Don’t be blue this Black Friday!

It’s bad enough being a consumer on Black Friday – but could you imagine being the retailer? In fact, could you imagine being the courier? With the increase in deliveries to make – and expectations to meet – it’s not an easy time of year…

This year, Laser Group, with its subsidiary DPD Laser (Dawn Wing and Time Freight), is working closely with some of South Africa’s largest retailers to ensure that they are ready for the start – and duration – of the festive-season shopping frenzy.

“We have prepared our systems and we’re increasing our staff capacity to meet the demand,” says Iain Johnson, CEO of the Laser Group. “While it’s our goal to ensure that customers get their purchases in the anticipated timeframe, there is a lot consumers can do to help us get their deliveries right the first time.”

Johnson explains that, just like consumers should prepare for Black Friday by comparing prices and researching the specs or features of products they would like to buy, so, too, should they prepare themselves to streamline the delivery process.

These are some of the steps that Johnson recommends South Africans take to ensure that their deliveries reach them as speedily as possible:

  • Ensure that the delivery address is complete. Know the suburb’s postal code (you can double-check at www.sapo.co.za), and be sure to include the apartment number (it the delivery is to a complex), company name (for deliveries to a place of work), street number, suburb and town.
  • Consider having the delivery delivered to a place of work, or to a family member who is likely to be home during the week.
  • Be sure to include a working contact number, just in case an alternative arrangement has to be made.
  • Need to make a last-minute change? Call the online retailer’s call centre to change the details, or get the number of the courier company if the parcel is already on its way.

“Providing the correct information and the right address, and ensuring that they are at the right place to receive their parcel, will go a long way to helping courier companies to deliver customers’ purchases on time,” says Johnson.

Published by

Focus on Transport

FOCUS on Transport and Logistics is the oldest and most respected transport and logistics publication in southern Africa.
Prev Sliding freely to lower costs
Next Hollard honours Highway Heroes

Leave a comment

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.