After-Hours Guide
After-Hours Call Handling Guide for Couriers
Managing after-hours calls as a courier can mean the difference between landing a $150 emergency medical run or losing it to a faster competitor. This guide helps you set up a system that captures every high-value late-night lead without sacrificing your sleep or safety on the road.
Defining Emergency vs. Routine Calls
In the courier world, not every call at 9:00 PM requires you to jump in your van. You need a triage system to separate a 'STAT' medical delivery or an urgent legal filing from a simple request for a quote for next Tuesday. Emergency calls usually involve life-saving medical specimens, 'line-down' manufacturing parts that cost a factory thousands per hour, or court-mandated filings with midnight deadlines. These jobs often pay $100 or more because of the urgency. Routine calls are typically business-to-business requests for scheduled routes or standard $10-$30 local deliveries. By identifying these early, you can prioritize the high-paying 'hot shot' runs and let the routine ones wait until morning business hours.
Key takeaway: Always prioritize STAT medical or line-down industrial calls as they carry the highest margins and urgency.
Communicating After-Hours Pricing
When a customer calls after 6:00 PM, they expect to pay a premium for your availability. A standard practice is to apply a 50% to 100% surcharge on your base delivery rate for after-hours or weekend work. If your standard local delivery is $40, an after-hours run should be at least $60 to $80. You must communicate this clearly during the initial call or through your automated greeting. This prevents 'sticker shock' when you send the invoice and ensures you are fairly compensated for the inconvenience of night driving. Most emergency clients, like hospitals or law firms, already have a budget for these surcharges and will not blink at a higher price if you can guarantee immediate pickup.
