Interlink Express

At work, e first used Interlink Express a few years ago. We had previously used another well known courier company who proved to be totally useless. After sourcing a number of courier companies within the Manchester area, I decided I liked the look of Interlink Express. This was due to a number of reasons.

For a start, they were situated only around the corner from our offices - handy for collections booked late on in the day. They ...
...offer, prices and details of Interlink themselves.

We wanted to start using them immediately and so I contacted their Sales Department so that we could set up a Company Account with them. There is an option on the home page of their website to 'Open an Account' which i feel is slightly misleading - all this lets you do is to enter your company and contact details in order for a Sales Advisor to call you back.

A little ... more

At work, e first used Interlink Express a few years ago. We had previously used another well known courier company who proved to be totally useless. After sourcing a number of courier companies within the Manchester area, I decided I liked the look of Interlink Express. This was due to a number of reasons.

For a start, they were situated only around the corner from our offices - handy for collections booked late on in the day. They also offer an Internet booking service (more about that later) which meant that rather than having to relay details over the phone to Customer Service agents, the booking is done through their website. Therefore, if any of the collection and delivery details were wrong, it would be my fault - not theirs.

Their website was easy to navigate and seemed to provide all of the information I required such as the services they offer, prices and details of Interlink themselves.

We wanted to start using them immediately and so I contacted their Sales Department so that we could set up a Company Account with them. There is an option on the home page of their website to 'Open an Account' which i feel is slightly misleading - all this lets you do is to enter your company and contact details in order for a Sales Advisor to call you back.

A little bit about Interlink before I start......

Interlink Express was launched in 1979, originally as a motorcycle courier and became an overnight parcels carrier in 1981. They are wholly owned by La Poste, the second largest postal group in Europe.

They are quality ISO 9001:2000 registered which means they have strived and passed stringent quality standards.

They have Over 100 franchised depots in the UK and Ireland and a £15m super hub in Birmingham which processes around 20,000 parcels per hour. They currently have around 40,000 customers and 1.200 vehicles

Back to my experience with them.....

The Account sign up process was quick and easy. I rang their Sales department and advised them that we wished to set up a company account. My company details were taken and they advised that I would receive an Account Application form by fax. This was received shortly afterwards.

The form was fairly straightforward and asked details such as Company Name, address, date of company registration and 2 references - in our case this was 2 suppliers that we regularly use. Interlink then contact these referees to ask about our payment history, etc - this is to ensure, in Interlinks part, they we will be a good paying customer.

A fax number was provided on the Account application form, in order that I could fax the Application back to them. The next day I received a call from them advising me that the Account application had been successful and that a Starter pack had been sent out in the post.

I received the Start pack a few days later. Included in the pack was a sheet with our account number and details on, along with contact details of our local depot, who we were to contact when arranging collections and contact details for their accounts and Customer service department, should we need them and around 100 collection tickets which were to be filled out each time we booked a collection.

So, we were ready to book our first collection. I contacted our local depot by phone. The phone took a good few rings to be answered but when it was, I was greeted by a polite lady. I explained to her what I wanted and that this was my first collection. She was extremely helpful and explained that after she had taken the collection and delivery details, the collection would be booked. I was able to choose a time I wanted the package collecting by them. She asked me to fill in the collection ticket and when the driver comes to make the collection, he will sign it and give a copy to me.

The driver arrived on time and was polite and well dressed - all drivers, as far as I have seen, wear dark blue tops and pants with the Interlink logo on their top so they are easy to identify. He signed the collection ticket and took the item. It all went very well.

A few months later I received a phone call from a Customer Service Advisor, asking if I wanted to use their online booking System Ship@ease. She explained that everything is done over the internet, from the booking to the printing of collection notes. I felt we had nothing to lose using this system - I actually prefer to book things over the internet - it's far less hassle than a telephone call.

She asked for my email address and said she would create an online 'account' in order that I can log in. Shortly after our phone call, the email arrived. It told me to go to their website interlinkexpress.co.uk and click on ship@ease. I was then able to log in.

