When you go to a restaurant with white glove servers, you expect premium attention to detail and quality care. The same is true of white glove delivery service. This guide to running white glove delivery will help you know what your customers expect and how to meet the challenges with this type of delivery.

What is white glove delivery?

First, you don’t actually need to wear white gloves to provide white glove delivery. It’s your approach to service that changes when you tout white glove service. Your customers will expect the highest standards of care for their cargo and top-notch customer service along the way. 

White glove delivery has gained ground with the boom in online shopping. If people are shopping from an e-commerce site, they’re not getting the chance to see the items they purchase first. They aren’t going to shop with that online store again if their purchases don’t arrive in pristine condition.

With white glove delivery, you’ll show your customers that you have great attention to detail and clear communication. The idea is that your clients don’t need to worry about a thing. You’ll take care of it all.

What do white glove delivery services include?

There are many ways to differentiate a white glove delivery service from the standard delivery approach.

With white glove customer service, drivers don’t just drop off the boxed delivery and leave. Instead, they unload the delivery, unpack, and possibly even assemble the items in the location the customer wants them. They’ll also dispose of the packing materials and clear the workspace. They may also take away the old items the new purchases replaced.

If something is wrong with the delivered product, the driver contacts customer service to make sure the issue is resolved. 

In fact, you can show white glove service before the item is even shipped with special, customized packaging services, such as ensuring the cargo is packed following best practices related to that freight’s size, nature, value, and fragility.

A higher quality of service means higher levels of communication too. The shipping partner can communicate with manufacturers or merchants to establish a delivery timeline and make sure customers know what to expect. The white glove delivery service can also reach out to discuss your specific needs before sending your freight out. They want to set up a convenient delivery time and make any necessary preparations to ensure the delivery goes as smoothly as possible.

Top tips for running a white glove delivery service

White glove delivery service isn’t an indulgence. For some, it’s a necessity to ensure that their precious cargo arrives in top condition. White glove service can also make your customers more productive as they’re handing over the logistics of their delivery to your experts. They can focus on other things instead. Try these tips to make sure you offer a quality white glove delivery solution.

Treat customer assets with care

The priority with white glove delivery services is ensuring that freight gets from one location to the other without incident. The cargo may be fragile or has sentimental value. You won’t necessarily know why the customer wants the highest level of care, but that shouldn’t matter. Every item shipped with a white glove delivery service needs to be treated with the utmost care.

Be communicative

Whether you’re shipping furniture, lighting fixtures, displays, sound systems, or other freight, you’ll want to keep the customer updated with logistics. At every step of the way, communicate the timeline with the customer. Make sure that they know what to expect. 

If anything changes, let the customer know. When you communicate any issues, do so with a solution in mind. Again, this is a level of service where the customer is paying you more to not have to sweat the small stuff.

Take advantage of logistics technology

GPS tracking for your fleet can help you keep customers informed about their deliveries. Let them know when their freight is loaded on to your trucks and when to expect delivery. You’ll have real-time visibility of your vehicle locations, which can help you optimize your drivers’ time on the road.

Fleet managers can also use route planning to ensure the right truck route for making deliveries and drop-offs. Commercial route planning software can include GPS tracking to provide live updates on where trucks are, how fast they’re traveling, and whether there are any upcoming obstructions. If something does slow the driver down, you can communicate that to the customer too.

Anticipate customer needs

Since white glove delivery is intended to give customers peace of mind, you can set your offerings apart from the competition by thinking ahead. You have the experience and skills your customer needs. Try to anticipate what might go wrong and make sure that it doesn’t. Think of ways that you can make the logistics run smoother, and pursue those opportunities to go the extra mile (without actually adding miles to your fleet).

Hire well

Your white glove delivery service drivers need to embrace the philosophy of customer care and high-quality delivery for your business to live up to customer expectations. This is an assignment for your drivers who are attentive to detail and will go above and beyond for customers.

As your team members won’t actually be wearing the white gloves, these should be reliable, responsible drivers who value customer relationships. Choose people who communicate well and are accountable and timely. You also need people in these roles who can problem-solve when onsite with the customer.

Challenges in delivering a white glove customer service

To provide the best quality of service, you need to rely on your own team but also the customer. It may not sound logical, but for your drivers to be able to arrive, unload, unpack, and possibly assemble in a timely fashion, they need the customer to be available. If they can’t take delivery when you want to provide it, that can lead to headaches. Think about the possible implications:

  • You might need to store that cargo.
  • Drivers have to make a return trip.
  • More trips mean more fuel and labor costs, plus added wear and tear on your vehicles.
  • If the driver can’t unload, they can’t do another job.

That missed delivery could be a big issue for the shipper too. They’ve guaranteed a certain time frame. If they have to lose the customer’s business, you can expect strained relationships with that supplier. Not to mention the damage to your own reputation with customers who expected top-notch service.

There’s one more challenge to be aware of if you’re thinking of starting a white glove delivery service. Your team should be able to assemble items or even set up technology. That can require drivers with extra skills, which can make hiring more challenging.

Why use Motive to organize your white glove delivery services?

Motive’s fleet workflow solution helps white glove delivery services be more accountable, efficient, and cost-effective. With our comprehensive platform, you can improve customer experience and increase transparency to give the highest standard of care. Meanwhile, your fleet can use the technology to reduce fuel usage, minimize vehicle breakdowns, and even prevent collisions with the AI Dashcam and driver coaching.

Motive can help you enhance your delivery services with efficient routing, accurate ETAs, and on-time deliveries. Request a free demo to learn more how Motive can help streamline and optimize your delivery services business.