West Thurrock & Dartford Courier and parcel services: 2008

Tuesday 23 December 2008

The Pope’s courier

I have just been reading this fascinating article in the Guardian about the Pope’s Courier. On average Thaddeus Kühnel does 150,000 miles to collect and deliver gifts from the Pope. This year he has collected his favourite German Sweetmeats (a carload full!) and a footwarmer.

With the Vatican issuing guidelines regarding environmental issues and encouraging their congregation to be greener, I felt they could have been a bit greener themselves. They could have used the secure (diplomatic) postal systems to deliver his items. Looking at it in more detail, I realise the safest, most secure option for him would have been a dedicated courier which is exactly what he used

When security is of the utmost importance a dedicated courier is the very best option, I hope that Thaddeus Kühnel has his vehicle tracked in case of hijack and remembers to secure his vehicle every time he leaves it. I am sure he uses up to date software to plan his routes - so that they are the most efficient. I know he will be co-loading whenever possible to keep costs down and make the fuel go further…

I also hope that Mr Kühnel has changed his vehicle since this article was published, as he could now become a target. It’s vital to keep things confidential as a courier and unless you have your customers approval, discretion is a must. Especially when your client is a religious world leader.

Infallible Christmas gifts: Pope’s courier reveals secrets | World news | The Guardian

Kühnel drove from the pope’s home state of Bavaria to the Vatican yesterday to personally deliver this year’s boot-load of food, as well as five Christmas trees that were strapped to the roof of his car.

Lebkuchen honey and spice biscuits, stollen German Christmas cake, and chocolate were among the treats, Kühnel told German media. Of the trees, which came from the pope’s home town, Marktl am Inn, Kühnel said: “One is for the Pope’s living room, and two are for private chapels.”

Butchers in Marktl am Inn began selling Ratzinger sausages in his honour when he became pope in 2005.

There was also a present from the pope’s brother, Georg, 84, a retired priest. Kühnel would not reveal what it was, but said “usually they give each other practical things, like wristwatches and electric foot-warmers”.

Kühnel said he had already clocked up around 250,000km 150,000 miles in his car, delivering goods to the pope that he had personally requested, along with presents from his old friends, staff and distant relatives. “I deliver all the things he misses about Bavaria, including fruit nectar, Bavarian sausages from his favourite restaurant, advent wreaths and German sweets. He has a very sweet tooth,” Kühnel said.

“The first thing I brought to Rome, in my car, was a paschal candle, as well as some fruit from Adelholzen and mineral water. He likes the Christmas cookies that women from Bavarian parishes bake at home as well as those made at certain monasteries. He also likes the chocolates made in Aachen.”

The Pope’s courier, Dec 2008

It's not an easy job delivering goods from food stuffs to presents, but having a happy customer is very rewarding.

Merry Christmas

Sarah & Kevin

Monday 22 December 2008

10,000 hours and you STILL want someone else to deliver?

This week I have been reading articles about someone called Malcolm Gladwell and the Outliers, and in these articles research by a chap called K Anders Ericsson is quoted.

In the early 90s, the psychologist K Anders Ericsson and two colleagues set up shop at Berlin’s elite Academy of Music. With the help of the academy’s professors, they divided the school’s violinists into three groups. The first group were the stars, the students with the potential to become world-class soloists. The second were those judged to be merely “good”. The third were students who were unlikely ever to play professionally, and intended to be music teachers in the school system. All the violinists were then asked the same question. Over the course of your career, ever since you first picked up the violin, how many hours have you practised?

Everyone, from all three groups, started playing at roughly the same time - around the age of five. In those first few years, everyone practised roughly the same amount - about two or three hours a week. But around the age of eight real differences started to emerge. The students who would end up as the best in their class began to practise more than everyone else: six hours a week by age nine, eight by age 12, 16 a week by age 14, and up and up, until by the age of 20 they were practising well over 30 hours a week. By the age of 20, the elite performers had all totalled 10,000 hours of practice over the course of their lives. The merely good students had totalled, by contrast, 8,000 hours, and the future music teachers just over 4,000 hours.

Now, I am not quite sure where this quote comes into play with Mr Gladwells book (ok, maybe it’s about genius ), but I do know that having worked at least 48 hours a week for the last 6 years delivering cargo, freight and the odd sofa or two we have clocked up at least 10,000 hours. Thats in just our own business, Kev has another 14 years experience in doing this for other companies. So, that makes us an expert apparently…. and we certainly do know all the tips and tricks to get the best out of your delivery.

So, would you rather see the local schools piano teacher or Maksim? Well, I am sure they both have their place in life, and you choose what is appropriate. If Maksim was looking to move his grand piano, would he use Joe Blogs from down the road who had been trading 5 minutes or would he use a professional piano mover? He would use the professional piano mover of course.

