Probably through the end of the year, we ask our customers with Saturday pickups or deliveries to be prepared for some adjustments to our normal schedule and routine.
This is the result of our attempt to maintain loyalty to one of our driving team members as he recovers from a shoulder injury (which was not work related, by the way). This particular driving team member was the second person to join our driving team when we launched about three years ago. Many customers have paid him high compliments. And, we believe that we can best serve our customers and community in the long-term by being the type of business that looks out for its people to the best of our ability. That comes with some flexibility and adaptability on the part of our team as a whole. And, we ask our Saturday customers to be patient and work with us in this objective.
Only two of our five driving team members are available on the weekends. With one on leave for the aforementioned recovery from his shoulder injury, we only have one person available on Saturdays. (And we believe seeking and training someone on a temporary basis will not lead to the type of commitment to our customers and customer service we expect from our team members).
As a result, for the next several months, some pickups and deliveries on Saturdays may spill over into the late evening, potentially even after the 9:00 p.m. hour, when we have historically deferred stops until the next day to avoid disturbing customers. (We have generally always had stops competed by 9:00 p.m., with the exception of when unusual challenges arise, such as being short staffed, dealing with a flat tire, or dealing with unusual traffic patterns.)
If necessary or appropriate for safety, over the next several months, some Saturday pickups or drop offs may be carried over into Sunday.
Importantly, we will not call you to update you if things are running late based on the specific and short term situation we are explaining in this notification, as we believe calling at this hour is not appropriate. Those who have specified text or email notifications will receive those upon pickup or drop off, though.
Based on the flow we have seen, we anticipate that our Somoma County Saturday customers will continue to notice this temporary change more than our Marin County Saturday customers.
Once our team member’s shoulder has recovered or if we find someone on a temporary basis who we believe will adhere to our high standards, things will go back to normal.
If anyone accustomed to a Saturday pickup or return has flexibility, please feel free to adjust your regular schedule to a Tuesday pickup. You can do this by logging into your account, emailing us at [email protected], or calling our Customer Satisfaction Team Members by dialing (415) 858-9274 and pressing extension two. (If they do not answer while on another call and you leave a voicemail, feel free to just leave your name, address, and the direction to switch the day of the week of your pickup to Tuesday on the voicemail).
For our business customers who have Saturday returns, we know who you and we will be adapting our route to assure you receive your items in time to meet your customers’ needs.
We would also like to update everyone on information in two previous notifications, which you can reference on the notifications page on our website that preceded this message.
We had announced the addition of an additional, supplemental, member of our Customer Satisfaction Team who would be working internally to expedite follow-ups and responses. That message also explained in detail the reasoning behind how we developed our Customer Satisfaction Team approach, and the processes for training its members. Unfortunately, the person we hired proved to be unable to commit fully to the time involved. We are temporarily without someone in that specific, supplemental role. But, this week we will be advertising again and selecting and training someone as soon as possible.
Also, we had announced a plan to test an evolution of our software that would allow for more refined, dynamic text and email notifications of estimated arrival times. We can now confirm that the use of this advanced feature will not be useable for our customers who live anywhere south or west of San Rafael for the foreseeable future (based on software nuances that are far beyond the scope of this message). Meanwhile, we are asking our driving team members to begin using and testing this system for all our other customers.
Thank you for being a customer, and thank you for your referrals.
Sincerely,
The Marin Wash and Fold Team