BEWARE OF THAT BIG BAD TANTALIZING DISCOUNT

Are you enticed by a product advertisement promising 10% off your best price?

Many people are and just as many are being hoodwinked by wily manufacturers; manufacturers who have assigned different model numbers or names to the same, identical product. They do this so that they can sell their branded product to both large discount retailers who can afford to resell those items for less, and to smaller retailers who specialize in “service.”

These marketing-savvy manufacturers know that the simple addition of the word “discount” in their advertisements guarantees sales traffic if not outright sales.

But now there are technical tools available for consumers that help them perform an “apples vs. apples” comparison of the same products on sale by competing retailers. Such websites as Nextag, Shopzilla, and Bizrate enable a shopper to find specific model numbers, the stores selling these models (both online and brick and mortar retailers), and the various prices. With their help, the potential customer can weed through the comparative features of each model and make an educated decision on whether a 10% discount off of a competitor’s best price is of any consequence.

Does a service discount entice as well?

It is my opinion that the service industry is a different animal that doesn’t lend itself to discount advertising. If you don’t agree or wonder why, consider the following:

Imagine that a same-day courier service advertised a 10% discount off the best delivery prices being offered by their competitors during a specific month. Now, try applying the apples vs. apples products comparison model to this “services” comparison discount.

I find it isn’t applicable. That is because for 50% of service customers price is the priority, but for the other 50% of customers value and performance are the deciding factors. For that group, customer service, reliability, communications, online access and reporting all come into play.

A recent presentation by one of the top pharmaceutical suppliers spoke to this exact scenario. According to the assessment, couriers who cut corners to achieve lower prices can leave customers vulnerable to fines, theft, and late deliveries.

Being cognizant of those possibilities would certainly give rise to other service questions by that courier among prospective customers. They may worry that the assigned driver often gets lost resulting in rush delivery delays. They may wonder if their assigned courier has working air conditioners for transporting sensitive medical STATs. Or, they may question if their assigned driver is the one who fails to lock his vehicle carrying their pharmaceuticals valued at $100,000. These are all legitimate concerns and all actual incidences from the courier industry’s archives.

“Personally, I believe these advertisements a 10% discount cheapens the entire courier industry” says Victor Finnegan, President of Philadelphia-based American Expediting Company.

Finnegan, who is opening four new locations over the next month, plans to promote his sites by guaranteeing better service for every month of the year, not only in the new Chicago, Hartford, Boston and West Virginia offices, but in his other 28+ locations. By promising “better” service across the board, Finnegan stands behind his Operations Team, a dedicated team of professionals committed to delivering the best value and performance of any courier in the nation at competitive prices.

So, when you’re looking for the best service and value for your important package deliveries, be “penny wise, not pound foolish,” in the words of another Philadelphian: the late Benjamin Franklin.

Courier Business Benefits from Service Changes in U.S. Postal Service

The changes, and possible collapse of the United States Postal Service as we know it should come as no surprise to any of us. Nor should the reduced level of service that is likely to follow. For example, mail that previously arrived in 1-3 days could possibly take 2-5. And I’m not talking about the cut in Saturday’s deliveries since that has never been considered a business day by the USPS anyway.

No, I am looking back at this past winter. No one blamed the mail carriers for not trudging around in 2-1/2 feet of snow, but after the storm, the delay in service lasted six weeks. In one instance, it almost cost our company a major client. On a Friday in late March, a request for a bid via certified mail was mailed to us from a large client 70 miles from our Philadelphia office. Normal delivery would have been the following Monday, but it took seven business days to reach us, allowing only a few days to complete and submit the complex paperwork, a significant undertaking in the best of circumstances.

Within that same period, on a personal level, my family was planning a party to honor a milestone in my daughter’s life. Invitations were mailed to family in Washington, D.C., Minneapolis, Pittsburgh, and Northern, NJ. Two weeks later, when we hadn’t received an RSVP from 3 members of our family members, we called them to learn that they hadn’t received an invite. How embarrassing for us, they thought we left them out.

Service failure? You bet. And you can bet it’s one of many to come. Really, can you imagine delivery times improving when the USPS makes the expected service cuts? And ask yourself this: how many customers would your company retain if you delivered on less than 50% of your advertised and contracted services?

In an April AOLNEWS article, author Mara Gay noted that “the GAO endorsed the five-day delivery week but encouraged even more extensive cuts, including hiring more part-time workers, raising prices, closing some post offices and even outsourcing delivery routes to private contractors.”

My view is that business will no longer be able to afford using the USPS to deliver to and from their local facilities, although cost, which will become a factor, won’t be the primary reason. No, it will be because of undependable service.

