Courier waiting or loading time

Always let the courier company’s controller know as soon as possible if you are being kept waiting anywhere.

The customer is not usually charged for waiting until you have been waiting/loading for at least 15 minutes, although this varies from company to company, to avoid lots of charges on their invoice for trivial amounts of time. If you are kept waiting for longer, then they are usually charged for that first 15 minutes and for each subsequent minute. Make sure you know what your company’s policy is on this.

It helps the courier company’s controllers plan for your next job, if you keep them informed of waiting time, and it also keeps the money right on the job.

If a job is pre-booked for a certain collection time and you happen to arrive early, the waiting time does not start until the pre-booked time has passed. Customers do keep an eye on how long couriers wait in their reception and will, quite rightly refuse to pay the charges if they are incorrect.

It is your responsibility to make sure that the waiting time is actually added to the job on the computer by one of the office staff, it is not sufficient simply to report waiting time over the phone as it may be overlooked when the control room is busy.

You should note down on your POD sheet:

– full pick-up address;
– The length of time you were waiting and the times between which you were made to wait.
– Where the waiting occurred.
– The reason for the delay if known.
– The name of anyone who asked you to wait.

It’s a good idea to make a note of all this on your POD sheet.

Generally the courier company cannot add waiting/loading time after the job has been invoiced, so it is up to you to let them know before this occurs, and best of all at the time.

There is a growing trend towards using electronic PODs now, getting the parcel signed for on your PDA. It’s worth bearing this in mind when choosing a mobile phone to use.

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