Get ready! It’s time to deliver more happy for the holidays.
Get ready! It’s time to deliver more happy for the holidays.
The busy shipping season is almost here, and soon customers will rely on you to help them deliver some special memories. Use the tips below to start preparing now. Then dive deeper with our FASC holiday checklist.
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Tip 1: Stock up on packaging—and be ready to pack almost anything.
- Take inventory of packing supplies and order enough to meet the holiday demand. Make sure you have a variety of sizes to properly pack different types of items.
- Bookmark our how-to guides for help packing tricky items. You’ll find support for everything from breakables to perishables.
- Review the dangerous goods guidelines in your FASC agreement and share them with your team. Preventing customers from intentionally—or accidentally—shipping dangerous goods protects you, your employees, customers, and drivers.
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Tip 2: Communicate your capabilities and availability.
Log in to FASCnet and make good use of the Marketing Toolbox. You’ll find:
- A holiday poster to add some extra cheer to your store.
- Prewritten social media posts you can quickly copy and paste.
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Tip 3: Be behind-the-counter ready.
- Catch up on your bookkeeping and be ready to track drop offs accurately. This will help you settle any potential disputes.
- Customize your Advanced Tracking dashboard so you can monitor up to 20,000 active shipments without having to enter tracking numbers. You can also run reports and send email alerts to customers.
- Sign up for service alerts to learn about weather events and other disruptions as soon as possible.
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Tip 4: Update your resources and keep them nearby.
- Bookmark this year’s holiday shipping page for businesses for information about new visibility tools, FAQs, and more.
- Make note of our last days to ship and post them where your team and customers can easily see.
- Keep your FASC contact list handy.
New! You can now accept prelabeled, properly packaged drop off parcels that contain Section II lithium batteries.
- Parcels must be properly packaged by the customer
- Reject the drop off if it doesn’t meet the dangerous goods standards provided in the Service Guide
- Be sure to order and display the new dangerous goods counter card!
Extra insights for your busy season, from an FASC pro
Village Express in Branford, Connecticut
Kristen Vineyard has owned Village Express for 12 years, so it’s safe to say she’s seen her share of busy days. We checked in with her to learn how she preps for the holidays. Not surprisingly, having enough packing supplies was at the top of her list. But here’s what else she had to say:
Assign someone to help prepare customers who are waiting in line.
Keep things moving by making sure customers have their shipping address ready. And get an idea for what type of packaging they’ll need so you can have it ready when it’s their turn at the counter.
Post a holiday shipping schedule and any service delays on social media.
Keeping customers informed is essential. Kristen shared that she has customers who follow her specifically for quick access to that information.
Embrace the challenges.
Every day is different, and there will always be challenges—even when you’re prepared. So be ready to “go with the flow.” Make the most of new experiences and learn from them.
Get more information about the tips above, plus other important to-dos. Download this year’s FASC holiday checklist to make sure you’re ready to help your customers deliver more happy.