I had a good look around but couldn't yet utilise the service as I didn't have a collection to re-arrange. Instead, to prepare for when I did need to book a collection, I clicked on the Tutorial. The tutorial told me everything from how to use ship@ease to how to change my details. Due to the clear and concise details in the tutorial, I was totally prepared for using the online booking system.

To book online I first had to arrange a collection date. Once I had entered details such as date, time and weight of the collection, it then told me to create a Shipment. This is where I enter the time I want the parcel to arrive at its destination by, if I want extended liability Insurance (I have used this once and I think it was an extra £9.00 for the item we wanted collecting) and the delivery contact name and address.

Once I had completed these details, a page appeared with an address label containing the delivery address and a barcode. Once I printed this, I was then told to 'manifest' the collection. Manifesting the collection means that you have confirmed it to Interlink. Once this has been done, it cannot be cancelled. Upon manifesting the collection, a collection ticket then appears which can then be printed.

So, the collection was booked, the label with the barcode was attached…..had I done everything right!? To check I had booked the collection, I was able to click on the 'History' tab - this told me that the collection had been booked and gave me the details of the collection.

Again, the driver turned up on time and scanned the barcode which was on the printed address label. I asked him what this was for - he explained that it entered the parcel straight onto their system and enabled the customer to track the parcel all the way from collection to delivery. So, this time I was able to track the parcel online using ship@ease. It gave me all the information from collection to delivery and even included a scanned copy of the signed delivery note to confirm it had been signed for by the recipient.

I then started using this booking system instead of calling the depot and booking - it was quick and easy and a lot more efficient than before.

I am also able to access some details of our account such as payment options and print a remittance advice. I have never had to use this service.

To be a Customer of Interlink Express, you must have a Company as they only cater to Business Customers. This is unfortunate, as their good service and competitive prices would be more than welcome to the general public - it seems we are given little option with regards to good couriers these days. I did try to use them once for something I had sold on eBay but they wouldn't accept my booking, being a member of the public.

Example Prices and Services:

by 9.30 - Deliveries by 9.30 arrive when there is someone in the office to sign for it

by 12 - For deliveries requiring attention before lunch

by 3 - standard next day service, beating competition by two hours

Saturday by 9.30 Saturday by 12 - Extending the working week

offshore - Defined next day and two day service

Expresspack 1 (small bag) - delivery by 3pm - £6.35, delivery by 12pm - £11.35, Delivery by 9.30 am - £16.35

Expresspack 5 - (medium bag) - delivery by 3pm - 8.70, delivery by 12pm - £13.70, delivery by 9.30am - £18.30

10kg Parcel by 3pm next day - £14.70
My bad experience:

We had enjoyed a great relationship with Interlink, and still do. However, in once instance a PC which was delivered by them was damaged. This does happen, no matter how well you pack things - one thing I would like Interlink to introduce to their online booking system is for us to be able to tell them what they are carrying - maybe if they had known it was a PC, they wouldn't have been so rough!

We contacted Customer Services who put me through to the Claims department. They faxed me a form to fill in and advised that they would get back to us within 14 days. I was initially very impressed at how helpful they were.

In the mean time, the damage to the PC proved to be minimal and didn't affect the workings so I did not chase the claim. However, they didn't get back to me anyway - I found that pretty poor, considering they had been given all of the information they needed.

We have also had some issues of invoices not being received. We have only found this out when, without notifying us, they have put our account on stop. This happened again only recently so I have to keep an eye on the collections we book - this way I can contact Interlink if we have not received an invoice for items that have been collected. Their Accounts department were helpful and apologised. They faxed the invoice over to me and as I issued a cheque straight away, the restored full access to our account.

My opinion:

Our company are very impressed with Interlink - we use them nearly every week and they have never once failed to collect when they say they will. It's an added bonus being able to pick a time for collection - not many other companies offer this.

The online booking system is quick and easy and is much more efficient than the traditional way of us ringing to book - being able to track the parcel from the beginning is great. We can keep Customers up to date on where their parcel is, and who has signed for it.

I would certainly recommend Interlink!

To set up and account or book a collection call 08702 200 300

For sales call 0500 005 005

www.interlinkexpress.co.uk
 

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