We often get phone calls about Freight / Cargo deliveries that have gone wrong, and the most common these people have used someone who are cheap. They have no experience or wisdom to pay for, and then the customer gets upset when it has gone wrong. We get upset too, why didn’t they come to us first? It would have been the far more cost effective courier option10,000 hours and you STILL want someone else to deliver?

Sarah

What does your courier quote include?

When you book a parcel courier do you read the small print?

Last week we took on a new customer who had read the ’small print’ and found it not to his liking until he came to us. When doing his research he found that he would often be charged a ’surcharge’ for delivering to a private address rather than a business address - between £3-£5 extra. He would also be charged a 5% fuel surcharge, and if he went over weight by even just a kilo, he would be charged an extra £3.00 as well.

He started to add it all up and realised the £8.95+VAT he was being charged for delivery wasn’t that cheap once the ’surcharges’ had been added, if fact it could double the initial price for a parcel!

At Arrow Light Haulage we believe in a transparent pricing system - that the cost is determined by the items weight, and thats it. The only extras we charge for are items such as packing and wrapping materials, again this is optional.

So, if you have a parcel to collect in Basildon, Chelmsford or West Thurrock & Dartford give us a call on 0844 884 3331 we are a flat rate courier, no surcharges unless of course you want us to charge for them

Regards

Kevin

West Thurrock same day and parcel courier

Monday 20 October 2008

Less bucks = more bang

Delivering fireworks.....

Fireworks are generally not allowed to be delivered by couriers. Quick quiz: If you are a professional truck driver, a good thing to haul is…

a) jelly doughnuts
b) bunny rabbits
c) designer shoes
d) highly explosive fireworks

You need specialist training to deliver fireworks, and if you are using a courier to do this, check the small print before suggesting they do not need the training… if you wrongly suggest they can deliver the fireworks and they have an accident where do you stand with your corporate manslaughter liabilities?

Be very careful not to get caught up in the small loads small print of 8.2.3 of ADR Link how VOSA and other agencies interpret may be different from how you do. To be quite blunt, a white diamond symbol does not mean you can transport and deliver fireworks as a courier.Fireworks: Delivering without the bang!There are no fireworks in the uK that can be carried by road for hire and reward without the courier in question having at the very least ADR 'awareness training!

Monday 13 October 2008

High Value Goods Courier

As a Same Day Courier company, we are often asked to deliver high value goods. All the items that we collect and deliver, we keep confidential but here are some examples of things we can move, that are high value:-

Photographic art
Reels of Film
Fine Wines
Rare musical instruments
Fine Jewellery
Designer labelled clothes

Delivering High Value Goods.
Each item we deliver is tailored to it’s needs. Whether it’s careful wrapping in soft felt blankets (to prevent scratching) or strapping securely to prevent breakage.It's best to deliver the high value goods on the same day, using express courier services, this means there is les chance of something going wrong with your delivery. Our drivers are CRB checked and have training in defensive driving. Each route is planned moments after we collect the item, so no one but the driver knows the jopurney to be travelled, and then we track our vehicles just to be even safer. Check when you book your courier that you are getting the same great service.

Sarah
Related articles
Tesco Delivery Driver Sues Customer!

Basildon based ebay seller? we can do your deliveries!

Do you need to use a courier?
How a cheap courier can affect your business

Thursday 25 September 2008

What do you factor in for your same day courier?

When do you book your courier? Is it dependant on what type of service you need? When your goods are ready to be moved? or do you give it a few days notice?

If you leave it till the goods are ready, you could land up with a hefty waiting time bill, if something goes wrong at the last minute. This is most likely to happen when waiting for printed materials to dry and then be loaded. What can you do to prevent your same day courier costs going through the roof? Often it’s as easy as telling them what items are going to be transported, as the more experienced courier can then factor in prep and drying time, and make the drivers aware of the possibility of waiting when they come to collect.What you need to factor into being ready for your courier

Do you factor in all the probablilties when you have goods to move? Would you like us to do it for you?

Sarah

Same Day Courier Services

Monday 22 September 2008

More accidents caused by drivers using left hand drive....

I have been reading this over on my freight emergency blog, thought it would be interesting to read.... Freight Emergency deals with moving goods onwards in the event of an accident, so the supply chain is kept in tact.

