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The costs to business in this country resulting from poor service could amount to $75 billion per year, according to a 2018 article in Forbes. The article states that just two years prior, in 2016, the cost was only $62 billion – about a 22% increase. 

Poor service can result in devastating results for the customer, but also for the provider. Receiving or offering  substandard service may drive customers to the competition, resulting in defections, reduced revenue, higher costs, damage to the brand identity, and higher stress for employees.

The Implications of Poor Quality Control

Poor quality control (QC) in the delivery business inflicts supply chain pain upon customers and, ultimately, upon the consumers. When poor quality control is instilled, consumer expectations for finding a favorite brand on the store shelves, or receiving a home delivery on time become disappointments. Critical parts for a manufacturing line are delayed, resulting in slowdown or even shutdown of production, and wasted payroll dollars are to idle workers. A vital medicine is not available for the patient. Or an expected delivery of beautiful flowers for a special occasion misses the mark. These experiences hurt the company on the receiving end in both brand image and the bottom line.

We’ve compiled five of worst consequences of poor service: 

  • Defections: Poor service can cause customer defections, with the resultant loss of revenue. Expending resources to repair the ill will generated is costly. Additionally, a small business will find it challenging and costly to replace lost customers. Retaining a customer is much cheaper than acquiring a new customer. Various studies conclude that depending on the industry, closing a deal on a new customer can cost 5 to 7 times more than keeping customers.
  • Revenue loss: Businesses that rely on customer satisfaction ratings may be quickly hurt by poor service that causes their ratings to drop. This can lead to declining revenue as customers switch away from the business, as both the recipient of the poor service and the provider spend less money.  In many cases negative ratings can result in the ultimate cost – closure of the business.
  • Increased costs: Poor service disrupts normal business processes, as the company on the receiving end diverts resources to repair the damage. The result is increased costs to keep the business running.
  • Loss of brand reputation: Being on the receiving end of poor service can damage a business’s reputation and make it difficult to retain their customers and/or attract new customers. Providing poor service can ultimately damage brand loyalty for the provider. “Your brand is only as good as your reputation,” said Sir Richard Branson, entrepreneur, and founder of the Virgin Group. 
  • Increased stress levels for employees: A less obvious but potential cost may result from stressed employees becoming demoralized resulting in longer times than necessary to complete tasks or poor execution of normal processes. Employees who experience constant frustration may leave the company causing unnecessary costs for recruitment and training.

Sensitivity to price begins when the service or product is associated with poor service. A price point that is eroded because of unsatisfactory service is a cost. “Always keep in mind the old retail adage: customers remember the service a lot longer than they remember the price,” said Laura Freedman, former president of E-tailing Group.

Customer Lifetime Value

We are reminded of the story about the new employee in a grocery store who does not satisfactorily settle a customer’s complaint. When the manager of the store questioned the employee about why the complaint wasn’t handled, the employee replied, “What’s the big deal, it was only a $30 sale we lost.” The manager replied, “No, that customer will spend over $100,000 on groceries over the next twenty years, plus the bad reputation we get if the customer doesn’t recommend us.” A simple but impactful story about a customer’s lifetime value.

“What do we live for if not to make life less difficult for each other?” 

– George Eliot, Novelist 

Mary Ann Evans, known by her pen name George Eliot, was an English novelist and poet in the Victorian era. Her novel Middlemarch was published in eight installments between 1871 and 1872. A service provider’s reason for existence is to make life easier for their customers. Courier services who are consistently focused on great quality control play a vital role in saving their customers the high costs of poor service. As the novelist George Eliot insists, the true meaning of service is to make life less difficult for each other. An important concept to ponder indeed, whether in business or in life itself. 

At Crossroads Courier, we are dedicated to ensuring high quality service throughout your journey with us. If you would like to share your customer service experiences with our team, please contact us at 314-222-4000. 


Phoenix, AZ – Crossroads Courier, a leading provider of logistics and transportation solutions, has acquired small package delivery services in Phoenix, Las Vegas, and Tucson from IntelliQuick Delivery, a provider of on-demand courier and delivery services. This acquisition strengthens Crossroads Courier’s ability to provide fast and reliable same day delivery services to its customers in these key markets.  

“We are excited to welcome IntelliQuick Delivery’s customers, employees, and drivers to the Crossroads Courier family,” said Zach Bezdek, CEO of Crossroads Courier. “This acquisition expands our footprint in the Southwest and enhances our ability to deliver on our promise of fast, reliable, and cost-effective transportation solutions. We continue to deliver on our motto, We Find a Way!” 

