As a courier company, we deliver some unusual things but mostly we deliver in confidence.
What do we mean by that? We mean unless we get the customers permission to discuss what we have delivered for them, then we won't mention it. In the courier world there has been some discussion around a company that delivered an item to a celeb via the BBC.
Nice publicity? perhaps for the courier but what about you, the client? When we deliver your items, we don't think about whether or not this could make the news, we are concerned with getting the item to your customers as fast and safe as possible. We do not put our drivers in jeopardy by adverting high value and famous clients. That's just not cricket!
In the past we have delivered all sorts of things from a varying range of values whilst our clients can be reassured that unless they say so, we won't be telling anyone. Next time you book your parcel, courier or messenger services ask them about their confidentiality agreement.
There are two ways of moving your outbuilding, erected or dismantled. An erected building will be quicker and easier to move, but would need specialist transport. It would need to be moved on a flat-bedded vehicle with HIAB facility.
Apart from cost, you would need to take into consideration two other factors 1. Would the building survive by being lifted in one piece 2. Is your Shed, Gazebo or Summerhouse close enough for vehicle access?
If the answer is no, to either of the above then it’s not possible to transport your outbuilding in one piece. It needs to be dismantled.
When dismantling make sure you have at least one helper, make sure you have all the correct tools before you start. It’s also advisable to have a box or plastic bags to keep all your nuts and bolts etc safe in one place.
Under normal circumstances you would start with the roof and work your way down.
If you cannot do this, we can organise assistance as part of our premium services.
Once dismantled ensure all doors, widows and air vents are secured. A good courier company (like us ) will make sure all glass is covered to reduce the chances of breakage in transit. Remember glass isn’t covered by many insurers.
One last thing to consider, when booking your courier service make sure you have the measurements, and the dimensions of the largest parts.
To book the wrong size vehicle can cause all sorts of problems, too big and it’s going to be expensive and too small, well it’s not going to be delivered in one piece….
We are happy to advice and give you a no obligation quote call me on 07816 528421 or email me.
Press Release: Arrow Light Haulage Subject: Publications of three e-books to help freelance couriers, hauliers and the transport industry. Word count - 880
Credit Crunch - Learning lessons from history
In the last recession many families substituted the main income by becoming taxi drivers. Now the
world has moved on but the problem is the same.
With the increase in household bills, a rise in mortgages payments and the explosion in the price of
petrol, virtually every family is starting to feel the pain of the credit crunch. At the same time,
because most people are cutting back, many income streams, maybe even the job of the main
bread- winner, is becoming less secure.
It is no surprise then that many families are seeking new ways to balance the books. After a while
you realise you can only cut so much out of the budget, before you have to look for new ways to
increase the amount of money coming in.
Here is where the history lesson comes in - the taxi driver can become the courier in today’s
market of home delivery, Internet services and house moves. No “knowledge” is required as in
London black cabs, no HGV or PSV licence needed. How difficult can that be?
Kevin and Sarah Arrow have got together with Linda Mattacks to produce a series of three
E-Books for would be couriers. Book 1 tells you how to start up, book 2 shows you how to grow
your business and book 3 is all about you and your brand image.
Book 1 is written by Kevin Arrow and plots the course for anyone wanting a career in this fast
growing profession. Based on sound economics, life experiences and a practical 'know how' this
book is a “How to go about it” for any driver who wants to get in to the courier business.
He puts his experience on the line and lays it out for you. Since starting out working for a multi
national courier company in the mid 90s, and a life long fan of every thing green, he now owns and
runs Arrow Light Haulage, one the few green courier services in the country.
The first book in this series drives home best practice, acceptable behaviour, and time saving tools
to make you; your van and that all-important parcel arrive at your destination in one piece. It
includes everything you ever wanted to know about obscure time saving and fuel efficiencies; the
best sat navigation for the job. It tells you how to work with your client, the best web sit es to get
freelance work and even how to set up your business, what is required to open a business bank
account and how the family can support you whilst you are on the road.
Based in Essex, Arrow does everything a courier company should do. It uses green fuel, the drivers
are encouraged to keep to the speed limits to save fuel, and the clients are enticed with
carbon-offset proposals.