But it needn’t be that way. Courier companies like American Expediting could provide them with backup drivers to cover vacation schedules, sick days, and holidays, even deer hunting days. We’ve already addressed these changes. For years, we have been picking up and delivering the mail of large corporations. In addition to daily early morning pickups from the main postal station with immediate delivery to local businesses, American Expediting also offers inner-office service to and from branch locations, as well as drop-offs to the post office all day long.

The next time you speak with your local American Expediting office, your account representative may ask if you are interested in adding postal services to your program. By doing so your company will receive its mail much earlier than it is currently experiencing.

Any way you look at it, you’ll be ahead of the game with American Expediting’s cost-effective, reliable and fast services.

For a complete list of our services go to www.amexpediting.com.

It's A Family Affair in the Courier Delivery Business

How long have you been working for your current employer?

Online statistics show that the average worker stays on the same job for 4.5 years. This is a far cry from the days when our parents and grandparents retired from the company that hired them right out of school.

My company currently looking for qualified candidates (SAMEDAY COURIER SALES POSITION) in the courier industry, and it is disappointing to review resumes that show applicants change jobs every year or two. I ask myself if I really want to hire someone, train them, and watch them leave the company just at the moment we are breaking even on our investment in them?

Here’s another sentence ending in a question mark! Would you want your son or daughter coming to work with you at your current job? Be honest. They hear you complain about your job at the dinner table and they see you arriving home exhausted, oftentimes frustrated, from a hard day at the office.

Now, let me tell you about a secret gem of a company based in Philadelphia. It is in the same- day delivery business and has been for 26 years.

Much like those start-up computer companies of recent vintage, American Expediting Company began in the family garage with owner Vic Finnegan running the entire operation along with his small family. As demand for his services grew, his nuclear family couldn’t match the need for manpower. It was time to begin a company family. Enter Ray Keough. Ray was hired to handle the expedited delivery services. Shortly thereafter his daughter, Karen, came aboard to manage the accounting processes. She, in turn, hired her daughter Nadine to augment her growing department.

With the addition and growth of the company’s multiple vertical markets, i.e. Medical Delivery, Facilities Management Services, Legal Courier Deliveries, etc., there was additional need for Operations people. Enter Mike Murphy, an experienced dispatcher, a former corporate banker, and now the Operations Manager for the Philadelphia office. Joining him each day at the office are his kids: Lauren, Mike Jr., and Sean all experts in Customer Service and Dispatch functions.

These are just the blood relatives among the staff of people in the Philadelphia office who have been with the company 5, 10, and even 20 years. There is a family here, not just the blood families but a real company family and for me, in this society, that is incredible.

But, let’s look at the other American Expediting offices; the American Expediting service in Pittsburgh includes the Sanner Family (husband, wife, and son); the Raleigh site includes the Preston family; the Orlando location includes the Caraballo’s; Harrisburg has the Snow’s who just added their second set of twins to their family, who will be expect will be driving for us in 2026. And, finally, in Detroit we have the Matanzas family.

We are either masochists, or we really love what we do. The next time you are out shopping for a company to help you with your same-day, rush delivery, or expedited courier needs, ask yourself the question…do I want to work with that big corporate black hole where I am a small part of their business, or should I choose the company that will treat me like I am one of the family?

Let it Snow - American Expediting

THE WEATHER OUTSIDE IS FRIGHTFUL:

Staying connected and informed in the courier business is essential for Marketing Managers and can this be accomplished in a number of ways: reading magazines and blogs, joining relevant online networks or becoming active in various organizations. Through these channels, a manager can gain or refresh his or her knowledge, learn from others and become familiar with trends.

Recently I received several emails from various couriers who were replying to the following question posed by an interested individual: how should a courier handle bad weather deliveries for credit card customers? Before I share with you some of the answers, let me reiterate the American Expediting policy:


AT AMERICAN EXPEDITING, THERE ARE NO EXTRA CHARGES TO CUSTOMERS FOR DELIVERING IN INCLEMENT WEATHER!

Here are a few of the responses I read from competing companies…

1. “When a winter storm is a level 2 or higher, all deliveries will be charged at an Emergency

rate.”

2. “We at (name deleted) logistics charge for inclement weather a flat rate of additional $25.”

3. “Here at (name deleted) we state that we deliver in small passenger cars- therefore on

snow days we do not go to many areas. The clients are all offered to meet us or use

common drop locations for our services. We also do turn down business thru the day-

depending how busy or slow we are.”

American Expediting views bad weather as an opportunity to shine. It is never the customer’s fault when the weather turns bad, so why should they be penalized? If the delivery can get there without questioning the safety of our driver, we bill at the same rate as we do on a sunny and mild day. Our team members should know that not every competitor feels the same way and we should capitalize on the advantage our policy offers. Furthermore, our customers should be assured that we have their best interest in mind as well as our drivers’ welfare.
The weather outside may be a fright but for a company committed to customer service, it brings bragging rights.

