How Waterford checks every order three times before it ships

If the same person pulls the order and checks the order, you didn’t check the order.

Hi y’all,

A couple weeks back, a room full of Virginia event pros toured Waterford Event Rentals with us in Chesapeake. Alyse Conyers, the owner, started the company in her garage doing chair covers. Today she runs a full team and a custom linen line across three warehouses, so she’s learned a thing or two about operating at every size.

One vulnerable spot since day 1: delivery. A dolly is forgotten, or grabbed two dye lots of white instead of ivory. Easy mistakes that are totally avoidable with the right SOPs and accountability tools (like Goodshuffle Pro’s digital pullsheets). Walk the warehouse with Alyse and her crew, here:

Here are her tips to scale warehouse operations:

Three sets of eyes on every order. The first person pulls it and initials the fulfillment notes. A manager re-counts the whole thing against the order before it goes near a truck. Then the driver checks it off item by item once it’s loaded, which is the one that catches the dolly nobody grabbed. Because the initials are attached, a short order becomes a two-minute question instead of a scavenger hunt.

Somebody owns the day-of answers. One teammate watches every route and fields the “where’s my stuff” calls, so drivers get an answer in seconds instead of hunting for whoever’s free. Running solo? Let the software own it. When the driver can fire off an on-my-way text, the client stops calling to ask and you’re not the one chasing it mid-delivery. Either way, that’s how you protect the route you already planned.

The order should look like somebody cared. Every bag gets tied shut and tagged with the delivery date and order name, and a ripped bag gets swapped before the order leaves. Then they finish it with a bow, because Alyse wants clients opening a Waterford bag to feel like they got a gift. The tag’s QR code walks the client through returning everything and gives them a way to tip the crew.

So what’s your second and third set of eyes? If the honest answer is nobody, it doesn’t have to be a hire. A digital pull sheet can be the check that holds every order accountable, whether you run a crew of ten or it’s just you and a box truck.

See you next Monday,

Mallory Mullen

Goodshuffle