when inputting their address during the checkout process. As a result, their items could ship to the wrong address or to an address where they no longer live. Ensure that you have your customers verify their address information prior to checkout or shipping.
Make Use of Address Verification
Other times, the carrier might not recognize the formatting of a valid address. As a precaution, our system detects potential issues with invalid shipping addresses. If our platform suspects there may be an error, it could present you with a suggested alternate address. If this is the case, be sure to contact your customer to confirm their address before accepting any changes.
Take Advantage of Flexible Delivery Methods
Carriers might deem a shipment undeliverable if the recipient is not home to accept the package and there is nowhere safe to leave it. Customers who do not expect to be home during the time of delivery, or that have an address that is located on a busy road, for example, may be able to contact the carrier and arrange to have the package delivered to a pickup location or reschedule the delivery for another day. These options are typically only available if requested well in advance of delivery. For this reason, you may want to encourage your customers to follow their tracking closely.
On the other hand, carriers do not always offer these options. That’s why it’s important that to encourage your customers to provide addresses for reliable pickup locations or P.O. boxes to avoid an unnecessary return.
Encourage PO Boxes for Inaccessible Addresses
Any number of things can stand in the way of a successful delivery attempt. A package might receive a carrier tracking update of “No Access” if the recipient’s address is inaccessible. Examples of this could include addresses located in gated communities, a blocked mail receptacle, or even interference from an animal. Some of these occurrences might be unavoidable. However, you can encourage your customers to make use of a P.O. box or local post office if their physical address is often inaccessible.
In the event of one time occurrence, you can advise them to contact the final mile carrier directly. It might be possible to set up another delivery attempt for the following day to avoid a return of the items.
Watch out for Unexpected Shipping Delays
Unforeseen circumstances like traffic delays, weather conditions, or unexpected disruptions may lead to unavoidable delays. Whatever the reason, it is always good practice to communicate expected delays with your customers and remind them that delivery expectations are not a guarantee. You should also encourage your customers to follow their tracking updates. This is their best bet should they need to contact their local post office or the carrier. To get more information about current carrier delays, you can visit the carrier website or our blog ‘Partner Carrier Delays’.