A diary at the customer service desk
On a sunny weekend in April the delivery diary fills up. A pallet of multi-purpose compost for one customer, twenty bags of bark and a bench for another, a small shed for a third, a patio set from the furniture display for a fourth. Each is written under Tuesday, because that is the next free-looking day. Nobody checks whether it all fits on the van, or whether one delivery is ten miles north and the next twelve miles south.
On Tuesday morning the driver looks at the diary, realises the load is over the van's limit, and rings two customers to rearrange. One is not happy, because they had taken the day off. The shed needs two people to unload, which nobody noted.
Why the diary cannot cope
A diary records a promise, not a plan. It does not know what the van can carry, where each drop is or how long each will take. It also cannot be seen by the customer, so every change becomes a phone call.
- Bookings are made by whoever is on the desk, without load information.
- The van's weight and space limits are known to the driver, not the desk.
- Delivery areas are not grouped by day.
- Items needing two people or special handling are not flagged.
- Customers have no confirmation or arrival window.
What a double booked van costs
Rearranged deliveries annoy customers, especially those who took time off, and the annoyance attaches to the whole centre. Poorly routed days waste fuel and driver time, and the driver who also covers the yard is away longer. Overloading a vehicle is a safety and legal matter your own procedures should cover, and a desk with no information makes it more likely.
Spring makes everything worse. The same fine weekend that fills the delivery diary also fills the car park, so the driver who should be loading is helping customers lift compost into boots, and the van leaves late with a load that was never checked.
The phones take the rest of the strain: customers asking when the van is coming, and staff ringing customers to move them.
Delivery booking that knows the van
- We record your delivery products with weight and handling notes, such as pallet, two person lift or tail lift needed.
- Your van or vans are set up with weight and space limits and the days each area is served.
- At the till or desk, staff pick a delivery date from a list that only shows days with room on the van for that area.
- Customers ordering online choose from the same available days.
- Each day's deliveries are routed by a route planning service, and the driver gets the list on a phone with items, access notes and handling flags.
- Customers get a confirmation, a text the evening before with a time window and a message if the van is running late.
| Check | Paper diary | Delivery booking |
|---|---|---|
| Van capacity | Found on the morning | Checked at booking |
| Area grouping | Random order | Area days and planned route |
| Special handling | Not noted | Flagged for the driver |
| Customer notice | None, or a phone call | Confirmation and time window |
| Changes | Phone and crossings out | One place, logged |
We link to your EPOS so delivery items and charges come from the sale, not a second entry. If your EPOS cannot share that, we keep the booking step simple enough to add quickly at the desk.
Delivery days that go to plan
The desk books a delivery in the same time as writing in the diary, but the date offered is one the van can meet. The driver starts with a planned route and knows which drop needs a second person. Customers know roughly when to expect the van.
The delivery manager can see the week ahead, add a second vehicle or hire help on the busy days, and stop taking bookings for an area that is full rather than finding out on the morning.
Are your deliveries planned by diary?
- Deliveries are booked in a paper diary or a basic calendar.
- Van loads are worked out on the morning.
- Customers are rung to rearrange because the van is full.
- Drivers criss-cross the area in a day.
- Customers call to ask when the van will arrive.