Hello, dears!
Well, the weather apparently continues to not be able to make up its mind as to what season it's supposed to be! So, while we all patiently await the arrival of summer, I thought I'd entertain you lot with our usual dose of courier work related goodness!
This month, however, I'm doing things a little differently. I was chatting to our good old friend Bill, and he told me he was planning a more serious-minded approach to his posts this month, so I thought why not? Reader interactions are fantastic, of course, but it has been a while since we've discussed anything really in-depth, hasn't it? So I decided to take a page from Bill's book (with permission, of course) and headed to the Internet to look for some substantial topics we could talk about. And as you can probably guess from the title of this post, I found some! So without further ado, let's get serious.
Remember Your Receipt
The first of the subjects I came across while browsing is the importance of receipts in courier work. I'm sure most of you don't need to be told why a receipt is important, but a little reminder can never hurt. Besides, there are probably younger readers out there who are not aware of why they should always collect a proof of delivery, and I think they'll probably be better off after reading this!
So, why is a receipt so important? Well, obviously, because it tells your boss you did that job, and are not telling porkies. 'But Gertie, what if you happen to be self-employed', I hear you ask? Well, in that case, a receipt serves as proof that you delivered the right order, with no elements missing. In other words, you didn't deliver five boxes when you were supposed to deliver six. This, of course, keeps you from getting in trouble later on, if a customer decides the missing box was your fault and decides to take action.
Protect Yourself
It's so important to make sure you remember to take a few precautions when asking customers to sign for courier work. It isn't enough to just collect a receipt; you should also make sure the customer's signature and name are legible, and that it details exactly what you delivered - including any damaged boxes or goods that may have been part of the order. It's important that you never sign for anything you can't see, as well – for instance, if the customer wants to detail what is in the boxes, but you can't be sure what they're saying is true, you should politely tell them no, rather than risk getting into hot water.
So there you have it, dears – the main reason why it's so important to always keep some sort of proof of any courier work you've done. It may seem like a small thing, but trust me, it won't seem small when you're facing charges because you forgot to do it! So do your dear Aunt Gertie a favour: protect yourself, and make sure everything goes smoothly, all right?
Until next time.
Ta-ra!
Gertie
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