Category: Chit Chats Blog

Chit Chats’ 2018 Holiday Hours of Operation by Region

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It’s the final rush before the holidays and we have our holiday hours of operation.

Don’t forget you can reference carrier cut-off dates in our recommended shipping deadlines blog post to meet the holiday rush and get your packages to your customers before December 25, 2018.

2018 Holiday Hours

Best Practices for Shipping

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We know there’s so much to know when it comes to shipping and that’s why we are here to help! We wanted to share some best practices to help ensure that your packages are processed efficiently and prevent any delays especially during this busy season.

Shipping labels have bar codes that are used to send tracking updates so that you and your customers can follow the journey of the package.

  • DO
    • Package your items carefully and as small as possible to ensure that you maximize postage options
    • Verify addresses with your customers to ensure that the package ends up in their hands
    • Make sure your labels are legible: pay special attention to the address and bar code information
    • Place labels along the long side of your shipments
    • Ensure your weight and dimensions are accurately entered to avoid insufficient postage which can impact delivery and costs to both you and your customer
    • Choose the correct service for your shipment and packaging
  •  DON’T
    • Cover the bar codes on shipping labels with tape or anything else as it can impact any scanning updates
    • Send labels that cannot be read easily (i.e. faded labels or printed in poor quality) as this can impact any scanning and ultimately tracking updates
    • Wrap the label around any corners or edges or fold along the bar code as this can impact any scanning updates
    • Guess the weight and dimensions of packages: this will help avoid underpaying postage

We encourage you to learn more on calculating correct postage from USPS or you can check out some useful tips on how to properly package your shipments on our Help & Support portal.

2018 Holiday Hours – Ontario Region Clients

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Chit Chats 2018 Holiday Hours of Operation for Ontario Region Clients

To help you plan ahead for the busiest time of year, we’ve got our hours of operation for the 2018 holiday season. For holiday shipping deadlines, please reference our 2018 Holiday Shipping Deadlines blog post as the cut-off days vary by region and carrier.

Don’t forget to plan ahead and advise your customers in advance. Packages need to be received by Chit Chats according to the cut-off dates and please keep in mind that carriers predict the week leading up to December 25 to be the busiest mailing, shipping and delivery week.

ONTARIO REGION

Sun Dec 23

  • Regular Sunday hours
    • Markham 10:00 am-2:00 pm 
    • Mississauga 9:00 am-1:00 pm
    • Computers will be shut down 30 min prior to close
  • USPS packages dropped off Sun Dec 23 will be handed off to USPS Mon Dec 24
  • Asendia, Chit Chats Canada or Domestic, Chit Chats International, UPS MI, U.S. FedEx and UPS packages dropped off Sun Dec 23 will be handed off to carriers Mon Dec 24

Mon Dec 24

  • All branches open 9:00 am-2:00 pm
  • Computers will be shut down 30 min prior to close
  • USPS packages dropped off Mon Dec 24 will be handed off to USPS Wed Dec 26
  • Chit Chats Canada or Domestic, Chit Chats International, Asendia, UPS MI, U.S FedEx and UPS packages dropped off Mon Dec 24 will be handed off to carriers Thu Dec 27

Tue Dec 25

  • All branches closed and no pick ups scheduled

Wed Dec 26

  • All branches closed and no pick ups scheduled
  • Special holiday hours
    • Mississauga 9:00 am-2:00 pm
    • Markham 10:00 am-3:00 pm
    • Computers will be shut down 30 min prior to close
  • USPS packages dropped off Wed Dec 26 will be handed off to USPS Thu Dec 27
  • Chit Chats Canada or Domestic, Chit Chats International, Asendia, UPS MI, U.S FedEx and UPS packages dropped off Wed Dec 26 will be handed off to carriers Thu Dec 27

Thu Dec 27

  • Regular business hours at the branches

Fri Dec 28

  • Regular business hours at the branches
  • USPS packages dropped off Fri Dec 28 will be handed off to USPS Sat Dec 29
  • Asendia, Chit Chats Canada or Domestic, Chit Chats International, UPS MI, U.S. FedEx & UPS  packages dropped off Fri Dec 28 will be handed off to carriers Mon Dec 31

Mon Dec 31

  • All branches open 9:00 am-2:00 pm
  • Computers will be shut down 30 min prior to close
  • USPS packages dropped off Mon Dec 31 will be handed off to USPS Wed Jan 2
  • Chit Chats Canada or Domestic and Chit Chats International packages dropped off Mon Dec 31 will be handed off to carriers Thu Jan 3
  • Asendia, UPS MI, U.S. FedEx & UPS packages dropped off Mon Dec 31 will be handed off to carriers Wed Jan 2

Tue Jan 1

  • All branches close and no pick ups scheduled

Wed Jan 2

  • Back to regular business hours for all branches

ONTARIO DROP SPOTS (Burlington & Vaughan)

  • Mon Dec 24 – 9:00 am-5:00 pm
  • Tue Dec 25 Closed
  • Wed Dec 26 Closed
  • Mon Dec 31 – 9:00 am-5:00 pm
  • Tue Jan 1 Closed

Feature Release Notes: Nov 2018

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We’ve got the latest round up of all the latest improvements and new features that we’ve released in November.

