If you’re selling gift baskets  as a home-based business, a vital part of your customer service is your shipping. Even though you work from home, you can have a top-notch shipping department if you plan ahead and take these steps:

1.Make it easy for your customers to order on your website or by phone with an order form that captures all the information you need, especially the customer’s email and phone number.

2. Verify these addresses before your ship. If the address is incorrect the package may return to you or the carrier may charge you a fee for correcting it for you.

3. Become familiar with the shipping rates and deadlines of all major carriers. They are typically based on zone, weight and dimensions of your package and the speed with which you want it delivered.

4. Notify your customer when you receive the order and tell them when it will ship. Then ship in a timely manner.

5. If you use a service such as PayPal, they will collect the credit card information and payment for you (even checks) and enable you to generate a shipping label and packing slip.

6. If you collect payments via another payment system, put your customers at ease by having a secure system in place with its logo prominently displayed.

7. Arrange for packages to be picked up if you have enough frequency. This will save your time and energy for processing orders.

8. Track packages to ensure they arrive on time. Sometimes nervous customers will call to ask if their packages have arrived if they haven’t heard from the recipient.

When your customers place an order they expect shipping to move flawlessly whether you have a home based business or not. Don’t disappoint them.

To ensure that you do a superb job of packing your gift basket, check back for tomorrow’s post,  Pack a Peck of Pickled Peppers.