You sell a customer an item with confirmed delivery by Friday. It’s now Monday, their package is stuck in transit limbo, and they urgently want answers.
This guide covers proven techniques for soothing anxious customers awaiting overdue deliveries.
Regardless of courier woes beyond your control, customers rely on you to provide transparency around late shipments and advocate on their behalf.
Mastering the art of empathetic yet assertive outreach transforms this painful scenario into an opportunity to strengthen loyalty.
Walk through the below best practices for taking ownership when tracking details prove elusive and providing the elusive customer service assistance buyers deserve.
Set Proactive Alerts
Don’t leave customers clueless when orders run late. The moment a cutoff approaches where delays grow likely:
- You should fire off an email clearly stating the order may miss the initial delivery estimate.
- Provide likely revised timeframes based on average transit setbacks.
Arming buyers with visibility upfront demonstrates responsibility and care.
Speak Their Language
Avoid industry jargon and protocols when discussing delays. You should explain issues in simple terms easily understood by customers. Say:
- “Your package was incorrectly sorted when it reached the local delivery base” instead of “The sortation process incurred irregularities”
- “The delivery truck ran into mechanical problems” rather than “The fleet encountered non-conformance with service quality standards”
Share All Details Available
Resist the temptation to cherry-pick or sanitize tracking details. Transparency and honesty build trust.
- You should compile all scans, status updates, and courier remarks associated with orders.
- Directly relay everything known without sugar-coating or avoidance.
Admit uncertainty where gaps exist but affirm you’re pressing for clarity.
Own Solving Their Problem
Make it clear you’re not abandoning customers to research order statuses themselves.
- You should play quarterback driving the resolution process.
- Provide specific timeframes for follow-ups as new data emerges.
Checking constantly themselves not only frustrates but suggests you don’t care.
Research Their Order
Avoid copy-pasting generic shipping policy legalese and apologies. You should personally trace their unique order history including:
- Original estimated delivery date/time
- Location and nature scans/scans en route
- Last-mile carrier assigned
- Specific reasons for exception notices
Customers need to know you’re tuning into their situation’s nuances not delivering platitudes.
Set Proactive Notifications
Don’t force angry, anxious customers to continually chase updates from you.
- You should set up confirmations where they automatically receive status emails as changes occur.
- Text alerts also reassure customers their order isn’t forgotten.
Outbound updates say you’re working on their behalf even between direct messages.
Provide Next Steps
If delays pass the point of absurdity, clients need clear recourse options.
- You should outline choices like shipment redirection, alternate item procurement, refunds, account credits, etc.
- Let the customer guide the next actions based on their evolving needs and priorities.
This returns some control when feeling helpless envisioning packages floating in ether.
Show Accountability
No customers should pay for fundamentally broken fulfillment processes.
- You should offer fair concessions like discounted shipping on subsequent purchases.
- Goodwill gestures demonstrate accountability for brands repeatedly missing service standards.
Owning shortcomings breeds forgiveness, while finger-pointing destroys hard-won loyalty.
Document Each Instance
Log chronic outliers flaunting damage control protocols and contributing to black holes.
- Flag repeat delivery offenders defying reasonable metrics.
- Pattern analysis identifies systemic gaps to escalate for investigation.
Squeaky wheels eventually get greased when evidence piles up.
Key Takeaways
Getting ahead of MIA package inquiries requires:
- Alerting customers proactively once delays seem probable
- Using jargon-free language explain issues
- Sharing full tracking details without sugar-coating
- Quarterbacking follow-ups personally
- Researching individual order histories
- Having status confirmations trigger automatically
- Presenting clear options if held items become useless
- Offering concessions demonstrating accountability
- Documenting chronic trouble spots for escalation
Rather than helplessly apologizing for courier chaos, brands can reframe disasters by delivering outrageously awesome assistance.
The above principles transform recognized leaders into customer service legends.
