Will Anyone Pick Up on Black Friday? Confirm Carrier Pickups and Warehouse Hours in Writing for Every Peak Date
A package that misses one pickup on Thanksgiving week does not lose a day. It loses the weekend, and sometimes a lot more.
The fix is boring and free: ask, in writing, who is working and when, for every date that breaks the normal week.
The dates that break your schedule
Put these on a shared calendar now.
- Thursday, November 26: Thanksgiving.
- Friday, November 27: Black Friday. Many warehouses and carrier facilities run reduced or special schedules.
- Monday, November 30: Cyber Monday and the first heavy pickup after the long weekend.
- Thursday, December 24: Christmas Eve. Cutoffs are often earlier than normal.
- Friday, December 25: Christmas Day.
- Friday, January 1: New Year's Day.
Five things to confirm with your carrier rep
- Is a scheduled pickup running on each date, and at what time?
- If not, what is the next pickup and what is the cutoff for it?
- Will packages be scanned at pickup or only at the sorting facility?
- Who do we call if the driver does not show, and what is the escalation number?
- Are there volume limits or trailer requirements for pickups during peak?
Five things to confirm with your warehouse or 3PL
- Receiving and shipping hours for each date above.
- The order cutoff for same-day shipping on each of those dates.
- Who is on call, and how do we reach them outside business hours?
- How will they handle orders that arrive after cutoff on the last shipping day before a holiday?
- Do they send an end-of-day shipped report so we can compare it with orders received?
Send it as one email
Put the dates and questions into a single email to your rep and your 3PL contact. Ask for a reply in writing. A verbal yes in October is not a plan in November.
Save the replies in a shared folder. When something goes wrong on a holiday, you will know who promised what.
Close the loop with your promise
Compare the answers with the delivery dates you show customers. If your last guaranteed ship date assumes a pickup that is not running, move the date, not the pickup.
Check it again a week before
Carriers change holiday schedules, and warehouses lose staff. Resend a short confirmation seven days before each date, and keep a note of any changes.
Next step: ShipAid Fulfillment reports 99.5% same-day shipping and 99% 48-hour SLA completion, so holiday dates are written into a service level instead of a favor from a friendly rep.
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