A parcel that comes back
An online order for a mixed case goes out by courier on the service your team chose for alcohol, which requires the driver to hand it to an adult. Nobody over eighteen is home. The courier tries again, then returns it to you. It sits on the goods-in shelf with a returns label. The customer, meanwhile, thinks it is lost and emails asking for a refund.
On your own van, the driver is supposed to check age where there is doubt, but the only record is his word. And gift orders, sent to someone other than the buyer, are the ones most likely to go wrong.
Why failed handovers slip through
The age-check step itself is usually handled by the carrier's service. What breaks is everything around it: making sure every wine order is booked on the right service, knowing when a handover failed, and doing something about it. Those steps sit between your web shop, the courier's portal and your own van rounds, and none of them talk to each other.
- Some orders are booked on the wrong service because the default is not set for alcohol.
- Failed delivery notices go to a courier account email nobody reads daily.
- Returned parcels are booked back into stock without the customer being told.
- Own-van deliveries have no place to record that a check was made or refused.
- Gift orders do not tell the recipient to expect an age check.
What it costs you
Returns cost you the outward and return carriage, and often a second delivery. A customer who is not told what happened asks for a refund or disputes the payment. Staff spend time matching returned parcels to orders. And the absence of any record for your own deliveries leaves you relying on memory if a question is ever raised about a handover.
What your obligations are in selling alcohol at a distance is a matter for your licence conditions and your adviser. The job here is to make sure your process is followed and recorded every time.
What we put in place
- Every order containing alcohol is booked on the delivery service you choose for age-checked delivery, set once in the shipping rules rather than picked by staff.
- Gift orders trigger a message to the recipient explaining that someone over eighteen needs to be there, with the delivery day.
- Tracking events from the carrier are read automatically; a failed handover creates a task and a message to the customer with their options.
- Your own van drivers use a simple phone screen to record each delivery, including whether an age check was made and the outcome.
- Returned parcels are scanned in against the original order, so the customer can be offered redelivery, collection or a refund according to your policy.
- A weekly list shows failed handovers, returns and their resolution.
| Situation | What the system does | Record kept |
|---|---|---|
| Wine order placed online | Booked on your chosen age-check service | Service on the order |
| Gift order | Recipient told to expect a check | Message sent |
| Courier handover fails | Task created, customer contacted | Tracking event and outcome |
| Own van delivery | Driver records the check | Time, outcome, driver |
| Parcel returned | Matched to order, options offered | Resolution noted |
Failed deliveries with a clear next step
Every wine order goes out the way your policy says, without relying on someone ticking the right box. When a handover fails, the customer hears from you before they email you. Returned parcels are dealt with, not left on a shelf. And for your own deliveries, there is a record rather than an assumption.
Is this your returns shelf?
- Parcels come back and sit without anyone contacting the customer.
- Staff sometimes book wine on the wrong courier service.
- Your van drivers keep no record of age checks.
- Gift recipients are surprised by the need for an adult at home.
- Failed delivery emails go to an inbox nobody watches.