With this acquisition, Crossroads Courier will be able to offer same day and next day delivery services to a wider range of customers in Phoenix, Las Vegas, and Tucson, including those in the healthcare, pharmaceutical, automotive, and various other industries. The company plans to integrate IntelliQuick into its existing operations over the coming months. 

About Crossroads Courier: Crossroads Courier is a leading provider of logistics and transportation solutions, offering a wide range of services including same day delivery, next day delivery, scheduled delivery, and warehousing. The company operates throughout the United States, with a focus on providing fast and reliable transportation solutions to businesses of all sizes. For more information, visit www.crossroadscourier.com.  


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“Peak performance experts say things like ‘you should focus.’ You need to eliminate the distractions. Commit to one thing and become great at that thing.”

– James Clear, author of the #1 New York Times bestseller, Atomic Habits

A bit philosophical for logistics? Perhaps. But there are thousands of words written to this effect. In Psychology Today’s, To Do Better, Focus On What You Do Well, it’s stated, “The advantages of investing in strengths are manifold. For one, we are usually pulled more strongly in the direction of our strengths, since engaging them is more intrinsically rewarding. Moreover, learning comes easier in our areas of strength. Engaging our strengths is also more likely to produce excellence.” The takeaway? Focus energy on your strengths to make the greatest impact. 

Commercial companies selling a product to customers require expertise in many disciplines to be successful. Whether research and development; design; manufacturing; quality control; marketing or other attributes are core competencies, the logistics of transporting and delivering the product need not be. When a commercial business deploys a self-operated fleet to deliver its product, this will likely drain resources from the company’s core competency strengths. 

What is Fleet Outsourcing?

Running efficient and cost-effective in-house fleets (or private fleets) requires intensive planning, oversight, data analytics, risk management, and cost containment. Counting these amongst other concerns, fleet replacement – or outsourcing the logistics and transportation of your inventory – opens the door to new efficiencies, cost-savings, and operational success. 

Reasons to Consider Fleet Outsourcing

  • Volatile fuel costs
  • Fleet maintenance and rising cost issues
  • Route planning
  • Liability for damaged goods during transit
  • Driver management
  • Courier dispatch and communications

Fleet Replacement Benefits

  • Freeing up internal resources to focus on core competencies
  • Managing the fleet is now the responsibility of professionals leveraging their core competency in logistics
  • Eliminating driver recruitment, onboarding, compliance, management, and payroll
  • Avoiding vehicle maintenance costs and replacement of aging assets
  • Increasing fleet performance and efficiency

Outsourcing delivery to a third-party fleet replacement provider like Crossroads Courier allows a company to concentrate on their business while engaging a logistics partner to handle the fleet. It’s an opportunity to channel resources into what the talent in the organization does best and foster growth. According to NTT Data’s 27th Annual Third-Party Logistics Study, Back-to-Basics, the outsourcing of domestic transportation continues to rise, at 69% this year, up 2% from the previous survey period. 

According to Coyote Logistics in their 2022 article, What is Outsourced Logistics? Everything You Need to Know About 3PLs, “In 2019, 92% of Fortune 500 companies worked with at least one 3PL, which is a significant increase from our initial tracking in 2001, when only 46% of the companies had 3PL relationships.” However, the article points out that outsourcing logistics and transportation management isn’t just for large businesses. On average, small companies continue to outsource upwards of 25% of their total supply chain needs (including fleet services) to a third-party provider. 

Entrepreneur, speaker, and author Gary Vaynerchuk is co-founder of restaurant reservation company Resy and Empathy Wines. He is currently CEO of VaynerX, a New York based communications company. He strongly advocates for operating only from your strengths and outsourcing your weaknesses.

“Whether you’re 9 or 90, stop trying to fix the things you’re bad at, and focus on the things you’re good at,” advises Vaynerchuk. 

Sound advice, regardless of the field of endeavor. Fleet outsourcing can be a key to business success. Focus on what you’re good at and leave the delivery to the experts. Contact Crossroads Courier today to learn more about outsourcing your fleet and delivery needs to our caring and talented team. 


Crossroads Courier, Inc. is an equal opportunity employer and equal opportunity provider for independent contractor positions. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, marital status, age, national origin, ancestry, physical or mental disability, pregnancy, genetic information, gender, veteran status, or any other status protected under applicable federal, state or local law.