The phone that never stops
Every morning the office phones start ringing and the inbox fills up. Where is my order? Is it coming today? What time? The driver said before noon and it is now two. Each call means looking up the order, checking the courier portal or ringing the driver, and calling back. The team doing this could be sorting problems. Instead they are reading out tracking information that already exists somewhere.
For businesses using several couriers, it is worse: three portals, three formats, and a customer who does not care which one has their parcel.
Why customers keep asking
- Customers are not told when the order is dispatched or on its way.
- Delivery windows are vague, like 'Tuesday', with no update on the day.
- Own-fleet deliveries have no tracking at all, while courier deliveries use different tracking pages.
- Delays are known to the driver or courier but not passed on.
- The tracking link, if sent, goes to a courier site that confuses the customer.
Most of the information customers want already exists in your systems. It just never reaches them.
What it costs
Staff time spent answering status questions is time not spent on real exceptions. Customers who have to chase feel less confident in you, and business customers waiting on stock plan around your delivery windows. Late or failed deliveries become complaints because nobody warned the customer in time to rearrange.
| Moment | Customer message | Data source |
|---|---|---|
| Order accepted | Confirmation with expected date | Order system or Shopify |
| Dispatched | On its way, with tracking link | Warehouse or courier API |
| Morning of delivery | Delivery window | Route plan or courier |
| Driver nearby | Arriving soon | Driver app GPS |
| Delivered or failed | Confirmation with proof, or next steps | POD or courier status |
How we reduce the calls
- We pull order status from your order system, ERP, Shopify or WooCommerce, and delivery status from your driver app and courier APIs such as DPD, DHL, Royal Mail or aggregators like ShipStation into one status feed per order.
- We normalise the different courier statuses into a small set your customers understand.
- Messages go out automatically by text and email at each key moment, using your branding and wording, through Twilio or your email platform.
- We build a branded tracking page on your website where customers enter an order number or follow a link to see status, delivery window and proof of delivery.
- Delays trigger proactive messages when a courier reports an exception or a driver marks a drop as late, with an option to rearrange.
- Inbound 'where is my order' emails and chat messages are recognised and answered with the current status automatically, with anything unusual passed to a person.
We keep a person in the loop for exceptions: failed deliveries, damaged goods, angry customers. The automation handles the routine questions so that people have time for those.
The wording of each message is agreed with you. A good delivery message tells the customer what is happening, when, and what to do if that does not suit them. It avoids courier jargon like 'in transit to hub', which prompts exactly the confused phone call you are trying to prevent.
What the office notices
The phones quieten. When customers do call, it is usually about something the system could not answer, which is the work your team should be doing. Business customers can plan around delivery windows. Failed deliveries get rearranged before they turn into complaints because the customer was warned in time.
You also get a record of every status message sent, so when a customer says they were never told, the team can see exactly what went out and when. And the questions that still arrive become a useful signal: if customers keep asking about the same step, that step needs a better message.
Is this your office?
- A large part of the team's day goes on answering delivery status questions.
- Customers are not told when orders are dispatched.
- Your own fleet deliveries have no tracking.
- You use several couriers with separate tracking pages.
- Customers learn about delays when the delivery does not arrive.