💬 How Slerp Supports Your Delivery Customers? 

Slerp provides live end‑customer support for Dispatch Delivery Orders on your online ordering channels. 

1. Scope of Slerp End‑Customer Support

We currently support end‑customers for orders delivered via Slerp Dispatch only.

For these orders:

• A live chat widget is available for customers on the order confirmation page (and progressively on tracking links and app pages).
• Slerp agents can view order and delivery status, contact courier support, and in some cases contact your store.

2. Who Does What?

Your role:

• Prepare the order correctly and on time.
• Package, label, and comply with all food safety and licensing rules.
• Handle:
  • Food quality complaints (e.g. taste, doneness, recipe).
  • Menu / product availability questions.
  • Confirm resolutions where the issue is clearly store‑side (e.g. missing prepared items, wrong items sent).

Slerp’s role:

• Coordinate Dispatch deliveries with our courier partners.
• Provide end‑customer support for:
  • Delivery status (“where is my order”).
  • Courier issues (severe delays, non‑delivery, damaged in transit).
  • Simple order changes (e.g. move fulfilment time, address changes where feasible).
• Offer compensation within an agreed framework (vouchers and, in some cases, refunds).
• Keep you informed when we make changes or when we’re asking you to step in.

3. How We Handle Delivery Issues

3.1 Pending or Delayed Orders

If an order has not been delivered by the expected time:

• We check the scheduled time slot or ASAP delivery window.
• We do not treat changing courier ETAs alone as lateness; lateness is measured against:
  • The scheduled slot (for scheduled orders), or
  • A typical 30–45 minute window for ASAP orders (depending on prep times).

Where needed, we:

• Contact the courier to check status or re‑route drivers.
• Contact your store using the phone number or special contact details you’ve provided.

If a scheduled order is clearly not fulfilled after the time slot has passed (or an ASAP order is significantly beyond the usual window) and the customer wants to cancel, Slerp may:

• Cancel/reject the order on your behalf.
• Inform you by email with:
  • The reason (e.g. fulfilment time passed and customer requested cancellation).
  • Any compensation we have offered.

3.2 Very Late Deliveries

Where a delivery is significantly late beyond the expected window:

• We contact courier support to understand the cause (courier vs late release from store).
• As a default, we offer vouchers to the end‑customer, for example:
  • Modest lateness: lower‑value voucher or small goodwill.
  • Severe lateness: higher‑value voucher (up to 50% of the order value in extreme cases).

Important:

• Vouchers are a goodwill gesture to protect your long‑term customer relationship; they are not a guarantee of refund under the Dispatch Terms.
• In some cases, if the delay is clearly the courier’s fault and we recover a delivery refund from them, we may also issue a partial or full cash refund to the customer. In those cases, we will inform you and clarify if the refund is covered by the courier.

4. Non‑Delivery and Customer Availability

4.1 International Phone Numbers and Customer Contact

Our courier partners may not be able to call international phone numbers reliably.

On the checkout page, customers are warned that:

• Couriers may not be able to reach them by phone if they provide a non‑local / international number.
• Customers must anticipate the driver’s arrival and monitor tracking and notifications.

Where a delivery fails or is marked as completed because:

• The customer did not answer calls or was unavailable, or
• The customer provided an international number that the courier could not call,

this is not considered a valid reason for a refund request. In such cases, we generally cannot recover funds from the courier, and any compensation is at our and your discretion.

4.2 Proof of Delivery and Non‑Delivery Claims

We always check proof of delivery (PoD) and courier logs, such as:

• Timestamps (arrival, attempts, completion/failure).
• Photos left by the rider.
• Notes like “left at door”, “handed to customer”, or call attempts.

Where PoD clearly supports successful delivery and the customer was unavailable or unreachable, we do not treat this as courier‑fault non‑delivery.

5. Severe Disruption (Weather, Road Closures, Protests)

From time to time, Dispatch operations are impacted by events outside anyone’s control, such as:

• Severe or dangerous weather (e.g. snow, storms, ice).
• Large‑scale road disruptions (e.g. major accidents, protests, road closures).
• Other events that significantly affect rider availability or travel times.

In these situations:

• Deliveries are likely to be delayed or may not be completed within the normal delivery time slot.
• We will still monitor orders, contact couriers, and try to complete deliveries wherever it is safe and possible to do so.

Under the Dispatch Terms & Conditions:

• Delivery times are estimates only and are not guaranteed.
• Slerp and its courier partners are not responsible for delays caused by such external events.
• We can try to pursue possible refunds from courier companies where there is clear fault and their policies allow it, but we do not guarantee that any refund will be approved, and we are not liable for lateness or non‑delivery arising from these issues.

