White Arrow Express

Lets Start at the Beginning

The Initial Customer orders goods from a Company or (client)

Reality is a delivery service which provides a service delivering products on behalf of alot of different companys (clients)

Therefore Reality is a third party and will only be held liable by the client and in turn the client is held liable by the customer.

So the sytem is

Customer Orders Goods--->

Telephone call/e-mail etc from Client to confirm order --->

Client notifies Reality they will recieve a Parcel----->

Parcel gets scanned in sorting office ---->

Parcel arrives at depot --->

Reality then has a certain amount of time to make the first delivery (service level) as follows:
Home Shopping (catalogues): 3- 5 working days
Argos: 2 working days
all other companys 3-5 working days depending on what the client has agreed
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A Card is left at address which client has given Reality if cust is not present ( or in the shower/gardening/on the toilet/has television on full blast/has washing machine on etc)---->
Customer telephones number on card the same day and gets through to a CALL CENTRE and speaks to an advisor from Reality ----->

Advisor only has very little information:
If its a major company ie Argos or Marshall Ward the advisor has
Client Name
Addresse,
address
and service level

If it is a parcel out of a newspaper, or it is not a company that uses Reality regularly., the advisor has no information, So when the advisor asks for the customers postcode and full address a new file will be created on the system so therefore any information can be recorded.
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Advisor will advise customer that the parcel will be redelivered within 3 working days ----------->

Advisor will then give customer a variety of options:

Leave Parcel with a Neighbour? ( a neighbour is a property on the same street as the address on the parcel)

Is there a safe place to leave the parcel on the property? (ie in a shed, greenhouse, outbuilding)

could we deliver to a different address? (not universities, hospitials, military bases Unless the parcel can be left at main reception.)

To change the address it takes up to 5 working days as it takes 2 working days to change the paperwork and within these two days the parcel may be redelivered at the original address. It then takes a day to outsort the parcel and add to a drivers route and then the parcel is back on the 3 day service level and the driver may not be out serviding the customers area until the 3rd day.

Would you like to pick the parcel up from the depot?

It takes 48 working hours notice ie the customer telephones on monday they can pick the parcel up on wednesday. The reason for this is that the parcel may already be routed to be redelivered the next day and will need to be outsorted from the deliveries. Reality would not want the customer to turn up at the depot to collect a parcel when the parcel was on a van to be delivered.
If the customer does wish to collect from the depot then a telephone number will be taken and the details will be faxed through to the depot. The advisor should then advise that if the depot have not telephoned the customer buy or on the due date for collection then to telephone the CALL CENTRE to check if the parcel is ready for collection.

(unless the parcel is from Argos and then the parcel can only be left with a neighbour on the same street as Argos require all there parcels delivered through Reality to obtain a signature and the address cannot be changed as the goods ordered are already paid for so have to be delivered to the address that they have been ordered to!!! But Argos parcels can be collected from the depot)

PARCELS LARGER THAN A 14" TELEVISION THAT DONT COME FLAT PACKED AND ARE VERY HEAVY ONLY COME THROUGH HEAVY GOODS AND THEY WILL PHONE BEFORE DELIVERY.

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The customer will then give the advisor any required information and the advisor will type the information onto the customers file and once the call has ended will send the information to the dpot through the computer system

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This information is recieved at a terminal within the depot, all messages are then printed off and reviewed at 8 o'clock the following morning and passed on to managers, drivers and manual workers depending on what is requested.
However the driver may have already left for deliveries and collection that morning so will not have recieved the information.

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by the third attempt the delivery option should have been followed and the parcel will either have been delivered or returned to the depot.

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Next Scenario - The Lost/Stolen Parcel

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Again parcel arrives in depot and service levels are set etc

Cust arrives home to find a card stating that one of the delivery options has been used or the driver has written instructions on the card to say where the parcel is. ------>
Customer should then check the details on the card. ----->
If parcel cannot be found customer telephones CALL CENTRE through telephone number on card ------->
Advisor will make note of the situation and will send any complaints/unsafe delivery options etc through to the depot manager ---------->
Advisor will then advise customer to telephone the Client who the customer ordered the goods off
The reason for this is because Reality cannot access the customers account, they are not allowed to reorder parcels for customers or speak on their behalf because of the data protection act.
Yes, Reality may have left the parcel in an unsafe location but they cannot reorder goods for the customer.
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Customer then telephones client, explains the situation ----->
Client takes details, and should then reorder a replacement parcel and send a decleration letter to the customer to confirm that the parcel has not been recieved.
The client will the investigate with Reality on where the parcel was left, if a signature was gained and if all else fails Reality pay for the mising parcel.
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What more can Reality do??????!!!!!

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Next Scenario - Parcel left with neighbour but customer does not get on with neighbour

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What does the customer expect!!!! The customer is not in to recieve a parcel but the driver notices that a neighbour is in so the neighbour signs for and takes the parcel in. (the driver will not know that the customer does not get on with there neighbour!)
Customer telephones CALL CENTRE ranting and raving as they are unable to get ther parcel as they don't get on with there neighbour ----------------->
What is the advisor meant to do????
Advisor will make a note of the situation but will advise the customer that there is nothing further that they can do (True!!) ----->
Advisor may advise to contact Client/suppler as there is nothing that Reality can do about getting a replacement to the customer if the customer is not willing to collect the parcel from there neighbour.