Vehicles from overseas were involved in 163 accidents in which someone either died or suffered serious injuries in one year, while British hauliers were involved in 1,956.
But with foreign HGVs accounting for only one per cent of the total in the country, the proportion of accidents in which they are involved is far greater.
Campaigners say that foreign lorries are not maintained to the same safety levels as British ones.
Many accidents are also caused because they are designed to be driven on the right hand side of the road and drivers cannot see motorists alongside when they are changing lanes on motorways and dual carriageways.
More than one in five trucks operated by overseas hauliers have also been found to be unroadworthy.
The findings reignited the debate over the need for tighter controls on thousands of lorries which come in from the continent, amid fears that many do not comply with UK safety standards.
At the same time they are more at risk because they are designed to be driven on the right hand side of the road, which creates additional problems including judging turns and seeing what else is on the road.
In addition some overseas lorry drivers are unfamilar with British roads and some have run into trouble using satellite-navigation devices which resulted in trucks being stuck after being guided into small side-roads.
The extent of the risk posed by overseas lorries were were buried in a Government document on plans to impose on-the-spot fines on overseas lorry drivers and increase penalties for more serious offences.
According to the latest figures, covering 2006, foreign lorries were involved in 163 accidents in which someone either died or suffered serious injuries.
This was nearly eight per cent of the total involving heavy goods vehicles.
The Department for Transport also found random inspections revealed that 22 per cent of foreign lorries were unroadworthy.
This means that foreign lorries are three times more likely to be in a dangerous condition than their UK counterpart on British roads.
The UK haulage industry has now called on the Government to get tough with foreign lorry drivers who fail to meet British safety standards.
“It is quite clear that foreign lorries operating on UK roads are most certainly not maintained to the sort of safety level which has been created by the UK operator licensing regime,” said a spokesman for the Freight Transport Association.
“The UK licensing system, involving annual tests and roadside inspections,has resulted in UK lorries being the safest on the roads and, on a mile for mile basis, being involved in about half the number of accidentsas cars.
“We estimate that, on a mile for mile basis, a foreign lorry is three times more likely to be involved in an accident than a UK vehicle.
“Lorries are a vital ingredient in the way we live - if you’ve got it then it has been inside the back of a lorry.
“Too often we see that the operating standards of foreign lorries working in the UK are not what they should be.”
The call for tougher action was backed by Robert Gifford, Executive Director of the Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety, said “The government has at long last recognised in these figures the over-representation of foreign registered HGVs in accidents on British roads.
“In addition to tougher penalties and better enforcement of the law once these vehicles have reached the UK, we also need to look at preventing them from coming here in the first place.
“More consistent enforcement across Europe is essential, ensuring that our high standards of roadworthiness are supported throughout the EU.”
Mr Gifford called for inspectors from the Government’s Vehicle and Operating Services Agency to be stationed at French ports of Caen and Calais.”
“The Government should now look to tougher rules to enter the UK in order to prevent British lives being lost.”
However, the Department for Transport insisted that it was already stepping up its drive against dangerous overseas lorries.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk
Freight Emergency

Back in June the rules changed to allow Foreign drivers to take backloads from the UK to countries on their journey, or where they were returning to. Whilst this method is undeniably greener, you have increased frequency of your driver causing or being in an accident, and what happens to your load then? What are the extra costs involved in an accident?

What are your thoughts?

Kevin
Same Day Courier Services

Thursday 18 September 2008

Couriers - room for improvement?

Another little gem on the internet, this time from a website that deals with consumer issues. It's a very good read, the link is at the end of the quote. The article goes on to make some suggestions on what can be done to make things easier for the consumer when expecting delivery..

* Companies that offer "delivery within 2-3 days" - Well, which is it? And does that include the weekend?

* Companies that say "your order has been dispatched", but not how it's being delivered (Royal Mail, Courier, 24 hours?)

* Companies that let you order when there's no stock, but don't tell you that it's back in stock and they shipped it - the first you know is when you get the "we tried to deliver but..." card

* Failed deliveries where the little boxes aren't ticked so there's no clues - so you drive to the sorting office to get a bit of junk mail that the kind postie didn't want to fold or leave outside, when you were expecting to be picking up your hi-fi.

* Couriers that aren't flexible. "We can't deliver to your work address. We don't deliver on Saturdays. You can't collect from our depot"

* Couriers websites that let you view online tracking... that's a day out of date

We all have to work, and it's not always possible to take a day off work waiting for the knock on the door. I've lost count of the number of days I've either:

* Waited in for a courier that didn't show

* Faffed about with parcel-tracking websites and "we called but..." cards

* Spoken to a courier's head office to arrange redelivery - and got very frustrated

* Tried to get a number for the courier's depot (not the call centre)

* Driven to a depot on a Saturday to collect something a courier wouldn't send out at a weekend

Help with mail order deliveries and couriers.

As a courier company, we are happy to delivery out of hours and on a Saturday, or even a Sunday. Parcel deliveries we do Monday to Friday, and any delivery estimates do not include Saturday or Sunday when it comes to the parcels.

Parcels we will try and deliver three times, and always leave a card with contact details on.

Same day or Express deliveries, we can tell you within 15 minutes what time your items will arrive, and we call our customers an hour prior to delivery, so if they have to nip up the shops for a pint of milk, they can do so without worry.

When looking for a courier service that understands what customer service means, look for someone local. Bigger is not always better when it comes to delivering your goods.

Sarah

Basildon, Chelmsford & West Thurrock Same Day and Parcel courier

Need a TV delivered from West Thurrock?

By Same Day courier? By the parcel network? overnight delivery? Lots of choice, but which one is the best to courier your Television?

The Parcel networks, although the cheapest option, cannot take the weight of TVs. Even the new Plasma / LCD style screens come in over the cubic weight that a parcel carrier can take.