Any compensation offered to customers in these scenarios will be:

• Assessed case‑by‑case.
• Often handled via vouchers rather than cash refunds, especially where couriers do not reimburse.

6. Order Changes

6.1 Change of Fulfilment Time/Date

• For many partners we can change fulfilment date/time in our system at the customer’s request.
• Where you have explicitly requested that Slerp not amend fulfilment times, we will:
  • Direct the customer to contact your store.
• Otherwise:
  • We may update the fulfilment time/date and then email you with details of the change and a copy of the chat transcript where helpful.

6.2 Change of Address or Contact Details

• If the new address is within the same delivery area and does not significantly increase cost:
  • We may update the booking and cancel/re‑book the courier as needed.
  • We will email you to confirm we have updated the delivery details.
• If the new address would materially increase delivery cost or is outside your configured area:
  • We will ask the customer to place a new order with the correct address.
  • Once the new order is placed, the original order will be cancelled and refunded.

6.3 Changes to Basket / Items

• We cannot edit the items in an order after it has been placed.
• If a customer wants to change items, we ask them to:
  • Place a new order with the correct items.
  • Once the new order is confirmed, we refund the original order.
• We will notify you where this happens, especially close to prep/dispatch time.

7. Food and Product Issues

7.1 Food Quality (Taste, Preparation, Recipe)

• Food‑quality complaints (e.g. taste, cooked level, recipe choice) are primarily your responsibility as the merchant.
• When customers raise these issues with us:
  • We collect details and contact information.
  • We refer the complaint to you (usually to a store or area manager).
  • We advise the customer that you will respond, typically within 48 hours.

7.2 Damaged Orders

We distinguish between:

1. Courier‑related damage (e.g. items spilled during transit despite reasonable packaging).
2. Packaging or store‑related issues (e.g. overfilled containers, poor packaging choices).

Where the damage is clearly courier‑related:

• We request photo evidence from the customer.
• We submit a refund claim to the courier (where supported by their policy).
• We may offer:
  • A voucher up to the value of the damaged items, or
  • A partial or full refund if the courier reimburses us.
• We will email you when we have refunded the customer and whether the courier is covering the cost.

Where the damage is clearly related to packaging or prep at store level:

• We refer the case to you for resolution (e.g. replacement, refund, or voucher at your discretion).

If the customer cannot or will not provide photo evidence:

• We cannot normally recover funds from couriers.
• We will still log and report the rider where appropriate, but compensation may be limited.

8. Missing or Wrong Items

When customers report missing or incorrect items:

• We ask for images of what was received.
• We compare:
  • The images.
  • The order contents in our system.
  • The order confirmation/receipt.

If we can reach you by phone or your nominated contact:

• We will discuss options with you (e.g. sending replacements, your preferred resolution).

If we cannot reach you but we have clear evidence:

• Slerp may:
  • Offer the customer a voucher equal to the value of the missing/wrong items, sometimes with a small extra goodwill amount.
  • This is done to preserve the customer relationship while awaiting your input.

If the customer insists on a cash refund and/or evidence is not clear:

• We will always escalate to you first and allow up to 48 hours for you to respond.
• If you do not respond within that period and the evidence strongly supports the customer’s claim:
  • Slerp may proceed to refund the value of the missing items to the customer.
  • This is treated as partner‑funded, and that portion of the order will not be settled to you.

9. Vouchers, Refunds and Who Funds What

To keep roles clear:

• Courier‑funded refunds (e.g. clear courier non‑delivery or damage):
  • Slerp will normally seek reimbursement from the courier under their policy.
  • Where we are reimbursed, we may pass that value to the end‑customer as a refund.
• Partner‑funded refunds:
  • These mainly arise where:
    • Issues are store‑side (e.g. missing prepared items, wrong items packed, food quality), or
    • You have not responded to a clear customer issue within 48 hours after escalation.
  • In these cases, Slerp may refund the customer but will not pay the refunded portion to you in settlement.
• Vouchers:
  • Are used as a flexible goodwill tool to keep customers happy.
  • Are not guaranteed by Dispatch T&Cs and do not imply liability under courier policies.
  • May be funded by Slerp or under commercial arrangements with you.

10. Update Your Preferences

If you have specific preferences on how Slerp should:

• Handle fulfilment time changes.
• Communicate with your teams.
• Apply vouchers vs refunds in specific scenarios.

Please contact your Slerp account manager or Support so we can ensure your preferences are reflected in our internal playbooks.