It’s more important than you may think.
Is your order from our online shop already on its way to you? If so, you will have received a shipment notification email with a tracking number. Use this number to actively track your shipment. It's worth the effort.
Now and then we receive emails and calls from customers who report problems with the delivery of their shipment and ask us for help. Apart from a few exceptions, however, there is very little we can do in such cases. The parcel services’ operations are completely beyond our control, especially outside Germany. Nevertheless, there are several things you can do in advance to avoid much of the typical hassle with parcel services.
This article illustrates how to set the course for the smooth delivery of your order. Let's start with a look at what causes the vast majority of problems, because, as always, understanding the origin of problems makes it easier to avoid them right from the outset.
Overworked delivery staff
Are you still expecting several delivery attempts to be made before a shipment is considered undeliverable and returned to the sender? Well, time to say farewell to this idea. Today, delivery services are amazingly quick when it comes to returning a shipment because of an insignificant address error, a missing door code for a building, or simply because the reception desk in an office building is unoccupied during the very minute a delivery driver appeared and disappeared again.
You can also bid farewell to the hope that drivers will actually phone, text, or email you, no matter how many contact options may be printed on the address label of a shipment. According to our experience, phone contact is only made for express items nowadays. In all other cases, the delivery driver, in all likelihood a prime example of an overworked, underpaid gig worker anyway, will try to get the shipment out of that delivery van clogged with far too many Amazon parcels as quickly as possible. Quite frankly, working conditions don’t leave space for even the least bit of additional service. So don’t blame the driver.
Do not expect notifications
In the meantime, items are often deposited for collection at a depot (UPS Access Point, post office, etc.) after a single delivery attempt. And, in many countries, you better not bet on a corresponding notification to land in your letterbox. In the worst case, your fervently awaited speaker cloth will be returned to us without any further notification after about 10 days in the depot.
Much in the same way, items are more and more often "delivered" at a random place somewhere on the plot or in the immediate vicinity of the delivery address. And, again, the expected notification card might be missing. In such cases, the item is flagged as “delivered” in the parcel service’s database, but it can be almost impossible to identify its actual location or to collect it. This can be particularly annoying for business customers who are urgently waiting for our speaker fabric to keep their production running.
Moreover, the vast majority of parcel services still perform "contactless delivery" as a protection measure against Covid-19. This can make it even more complicated to find out the whereabouts of an item and the person who has accepted the shipment.
Keep a constant eye on your shipment
Once you’re aware of all this, you can do appropriate steps to ensure that your shipment from Akustikstoff.com arrives at the desired destination on time and reliably. We do everything we can to make this possible. That’s why we ship all orders with a shipment ID that enables seamless tracking of the item.
If you’ve placed an order in our online shop, you will automatically receive a shipping confirmation with a clickable shipment ID enabling you to track the shipment directly on the parcel service’s website. You can monitor the entire shipment process and usually also see all delivery address details stored by the parcel service.
Actively facilitate a smooth delivery
First check this address data for correctness and completeness. Should you discover an error, please contact the parcel service provider immediately and have it corrected. In most cases, this can be done directly online. However, some providers will require you to create a customer account first.
Then take a look at the scheduled delivery date. Ideally, you should arrange for someone to be present at the delivery address on that day. If this isn’t possible, best change the delivery date or address way in advance. Alternatively, you can issue a one-time drop-off authorisation for a specific location with almost all parcel services.
We’ve also heard that drivers simply skip deliveries that would require them to ascend several floors and simply send parcels straight to a depot for collection. While that’s surely not nice, there’s not much anyone can do about it, and it seems to happen quite often nowadays, especially in cities. With the help of the shipment ID, however, you can at least find out immediately whether your shipment has been made available for collection at a depot near you.
As you can see, the shipment ID in our shipping confirmation email is your key to a smooth delivery. Take advantage of this opportunity!
Stay on the ball
It is very important to track the shipment closely until you have received it. After all, the vast majority of problems occur on the proverbial last mile. Consistent tracking keeps you aware of whether the item is still on its way or has already been delivered, deposited in a depot or delivered to another address. In most cases, proof of delivery with the relevant details is also provided. These can help you to get possession of your parcel as quickly as possible.
Please remember: time is short once your shipment has been sent to a depot. Items that are not collected within a maximum period of two weeks (rather less) will be returned – which is a disadvantage for either side, as you will not obtain the speaker cloth while we get charged exorbitant return fees.
Don’t forget to check your spam folder
If you have placed an order with us online, our system generates an order confirmation email immediately. Should you not have received this email, please check the spam folder of your email programme – and continue to do so, because it is very likely that the shipping confirmation with the shipment ID will also end up there.
The simple remedy for future cases: put the domain akustikstoff.com on your whitelist. Don’t worry, we never send advertising emails and prevent our systems from spreading spam.
Avoid problems even before placing your order
Please make sure to check the following simple points before sending your online order. This greatly helps to ensure the quick and smooth delivery of your shipment:
- Did you enter your e-mail address correctly and without typos when placing your order?
- Is the indicated shipping address correct, complete, and accurate?
- When ordering via Paypal Express: Is your correct delivery address on file with Paypal?
- Have you entered your telephone number for queries? A telephone number is always required for express shipments, but it can also be extremely helpful in other cases.
- Do you have a clearly legible bell plate or a company sign bearing the name in the shipping address? If not, delivery is almost sure to fail.
- Is your letterbox easy to find and clearly labelled? This is the only way of enabling the driver to leave you a message if necessary.
Additional information from Shipcloud
We process almost all our shipments with the help of Shipcloud, and our customers will also receive a message from Shipcloud if problems with the shipment are reported by the parcel service.
If you receive such an email, please contact the relevant parcel service immediately to resolve the problem. Please remember that it doesn’t help to contact us. We do not have any information beyond the tracking information and are not entitled to act on your behalf in relation to the local delivery service. We can only help you if the shipment is lost or completely misdelivered, and, of course, we’ll be happy to do so. But fingers crossed that this won't be necessary once you've taken all the precautions described above.