Knock, wait, back in the van
Your driver pulls up outside a flat with a suit and four shirts in a carrier. Nobody answers. The concierge has gone home. There is no note on the ticket about where to leave things, and a suit on a doormat is not an option. The order goes back in the van.
At the next stop, a house, the driver leaves the bag with a neighbour, who seems friendly. Two days later the customer says they never received it. The neighbour is away.
The same round has a third problem. A customer who was out on Tuesday rings on Wednesday morning, wants the order tonight, and the only way to fit it in is an extra trip across town.
Back at the shop, the orders that came back are hung on a separate rail. Someone is supposed to ring the customers to rearrange. Some get rung. Some wait until the customer rings, annoyed, to ask where their shirts are.
A day, not a time, and no instructions
Home delivery for a dry cleaner is a small version of a parcel service, without the systems. Customers are told Tuesday afternoon, which means nothing to someone who works. The driver has no way to know that this customer is happy for things to go in the porch, or that another wants a call first.
- Customers are not told when the van is actually coming.
- Safe place and neighbour preferences are not recorded.
- Drivers decide at the door, with no record of what they did.
- Failed deliveries are rebooked by phone, when someone remembers.
- Items left with neighbours or in porches have no proof of delivery.
Double trips and garments in limbo
Every failed delivery is a second trip, and the second trip may also fail. Garments ride around in the van and pick up creases. Deliveries left in the wrong place turn into claims. Customers who experience a couple of failures stop using delivery and some stop using you.
How we build delivery that reaches the customer
- Each delivery customer has stored preferences: call before, leave in porch, neighbour at number 12, concierge, or must be handed over.
- The day before, customers get a text with an arrival window and a link to change the day or add a note.
- When the driver starts towards the address, the customer gets an on-the-way message.
- At the door, the driver's app shows the preferences. The driver records what happened: handed over, left in agreed place with a photo, or failed.
- A failed delivery sends the customer a text with a rebooking link showing the next available slots in their area.
- The shop sees a list of failed deliveries and whether each has been rebooked, so none sit forgotten.
| At the door | Today | With delivery preferences |
|---|---|---|
| Nobody in | Back in the van, maybe a call later | Rebooking link sent at once |
| Neighbour offers | Driver decides | Only if customer allowed it |
| Left in porch | No record | Photo and time stamp |
| Customer disputes delivery | Driver's memory | Proof of delivery record |
What your drivers may and may not do at the door is your policy. The app makes sure the policy and the customer's wishes are in front of the driver.
Deliveries that land first time
Customers know when to expect the van, and those who cannot be in can say where to leave it. The driver follows the stored instruction and photographs the result. When a delivery still fails, the customer rebooks from their phone and the shop does not need to chase.
Over time you can see which areas and times fail most and adjust your delivery windows.
Do you see this in your van?
- Orders regularly come back undelivered.
- Customers are told a day but not a time.
- Drivers decide at the door with no record.
- Failed deliveries wait for someone to ring the customer.
- You have had a dispute over an item left with a neighbour.