Uber vs Traditional Courier Services

It’s become a common debate amongst the commercial industry in recent years – do you use a traditional, professional courier service or bend to the will of technology and follow the app based services?

With the rise of the smartphone and their ever expanding range of apps, it was only a matter of time before apps integrated themselves into the courier world. In October last year, app based transportation company, Uber, took the step from allowing their customers to track their taxi’s via their apps, to delivering products via their app based courier service.

Is App Based Courier Services Better Than a Professional Courier?

Many people will have conflicting opinions on this. Some will jump at the idea of utilising technology for a so called ‘revolutionised’ courier industry. While it’s no lie that app based courier services have changed the way customers and businesses view and use courier services, it doesn’t mean that the service received holds the same professionalism and quality as a traditional, professional courier service.

If we take a look at Uber’s courier service, for instance, the company hinted that their current drivers may end up both delivering packages and picking up passengers at the same time. At the moment the drivers either pick up passengers or deliver packages. The expansion of their company has opened up this possibility, a possibility we can’t help but feel will severely damage their ability to deliver the same focused, quality service traditional courier services provide.

Another down side to app based courier service is their inability to give an accurate estimation of arrival time. Taking a look at the app based giant again, we can see Uber’s arrival estimation is ‘almost always’ incorrect. This, as the company boss Travis Kalanick explains, is due to the app matching customers to cars before transportation has been requested. This means that customers are sometimes shown arrival times for vehicles further away from them than the vehicle they actually receive and vice versa.

When customers are in a rush, or if they need time to collect their belongings, the last thing they need is uncertainty of their courier’s time of arrival. Professional courier services, however, don’t have this problem and therefore are a more reliable option for many customers.

How Has App Based Courier Service Affected the Courier Industry?

Apps have the amazing ability of allowing a business to rapidly expand – especially in today’s technological society. Uber, for instance, have claimed that, in the future, they wish for ‘everyday motorists to become Uber drivers’. Though this has great potential many people going about their daily business may find appealing, it doesn’t mean that the same quick, reliable service will be provided to customers from untrained courier drivers.

This is where professional, specialist courier services shine. Focusing on the care of delivery for their customers (instead of having a hand in several different aspects of the business) allows professional couriers to provide their customers with a quality service that really is second to none. While integrating app technology into the service provides many possibilities for business expansion, it doesn’t guarantee that expansion won’t have a negative effect on the quality of service.

If you want to carry on giving your customers a personal, quality service they can rely on, it’s important that you make sure your fleet is well insured. Providing courier van insurance to professional couriers is our speciality, so, for more information on how we can keep your fleet protected, contact us today on 0333 200 1246.

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