New Features

Integration Improvements

  • eBay parsing error fixed
  • Remove shipped and invalid orders from eBay import
  • Omit invalid eBay and Amazon phone numbers during import

Branch and Location Updates

 

2018 Holiday Hours – Quebec Region Clients

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Chit Chats 2018 Holiday Hours of Operation for Quebec Region Clients

To help you plan ahead for the busiest time of year, we’ve got our hours of operation for the 2018 holiday season. For holiday shipping deadlines, please reference our 2018 Holiday Shipping Deadlines blog post as the cut-off days vary by region and carrier.

Don’t forget to plan ahead and advise your customers in advance. Packages need to be received by Chit Chats according to the cut-off dates and please keep in mind that carriers predict the week leading up to December 25 to be the busiest mailing, shipping and delivery week.

QUEBEC REGION

Mon Dec 24

  • Montreal branch open 9:00 am-2:00 pm with limited pick ups available
  • Computers will be shut down 30 min prior to close
  • USPS, U.S. FedEx & UPS shipments received Mon Dec 24 will be handed off to carriers Wed Dec 26
  • Chit Chats Canada or Domestic and Chit Chats International packages received Mon Dec 24 will be handed off to carriers Fri Dec 28

Tue Dec 25

  • Montreal branch closed and no pick ups scheduled

Wed Dec 26

  • Montreal branch closed and no pick ups scheduled

Thu Dec 27

  • Montreal branch regular business hours

Fri Dec 28

  • Montreal branch regular business hours

Mon Dec 31

  • Montreal branch open 9:00 am-2:00 pm with limited pick ups available
  • Computers will be shut down 30 min prior to close
  • USPS, U.S. FedEx & UPS shipments received Mon Dec 31 will be handed off to carriers Wed Jan 2
  • Chit Chats Canada or Domestic and Chit Chats International packages received Mon Dec 31 will be handed off to carriers Fri Jan 4

Tue Jan 1

  • Montreal branch closed and no pick ups scheduled

Wed Jan 2

  • Montreal branch back to regular business hours

QUEBEC DROP SPOTS (Plateau Mont-Royal, Laval and Downtown Montreal)

  • Mon Dec 24 Close at 4:00 pm
  • Tue Dec 25 Closed
  • Wed Dec 26 Closed
  • Thu Dec 27 Regular business hours
  • Fri Dec 28 Regular business hours
  • Mon Dec 31 Close at 4:00 pm
  • Tue Jan 1 Closed
  • Wed Jan 2 Regular business hours

2018 Holiday Hours – BC Region Clients

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Chit Chats 2018 Holiday Hours of Operation for BC Region Clients

To help you plan ahead for the busiest time of year, we’ve got our hours of operation for the 2018 holiday season. For holiday shipping deadlines, please reference our 2018 Holiday Shipping Deadlines blog post as the cut-off days vary by region and carrier.

Don’t forget to plan ahead and advise your customers in advance. Packages need to be received by Chit Chats according to the cut-off dates and please keep in mind that carriers predict the week leading up to December 25 to be the busiest mailing, shipping and delivery week.

BC REGION

Fri Dec 14

  • All branches close at 3:00 pm
  • Computers will be shut down 30 min prior to close
  • Any packages dropped off Fri Dec 14 at the Burnaby, Main Street or North Vancouver drop spots will not be processed until Mon Dec 17 and handed off to carriers Tue Dec 18
  • USPS and UPS MI packages dropped off Fri Dec 14 will be handed off to carriers Sat Dec 15
  • U.S. FedEx and UPS packages dropped off Fri Dec 14 will be handed off to carriers Mon Dec 17
  • Asendia packages dropped off Fri Dec 14 will be handed off to the carrier Tue Dec 18
  • Chit Chats Canada and Chit Chats International packages dropped off Fri Dec 14 at our Richmond and Vancouver branch will be handed off to carriers Mon Dec 17
  • Chit Chats Canada and Chit Chats International packages dropped off Fri Dec 14 at our Surrey branch will be handed off to carriers Tue Dec 18

