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Choosing a Parcel Delivery Service
If you using a courier service to send a parcel
and you aren’t sure which courier service to use, you might
find the following questions helpful:
1. Is your collection urgent?
Not all courier services have an ‘express delivery’
option and, even if they do, you will need to check exactly what
they mean by ‘rapid’ or ‘express’.
2. Does your delivery need to arrive at a specific time?
If it does, you need to choose a parcel delivery service which offers
deliveries by specific times
3. Is your parcel valuable?
Various insurance options are available for your delivery, depending
on the courier service you select. Often a certain level of cover
is included in the standard booking fee and then higher levels of
insurance can be arranged separately.
4. What size is your collection? Do you need a courier company
that can handle heavy items or pallets?
Parcel delivery companies offer different types of service according
to the size of your items. Larger items will need to be collected
by bigger vehicles and might require 2 people to lift them. This
will be reflected in the price.
5. Do you need cheap parcel deliveries?
No one wants to spend more than necessary on their courier service
but the exact cost will depend on your requirements. You might be
able to negotiate better rates if you are flexible on collection
and delivery times, or make regular or bulk bookings.
6. Do you require regular collections
If you know that you need a courier service to collect parcels at
regular times, you might look for a company that can pre-book parcel
deliveries. You might get a better price and you will save yourself
a lot of time making repeat bookings.
7. Are there more parcels to despatch on certain days of the week?
For many people, Monday is a very busy day and some courier services
cope better than others with the level of demand. If timely collection
and delivery are important to you, check that the parcel delivery
service you use can cope with your schedule.
8. Would you prefer your parcel to be collected and delivered
by someone in a uniform and a sign-written van?
If your customers require their deliveries to arrive in a smart
van with a uniformed driver, check that you choose a parcel delivery
service which requires its courier drivers to be turned out appropriately.
Often these services are more expensive so, if your customers are
happy with an un-branded service, you might prefer a cheaper alternative.
In the end, the courier service you choose will
affect the type of parcel delivery options available. It is important
that you select a courier service which is suited to you and your
business.