So what does book 2 do then? Whether we have been in business for generations or are first
starting out, we all have one thing in common.
It doesn’t matter what you sell or how you make your money, this problem is as old as the oldest
profession in the world. We need more customers.
Book 2 tells you how to quickly establish yourself and grow your business. You could provide one of
the best courier services in the country but that doesn’t help if it’s a well-kept secret. And you’re
unlikely to have, or want to spend, a lot of money promoting your business when it’s just starting out.
As in book 1, the Arrows have enlisted people who run their own business practicing what they
preach and Linda Mattacks of CoZo is no exception. Linda runs a company that specialises in
helping owners of small businesses to develop their own skills to do just that:
With over 25 years’ experience in sales training, market research and direct marketing, Linda has
produced a “How to win, keep and grow customers” E-book that’s equally of use to courier start
ups, young companies and established firms alike. It explains how you can not only survive but also
thrive in a tough market – without overtly selling.
Book 2 shows you how to get yourself and your company known for all the right reasons to the right
people - those who could become your customers and those who could introduce customers to you.
And keep your customers once they ‘come on board’.
When you finally close books 1 and 2 and read through the notes you made, you realise that unlike
most self help books, there is important information on every page including how to avoid known
hazards and take advantage of profitable opportunities.
Forget the rude, aggressive “man in the rusty white van” that stamps all over the road. With these
two books you’re moving into a completely different league.
And the best bit – Like any trilogy you have to wait for book three, which is all about you and how to
live your business. It’s about personal brand image.
In summary Book 1 is about starting a courier business. Book 2 is shows you how to grow your
business and Book 3 is all about you.
These books are not books of dreams. They have been written from the experiences of LUCK –
Labouring Under Correct Knowledge.
Credits Kevin and Sarah Arrow – Arrowlighthaulage.co.uk. 01375 643 897 Linda Mattacks – Sellingforbusiness.co.uk 020 7209 1284 David Edwards – Bigriverlife.com
Doll's houses can be great collectors items and the right ones can have a very high value.
Depending on how well they are made depends on whether they will travel well in the post.
Some are made of ply wood which can be very flexible, so careful packing is needed to prevent splits and breakages in the wood. If the item can be flat packed, then do so for transporting. Then wrap the sides individually in bubble wrap, this is so they don't scrape against each other in transit.
If the item cannot be flatpacked, then you need to look at packaging it in a large enough box to protect it, but not so large it takes you over the volumetric weight that it's safe for one person to carry!
Wrap the interior and furniture items separately where possible.
Antique Doll's Houses cannot be flat packed and would need very secure packing indeed to get it to arrive in one piece. Again in this instance I would recommend a dedicated courier van to complete the delivery.
The item can be protected with soft felt blankets and strapped securely to prevent damage in transit.
If you have a Doll's has that you are selling on Ebay or through a specialist auction, consider your transportation methods carefully.
You are most welcome to call or email on 07816 528421 and we can advise you how to pack, safely and securely.
Image via WikipediaBut at Arrow Light Haulage, we love it.
Ugly freight (sometimes called non-compatible) means your freight is not suitable to be delivered in a standard pallet or parcel network.
It could be because it’s too late, too awkward, too bulky, too precious, too urgent, too fragile, or even two man. ;-) .
It could might some assembly or installation on delivery. We are happy to do that.
As our customer you may like us to break a pallet for you, and re-wrap into smaller individual consignments then dispatch through our parcel network (we have had 100% success rate this year). We are happy to do that for our customers.
You may like us to store it and then deliver it at a later date. You've guessed it, we are happy to do that too.
If it’s a problem for pallet networks and other couriers, it’s no hassle for us.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and your ugly freight is beautiful to us.
Arrow Light Haulage is a professional Ashford, Tonbridge & Sevenoaks courier and delivery company. We collect and deliver time critical goods and deliver them anywhere in the UK. We are part the UKs biggest transport network, so even though we are based close to West Thurrock, Essex we have the resources to collect from anywhere within 60 minutes or 30 minutes (premium service).