Another option is a overnight pallet service, where your TV would be strapped and shrink wrapped to a pallet and loaded, and transhipped several times before reaching you or your customer. This increases the chance of damage, and you never know for certain at what point that damage happened.

We recommend that television collection and deliveries are an item that can be co-loaded onto a vehicle. This means that the vehicle has other items on it, there is a small risk of damage from the other items, but in the case of a correctly packaged TV set, that is minimal. We have never damaged one this way yet. Depending on the style of TV, depends on whether a two man team is needed. Our vehicles are equipped with sack barrows and tail lifts, so that only a huge boxed TV set would actually need two men, the rest can be delivered by our well trained drivers.

If you have bought a Television set from ebay, or one of the retail parks in West Thurrock and require us to collect / package it for you, we can do that easily. We use recycled packaging, and we are happy to collect and deliver those large items like TVs and white goods, that are often just collect in person.

So, if it needs lifting and shifting, give us a call even if it's just for free advice 0844 884 331 or 07816 528421.

Sarah

Essex Television delivery

Tuesday 16 September 2008

A cheap courier at what price?

I have been reading this from The Courier Shop Blog:

Kent courier business Beeline Sameday has had its licence revoked and its boss disqualified after failing to observe drivers’ hours and tachograph rules.

VOSA analysis of tacho charts revealed driving and tachograph offences, missing kilometres, excessive driving and insufficient daily rest. Three drivers had been convicted of 16 drivers’ hours offences and the firm pleaded guilty to 10 counts of permitting these offences at Medway Magistrates’s Court in July. The company was fined £1,800.

Beeline Sameday failed to report driver convictions from 2006 and 2007 to the Traffic Commissioner’s office, and TC Christopher Heaps found that the company had effectively operated without a transport manager for years. He even pointed out it was unclear if the nominated transport manager, John Crook, was still alive.

The TC said that although Harvinda Pasricha was listed as the sole director, “by reference to her body language, I find that she is not, and has not been the director de facto. She does not even know her own salary.”

Kent courier disqualified for hours offences - 15/09/2008 - RoadTransport.com

Kent courier disqualified for hours offences, Sep 2008

It seems now, more than ever courier companies need to look at their systems and procedures when it comes to drivers hours. Obviously companies want to save money and ‘labour’ is one area where people think they can cut back. Care needs to be take, because it can put you in a position where your company breaks the law.

What I have always said to companies that use cheap and cheerful couriers is, do they treat their drivers ethically? do they pay the minimum wage? Whats the price of being associated with a company that doesn't do what it's supposed to do?

When you want an above the board courier, and your goods safe, you have to use companies that don't take shortcuts, and that may mean asking awkward questions and keep on doing so, until you get the answer that satisfy you. You risk your goods being impounded if you don't. Is that worth it just to save a fiver here and there? And what would you tell your customer?

Sarah

Kent Same Day and parcel company

5 things that go wrong with other couriers

Ashford, Tonbridge and Sevenoaks Courier & Parcel deliveries

Stanford Le Hope, Tilbury and Grays parcel and courier services

Getting quotes from Couriers

Friday 12 September 2008

Parcel deliveries getting them right...

The big courier and parcel companies may get it delivered cheap for you, but look what your parcel goes through in order to get delivered...

(This video may take a little time to load depending on your internet speed)

Items like parcels, that get trans-shipped will get thrown around, and if you have something that is fragile, even marking it as fragile will make little difference - it's a guideline only.

When you book your courier ask about their systems, how their drivers operate and what their policy on breakages is.

Sarah
West Thurrock Same day and Parcel couriers

Tuesday 9 September 2008

Delivering to pregnant women.

Tailoring your service to fit your customers needs is something you would think quite natural for Mothercare. The chances are if you are having a cot, pram etc delivered that the person signing for the goods will be pregant, quite healiy pregnant in some cases.

This is not the situation to abide by the rules, this is a situation for common sense. Here's what one disgruntled Mothercare customer has to say...

They were delivered on time, but in an appalling state. Some of the boxes and goods (things like a bouncer chair and the blankets) were delivered to me wet and in damaged packaging. The man dumped a heavy box in my hand to carry up the stairs. Im 33 weeks pregnant, and this was totally inapproprite. He refused to let me have the cot, and said the whole order had to be returned.

When I called up to complain the customer service manager was very rude with me, she said I was lucky they were delivered so quickly and was short, unsympathetic and totally unhelpful. she refused to put me through to a manager, or let me know when my goods would be redelivered.
I was made to feel like I was lucky there were there at all, and that my complaints were not taken seriously at all. I was spoken to very ruidely.

Mumsnet Discussions - mothercare are awful (Pregnancy)

Whatever problems there are at the depot, the customer shouldn't be getting wet and damaged deliveries, this is unnecessary damage to the Mothercare brand, it doesn't show any care at all. When choosing your courier, you need to brief them, and the courier driver needs to be aware that they may need extra lifting equipment or a two man team to deliver to pregnant women (this also counts for delivering to the elderly, and the physically disabled).

