Ensuring everything goes smoothly

Most shipments go smoothly on CitizenShipper. Sometimes, though, disputes can arise, often due to miscommunication between the drivers and the shippers. 

Please take the time to go over the following and ensure a smooth experience for you and your customers.

Payment

Most drivers and shippers discuss payment prior to the actual booking. If you've not yet discussed this, make sure that both you and the customer are absolutely clear on the payment arrangements. Will you be paid on delivery or upfront? Do you accept credit cards or are you cash-only? What about checks? Making sure that there are no surprises decreases the odds of the transaction falling through.

Still, unforeseen circumstances might force a customer to cancel on you at the last minute. To mitigate this risk, you might want to ask for a small downpayment. This could be as much as half of your quote, or it could be a fixed amount of $100 or so. Since most customers are wary of paying strangers upfront, make sure to accept retrievable payment methods (credit cards, PayPal) instead of asking for direct and irreversible money transfers (Western Union, MoneyGram). 

We strongly recommend that these negotiations are kept on-site, using the CitizenShipper message platform, so that there'll always be a record of anything you and the shipper have agreed to. It's always a good idea to be polite and understanding of your customer's concerns, especially when requesting money upfront. Make sure they see where you're coming from and understand that you're both taking a risk. If necessary, remind them that CitizenShipper is there to mediate any dispute between you, should one arise. 

Dates

When initially listing a shipment, some customers set an approximate date of delivery, instead of specific ones.  Be sure to discuss their exact expectations on pick-up and drop-off dates. 

When placing a bid, simply check with the shipper if the delivery dates they've listed are set in stone, or simply their preferred time frame for the shipment. 

Third parties

The customer you're communicating with via the CitizenShipper platform may or may not be the person you'll be meeting at the pick-up or drop-off location. Almost always, there will be a third party involved on one side or the other.

Be sure to obtain the third party's contact information, and get in touch with them when necessary. If they're a part of the transaction, they need to be kept in the loop as well.  

What to read next

For more customer interaction advice, see our articles on driver rewards (1-min read) and talking to customers (2-min read).

For broader guidelines, see the Knowledgebase section of our Help Center.