Consignments are late, damaged and occasionally lost. It is not a question of whether but of how often, and the businesses customers forgive are the ones that handle it well rather than the ones it never happens to.

The customer's problem is yours

They bought from you, not the carrier. "It is with the courier" is true and it is not an answer, and passing them a tracking number and a call centre number reads as being handed off.

Own it, chase the carrier yourself, and keep the customer informed while you do. That is the entire difference between a bad delivery and a lost customer.

Act before they contact you

Watch your consignments. Anything that stops moving for longer than usual is a problem in progress, and reaching out first — before the customer notices — changes the conversation completely.

A message saying you have spotted a delay and are chasing it makes you look competent. The same message sent after an angry email does not.

Fix it, then claim

Decide what the customer gets — a replacement, a refund, a redelivery — and do it. Then pursue the carrier separately.

Making the customer wait on the outcome of your claim puts your commercial problem on them, and the claim usually takes far longer than their patience. Reversing that order is what preserves the relationship.

Claims need evidence, gathered early

  • The waybill and proof of collection.
  • Photographs of the damage, and of the packaging as it arrived.
  • The value, evidenced — invoice or cost.
  • Notification within the carrier's time limit, which is often short.

That last one catches people out constantly. Report it the day you hear, even if the details are incomplete, because a late notification is grounds to decline.

Keep the damaged item and its packaging

The carrier may want to inspect both, and the packaging is frequently the point in dispute — if it was inadequately packed, the claim fails. Do not let the customer discard it before you know.

Watch for the pattern

One lost parcel is bad luck. The same route failing repeatedly, or the same product arriving damaged, is information.

Keep a simple record of what went wrong and where. Most businesses that do this find the failures concentrate somewhere specific, and the fix is either a different carrier for that lane or better packing for that item.

Say sorry properly

Briefly, once, without excuses, and with what you are doing about it. Customers who receive that tend to stay; customers who receive an explanation of why it was not your fault tend not to.

General guidance on commercial practice, not legal advice. Carrier liability and claim periods vary; check your own terms.