Mothercare are not the only company to neglect the needs of their customers. A birthing pool company have done the same in the past, refused to help a 38 week pregnant woman take the wooden pool upstairs as it "wasn't his job". When the mum-to-be waddled down, he was overcome with remorse and struggled with it and delivered it safely up two flights of stairs, in this instance a two man team should have been used. If the common had thought about it, they would know the likely recipent of a birthing pool is a heavily pregnant woman.

So if you are a company looking to deliver items to women who are heavily pregnant...

Do you brief your drivers?

Do you send out two man teams?

Are you busy trying to save money?

How much money would you save if you injured a pregnant woman through inconsideration?

Can you afford the negative publicity?

Can you sleep at night knowing a few quid off the bottom line, a few more quid in the shareholders pocket is actually causing pain and suffering to the customer base you are targetting?

Sarah

Couriers and delivery, for when your customers welfare actually matters to your business.

5 things that go wrong with other couriers

I was thinking about the major players in the courier industry today. How they do the little niggling things like ring the doorbell for 1 minute on a Saturday morning delivery. That made me wonder what else they do wrong

They don’t re-deliver. You go out, miss delivery and they leave a card to collect from the depot thats 30 miles away and you cannot get it for another week…

They tell you any time between 9 and 5pm for delivery, and you wait and wait and wait… you call the depot at 5pm and ask about the delivery only to be told, they couldn’t find you.

The courier arrives three hours late for the collection, offers no reason or apology for wasting your time

The courier decides it’s acceptable to throw items in and out of the van

The courier doesn’t use safer, greening driving techniques and pulls away in a cloud of black exhaust fumes..

Top 5 things other parcel couriers do wrong…

Here at Arrow Light Haulage your local Essex and Kent courier, we take excellent care of your goods that we deliver, we treat them like the’re our own.

We give you fast, accurate collection times. When you use our dedicated / epress same day services you will get an accurate time for delivery. We don’t leave your goods on the doorstep if you are unable to bring it in yourself (although we are not obligated to). For an all round better, faster, greener, effective courier service just give us a call on 0844 884 3331.

Sarah

London Couriers, delivering to and from London

Do you work in the City?

Delivering your dining table using a Basildon courier

Kerbside to Kerbside delivery - what exactly does it mean?

Sunday 7 September 2008

Delivering your dining table using a Kent courier

Couriers are often seen to be the most expensive options when it comes to deliveries, a dining table and chairs can be quite awkward and heavy to move. When you start to weigh up the cost of actually doing the job yourself, fuel, van hire, you begind to realise how a courier can actually save you.

These are generally too heavy to be delivered by parcel services. Depending on what they are made from, I would check with your courier company first. If it’s possible, the furture should be dismantled and packaged securely before collection, this reduces the cubic weight and makes it more likely your items can be delivered. Remember to package them carefully to prevent damage.Collecting and Delivering a Dining Table and Chairs by Same Day Courier

Pallet Networks - You dining is palletised and collected with other items and sent to the hub (usually in the Midlands) then put on a vehicle that will deliver to a depot and then on to you, the end destination. Your pallet may be ‘ugly freight‘ or oversized and this would be more expensive. There is high risk of damage using these services and it’s very difficult to establish where in the chain it happened.

Overnight / Economy courier - Your dining table is collected and loaded onto the vehicle, with other goods and delivered at some point in the next few days. The routes are as fuel efficient as possible, less chance of damage than a pallet network, but your item could risk some damage if the courier company does not secure their loads or protect your dining table and chairs correctly. We always secure our items and wrap them for added protection.

Same day or express courier - you item is the only item on the vehicle, it is secured and delivered in one piece, the only method likely to result in the least amount of damage.

When you decide which type of courier you need, you also need to ask some other questions about timings and help unloading. You will also need to advise on parking restrictions etc.

If you need any advice, please don't hesitate to call us on 0844 884 3331 or 07816 528421

Sarah

Kent couriers collecting and delivering on your time

Maidstone, Dartford & Canterbury Courier and parcel services

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They call it "Ugly Freight"...

Delivering in complete confidence

Using a Basildon courier to deliver a bicycle

Packing tips for sending items by parcel networks

Packing hints, tips and tricks

Saturday 30 August 2008

Tolls increase on the cards at the Dartford Crossing

One of the most beautiful bridges in the UK, the Queen Elizabeth II bridge at the Dartford Crossing. You drive over into Kent and return via the Dartford tunnel into Essex.
The Department for Transport has recently concluded it’s low key survey about the Dartford River Crossing. The survey was so low key, they only received 67 responses… and they used these to make some changes.

