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PICK-UP AND (MORE) DELIVERY
Pick-Ups
One major difference between an at-home cookie decorator and a bakery
is that your customers cannot just pop in when it's convenient for them
and expect that you will be there. It is necessary to be very, very specific
about this issue when scheduling customer pick-ups.
When scheduling pick-ups, be very professional and very specific in setting
a specific time for the client to pick up their cookies. When setting
the pick-up time, make it very clear to clients that they must pick up
their cookies by 9:00 but not later than 9:30 in the morning (or whatever
narrow window of time is good for you). This should be mentioned at the
time of the order so that if the client cannot pick up at that time, she
can ask someone else to pick up the order for her. Just because your business
is "at home" does not mean you will be at home all day for a
client to come by whenever they get around to it.
A gentle reminder to the client that usually does the trick is to say
that after the stated "no later than" time you cannot guarantee
that anyone will be at home.
You might also request that your clients keep your phone number handy
so that if they run into any unforeseen circumstance that will cause them
to arrive late, they should call you immediately.
Important Phone Call
Always call the client the day before pick-up or delivery
to
remind them of their specific pick-up time or to remind them that someone
needs to be at home for you to deliver at a specific time. When delivering
to a gated community, be sure that the client has put your name on the
gate attendant's list.
Multiple Deliveries
When scheduling multiple cookie deliveries on the
same day, list the time each order must arrive at its site, as well as
the time you must leave from home (or prior delivery site) to arrive on
time.
When considering other orders with the same delivery date, determine if
you will have enough time to get from one delivery to the other. You may
need to slightly adjust one or more delivery times to allow ample time
for each delivery. If you do adjust delivery times, make sure that everyone
that needs to know is aware. A general rule of thumb is to allow yourself
twice you normal drive time and about an hour at each site.
Mileage Records
Record the mileage and drive time to each place that you deliver a cookie
for future reference and scheduling your time. If delivery is in a large
city, you may want to include the time of day of each delivery along with
the drive time. A 25-minute drive at 11:00 a.m. may take more than an
hour at 5:30 p.m.! Take your mileage records with you when meeting with
your income tax professional. Your advisor will probably tell you that
your delivery mileage is tax deductible.
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