"Where is my package?" How to avoid that question with better shipping notifications
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by Verpakkingdeals.nl
5 min reading time
Many customer queries are not about your product, but about the status of an order. With three standard messages, a suitable box, and some documented proof, you can prevent the majority of those emails.
A customer orders on Monday evening, you ship the package Tuesday morning, and on Wednesday at 9:30 AM, an email lands in your inbox: "Where is my package?" The annoying thing is: nothing went wrong. The shipment is proceeding exactly as planned. But your customer doesn't know that.
For small webshops, a large portion of customer inquiries are about precisely this topic. Not about the product, not about the price, but about the status of an order. Each question costs you five to ten minutes, and in busy weeks, those minutes add up. The good news: most of these messages can be prevented with a few settings that you configure once and then leave alone.
Why customers start emailing
People rarely email because they are impatient. They email because there's a gap in what they know. That gap occurs at specific moments:
After ordering. The confirmation arrives, and then it's silent. The customer doesn't know how long that silence will last.
After the shipping notification. There's a track & trace code, but it doesn't show anything yet because the package hasn't been scanned.
On the day of delivery. The status jumps back and forth, or remains stuck on "on its way to sorting center."
After a failed delivery. The package is with a neighbor or a pickup point, and that wasn't clearly communicated.
Each of these moments is a place where one sentence from you can save an email. Not an elaborate explanation — one sentence with an expectation in it.
Three messages that save the most work
You don't need ten emails. Three moments cover most of it.
1. The confirmation with a delivery timeframe. In your order confirmation, don't just state what was ordered, but also when you expect to ship it. "We usually pack your order within one business day" is enough. If you ship on fixed days, say so: "We ship packages on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays."
2. The shipping notification with a warning about the code. The biggest source of confusion is a track & trace code that doesn't show any information yet. Add one sentence: "It may take a few hours for your code to show data — the code only works after the package has been scanned by the carrier."
3. A message for deviations. If something doesn't go according to plan — an item that turns out to be out of stock, an extra day due to busyness — a short message before the customer notices is always cheaper than an explanation afterward.
What the box itself communicates
Shipping notifications are text, but the package itself also tells a story. A dent in the corner, tape coming loose, or a box that's far too large for its contents raise questions that you then have to answer by email.
A few practical choices that reduce this:
Choose a box that fits the contents. For example, a cardboard shipping box of 15x15x15 cm (€1.99) is handy for compact orders; larger boxes require more void fill and are more likely to arrive dented.
A small portion of shipments genuinely go wrong. The discussion then usually revolves around two questions: was the package sent complete, and was it opened in transit? Both questions are difficult to answer afterward if you haven't recorded anything.
What helps:
Photograph questionable cases. Briefly photograph expensive or fragile orders in the open box, just before sealing. One photo per order, stored with the order number.
Note the weight. If a customer says something is missing, the shipping weight is an objective point of reference.
Seal what you want to be able to prove. With VOID security seals (60 pieces) for €9.95, you can see from the sticker if someone has tampered with it. That significantly shortens a conversation with the carrier or customer.
Also record when you handed over a package. A proof of delivery or scan receipt is the only hard evidence that the shipment has actually left the premises.
What to put on your shipping page — and what in the email
A common mistake is putting everything in one place. Your shipping page should contain things someone wants to know before ordering: costs, average delivery time, which carrier, what you do if something is out of stock. Your messages should contain things that only concern that specific order: when it was packed, which code is associated with it, what the customer can do if the code still shows nothing after a day.
Keep the tone sober. Don't promise a delivery day you can't control; do promise what you yourself will do. "We're shipping today" is something you can fulfill. "Tomorrow at home" is not.
Half an hour of work, peace for the rest of the year
Set up the three messages correctly once, ensure your packaging doesn't raise extra questions, and record evidence in doubtful cases. Especially in the busy weeks leading up to the holidays, you'll immediately notice the difference: fewer emails per hundred orders, and the emails you do receive are about real problems instead of uncertainty.
Do you want to adjust your shipping setup accordingly? Look at Packaging & Shipping for boxes and materials, at Letterbox Packaging for shipments delivered without the recipient having to be home, at Tape for rolls and dispensers, and at Bulk Packaging for Webshops if you're buying larger quantities at once. Unsure which box size or bundle suits your orders? Email your question to info@verpakkingdeals.nl — and we'll help you based on what you're sending.
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