It’s that time of the year when we are all depending on the shipping carriers to deliver!
As you know, most eCommerce packages are delivered on time but we are already seeing more delays as we approach the holidays so we have your quick survival guide to lost and delayed USPS packages!
Late Packages
Watch the tracking. The sooner you notice that a package is delayed, the sooner you can act. More importantly, the longer you wait to intervene, the more likely the package is to be lost. I realize that this sounds daunting if you are shipping hundreds of packages but thankfully programs like Shopify show you the delivery status on your Orders page. It will only take a few moments a day to look through the orders for outliers that have not been delivered.
Once the package is late or hasn’t been scanned in 2 to 3 days file a Help Request Form and Missing Mail Search request. Please note that the Post Office has changed its policy and required these forms to be filed when the package is between 8 and 13 days late so even though the Post Office will tell you to wait on the Missing Mail Search file them both.
Don’t bother calling the USPS customer service. They won’t be able to do anything beyond what you have already done by filing the requests.
Communicate with your customer right away. Generally, customers understand that this is outside your control but it can still be incredibly disappointing for them. If you contact them first and let them know that you are on top of the situation, they will be incredibly grateful and impressed!
Lost Package Plan
The best time to decide how to handle a lost package is before it is lost. Take some time now to discuss your approach.
Set a timeframe for when a package will be declared lost. One week or 10 days after the last scan is common.
Decide what you will do. Will you reship or refund? I realize that you may have a policy that you are not responsible for lost packages but the customer likely will dispute the charges with their bank if you don’t act and the bank will side with them. If you reship, ask the customer to let you know if they ever receive the lost package because they probably will. If it’s a high-value item, you may also want to check back on the tracking every once in a while to see if it arrives so that you can reach out to the customer and request it be returned.
What will you do if you suspect the customer is lying and actually did receive the item? Ask questions and point to evidence without pointing fingers. Usually, I find that these customers are withholding information. Often I will just tell them that I can’t proceed unless I receive the information. If I’m caught reshipping when I suspect theft, I always require a signature on the reshipment!
Lost Package Steps
If a package is lost, follow the plan you created and communicate clearly with your customer about your process.
File a claim as soon as you can. The Post Office does pay out on claims and they are often fairly efficient in doing so. They will pay up to $100 of the item value in addition to the postage if they agree that they have lost it and if you have provided the appropriate information.
If you’re tired of tracking down lost packages, communicating with unhappy customers about delays, or any of the other aspects of eCommerce customer service, we are here for you. Whether we ship for you or not, we would love to assist you with your email customer service. Our team is dedicated to kind and accurate small business to small business customer service and we would love to help you out!
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