Our drivers are polite and well trained, they know your reputation is in their hands. We do the job right the first time, so the need for re-deliveries at your expense comes with using a cowboy not a professional courier. You get what you pay for, next time you get a cheap quote for a courier you need to ask why its so cheap...do they pay their drivers at the least minimum wage? Are they insured? Do they have the correct equipment to complete your delivery? Are their drivers helpful, clean and polite? Quite often you won't find out until something has gone wrong and then its too late.
" I thought I would go cheaper after all it was only delivering clothes to a deadline, how hard could that be? I went with another courier and in a month I was billed £30,000 in fines from missed deadlines and port fines. I learned my lesson, professional couriers make the difference and are worth every penny and are not that much more expensive..." Paul - Lightning Despatch
"It got there on time with ArrowLight Haulage, for the first time in months we don't have customers complaining about late deliveries or spillages and our equipment is still in perfect condition" Brenda, LCS
We also collect and deliver for private customers. Items such as rare guitars bought from Ebay, the new owner didn't want to entrust it to a parcel company, he didn't want to take the chance it would be broken in the warehouse or in-transit.
We have even offered the government the use of our services, they certainly wouldn't lose valuable data when they used our services. :-)
Our parcel and delivery services for packages up to 15kgs is just £9.99 plus Vat for our customers, thats 5kg more than Interlink or DHL give you! There is no fuel surcharge to take you by surprise, no over weight or late collection fines, our prices are static.
Parcel deliveries collected in Essex, Kent or East London can be delivered throughout the UK, certain parts of Scotland are exempted but can be covered by our Express Delivery Services.
If its just Essex to Essex, we can do your parcels overnight for £7.99 plus Vat up to 15kgs, again more than the other local parcel companies offer. Again no Fuel surcharges, no hidden extras, just one flat rate.
We are part the UKs biggest transport network, so even though we are based in Stanford Le Hope, Essex we have the resources to collect from anywhere within 60 minutes or 30 minutes (premium service). Our drivers are polite and well trained, they know your reputation is in their hands. We do the job right the first time, so the need for re-deliveries at your expense comes with using a cowboy not a professional courier. You get what you pay for, next time you get a cheap quote for a courier you need to ask why its so cheap... do they pay their drivers at the least minimum wage? Are they insured? Do they have the correct equipment to complete your delivery? Are their drivers helpful, clean and polite?
Quite often you won't find out until something has gone wrong and then its too late.
" I thought I would go cheaper after all it was only delivering clothes to a deadline, how hard could that be? I went with another courier and in a month I was billed £30,000 in fines from missed deadlines and port fines. I learned my lesson, professional couriers make the difference and are worth every penny and are not that much more expensive..." Paul - Lightning Despatch
"It got there on time with ArrowLight Haulage, for the first time in months we don't have customers complaining about late deliveries or spillages and our equipment is still in perfect condition" Brenda, LCS
We also collect and deliver for ebay sellers and customers too. Items such as rare guitars bought from Ebay, the new owner didn't want to entrust it to a parcel company, he didn't want to take the chance it would be broken in the warehouse or in-transit.
We have even offered the government the use of our services, they certainly wouldn't lose valuable data when they used our services. :-)
Our parcel and delivery services for packages up to 15kgs is just £9.99 plus Vat for our customers, thats 5kg more than Interlink or DHL give you! There is no fuel surcharge to take you by surprise, no over weight or late collection fines, our prices are static.
Parcel deliveries collected in Essex, Kent or East London can be delivered throughout the UK, certain parts of Scotland are exempted but can be covered by our Express Delivery Services.
If its just Essex to Essex, we can do your parcels overnight for £7.99 plus Vat up to 15kgs, again more than the other local parcel companies offer. Again no Fuel surcharges, no hidden extras, just one flat rate.
The Essex & Kent based courier and parcel delivery services. We have been successfully trading since 2002 :-). About us, well we love films, enjoy reading books and going to the cinema. We are passionate about our work and Kevin is part time Eco-Warrior (he is a full time courier ;-)) Sarah is a working mum, and they enjoy working together.
Welcome to the West Thurrock and Dartford courier blog
Call us for a no obligation quote on 0844 884 3331 and speak to Kevin directly. Browse our wrapping, packing and strapping tips and feel free to leave a comment - your feedback is welcome.
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) will make sure all glass is covered to reduce the chances of breakage in transit. Remember glass isn’t covered by many insurers.
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