Courier Problems Solved

Mark: Hi, it's Mark from TLR. I'm here with Mark Huggan of Phantom Couriers in Vancouver, one of BC's hundred fastest growing companies. Booming, rocking courier company. One of the best places to get your stuff delivered in the lower mainland. And we're going to talk about common problems that a lot of people have with courier companies and how they solve it. How're you doing Mark? 

Mark H: Doing excellent today? Good morning. 

Mark: So some of the list of things that we've heard from customers, some of the other companies drivers don't have phones, dispatch and drivers don't even talk to each other. How do you guys solve for these kinds of issues? 

Mark H: Well, we have a pretty robust communication system here. So our dispatch software allows for communication between drivers with notes. And then we also use a texting app, which we talk all day and communicate both ways like through photographs and texts and phone calls. We're in constant communication with the drivers. I mean, one delivery we'll probably get like six calls. There's always something needs to be resolved. Always. So our job, right? We're a communicator, that's all we do. 

Mark: What would be some of the common issues that drivers run into when they're trying to deliver a package? 

Mark H: Well, first thing would be incorrect address. Or unable to contact the receiver. Or just all sorts of weird stuff. Like it's constant. Like you can't even begin, like there's so much, it's funny. Like, I can't say, Oh, I can't think of one because it's a forest for the trees. Like it's just constant everything. So we're always in touch with the drivers, finding out addresses, confirming phone numbers, texting people. A lot of times people won't answer their buzzer.

They don't know who it is. So we'll text up. It's like, Hey, courier at the door, we have your delivery from the pharmacy, Oh yeah, it was that you. Yeah, it was us. So we need to take those extra sort of steps. Because people don't know, like, you know, if you're in an apartment and your buzzer goes and you're not expecting somebody, you just think it's somebody downstairs, buzzing all the buzzers. So we're always throwing out text messages or making phone calls. 

So there's some studies that say, if you do a phone call, you can expect a return call within 72 hours. If you text, it would be within six seconds because they'll read it. So we're constantly texting customers because we have the ability to do it. So it's just straight from the desktop to texts. The couriers with their phones is difficult. So we just copy paste, send the canned message. Get in touch with them. Solve problem. 

Address corrections are big time, or tracking down the concierge, big time. So the couriers don't have time to do it so they can go to another close by delivery. We'll text the customer and say, Hey, are you close to home, are you within five minutes? And if they don't reply within five or go somewhere else, and then we sort of tag it as like follow up and then if they get back to us, then we reroute the package to the customer. So we're always doing those kinds of proactive things constantly. 

The big thing is address corrections. You think you tell everybody when you move, you just throw it up into Canada Post, that doesn't go to a distributor, an employer, the pharmacy, everything. So a lot of people just forget, Oh, that I forgot. So we're constantly doing it for people. And then we have to update our address book. And hopefully that problem is nipped in the bud, it doesn't happen again. And people are grateful for it. 

You know, like we had a contact lens thing. We couldn't reach them on Friday. So they scheduled it for Monday, between nine and 11. It's like, yep we can do that. We just changed all the times. Manage it and off it goes to that person, now knows we're coming and they've marked their calendar and they're expecting us. And then it's seamless from that point forward. But at first time it's always a little clunky, nobody's prepared. And a lot of people don't tell people something's on its way.

 Mark: You mentioned something about you have cameras. Like what, why would you need a camera? 

Mark H: Well, you'd be surprised. So, first thing, for instance, a, I was sent over to your place to pick up computer monitor or something and you have two computer monitors going out. So we have to confirm we picked up the right one.

So we take a picture, because we ask you, hi, I'm here to pick up the computer monitor, going to 1234 Main Street to Joe Smith. And you're like, it's right there. And you just point, there's two. So we have to go over there and make sure, so we take the picture and confirm, then it's on our app.

So the customer can log in and see it. We can save it. We can text an image to it. We can email the image to the person, making sure we've got the right one. I mean, everybody makes mistakes. We do. You do. Everybody does. So if you put the wrong label on it, it's easy to track it. It's like somebody can call us up and say, do you have this item? And it's like, yes, we do. And we can look at it and see what it actually is. Just in case it's not the 8.5 by 11 manila envelope. It's 8.5 by 11 brown envelope. Just those kinds of things. And it's easier to fix with visuals. You know, it's a visual world. 

And we also do that with delivery. So you can see that we picked it up. And if, as a waybill on it, it's got the right way bill number by photograph. And then when we deliver it, we've got in front of the door as a timestamp, we had the permission, you can track it and then, you know, you can say my neighbour picked it up. Okay, fine. They found it.

Or whatever it is, it's at the concierge, and a concierge table may be full of things. We can just tell him exactly what it is because a lot of people are like, well, what did they send? Oh, it was a Microsoft keyboard and mouse set for you. And it might just have like the name Mike on it. And it just could be 20 Mike's in a building.

Then we can tell them it's a keyboard set, go downstairs and get it. And they say to the concierge, bing done. It really just streamlines things because everybody's really busy. So the pictures are really, they're a lifesaver. And it's new to us. We've only been running it probably for four months.

 Mark: But that's the value of experience of having done this for how long now? 

Mark H: 26 years. 

Mark: 26 years of making sure that packages get delivered. If you want experienced, if you want people who actually care that your package gets there, when you want it, Phantom Couriers. You can reach them at (604) 899-5447. Or you can book online at phantomcouriers.com. If you're outside of the lower mainland +1 844-899-5447.