The world has indeed become smaller since the invention of courier services. Courier service providers deliver parcels, documents, goods, products such as drugs and clothes, and sometimes food for both their organizational and individual clients. Their services include both local and foreign. However, for this article, we will focus on the local courier service providers. Qualities local courier service must have is relative to the demands of both the individual and organizational clients. Having said that, we will look at the universally agreed-upon qualities local courier service must have to meet the needs of its clients, both individuals as well as organizations.
Definition: Local Courier Service
Local courier service is the exchange of items between two people who can be individuals or an organization within the same city or state. It is carried out by an individual employed by the local courier service provider. The clients usually pay for the local courier delivery service before the exchange. The service list would also include not just those in Dubai but also surrounding Emirates; these courier services provide regional courier delivery services across the UAE as well.
18 Qualities Your Local Courier Service Must Have
Local couriers deliver items like letters, documents, and parcels, for individuals and organizations. They are common in many areas where public and private businesses rely on same-day delivery of messages. Local courier services don’t just stop at moving packages from one place to the other. The top-quality local courier service provider has a particular skill set or traits that ensure their service is of the highest quality. One of which is outstanding driving skills but for the regional courier that handles the demands of the top professionals in the industry, they need more than driving skills. The question now is what are those qualities that make your local courier service provider great.
Below are the most appreciated qualities to look for in a local courier.
(1) Excellent routing and directional skills
We all know that the primary function of courier services or couriers is moving packages from the sender to the receiver. It needs efficiency on the part of the couriers because most packages or shipments are urgent in nature or time-sensitive. Therefore local couriers require a high level of directional and excellent routing to complement familiarity with the local routes and neighbourhood. The use of portable GPS devices is standard in many local courier services to map out routes. But you must have an idea of the area you cover intimately. It would help you avoid unexpected difficulties and last-minute trouble spots easily.
(2) Composure
Local courier services have time-sensitive packages. These messages are often last-minute deliveries that need urgent action. As a courier service, you need to be calm when others – even the customer – have become agitated.
The stakes can be very high, most notably when the delivery includes things like medical items or confidential or sensitive documents. Composure is a paramount quality in the courier business. It allows the couriers to do their work efficiently without letting the pressure that comes with last-minute deliveries or agitation of the customers to affect the delivery process.
(3) Efficiency
It may or may not be easy to know how to move from one point to the other. But the bottom line is understanding how to make sure the job is done as fast as possible requires a high level of efficiency. It requires punctuality, being well informed about potential obstacles along the way and knowing how to surmount them and understanding the requirements of the customer to the last details. Efficiency in delivery of messages is the one quality your local courier must have before you can patronize them.
(4) Superior service skills
Local courier service is a document or package delivery service business. Therefore a courier service needs superior customer service and people management skills. Your work would require you to interact with both paying clients who can be both individuals and organizations as well as the recipient of the delivered items. Since these people are humans themselves, they expect not just quick and timely delivery but a reasonable level of friendliness, little knowledge of payments and service processes as well as help with problems. Sometimes you have to slow down and answer questions from the sender or receive instructions from them as well as the receiver. A pleasant and friendly attitude with office staff help improves client retention.
(5) Flexibility
An excellent local courier service offers all-round services all year round. This means their services are 24 hours a day and seven days a week. A person who enjoys the usual 9 – 5 jobs might not be suitable for this type of work. Local courier service is service-oriented like we have said earlier in this write-up, so their service is tailored to suit their customer’s needs. Customer’s needs vary widely with each customer. So good quality of a local courier service should include flexibility to adapt to whatever needs their customers to have.
(6) Effective record-keeping
Local courier service is usually responsible for keeping track of their delivery records. This starts by logging the client’s details such as name, address, and phone number for service records and also payment recording and collecting. You would also need to get signatures from the recipient and the time of delivery as well. In event questions are raised about the delivery system and suggestions are made by clients. Effective record-keeping is an essential quality of any excellent local courier service. It isn’t just for clients but also for useful revenue recording to report tax, most notably those who are self-employed, with delivering packages for various clients as contractors.
(7) Alertness
Long hours of driving is inevitable in the local courier service jobs. A driver for a local courier service often will be forced to work with limited rest. But the driver must refuse drowsiness or personal problems to affect the task at hand, which is the delivery of packages to their intended recipients. Staying alert is vital to the safety of the courier he possesses, and it’s delivery.
