Local businesses that normally rely on Canada Post to deliver orders are worried that sales could drop and that they will face higher delivery costs if they use private firms.
Courier companies are the hottest businesses in town as customers flock to find alternatives, anticipating a Canada Post shutdown.
The corporation said late Wednesday that it is willing to submit to binding arbitration to resolve a labour dispute. A lockout scheduled to begin Friday has been delayed until at least Sunday at 9:01 p.m. PT.
Canada Post said it hopes the Canadian Union of Postal Workers will agree to binding arbitration.
Baggins Shoes owner Glen Lynch said if Canada Post stops delivering, “it will affect us in a very negative way.” The store at 580 Johnson St. typically ships between 30 and 100 pairs of shoes every day, he said. Online sales account for about 40 per cent of business.
Lynch expects a Canada Post shutdown will affect his sales. If that happens, it could mean layoffs in the three-person shipping department.
Sending parcels to large cities via private courier does not cost much more than Canada Post, but costs rise for less populated areas, Lynch said. Normally, the store ships free within Canada.
Baggins is considering covering the first $10 in shipping and asking the customer to pick up the remainder. “We will probably lose money on most of our shipping during the strike,” he said.
The Vitamin Shop, 1212 Broad St., has been sending parcels by private courier since late June, said Doug Hart, assistant general manager. “We have a substantial online business.”
Normally, the company relies on Canada Post for shipping, and uses Maximum Express Courier and Freight for local deliveries. It is continuing with Maximum and using Purolator for off-Island delivery. International orders are not being sent out.
The Vitamin Shop ships free in Canada if an order is $70 or more, he said. That hasn’t changed, “because we are hoping that this won’t last too long and we want to keep our customers happy.”
For orders less than $70, the delivery charge has been upped by $2, to $9.95, he said. Even then, that will not cover the shop’s higher costs.
Delivery may differ from Canada Post, he said. Rather than dropping a parcel off at a door, a signature may be required. Also, there may not be local delivery depending on a customer’s location, meaning they may have to drive to a depot to collect a parcel.
Carol Mentha, an owner of Munro’s Books, 1108 Government St., said, “We are offering to send things by courier. That’s really easy to do and relatively reasonably priced when it is within the city or within B.C. It gets a little more expensive farther afield, but we can let them know how much it would be and then they can decide whether they would like to have it couriered or whether they would like to maybe hold off.” The store would hold an order until the dispute is resolved.
Maximum Express has hired two additional drivers and might add more if needed, said Al Hasham, spokesman for the family business, which has 32 employees.
Businesses are already turning to Maximum for multiple deliveries, at times in the thousands, he said. Maximum delivers on Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland, into the Fraser Valley to Chilliwack and to Whistler. It usually operates Monday to Friday between 7:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. but is now running seven days a week and has extended hours, Hasham said.
Family-owned National Courier Service is also getting more calls from customers. Over the weekend, “my phone was ringing nonstop,” with people seeking an alternative to Canada Post, said general manager Neetu Kaloti. Much of the demand is to deliver cheques to vendors.
The company has a staff of 25 and another two are on standby, she said.
— With The Canadian Press