Tolls are set to increase by 50% in the sutumn as a result of the survey. Motorists will now pay £1.50 to drive a car over the bridge or through the tunnel. Vans will pay £2.00 and Lorries will now pay £3.70 although there is no longer a charge if you use a trailer.Toll Increases At The Dartford River CrossingIn the last set of accounts (2006-2007) the crossing made £47 million in profit for the treasury, straight into the chancellors coffers. So why the increase? is £47 million not enough? Apparently not, and its businesses and residents local to Dartford and Thurrock that will pay for this.

Sarah

Thurrock and Dartford Couriers

The Thurrock School run increases traffic

Sarah has been blogging about the school run today, and in doing her research she found that the school run puts 20% more traffic on the roads from 8.30am to 9.15 am and 2.30pm to 3.30pm.

The Institute of Advanced Motoring has some tips for tackling the school run.

• Avoid taking the car if you can. Walking, cycling and public transport are all better options, not only for children, but also the environment. Children cycling to school should be proficient and wear a helmet, with bright, all-weather clothing.
• If you have to drive, offer to car share with other parents and take it in turns rather than add to
congestion around schools. When you have an informal arrangement, set an example by
attending a defensive driving course such as that offered by the IAM.
• Allow plenty of time for the journey. Crashes cause delay and are normally caused by drivers
going too fast and driving too close to the car in front. Leave five minutes earlier to reduce
stress.
• Drive well within the speed limit. Maintain a sensible safety gap - remember the “two second
rule”. At 35mph you are twice as likely to kill someone as you are at 30mph. Yet within the
car, this feels hardly any different. The school approach presents many hazards - including
children not concentrating fully as they cross the road.
• Park considerately and safely. Never double park, block driveways or simply rely on the
footbrake to keep the vehicle still as children climb out of the car. Consider parking 100 yards
or so away from the school gate and completing your journey on foot. This gives you an
opportunity to teach children about using the road and reduces congestion at the school gate
itself.
• Never stop on the yellow “zig zags” by the school gate, even briefly. Always ensure you let
the children out on the pavement side (or if there is no pavement, the side away from the
traffic).
• Do not drive on the pavement in an attempt to allow oncoming vehicles to pass. Wait until the
way ahead is clear rather than risk injuring a pedestrian.The East London Ex-Pat’s Guide to Essex, Aug 2008
Whats this got to do with courier services? Sometimes it's more cost effective and safer to have our driver sitting in the traffic, than one of your own.

Give us a call on 0844 884 3331 if you think we can help, we can deliver everything except your kids, to school.

Kevin

Thursday 28 August 2008

Lakeside Shopping Centre Courier and Parcel Service

Collect and deliver from Lakeside to anywhere in the UK.

Want an item, only to find it has sold out in your local area? If they have it in Lakeside Essex, we can collect it and deliver it to you for just £9.99 plus VAT. Thats right a couriered parcel service for just £9.99.

We take orders all week, and on Thursday evening we will collect your item, wrap it and pack it, and on Friday we will dispatch it and it will be with you Monday morning.

As part of our premium services, provided you have booked our by midday, we can collect and deliver overnight to most places in the UK for just £15+VAT.

So now you need never miss out on the ideal pair of shoes, designer dress or suit and of course all items up to the value of £500 are insured.

This service is for items up to 20kgs volumetric weight, 2 metres in length.

We are also able to collect from stores in Romford, Basildon and Southend.

Sarah

Wednesday 27 August 2008

Dartford / West Thurrock Amtrak account cancelled?

Are you looking for a parcel delivery company?

We have an excellent ‘account’ free parcel delivery service. What does account free mean? It means you pay as you use our services, so you don’t have a minimum spend and there is no maximum spend.Is your Basildon Amtrak Account cancelled?We are an Essex based express courier and parcel company within easy reach of West Thurrock and Dartford, and we can collect and deliver your parcels and packages all over the UK.

What does that mean to you, the customer? It means you don’t have any unexpected shocks when the invoice hits the mat, no fuel surcharges, or overweight charges (you know those nasty charges that mean you pay an extra £5 or £10 because you have gone overweight by .5kgs). Account free of all the hassle associated with other parcel and courier companies.

Give us a call on 0844 884 3331 (local, no matter where you are) or 07816 528421 (mobile and out of office, yes we really are 24-7).

Sarah

West Thurrock parcel courier and collection

Deliveries gone wrong

I writing about deliveries that went wrong on Sunday:

Delivering a boat, a luxury one included, can be done safely by land. Only last week I delivered two boats for very happy customers, although I have no idea of the value, in these cases the customers insured the boats themselves for delivery.When deliveries go wrong…delivering by powerboatand that got me thinking about the other ways that deliveries can go wrong.

Quite often the problem can be in the venue the item is being delivered too. Doorways can be too narrow for sofas and beds redulting in the removal of a window to get the item in the house.

Sometimes its climbing 7 flights of stairs with a very large sofa - a cup of tea is always welcome at the top!

Pianos can be a pain too, I read about the piano they had to be removed from an upstairs flat by crane! I wondered how they got it in to the flat in the first place.

