It is important to ensure items are delivered on time. We understand that things come up from time to time, which is why Late Rates are counted as a percentage of the total number of deliveries.
Simply put, the more items you deliver (on time), the less impact a handful of late deliveries will have.
1. What time period is used for Late Rate?
We only take into account the current quarter, so you don't have to worry that your late % will be affected by late deliveries from the previous quarter.
2. How is Late Rate determined?
A delivery is considered late if it's delivered after the 'Deliver By' time.
However, if the delivery is late for reasons beyond your control, including longer wait times/hand overtimes at stores or you accepted a delivery that is already running late, those deliveries don't count towards your Late Rate. For example, all DropPoint deliveries are excluded from Late Rate because of their long-distance/short timeframe.
3. I had to wait a long time at the pick-up location and now the delivery is late, does this count towards my Late Rate?
This depends on how long you had to wait, versus how late you were.
Case 1: Not Late
You've accepted a delivery that's ready for pick-up at 10AM, Delivery By 11AM.
You arrive at the pick-up at 10AM, but the items aren't ready. Only at 10:30AM you get the items from the store staff. This causes you to be late and deliver the items at 11:20AM.
Does this count as late? No, this does not count as late. Your wait time (30 minutes) was longer than your 'late time' (20 minutes). Late time - wait time = 20 - 30 = -10 min to spare
Case 2: Late
You've accepted a delivery that's ready for pick-up at 10 AM with delivery By 11AM.
You arrive at the pick-up at 10 AM, but the items aren't ready. Only at 10:15 AM do you get the items from the store staff. You deliver the items at 11:30 AM.
Does this count as late? Yes, this count as 'late'. The reason for this is that your wait time (15 minutes) was shorter than your 'late time'. Or late time - wait time = 30 - 15 = 15 min late.
4. I accepted a delivery that was already running late and cannot be delivered on time. Does this count towards my late %?
This depends on how late you delivered the job.
Case 1: Not Late
It is 10:45AM. You accept a delivery where the app shows you that the Pickup Ready time is 10 AM and the Delivery By Time is 11 AM.
You already know you will never be able to complete this on time, but you do your best and deliver the items at 11:20 AM.
Does this count towards your late? NO, this doesn't count as "late": The 'assignment time' (45 min) was longer than the 'late time'. (20 min). Or late time - assignment time = 20 - 45 = -25 min to spare
Case 2: Late
It is 10:15. You accept a delivery where the app shows you that the Pickup Ready time is 10AM and the Delivery By time is 11 AM.
You already know you will never able to complete this on time, but you do your best and deliver the items at 11:30 AM.
Does this count towards your late? YES, this count as "late": The 'assignment time' (15 min) was shorter than the 'late time'. (30 min). Or late time - assignment time = 30- 12 = 15 min late
5. What if I'm late because I have 2 deliveries in my bucket going into opposite directions?
This counts as late, because it's your responsibility when accepting a delivery, to assess if you can complete it before the Delivery By Time.
If you see a delivery going in the complete opposite direction you're currently going, you might want to wait for a delivery request that fits better into your route and general direction.
6. I accept a 1-hour DropPoint delivery with a distance of 75KM and a duration of 1 hour and 15 min. I will never be able to complete this in time. Does it count towards late?
All DropPoint deliveries are excluded from the late rate % for this reason.
7. Are returns and redeliveries counted towards my Late Rate?
Yes, as long as they are delivered after the Delivery By time. Returns and re-deliveries are booked under the same delivery proposition and will have their own "Delivery By" time stated on the delivery details.
8. I am also a rideshare app (Uber or Didi) driver and I delivered a Sherpa delivery late because I first had to complete a rideshare trip. Does this count towards late?
Yes this counts towards late.
If you see a delivery available on the Sherpa app, you are free to accept it, provided you can complete the delivery before it's due time and have the right tools to complete the delivery. Note, Sherpas do not get penalised for not accepting deliveries.
If you do choose to accept a Sherpa delivery, it is your responsibility to deliver an item in a sound, safe and timely manner.
If you see a delivery available on the Sherpa app, you are free to accept it, provided you can complete the delivery before it's due time and have the right tools to complete the delivery. Note, Sherpas do not get penalised for not accepting deliveries.
If you do choose to accept a Sherpa delivery, it is your responsibility to deliver an item in a sound, safe and timely manner.
9. I have a question about my Late Delivery Rate. Who do I contact?
Our Sherpa support team is able to assist you with all questions. If you have a detailed question, we recommend reaching out over chat or phone call, as it might take a little investigation time of our team to provide you with an answer
10. How about delays because of traffic?
All Sherpa deliveries take "normal" traffic delays already into account and can still be completed before the Delivery By Time if you're experiencing some traffic delays.
However late deliveries caused by severe traffic delays such as road closures, protests, flooding, hail, bush fires or severe traffic accidents and car crashes can be exempted. You will need to reach out to Sherpa with evidence of the extreme traffic event with this exception request.
11. Sherpa Support asks me if I'm interested in doing delivery that's already an hour late. I'm told that it won't count towards my Late Rate. I deliver it 4 hours late and I see that this affects my Late Rate. Why is that?
Sherpa looks at Late Deliveries if the "late-time" was relative to the "delay time" (delay time can be wait times, long assignment times, a combination of both etc).
If your "late time" is well over your "delay time", it means you made the delivery even later than it already was going to be. In the example above 4 hours "late time" is way higher that the initial 1 hour "delay time".
As a rule of thumb, if a job is an hour late, you can be an hour late without it counting towards your late rate. Anything above that will count towards your delivery late