Tracking Says Delivered, Customer Says No: A 48-Hour Checklist for Your CX Team

A customer writes in: tracking says delivered, but there is no package. Most of these reports are genuine. The way you handle the first 48 hours decides whether you spend $10 or $100 on the order.

Hour 0 to 2: acknowledge and gather

Reply fast and do not ask the customer to prove anything yet. Ask for the delivery address as entered, a photo of where they expected the package, and whether anyone else receives mail at that address.

Then open the carrier tracking detail and look at the scan location and time. Note whether a delivery photo exists.

Hour 2 to 24: rule out the simple explanations

• Neighbor or wrong unit. Packages get left at a neighboring door or a different unit in a building.
• Side door or hidden spot. Drivers sometimes leave packages out of sight of the front door.
• Early scan. A package can be scanned delivered slightly before it is actually dropped off.
• Building office or mailroom. Ask the customer to check with it.

Ask the customer to check these places and tell them exactly when you will follow up. A named time beats a vague promise.

Hour 24 to 48: decide

If the package has not appeared after a day, some packages do arrive a day after the scan, so give that window a fair chance before you act. After that, treat the order as a genuine delivery failure unless something specific says otherwise.

If the customer reports theft, ask whether they filed a police report. Do not make it a condition of help, but it is useful documentation for a genuine theft.

The decision tree

1. Delivery photo shows a clear spot and the customer confirms nothing is there: open a resolution and move on.
2. No photo, scan location matches the address: allow the 24-hour wait, then resolve.
3. Scan location does not match the address: contact the carrier, and resolve for the customer while that runs.
4. Repeat reports from the same customer or address: review the order history before resolving.

What the customer should hear

Keep it short and human. Tell them you believe them, tell them what you checked, and tell them what happens next and when. The mistake to avoid is a long form that reads like an accusation.

Make the resolution automatic

Every hour spent investigating a genuine loss is cost, not value. With ShipAid Shipping Guarantee, the merchant keeps the entire resolution inside the brand's own experience, and customers get a fast outcome without a slow back-and-forth.

Use this checklist for the cases that need judgment. Let ShipAid Shipping Guarantee handle the ones that do not.