Delivery EtiquetteBeginner

Customer Walkthrough Etiquette for Delivery Crews

How crews communicate at the door: set expectations, ask consent before acting, hold scope limits, de-escalate, and document exceptions.

Estimated time: 15 min

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  1. 1. Open with a specific agenda, not a greeting

    Say who you are, what the order includes, and what it does not. Name the room of choice, assembly, haul-away, and any hookup that is or is not in scope. Ambiguity at the door is what becomes a dispute at the POD.

  2. 2. Ask before you act, every time

    Consent is a step, not a courtesy. Ask before moving the customer's own furniture, before rolling over a rug, before photographing a room, and before using a bathroom or an outlet. If they decline, note it and work around it.

  3. 3. Narrate what you are doing and how long it takes

    Customers read silence as carelessness. Say what you are checking, what you are about to lift, and roughly how long the step will take. Narration answers most of the questions that otherwise turn into complaints.

  4. 4. Hold a scope limit without negotiating it

  5. 5. De-escalate before you defend

  6. 6. Handle exceptions by documenting, not deciding

  7. 7. Close with confirmation, not assumption

Tools

  • Work order and POD device
  • One rehearsed sentence for declining out-of-scope requests
  • Phone camera for exception photos
  • Dispatch number reachable from the doorstep

Safety tips

  • Keep the conversation in the work area — do not wander the home.
  • Never argue about damage or cause. Document it and escalate.
  • If a customer becomes threatening, or refuses to let you work safely, stop, leave, and call dispatch.
  • If a customer asks for gas, electrical, plumbing, or anchoring work that is not authorized, decline it the same way every time.