(8) Effective time management
Local courier services need to have the quality of effective time management. There is hardly any free time because as the business grows, more customers are available, and this means an increase in the number of couriers. Therefore, you are continually collecting and running orders all day long. Thus, to meet up with customer’s demand, you need effective time management skills. You also need physical fitness and stamina, especially for those local courier services that make use of bikes to make deliveries.
(9) Dutifulness
Showing an ample sense of responsibility to one’s job is an excellent quality irrespective of the job you are doing. However, in local couriers, it is an integral quality. The local courier service has to know the proper way to treat potentially dangerous and life-changing objects, especially deliveries that have to do with medical supplies. A careless and irresponsible local courier service would fail in this regard, and it would affect client retention in the long run.
(10) The application of technology
Technology is one thing we can’t take away from modern businesses, irrespective of the industry of the business. Local courier service also needs technology to improve their service delivery. Technology is vital for tracking packages as well as to notify drivers of the traffic conditions on the routes they are going to use. Local courier services who use the latest technology are a worthy courier.
(11) Insured and certified
In the local courier business, unexpected problems can arise. One good quality a local courier can and should have is insurance and certification. It would increase the confidence and trust of clients in the local courier. You are assured that whatever problem arises from the delivery of your package, the local courier would take care of it. It is also a way of protecting your clients and yourself from unforeseen circumstances.
(12) Strong track record
When you want to engage the services of a local courier, you should look out for one with quality track records of delivering excellent services. A strong track record means the local courier service has been around for years and has provided outstanding services at busy periods and in crowded areas without any issue.
(13) Fair value or value for money
Local courier company should provide fair value for money without dipping the pocket of the client too much. We know that often cheap means bad service but that shouldn’t be the case with a good courier service company. They should be a balance in their charges without breaking the bank. One quality you should look out for when thinking of hiring a courier company for their services should be fair value for their services.
(14) Compatibility with your needs
You would need to consider this quality critically before hiring a local courier service provider. The courier industry is a service-oriented one, which means that your needs are what the companies in this industry are out to satisfy. Compatibility means that the company you choose should have services that suit your needs.
Since technology is readily available, communication is now more accessible between vehicles and drivers, as well as between the company and its clients. Therefore it should not be hard finding compatible local courier service providers.
(15) Safety
Local courier handles the transport of sensitive material such as documents, parcels, and sometimes medical supplies. When thinking of hiring a local courier service, you might want to consider the safety of your package with them. The local courier you want to hire must have safety precautions. It is an essential quality that an excellent local courier service should possess. It would ease your mind and prevent panic when there is a delay in your package delivery.
(16) Existence of local office
Before you hire a local courier service company, it would be wise for you to check if they have a local physical office. This is essential in emergencies. It would help you have access to the services they provide physically if the need should arise. As well as give you an idea that they would take responsibility for any loss or damage to your package or product. It is also vital when you want to take legal action about your damaged or missing merchandise. Otherwise, it would be difficult to prosecute a service company when you don’t have any idea where their office is.
(17) See their current or previous work report
This is similar to looking out for a company with a proven track record only in this case you don’t depend on the internet to provide you with the information you need. You can look for their clients and interview them personally. In this way, it would give you an idea of how the company relates to its clients, their policies, and the impact their services have had on their clients. You can get all this information from other clients because the way they relate with others is the same way they will connect with you or your company.
There are many local courier service providers that are available for you to hire or choose from online and make enquires. These qualities stated in this article about delivery services in the UAE can eliminate your worries about package or product transportation and delivery locally or within the UAE.
(18) A little degree of educational experience is important
Finally, not having a formal education is not a barrier to effective delivery in local courier services experience. However, having both formal and informal education gives an edge on the ways services are delivered in any professional and quality delivery courier services. The degree of educational experience, both formal and informal, of a local courier, manifests and encompasses all the conditions stated above. Having a formal educational experience on human behaviour helps a local courier to understand differences among clients and provide an encompassing approach to deal with each of the differences. More so, an informal educational experience help in the composure and strategy to deal with emergencies.
Summary
A local courier service handles the transportation and exchange of packages such as documents, parcels, and other supplies within the country or the city. Some of the fundamental qualities a local courier service should have are flexibility, efficiency, excellent customer relations, effective time management, safety precaution, and fair value for money.
For you to know that you have made the right decision in hiring your local courier service provider, you need to look for one that has these qualities mentioned above. To have an idea of how good your local courier service is, they should be able to have at least 70% of these qualities. It would ensure that the local courier service meets your needs. Therefore, before you start any business with a courier service, it will be best for you to do a little research on them. Find out if they possess some of the qualities that are listed in this article. It might take some time for you to do it, but it will be worth the effort and your goods will be safer.