Informing your courier of potential venue problems is a good thing, it means they can plan with you how they can help, if they can help at all.

If you do find you have to remove a window to get items of furniture in, a window fitter is a good option and doesn't add that much to the overall cost, a local one may even help out of hours so you don't have to take the day off of work.

For no obligation advice on preventing your delivery going wrong, just give us a call on 0844 884 3331 or 07816 528421

Sarah

Monday 25 August 2008

Delivering your fridge freezer from West Thurrock

If you are in West Thurrock, Lakeside or Bluewater, you might decide to collect your own fridge freezer from one of the nearby retail parks, or from the shops local warehouse. With many people having a 7 seater car, they think that it's ok to just lay the freezer down in the back of vehicle and take it home...

American fridge freezers are awkward to move

American fridge freezers are awkward to move

...this is the worst thing you can do when collecting or delivering a fridge. It must always remain upright, and when disconnected from the mains, it should be disconnected for at least 3 hours before you plug it in again.

By laying a fridge on it's side you are allowing air bubbles to get into the compression system, and possible leakage from the pipes. This isn't quite terminal for the fridge but it's often very expensive to repair.

American style fridges are also very popular. These take a two man team and our tail lift vehicle to deliver as safely as possible.

So whether you are buying a new fridge freezer from a local Bluewater, Dartford, or Lakeside retail park, or getting the item from Freecycle (the modern recycling groups), be careful how you transport your fridge freezer and if you don't or can't do it yourself, give us a call we will be glad to help and advise. Our numbers are 0844 884 3331 0r 078216 528421

Regards

Kevin

White goods delivery to and from West Thurrock, Essex

Sunday 24 August 2008

Working in London but living in West Thurrock?

And have a requirement for a home office?

In the ever evolving workplace, it's quite common to have a workstation facility based at your home address. If this is the situation you find yourself in having ordered your office furniture, but have no time to collect or assemble said items, then we can help.

At Arrow Light Haulage we have furniture installers that can collect, deliver and assemble your flatpacked items with the minimum amount of disruption to you and your families routine.

As a professional courier and parcel company, we are capable of meeting all your delivery requirements with short notice. We can deliver out of office hours if that suits you better.

So, whatever your home office courier and delivery requirements are, just give us a call on 08444 884 3331 or 07816 528421 wqe are happy to help and advise without obligation.

Regards

Kevin

West Thurrock Courier and parcel Delivery

Friday 22 August 2008

Lost your memory stick?

Thinking about this blog post, I made earlier today:

PA consulting is the private sector company that has lost this round of confidential information. The transfer of further data to PA Consulting on the project has been suspended pending the investigation. This on the surface appears quite harsh, after DHL lost 25 million child benefit addresses, and as far as we are aware still delivering government documents.The Essex courier and parcel delivery company, Aug 2008Is there any tools or gadgets that could actually help the government?

I found an interesting looking secure data pen on a blog by Don Cooke, who specialises in remote team working. This led me to think, why is the data being transported via a memory stick anyway? Why isn't it being encrypted and uploaded to the research companies? Don't tell me it's more secure this way...

Even if your courier is insured, what exactly is being insured? the replacement data stick? or the data on it? and how do you put a price on that data?

Is it time for the Data Protection act to be reviewed? a SME would get huge fines for non compliance, I think there should be some sort of fine to the government, perhaps suspend MPs expense accounts until they can get it right?

For confidential delivery services, with 100% success rate (so far) then look no further than your local West Thurrock and Dartford confidential courier company, Arrow Light Haulage.

Regards

Sarah

Thursday 21 August 2008

25% off the Complete Courier Guide

This morning we have had even more success! With the ebooks selling nicely, and the positive feedback coming from happy customers, we thought we would offer the book in other formats too.

So we now offer it on CD, and can post it out to you, and in printed version again we can post it out to you.

CD is available at £34.95 and the printed version at £39.95 (plus Vat).

But because it a Bank Holiday coming up, we are offering 25% cashback on all books bought up until Midnight Bank Holiday Monday (25th August). All books bought and paid for in any format, will get a 25% cashback.

So, what are you waiting for? upload the sample Complete Courier Guide ebook right away and see if being a freelance or self employed courier is the right career for you!

Hope this makes it easier for our potential customers to make a decision, and if it doesn't and you want to speak to me, then please feel free to call my on 0844 884 3331.

Regards

Kevin

The complete guide to being a freelance or self employed courier

Tuesday 19 August 2008

Delivering dinner services and crockery by post

Packing crockery for safer courier delivery can be done fairly easily, the problem lies in the weight. Like most parcel companies we are bound by HSE rules that say we can only lift 25kgs at a time.
So, you may need to pack your plates etc into two packages, depending on the size of your dinner service.

When you have a lot of items, bubble wrap can prove expensive, so think about using corrugated paper instead. Place shredded / scrunched up paper around the edges and around cups to stop them chipping.

