How to confirm cash on delivery orders with a call before the courier leaves
Sado AI team · · 5 min read
In short
To confirm a cash on delivery order, call the customer soon after the order arrives, ideally within an hour. Check six things: that they placed it, the item and variant, the total with delivery, the address and landmark, the delivery day, and how they will pay. Confirmed orders go to the courier, unanswered ones get another try, cancelled ones stay in the warehouse. Fewer refusals at the door, fewer empty trips. An AI operator can make these calls in Uzbek and Russian.
Why cash on delivery orders get refused at the door
With cash on delivery the customer risks nothing, so they order quickly and without much thought. Later they find it cheaper elsewhere, typed the wrong address, aren’t home when the courier comes, or see a bigger total than expected because they didn’t know the delivery price. Sometimes someone else placed the order.
Each refusal costs the shop the courier’s time, the delivery fee, and stock that can’t be sold while it travels back. A confirmation call uncovers most of these cases before the courier sets off.
What to check in a confirmation call
The call takes a minute or two:
- Check this person placed the order: “Assalomu alaykum, this is Anor Market. You ordered a meat grinder on our website. May we confirm it?”
- Name the item, its colour or model and the quantity. Any mix-up comes out here.
- Say the total including delivery: “725,000 so‘m in all, delivery included.” Let them hear the amount on the phone, not at the door.
- Check the address and a landmark, and ask which number the courier should call.
- Agree the delivery day and time window. If they won’t be home that day, offer another.
- Confirm payment: cash or card to the courier. For cash, warn that the courier may not have change.
What happens after the call
| Outcome | Next step |
|---|---|
| Confirmed | The order goes to the courier or delivery service. |
| Changed address, day or colour | The order card is corrected, then shipped. |
| No answer | Try again in 1–2 hours, then the next morning. If three tries fail, the shop’s rule decides whether to ship. |
| Cancelled | Ask why, say thank you, the item stays in stock. |
| “I never ordered this” | Cancel the order and flag the number. |
Sample: the customer hears the total and moves the day
Sado: Assalomu alaykum, this is Malika from Anor Market. You ordered a meat grinder on our website. May we confirm it?
Caller: Yes, I did. When will you bring it?
Sado: Tomorrow, between ten and six. 725,000 so‘m in all: 690,000 for the item, 35,000 for delivery.
Caller: Delivery costs extra? And I’m out tomorrow. Could you come on Saturday?
Sado: Yes, we’ll bring it on Saturday. The address is Yunusabad, block 4, building 12, right?
Caller: Right. I’ll pay the courier in cash.
Sado: Done, it’s booked for Saturday. The courier will call before setting off. Thank you!
The customer heard the total on the phone and chose the day. Had that come up at the door, the order might have gone back. A recorded “press 1 to confirm” call couldn’t have moved the day: autodialer vs AI operator.
What to measure
The key number is the refusal rate: orders refused at the door ÷ cash on delivery orders shipped. For example, 400 orders shipped in a month and 60 came back: 60 ÷ 400 = 15%. Compare three or four weeks before confirmation calls with the same period after. These numbers are only an example.
Also track how many orders were confirmed, changed and cancelled, and why. If one reason keeps coming up (say, “delivery is expensive”), state it on the website up front.
Handing confirmations to an AI operator
Confirming hundreds of orders a day by hand takes a dedicated person. With Sado, an AI operator for online stores calls the customer as soon as a website order arrives. Yesterday’s orders can go in as an Excel file in the portal’s Auto-calls section, or your software sends them by API: AI outbound calls.
The operator, Malika or Shohruh, talks with the customer live in Uzbek or Russian, gives the total from the shop’s data, moves the day and records the outcome in fields: confirmed, changed or cancelled. Each call’s recording and transcript are in the portal and in Bitrix24. Our team connects BILLZ or MoySklad. Try it live or call 78 778 01 23.
Questions
Should every cash on delivery order be confirmed?
For new customers and expensive items, yes. For regulars you set the rule, for example: customers who have accepted three orders only hear the delivery day.
Should we ship if the customer doesn’t answer?
That’s the shop’s rule. For example: after two or three tries with no answer, the order isn’t shipped and the customer gets a message. Shipping an expensive item unconfirmed is risky.
How much does a confirmation call cost?
Sado charges only for talked minutes: 800 so‘m a minute, no monthly fee. For example, 100 calls a day at 1.5 minutes each: 150 × 800 = 120,000 so‘m. Unanswered numbers cost nothing.