The Many Sights of the Season

We are deeply entrenched in the holiday season, which for me is highlighted by the smiles on the many faces of our children. This year American Expediting is expanding our normal charitable efforts, and has donated our services to an incredible organization called the Kids Wish Network. Through this network, we supported the “Holiday of Hope” program at The Shriners Hospital in Philadelphia. This event helps to cheer up between 250 and 300 patients and their siblings, and includes toys, food, and lots of fun.

At American Expediting, we helped to put the smile on faces of many children!

Here are pictures of some of our own children. Let's wish they all remain happy & healthy, and that they sing with joy when they see their holiday gifts. How many company employees can you match to these smiling faces?

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

AIDEN KIERSTAN RYAN SOPHIA

SHAWN STEPH DR LAYNA

KYLE Alana, Jacqueline and Rihanna Victoria, Justin, David jr. Andrew, Zackary, Anthony, Brittany

Cole Nick & Joe Angelina

Customer Service - REALLY?!?

(Substituting for Seth & Amy this week are Glenn & Arlene)

Are there times, in your maddening sleeplessness, that any of you insomniac’s out there catch the Saturday Night Live segment “Weekend Update?” They often run a segment entitled REALLY!?! to express their disbelief and incredulity about the behavior and actions of select celebrities and politicians.

This week’s blog is our take on this skit.

Oftentimes a potential customer will ask “so what makes your company better than your competitor’s?” The answer typically given is “better customer service.” REALLY!?!

What exactly makes it “better?” Are the people answering their telephones friendlier, more courteous? Are they more knowledgeable about the business and the needs of its customers? More helpful?

Every courier business in the world will claim that they and they alone have the best customer service. Now really, is that possible? REALLY?

Of course not, but there is exemplary service, the type of service practiced by American Expediting. We, herewith, offer you two REAL WORLD examples of that exemplary customer outreach.

The first: one of our large warehousing customers arranged to have nine pallets of toys delivered via a local trucking company to our New Jersey site for our later distribution. The delivery arrived late in the day, later than scheduled. It also arrived in a 53-foot trailer rather than a truck! The hat trick came when the unloading began: the nine pallets destined for our warehouse were buried deep behind 40 other pallets!

What this meant was extra hours of labor for Jenn Dillon, the Operations Manager, who was also pulled away from her usual day’s work. For Dillon and staff, it turned into a very late night, but when asked, “what is the billable surcharge for your additional time?” Dillon answered, “nothing. It wasn’t the customer’s fault.”

REALLY!?!

Another example of American Expediting exemplarity involves a key customer with an urgent request called in at 10 p.m. His retail display had to be delivered to a shopping mall that night…two nights before the year’s busiest shopping day of the year. It required loading a 10-foot long, 6-foot wide and 5-foot high skid loaded onto our truck and then unpacking it at its destination, piece by numerous piece and hand-trucking each into the store.

The challenge was finding a driver who had not exceeded working the maximum hours allowed for the day, and also one who was available late at night and able to deliver out of state. Philadelphia Operations Manager, Michael Murphy, quickly developed and activated a plan to have a fresh driver pick up a truck from a driver who’d met the maximum work hours. The new driver then drove to our NJ-based warehouse for the display, which he subsequently delivered to a Delaware store. When most competing courier companies were deep in sleep, American Expediting was on the road tending to our customer’s needs.

REALLY!?!

This is true customer service exemplified, not just verbalized. This is why for over 27 years American Expediting has expanded from a single location in Philadelphia to a national organization serving customers from Coast to Coast.

It is why we receive emails from customers like John Paiva at Fast Trac Transportation, who wrote:
“Mike pulled out a last minute miracle on the mall job last night that really
impressed my customer. Please thank him for me as I know you were short-
handed and he really had to put some extra effort in to get it done. I really
appreciate it!”

But that IS what American Expediting does…makes the extra effort on a daily basis to help our customers complete their deliveries and keep their businesses as profitable as possible.

REALLY!!!

Gobble, Gobble

GOBBLE, GOBBLE

As we sit at our Thanksgiving feasts, and ponder all that we are truly thankful, let’s not forget what truly makes us happy. Is it family? Your friends? Could it be your job? How about the fact that you are not one of those 10% of American’s that don’t have a job?

Getting to know my co-workers over the past months has been a fascinating experience. We have incredibly talented individuals, both at work and in their personal lives. Whether they are giving up their holiday to make sure that critical medical packages are being delivered, or they are volunteering in their local soup kitchens to feed those less fortunate, the American Expediting team has much to be proud.

In honor of my co-workers, I am making a $500 donation to a local charity. Your help is needed to determine the recipient, so anyone who reads this blog over the next 5 days, please email me your choice from the following; (1) Philabundance – Local Soup Kitchen, (2) Ronald McDonald House, (3) Make-A-Wish Foundation, (4) St.Judes, or (5) Equally Split amongst all four.

Thank everyone of you for your support and friendship!