Imagine you’re an art collector and you just won a highly coveted painting at a competitive auction. It’s extremely delicate, so getting it safely to your gallery wall is going to be tricky. Enter white-glove delivery.
The auction house directs a team of trained art handlers to pack your painting, releases the painting to a specialized art shipping company, and dispatches the same team of professional art handlers to unbox and hang your painting for you. The auction house’s customerserviceteam is responsive when you notify them that you need to change your delivery date and fastidious with tracking updates. The staff members who deliver your painting are courteous and cautious, taking meticulous care as they unload the carefully packaged artwork, carry it into your gallery, and hang it on your wall.
Does this sound like the level of service your ecommerce company might benefit from? Read on to learn more about the benefits of white-glove delivery service and how to integrate it into your small business.
What is white-glove delivery service?
White-glove service refers to a premium shipping and delivery option that ensures a high-level of care and special attention for transporting fragile and valuable goods. It often involves installation and product assembly, personalized customer service, and delivery to the customer’s desired room (instead of to the doorstep).
For example, furniture and décor brand Arhaus offers white-glove delivery service which, in addition to shipping, includes unpacking, assembly, and removal of packing materials.
What types of businesses need white-glove delivery service?
Any business can provide white-glove service as part of the customer journey, but companies that offer the service often sell high-end, bulky, or delicate goods. You might consider offering the service if you provide:
- Electronics: Companies that sell home entertainment systems and other large electronic devices often offer white-glove delivery with installation support, helping buyers assemble complicated, multipart purchases.
- Furniture: Furniture items can be cumbersome to transport, deliver, and assemble, and fine furniture and antiques can be especially fragile. White-glove service helps furniture stores get their products safely into homes, and many services offer assembly.
- Art galleries and auction houses: Artwork is especially fragile, and you can’t rely on traditional shipping methods to deliver it safely. Museums, galleries, and auction houses often rely on specialized art delivery services staffed by experts, who can both prevent damage during transport and help customers with hanging and installation.
- Medical equipment: Businesses that sell fragile and climate-sensitive medical equipment and medicines can rely on white-glove service to ensure proper transport and on-site setup for buyers, ensuring their products function as they’re intended.
- Luxury goods: Luxury brands that sell expensive clothing, accessories, and handbags may opt for white-glove delivery to add an extra level of high-end service to a luxury shopping experience.
- Builders and contractors: Builders ordering expensive custom materials like marble countertops may turn to white-glove delivery to prevent any damage in transit, and contractors like interior designers might rely on these services to ensure timely delivery and proper installation of these items for their clients.
- Gym equipment: Gym equipment like treadmills, stationary bikes, and weight racks are heavy. White-glove delivery makes the setup process easier for customers in both at-home studios and commercial gyms.
- Collectors: If a one-of-a-kind product gets damaged in transit, the seller can’t just send the customer a new one: Businesses and individuals that specialize in buying and selling rare goods and antiques may opt for specialized services to prevent any damage during transit and delivery.
- Specialty foods: Bakeries and other businesses selling specialty foods might need temperature-controlled shipping vehicles (and extra careful handling) to make sure their products arrive at their destination unharmed. These businesses might also provide trained workers to set up the food items at their destinations, ultimately providing personalized service throughout the customer journey.
What services are included in white-glove delivery service?
- Careful handling by professionals
- Thorough inspections
- Specialized packaging
- Customized shipping
- Fast and flexible delivery
- Installation and assembly
Businesses often utilize white-glove delivery services to bypass common shipping problems while customizing the shipping process to the customer and product, providing add-on support as needed. Effective white-glove delivery services can include a number of different services, such as:
Careful handling by professionals
Companies that provide white-glove services hire experts who are specially trained in the safe handling of specific types of goods, who in turn may hire different experts to oversee specific phases of the delivery process. For example, an auction house might hire art transport professionals to pack a painting in a special truck, who then subcontract art handlers to hang the painting in a customer’s home.
Thorough inspections
Since white-glove delivery services typically safeguard the transfer of costly and fragile items, merchants conduct thorough examinations during order processing to ensure the product is undamaged before it heads out for delivery.
Specialized packaging
White-glove delivery services typically combine specialized packaging options like custom-sized boxes, foam inserts, and other protective elements to ensure that the product travels to its delivery destination as safely as possible.
Customized shipping
Some products require ultra-specific conditions, like humidity control (for paintings) or refrigeration (for some medicines). A white-glove service might use special delivery vehicles to deliver these climate-sensitive items.
Fast and flexible delivery
White-glove services offer fast shipping speeds, and they’ll often accommodate the customer’s personal schedule, allowing for expedited, after-hours, and weekend delivery to meet the customer’s needs. Delivery typically includes specialized drop-offs, like leaving a package in a customer’s desired room rather than on their doorstep. Additionally, white-glove delivery services are receptive to customer feedback throughout the entire delivery process, often providing trained professionals to assist with any questions or concerns.
Installation and assembly
White-glove services often offer product installation and assembly, whether that means mounting a large flatscreen television or putting together an expensive dining room table made with rare reclaimed wood. They also take away packing materials and may even dispose of old items for an extra fee (like taking away an old piece of equipment while installing a new version).
How to offer white-glove delivery services
- Determine the parameters for your services
- Set fees and communicate them clearly
- Find the right insurance coverage
- Team up with shipping partners
- Ensure efficient scheduling and planning
If you’re interested in incorporating white-glove delivery services into your business, here’s how to get started:
1. Determine the parameters for your services
Before implementing a white-glove delivery service, decide which features of white-glove service you want to offer. Do you want to include inspection, shipping, delivery, personalized customerservice, and installation? Or would you prefer to skip installation? Select a plan that makes sense given your product, your business’s resources, and your customers.
2. Set fees and communicate them clearly
Once you’ve determined what services you’ll offer, it’s time to calculate your white-glove delivery cost. Your shipping costs might vary depending on product size, product weight, order value, and destination.
White-glove delivery can be expensive: Make sure to clearly communicate the costs on your website and promotional materials to avoid any customer sticker shock. For example, if you include add-on services like installation, make sure to explicitly state that installation comes at an additional fee.
3. Find the right insurance coverage
Handling expensive and fragile goods is inherently risky, so you’ll want to make sure you find a good shipping insurance policy to recoup losses from damage during transit.
4. Team up with shipping partners
If you’re implementing white-glove service for high-end and fragile items, you’ll likely need a specialized shipping partner that offers services like climate-controlled trucks or specialized packaging. Identify which special features you’ll need before you start comparing potential shipping partners.
5. Ensure efficient scheduling and planning
Working in tandem with your shipping partners, try to plan efficient shipping routes, which can ensure that deliveries make it to clients in a timely fashion.
White-glove service FAQ
What products require white-glove delivery service?
Products that require white-glove delivery service most often include high-end, bulky, and fragile items that might be damaged with traditional delivery methods. These include products like furniture, artwork, electronics, medical equipment, gym equipment, specialty luxury goods, and antique collector's items.
Is white-glove delivery service worth it?
White-glove delivery service might be worth it for companies that sell luxury, heavy, or fragile goods. White-glove service helps ensure safe, damage-free deliveries, resulting in a better overall customer experience that can lead to repeat purchases and customer loyalty.
What is the meaning of white-glove service?
White-glove delivery service is a premium shipping and delivery option that involves a team of trained professionals who provide an extra level of care to the transport of large, delicate, or high-value items.