Fri Dec 21

  • Regular business hours at all branches
  • USPS packages dropped off Fri Dec 21 will be handed off to USPS Sat Dec 22
  • Chit Chats Canada and Chit Chats International packages dropped off Fri Dec 21 at our Richmond and Vancouver branch will be handed off to carriers Mon Dec 24
  • Chit Chats Canada and Chit Chats International packages dropped off Fri Dec 21 at our Surrey branch will be handed off to carriers Thu Dec 27
  • UPS MI, U.S. FedEx and UPS packages dropped off Fri Dec 21 will be handed off to carriers Mon Dec 24
  • Asendia packages dropped off Fri Dec 21 will be handed off to the carrier Fri Dec 28
  • Vancouver after hours drop box will be checked Thu Dec 27 (for packages dropped off during the weekend)

Mon Dec 24

  • All branches closed and no pick ups scheduled

Tue Dec 25

  • All branches closed and no pick ups scheduled

Wed Dec 26

  • Vancouver & Surrey branches closed and no pick ups scheduled
  • Special holiday hours
    • Richmond 10:00 am-2:00 pm
    • Computers will be shut down 30 min prior to close
  • USPS, UPS MI, U.S. FedEx & UPS, Chit Chats Canada and Chit Chats International packages dropped off Wed Dec 26 will be handed off to carriers Thu Dec 27 (with the exception of Chit Chats Canada and Chit Chats International packages dropped off at our Surrey branch which will be handed off to carriers Fri Dec 28)
  • Asendia packages dropped off Wed Dec 26 will be handed off to the carrier Fri Dec 28
  • Vancouver after hours drop box will be checked Thu Dec 27

Thu Dec 27

  • Regular business hours at the branches

Fri Dec 28

  • Regular business hours at the branches
  • USPS packages dropped off Fri Dec 28 will be handed off to USPS Sat Dec 29
  • Chit Chats Canada and Chit Chats International packages dropped off Fri Dec 28 will be handed off to carriers Mon Dec 31 (except if dropped off at Surrey will be handed off Wed Jan 2)
  • UPS MI, U.S. FedEx & UPS packages dropped off Fri Dec 28 will be handed off to carriers Mon Dec 31
  • Asendia packages dropped off Fri Dec 28 will be handed off to the carrier Fri Jan 4
  • Vancouver after hours drop box will be checked Wed Jan 2 (for packages dropped off during the weekend)

Mon Dec 31

  • All branches closed and no pick ups scheduled

Tue Jan 1

  • All branches closed and no pick ups scheduled

Wed Jan 2

  • Back to regular business hours for all branches

BC DROP SPOTS

Burnaby (Lake City area)

  • Mon Dec 24 Close at 1:00 pm
  • Tue Dec 25 Closed
  • Wed Dec 26 Regular business hours
  • Mon Dec 31 Close at 1:00 pm
  • Tue Jan 1 Closed

Main Street

  • Mon Dec 24 Closed
  • Tue Dec 25 Closed
  • Wed Dec 26 Closed
  • Mon Dec 31 Closed
  • Tue Jan 1 Closed

North Vancouver

  • Mon Dec 24 to Tue Jan 1 Closed

Canada Post Alternative Launching Soon

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We heard you loud and clear! Thank you for participating in our survey asking if we should stay with Canada Post or leave for the holidays. The response to switch, due to Canada Post’s ongoing backlog and delivery delays, was overwhelming. So, we are thrilled to announce that we will switch to an alternative Canadian partnership for the rest of the fourth quarter in an effort to improve transit times at this critical time of year.

Chit Chats Domestic Tracked Service will replace our existing Chit Chats Canada Tracked Service for clients only in the following regions:

  • Ontario ($7.80 + $2.10/kg)
  • Quebec ($7.80 + $2.50/kg)
  • Atlantic Canada ($7.80 + $2.50/kg)

If you ship from the Ontario, Quebec or Atlantic region this service will be available in your postage options. This option will not be available to our BC and Alberta region clients. This new service will launch Thursday, December 6 for the remainder of the month.

Important things to know:

  • Same great rates
  • 2-8 business days delivery*
  • Tracking is included

This new service uses a combination of established national courier partners (i.e. Apple Express, Canpar, FedEx). We’ve been testing this service for the past few weeks with fantastic results. If you already have some Canada Tracked Service shipments, you can still drop them off or simply re-do the postage label if you want to take advantage of this new service.

*Estimated delivery days for Ontario region clients. 3-9 business days delivery for Quebec region clients and 3-10 business days delivery for Atlantic region clients.

Note that for remote rural addresses, apartments and PO Boxes the delivery may still be handled by Canada Post.

