When you are trying to run a business, one of your responsibilities is to make sure that when you hire anyone to perform a service that you are hiring the best possible prospects to perform the given task. This is the dilemma that faces many people when it comes time for them to try and buy courier service. For example, there are dozens of messenger services in Chicago, and by what criteria can you effectively judge these companies and find the best service for your company.
There are a lot of things that set apart the best courier companies from the poor ones. The most basic of these things is of course the level of service that they offer. If a company is consistently making later deliveries, or is arriving with damaged packages, they are the last ones that you want carrying your goods. That is why word of mouth can be one of the best ways to find a great courier company. Asking your peers in your industry about the experiences they've had with various couriers can quickly lead you to the best choice.
The next thing that you have to look at is pricing. Some courier companies may appear at first to have pricing that is competitive with their colleagues, but upon further examination you can see that they charge a great deal extra in service fees for services you may not even be using. In addition, they can have extra fees for any sort of delivery which is in any way out of ordinary. Couriers are required to disclose their surcharges and fees, so asking for lists of these can be a better way to evaluate your total future cost of doing business with a certain courier.
The quality of a courier isn't the only thing that lets you decide the best company for your courier needs though. You also have to consider what services you would like to have in a courier and look for a company that offers these. There are a lot of courier companies that have different services available to you which their competition might not offer. This includes things like online GPS tracking, and being able to place an order online. It can also include larger real world service such as storage or fulfillment distribution options. Knowing which of these can be useful to you and finding a courier that offers them will help you find the best courier for your company.