Act 01Online sellers
Confirm every COD order before it ships
Every cash on delivery order that comes back costs you shipping both ways and keeps stock stuck in transit. Call or message each COD order from your own website before it ships, confirm the product and address, and call again the day a delivery fails. Fewer parcels return, and buyers who changed their mind cancel before you pay to ship.
Where to look first
- The midnight impulse order
- The address without a landmark
- The failed delivery attempt
- The wrong size
- The fake or test order
Act 02The pattern
Where COD orders turn into returns
Look at last month's returned parcels and the reason the courier gave. Most fall into a handful of patterns you can catch before or during delivery.
The midnight impulse order
A shopper orders on cash on delivery late at night, then forgets or changes their mind. You find out when the parcel comes back.
FixA confirmation call or WhatsApp within the hour, so a cancellation happens before you ship.
The address without a landmark
The pin code is wrong or the address is half a line. The courier tries once and marks it undeliverable.
FixAddress, landmark and pin code checked on the confirmation call and corrected in the order.
The failed delivery attempt
The customer was out, or the phone was switched off. The parcel waits a day or two, then starts its journey back.
FixA call the same day the courier marks it failed, with a new delivery date passed to the courier.
The wrong size
The customer refuses the parcel at the door because the size is wrong. You pay for both journeys.
FixSize and variant read back on the confirmation call, and an exchange offered instead of a refusal.
The fake or test order
Some COD orders were never meant to be received. They cost the same to ship.
FixOrders nobody confirms are held for your team to decide, not shipped by default.
Act 03Your numbers
What returned COD parcels cost a month
Take last month's COD orders from your own website and count how many came back.
Run your own numbers: Missed Enquiry Cost Calculator
An example
- COD orders a month
- 3,000
- Returned to origin
- 600
- Shipping both ways per return
- ₹120
- Returns caught by confirmation
- 1 in 4
Catching 150 of those returns saves about ₹18,000 a month in shipping alone, before packaging, damaged stock and the cash locked up in parcels on the road.
These are example numbers, not figures from any brand. Your courier dashboard shows the first three.
Act 04Confirmation plan
A routine for every COD order
Write the rules once: when to confirm, what to check, and what to do when nobody answers.
- Confirm each COD order within an hour, by call or WhatsApp, in the customer's language
- Read back the product, size and amount, and check the address, landmark and pin code
- If you choose, offer a prepaid link with the incentive you set; never pressure
- Hold orders nobody confirms after two tries, for your team to decide
- Call the same day a delivery attempt fails, and pass the new date to the courier
- Offer an exchange when the problem is size or colour, before the parcel is refused
The routine at a glance
Act 05Your options
Ways to confirm COD orders
Many brands start with the first two. The gap is the customers who do not respond to a robot or a template.
Act 06Sample call
Hear it on the phone
A staged call with synthetic voices and an invented business, run by the same rules a real one is.
Tracks a late order and sets up an exchange
D2C skincare · Glow Leaf Naturals (invented)
A customer calls about a delayed parcel. Support finds the order, shares tracking, opens an exchange and sends the compensation request to a person.
What it did
- Said it is an AI assistant up front
- Order GL-4512 found: left the Jaipur hub, arrives tomorrow
- Tracking link sent on WhatsApp
- Exchange checked against the 7-day, sealed-pack policy
- Compensation request passed to the support lead
- Exchange raised: sunscreen to tinted, pickup on delivery
Voice: Sarvam Bulbul, Kavya. Scripted and synthetic: not a recording, not a real customer.
- नमस्ते, Glow Leaf Naturals support में आपका स्वागत है। मैं brand की AI assistant हूँ। अपना order number या registered mobile number बताइए।Hello, welcome to Glow Leaf Naturals support. I am the brand’s AI assistant. Please tell me your order number or registered mobile number.
- मेरा order number है GL 4512। चार दिन हो गए, अभी तक नहीं आया।My order number is GL 4512. It has been four days and it still hasn’t arrived.
- देरी के लिए माफ़ी चाहती हूँ। मैंने check किया, आपका parcel कल Jaipur hub से निकल चुका है और कल शाम तक पहुँच जाएगा। Tracking link मैं WhatsApp पर भेज देती हूँ।Sorry for the delay. I checked: your parcel left the Jaipur hub yesterday and will reach you by tomorrow evening. I’ll send the tracking link on WhatsApp.
- ठीक है। और मैंने जो sunscreen लिया है, उसकी जगह tinted वाला चाहिए। Exchange हो सकता है?Okay. And I want the tinted one instead of the sunscreen I ordered. Can I exchange it?
- हाँ, delivery के सात दिन के अंदर exchange हो जाता है, अगर seal खुली न हो। Parcel मिलने के बाद pickup अपने आप schedule हो जाएगा। क्या मैं exchange request अभी बना दूँ?Yes, exchanges are allowed within seven days of delivery if the seal is unopened. The pickup is scheduled automatically once the parcel arrives. Shall I raise the exchange now?
- हाँ, बना दीजिए। और देरी के लिए कुछ discount मिलेगा?Yes, please. And will I get a discount for the delay?
- Discount मैं खुद नहीं दे सकती, लेकिन आपकी request मैंने हमारी support team को भेज दी है। वो आज शाम तक WhatsApp पर reply करेंगे।I can’t give a discount myself, but I have sent your request to our support team. They will reply on WhatsApp by this evening.
- ठीक है, धन्यवाद।Okay, thank you.
- आपका exchange request बन गया है। और कुछ मदद चाहिए तो इसी number पर call कीजिए। आपका दिन अच्छा हो!Your exchange request is raised. Call this number if you need anything else. Have a good day!
Act 07Questions
Asked often
Straight answers. If yours is not here, ask it on a call.
What is RTO in e-commerce?
RTO means return to origin: a parcel that could not be delivered, or was refused, and travels back to you. You usually pay shipping both ways, and the stock is stuck in transit until it returns.
Does a confirmation call reduce RTO?
It catches the returns that start before dispatch: wrong addresses, wrong sizes and orders the customer no longer wants. It cannot stop every refusal at the door, so measure your own RTO for a month before and after.
Can it convert COD orders to prepaid?
If you want it to, it can offer a payment link with the incentive you set. It never pressures the customer, and a customer who prefers cash on delivery keeps it.
Does it work with my store and courier?
It works from the order and delivery notifications your store and shipping platform already send. We confirm each one on the call before anything is built.
What does COD confirmation calling cost?
₹50,000 to set up, then ₹22,500 a month. If you only need incoming calls answered, the AI Receptionist is ₹10,000 a month after a ₹30,000 setup, with 1,000 minutes, then ₹9 a minute.
20 minutes
Fewer parcels coming back
Bring last month's COD order count and how many returned. Abhishek maps the confirmation routine with you on a 20-minute call and quotes it in writing.