Feel free to ask any questions to our support team along with any feedback.

The Chit Chats Team

 

Earn some extra money with Chit Chats.

 

2018 Holiday Hours – Alberta Region Clients

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Chit Chats 2018 Holiday Hours of Operation for Alberta Region Clients

To help you plan ahead for the busiest time of year, we’ve got our hours of operation for the 2018 holiday season. For holiday shipping deadlines, please reference our 2018 Holiday Shipping Deadlines blog post as the cut-off days vary by region and carrier.

Don’t forget to plan ahead and advise your customers in advance. Packages need to be received by Chit Chats according to the cut-off dates and please keep in mind that carriers predict the week leading up to December 25 to be the busiest mailing, shipping and delivery week.

ALBERTA REGION

Mon Dec 24

  • Calgary branch closed

Tue Dec 25

  • Calgary branch closed

Wed Dec 26

  • Calgary branch closed

Thu Dec 27

  • Calgary branch holiday hours 11:00 am-7:00 pm
  • Computers will be shut down 30 min prior to close
  • USPS shipments received Thu Dec 27 will be handed off to USPS Fri Dec 28

Fri Dec 28

  • Calgary branch regular business hours 10:00 am-6:00 pm
  • Computers will be shut down 30 min prior to close
  • USPS shipments received Fri Dec 28 will be handed off to USPS Sat Dec 29

Mon Dec 31

  • Calgary branch holiday hours 10:00 am-2:00 pm
  • Computers will be shut down 30 min prior to close
  • USPS packages dropped off Mon Dec 31 will be handed off to USPS Wed Jan 2

Tue Jan 1

  • Calgary branch closed

Wed Jan 2

  • Calgary branch back to regular business hours
Chit Chats Referral Program

2018 Holiday Hours – Atlantic Region Clients

Posted on

Chit Chats 2018 Holiday Hours of Operation for Atlantic Region Clients

To help you plan ahead for the busiest time of year, we’ve got our hours of operation for the 2018 holiday season. For holiday shipping deadlines, please reference our 2018 Holiday Shipping Deadlines blog post as the cut-off days vary by region and carrier.

Don’t forget to plan ahead and advise your customers in advance. Packages need to be received by Chit Chats according to the cut-off dates and please keep in mind that carriers predict the week leading up to December 25 to be the busiest mailing, shipping and delivery week.

ATLANTIC REGION

Fri Dec 21

  • Regular business hours and pick ups
  • USPS shipments received Fri Dec 21 will be handed off to USPS Thu Dec 27
  • Asendia, UPS MI, Chit Chats Canada or Domestic and Chit Chats International packages received Fri Dec 21 will be handed off to carriers Thu Dec 27

Mon Dec 24 

  • Hours 10:00 am-2:00 pm
  • All Maritime bus shipments must be sent the day before and received by 2:00 pm in Dartmouth in order to make same day transit
  • All drop offs must be done by 10:00 am
  • Early pick ups scheduled
  • USPS shipments received Mon Dec 24 will be handed off to USPS Sat Dec 29
  • Asendia, UPS MI, Chit Chats Canada or Domestic and Chit Chats International packages received Mon Dec 24 will be handed off to carriers Fri Dec 28

Tue Dec 25

  • Closed

Wed Dec 26

  • Closed

Mon Dec 31 

  • Hours 10:00 am-2:00 pm
  • All Maritime bus shipments must be sent the day before and received by 2:00 pm in Dartmouth in order to make same day transit
  • All drop offs must be done by 10:00 am
  • Early pick ups scheduled
  • USPS shipments received Mon Dec 31 will be handed off to USPS Sat Jan 5
  • Asendia, UPS MI, Chit Chats Canada or Domestic and Chit Chats International packages received Mon Dec 31 will be handed off to carriers Fri Jan 4

Tue Jan 1

  • Closed

Wed Jan 2

  • Back to regular business hours

USPS Closed Wednesday, December 5, 2018

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Correction to our previous post.

USPS will suspend regular mail deliveries and close retail services tomorrow, Wednesday, Dec 5. Chit Chats will still be able to hand off packages to USPS tomorrow morning however there may be processing and tracking delays with USPS.

Packages dropped off on Tuesday, Dec 4 at a Chit Chats branch will be handed off to USPS on Wednesday, Dec 5.

President Donald J. Trump has proclaimed Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2018, as a National Day of Mourning in remembrance of former President George H.W. Bush. As mentioned this may affect delivery times and tracking updates with USPS.

This will not affect processing times for our Chit Chats Canada Tracked, Chit Chats International Standard, Asendia and UPS Mail Innovations packages.

The Chit Chats Team