The driver at the locked door
Your driver pulls up at a restaurant at seven in the morning. It is shut. The owner said on the phone that someone would be in. The driver rings the office, the office rings the customer, nobody answers. The driver moves on with the stock still on the van. Later that day the customer rings, annoyed that their order did not come.
Another drop fails because the cellar is full and the customer cannot take the delivery. Another because the site's goods entrance changed and nobody told you. The stock comes back, gets booked back in, and goes out again tomorrow.
Why drops fail
The driver is the first person to discover a problem that the customer often knew about in advance. Customers are not reminded of the delivery or asked whether anything has changed. Access details are passed on verbally. And there is no consistent record of why drops fail, so nothing improves.
- No notice to the customer on the day of delivery.
- Opening times and access details not held against the account.
- Failed drops recorded as a note on paper, with no reason code.
- Redelivery decided case by case, often free.
- Returned stock sometimes not booked back in correctly.
What wasted drops cost
Each failed drop means driver time, fuel and van space used for nothing, plus a second trip. Chilled stock that goes out and comes back may not be sellable. The customer is unhappy even if the failure was theirs, and your office spends time untangling it. Redelivering for free every time teaches customers that being unavailable has no cost.
It also disrupts the next day. Stock that came back has to be booked in, found space for and picked again, often squeezed into a run that was already full. If the failed drop was a chilled or short-dated order, the options narrow further.
What we build to reduce failed drops
- On the evening before or the morning of delivery, customers get a message (text, email or WhatsApp) with the expected delivery window and a link to flag a problem, such as closed today or use the side entrance.
- Flags go to the transport planner before the van leaves, so the drop can be moved or the stock held back.
- Access notes and opening times are held on the customer account and shown to the driver at each drop.
- If a drop fails, the driver records it on the app with a reason, a photo and the time, and the customer is notified straight away with the next available delivery.
- Your redelivery rules decide what happens: automatic rebooking, a charge for repeat failures, or referral to the account manager.
- Stock coming back is booked back in against the failed drop, and a report shows failed drops by customer and reason.
| Today | After | |
|---|---|---|
| Customer reminder | None | Message with a way to flag problems |
| Access details | In drivers' heads | On the driver app at each drop |
| Failed drop record | Paper note | Reason, photo, time |
| Redelivery | Case by case | Your rules applied |
What a delivery day looks like after
Most problems are flagged before the van leaves, so the planner can adjust. Drivers have the access notes they need. When a drop does fail, the customer knows why and when you will come back, and the office has evidence if there is a dispute. Over time, the report shows which customers and reasons cause most failures, and the sales team can talk to those customers.
Is this your delivery week?
- Drivers regularly find customers closed.
- Stock comes back on the van several times a week.
- Customers complain about deliveries they were not there for.
- Redeliveries are always free.
- You cannot say why most failed drops happen.