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Common Issues with Customer Notifications

Troubleshoot common problems you may have with Customer Notifications.

Suzanne Ma avatar
Written by Suzanne Ma
Updated over 2 weeks ago

Before we begin, ensure you've upgraded to the Professional + plan to use Customer Notifications. Go to My Account and see your subscription there.

The following are some common issues our users experience with email and SMS customer notifications, their possible causes, and how to troubleshoot them:

  1. Customers aren't receiving any notifications

  2. Customers aren't receiving "Out for Delievery" or "After Delivery" notifications

  3. Customers aren't receiving customized time windows or delivery dates

1. Customers Aren't Receiving Any Notifications

Potential Cause A - Email Templates are Disabled

By default, customer notification templates are turned off.

Solution A - Turn On All Email Templates

Turn on your customer notification templates by clicking the Customer Notifications icon in the left-hand menu and navigating to the Notification Templates tab. Make sure to toggle all the switches so they read "On".

Potential Cause B - Stops are Missing Customer Email/Phone

The stops may be missing customers' emails or phone numbers, or the emails/phone numbers may be invalid.

Solution B - Add Customers’ Contact Info to Their Stops

Check your customer information in each stop to see if the email or phone number (depending on your notification type) is filled out. You can do this under the "Stops" tab or by clicking the stop in the timeline.

If you batch import customers in a spreadsheet, enter their contact information in the spreadsheet. If you want to keep contact information for recurring customers, consider saving Customer Profiles.

If a phone number or email is invalid, the stop will have a warning message saying the email or phone number is invalid. In this case, go in and edit the email or phone number. Our most common cause of invalid emails is typos, and our most common cause of invalid phone numbers is formatting (such as a missing or incorrect country code)

2. Customers Aren't Receiving "Out for Delivery" or "After Delivery" Notifications

Potential Cause - Drivers aren't Confirming Stops are Complete/Skipped using the Mobile App for Drivers

If your customers aren’t receiving Out for Deliver or After Delivery notifications, but are receiving other notifications like Planned ETA, then the issue may be that your drivers are not using the Driver App to update delivery statuses. Out for Delivery and After Delivery notifications are triggered every time a driver confirms a delivery as complete or skipped.

Sometimes, drivers may do update delivery statuses in batches at the end of the day, which can also cause the notifications to misbehave.

Solution - Make Sure Drivers Mark Stops Complete/Skipped in the Driver App

The notifications are only triggered by the "Confirm Completion" button and the "Skip This Stop" buttons. See what these buttons look like here.

To see if your drivers are updating the Driver App, you can check the timeline, or the in-app alerts by clicking the ‘bell’ icon in the top right-hand corner. You will see all the activity that has recently happened in your Routific account, including driver delivery updates.

3. Customers Aren't Receiving Customized Time Windows or Delivery Dates

Potential Cause - Customization {Tags} are Missing from the Notification Templates

If your customers are receiving notifications that don’t include customized delivery times or dates, then this is because you have removed the required {tag} that was included in the original Customer Notification copy.

Solution - Make Sure You've Included {Tags} in Your Notification Templates

Add the required {tag} to your notification template and your customers will receive customized notifications.

You can check what {tags} are available for each template by clicking "Add Tag" in each template. Here is a summary of the tags available for each type of template:

i. Planned Delivery Tags (Example: Your delivery is planned between {eta_window} on {date}.)

  • {eta_window}

  • {date}

ii. Out for Delivery Tags (Example: The driver will arrive within {minutes_away} minutes.)

  • {minutes_away}

iii. After Delivery Tags (Example: Good news! Your delivery was completed today at {completed_time}.)

  • {completed_time}

  • Add email to customer profile

If none of the 3 problems or solutions apply to you, and your customers still aren’t receiving their notifications, let us know at support@routific.com.

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