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Next Scenario - Driver failed to knock/ring bell and wait

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Cust is in but either doesn't hear the door/ the driver doen't ring the bell/ the driver just stands at the door writes the card and puts it through the customers door.

Customer telephones CALL CENTRE normally very irate ------->
Advisor will take details of failed delivery and drivers faults to send to the depot. unfortunatley the advisor cannot get the driver back on the same day as the driver is not issued with a company mobile, if the driver wishes to carry a personal mobile phone the choice is theirs but the CALL CENTRE does not hold driver personal mobile numbers.
Nor can the advisor specify a day delivery, all the advisor can try and do is get the customer to use one of the delivery options --->
The customer will then ask the advisor a question along the lines of 'why did the driver do that?'
What does the customer expect the advisor to answer with, the advisor has been sat in a CALL CENTRE and is not a little gremlin sat upon the drivers shoulder watching their every move and every now and again peaking into the drivers head to find out why they decide to not knock on a door.
Hmmm......................

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Nect scenario - Parcel was not ordered

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Customer recieves parcel that was not ordered by them----->
Customer telephones CALL CENTRE to complain and to get the parcel returned to sender ------------>
Advisor will advise customer client telephone number to organise a collection ----->
customer then argues that it is Reality's responsibility to collect the parcel ------>
advisor will agree Reality will collect the parcel once they have recieved the collection information from the company the parcel is from ----->
Again due to data protection the advisor cannot access the customers accounts ( especially since its a differnet company) so therefore cannot organise a collection for the customer. This also has to be done throught the supplier as they do need notification and reasoning for why the parcel is being returned ( normally because they need a reason to eliminate a bill or credit the customers account)

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Next Scenario - Change of address for a collection

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A card is left at a customers address and the customer wishes to change of the address for the collection as they see that this is one of the DELIVERY OPTIONS on the card. Please note the word DELIVERY. Yes, the address can be changed for a delivery but not for a collection, again as Reality don't have the authority or Facility to organise a collection they cannot organise a change of address for a collection either. This has to be done thorough the supplier ( client)
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So all in all its not the advisors fault if there is something wrong with the delivery/collection
The advisor has very limited information ( they don't even get information on what is in the parcel)

The only time the advisor will have a rough idea if the parcel will be delivered is on each individual day after 11am when the sytem is updated, even then the advisor only knows if there is a driver servicing the area (unless it states on the computer system that the parcel has been issued for delivery) Even then the Advisor will not know what time the parcel will be delivered

If the customer wants somehing doing for their parcel they need to contact the supplier, these are the people who pay Reality to deliver their parcels and are the only people who can adjust the service levels.

The advisor is simply a card interpreter who relays the information off the card, the customers deciscion/opinion and sendany details to the depot.

So when the card states ' although we cannot specify a certain day or time your parcel will be redelivered within the next 3 days ( and of course its working days - if the cust works mon-fri working hours why can't the driver its a job all the same)
When the customer telephones the call centre to ask what day or time their parcel will be redelivered the advisor will again read within 3 working days, as thats the service offered by Reality and agreed to with the Supplier.

The advisor will endevour to note requests to send to the depot from the customer but thats what they are - requests - no guaranties. ie the customer can request a day but there may not be a van servicing the area on that day
BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN THAT THE ADVISOR HAS NOT SENT THE REQUEST TO THE DEPOT!!!!

Well at the end of the day the point I am trying to make is don't shoot the messenger
The advisors can't do alot yet the customers expect alot and forget what situation the advisor is in
If Reality's service is not acceptable the customer needs to contact the supplier - there is nothing more any advisor - supervisor or manager at Reality can do about an agreed service level with the client for the customer or a missing parcelor a damaged parcel or a late parcel or the fact that Reality doesn't have the facility to give a date or time

SO ANY PROBLEMS RING THE SUPPLIER, LET THEM DO THE RINGING ROUND FOR THE CUSTOMER- AFTER ALL ITS THEIR GOODS THE CUSTOMER IS PAYING FOR AND ITS THE CUSTOMERS SERVICE THE SUPPLIER WANTS ---

REALITY IS JUST THE THIRD PARTY - THE MIDDLE MAN

Note added - ***********************************

Obviously this is mainly aimed toward the advisors in the call centre. and the fact that they cannot account for drivers actions but will use the little information and power they have to aid the customer

Main Problem is that Reality do do alot of deliveries and a percentage of these deliveries are going to go wrong and normally this is down to an individual

the order processer( who types something down wrong or just reads the script from the computer screen that gives them a time/date for delivery),

The Sorting office (who send the parcel to the wrong depot or parcel is damaged in transit or somehow lost)

the receiver of data at the depot who again reads the data wrong or inputs it wrongly

Or the paperwork for the parcel are not recieved at the depot

, the driver who can't find the address/ abandons the parcel/goes to the wrong address/fails to knock and wait

or the call centre advisor who doesnt send information to the depot correctly

or sometimes the packaging label comes off the parcel or becomes torn or damged so the depot dont have the full details for delivery - at which point the depot can open the parcel to find an invoice etc.

So with such a long chain of people and the only people that the customer can speak to being the advisor from reality or the supplier So these people have alot to do with little resources.

I know that it's a poor service in this day and age but as i said thats not the advisors fault its what the supplier ask for!!!!

Personally as I am at work Mon-Fri I can't get any deliveries unless I pick them up from the depots of courier services but I have found Reality is one of the only services where you actually speak to person about deliveries and collections not an automated service and I am gratefull to talk to someone.