Packing crockery

Then weigh the box, if it comes in under 25kgs, then tape it up securely and give us a call on or 0844 884 3331 or call Kevin on 07816 528421 and we will come and collect it.

We deliver to mainland Uk destinations starting from £9.99+VAT and we collect in West Thurrock, Dartford, Grays or Stanford Le Hope as well as other Essex areas.

Be sure to check you parcel company's terms of business, often glass and second hand goods are not insured.

Happy packing!

Sarah
Chelmsford Courier and parcel delivery

Sunday 17 August 2008

London Couriers, delivering to and from London

Image via Wikipedia London can be a very time consuming exercise for a courier company! At certain times of the day it can take you 2 hours to go 10 miles! This means most courier companies like to collect ordrop their goods as early as possible.

At Arrow Light Haulage we also do a London shuttle run, for other courier companies who don't want their driver tied up in London. They give us a call, and we meet them on the M25 (well, just off of it to be precise) and transship the goods onto our vehicles, and then continue the delivery into London.

Our prices are exclusive of the congestion zone charges.

London multidrop of bulk parcels and packages is available at very favourable rates, from as little as £6.50 per drop if we can do them overnight. That's a fully personalised service, with uniformed driver.

We will also gladly offer the same services throughout Essex and Kent, for bulk parcels and packages, just send us the details and we can work out a price for you.

Some other companies may dislike delivering to London, but if it's a problem for them, then come to us, we are here to deliver customer satisfaction!

Regards

Sarah

London deliveries by courier

Saturday 16 August 2008

Student moves to / from Kent universities

Are you a student looking to move closer to Uni, in the term time?

Well, you have some options and the most popular seems to be hire a van, and do it yourself.

Alternatively you can hire a courier company, like Arrow Light Haulage to do it for you. A courier is usually paid on the distance moved and not the amount of stuff that needs moving.
The have different insurance from a removal company, so it can be a cheaper option to use a courier for your light removal, than to use a removal company.
Using a courier may not suit your circumstances, so it's best to check first and see what you get for your quote.

Arrow light Haulage are happy to collect at several destinations, so it may suit you to split the cost between two or three people, that way everyone saves money!

So, if you are looking to go back to halls of residence or rooms closer to Uni, have a look at the alternative student movers too. You may well pick up a bargain.

Regards

Sarah

Friday 15 August 2008

How to send a Bicycle by post or parcel carrier?

Got a bike to send by post? Bought one as a gift and now need to ship it to another destination in the UK? Bought one at Lakeside retail park or on Ebay? Read on, and we will help make your delivery, smoother and help ensure you item arrives in one piece.

Essex couriers delivering a bicycle

If the bike is already assembled, remove pedals and handle bars. Wrap the paintwork with bubble wrap. Wrap the pedals and handle bars with bubble wrap and attach them with tape to the frame.

If you have a box to hand, great place the bike in the box and secure it, its ready for transportation.

If you don't have a box, then wrap in recycled brown paper, and tape securely with duct tape.

You can mark the paper with Fragile, so the parcel carriers are aware its fragile.

Any questions? then don't hesitate to give us a call on 07816 528421 or send us an email
or send us an email, we are happy to help where we can

Of course, if you don't want to pack it and wrap it, we can do it as part of our premium courier services.

Regards

Kevin

Wednesday 13 August 2008

How businesses find a courier in West Thurrock

I recently conducted two pieces of market research independently of each other, about how people source their couriers. The idea being from the results, I would determine where to focus the advertising budget for the business this year.

The first piece I surveyed a cross section of the business community about how they sourced a courier. In the second piece I asked new customers how they found our services.

The results I think are quite interesting.

92% of people in the first survey said they would use the Yellow Pages to source a courier should they need one. They would ask around for recommendations second, after they had used the Yellow Pages.

In the second survey 75% of our customers found us through a search engine on the Internet. The rest came from a mixture of leaflets and recommendations. Not one mention of a telephone directory, on line or offline.

This confirms my belief that advertising should be a mix of mediums and not focus on just one specific area.

What was also interesting was the business community clearly stated they did not buy on price alone, every customer who used us in the second survey stated we had the best value for money service. The whole package that we offered was better than just getting a price, the care in delivery was exceptional.

Quoting one customer.... 'You delivered a glass display cabinet over 300 miles without breakages. Upon collection your driver dismantled it, wrapped it and then at my delivery address, carefully unwrapped it and re-assembled it. It looks perfect. No-one else would do the job as the cabinet was made of glass and not easily transportable without breakage. I really liked the way you worked on transporting the cabinet rather than telling me how hard, how difficult and it couldn't be done. I will definitely use you again. I don't know why more retailers don't use you, you certainly are a well kept secret.'

Boy, that was good to hear!

Regards

Sarah

West Thurrock and Dartford Courier and parcel deliveries

Tuesday 23 December 2008

Monday 22 December 2008

Monday 20 October 2008

Monday 13 October 2008

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