What it means
Define what counts as an attempt using the carrier scan plus any available details, because a generic exception may represent weather or routing rather than an actual attempted handoff. UPS explains tracking status and FedEx describes delivery exceptions, but carrier terms and next steps differ by service.
Measure from the verified exception timestamp to the accepted next step, using a written clock rule for calendar or working hours across weekends and holidays. Keep the carrier's original event timestamp even if the support system received it later.
A carrier can also send several identical exception scans during one physical hold, so link them to one case. Use open-age buckets for cases without a carrier-confirmed next step, since a median measured only on closed exceptions can look fast while a parcel waits at a pickup point until its return deadline.
Prioritise cases near a hold deadline and give the oldest open cases their own count and value. Urgent items such as temperature-sensitive or critical medical parcels may need a different escalation owner.
Document which carrier response was accepted and when, because a support note saying 'customer notified' does not show that a parcel was rebooked, made available for pickup or returned. A new address from a third party needs the same order-party verification as any redirect, and a promised date without carrier acceptance is not an operational resolution.
If the carrier will automatically retry the next business day, record that route before asking the customer to choose differently. Track closed premises, address errors, weather and access failures as distinct patterns, since weather may need no customer action while an address error needs verified correction.
Keep the customer's original promised date alongside resolution time, because a quick reschedule can still miss that promise. For a parcel with two failed attempts, link the events but assess each physical failure on its own.
Link any damage claim, refund workflow or return-to-sender step to the exception without declaring those outcomes complete, and record who owns the next customer decision once a return begins. If a parcel is untraceable after a failed attempt, escalate the missing custody information instead of marking it resolved from a planned reattempt.
In practice
Real-world examples.
Example
A courier cannot enter a locked office building and logs a failed access attempt. Support confirms the opening hours with the authorised recipient, and the carrier accepts a new delivery slot four hours later.
Example
A storm delays a parcel and the carrier posts a generic exception. The team classifies it as weather rather than a recipient-not-home attempt, so no customer action is requested.
Example
A parcel is held at a pickup point for seven days after a failed attempt. The case stays open in the oldest-case report until the customer collects it or the carrier confirms a return under the metric definition, and the team contacts the authorised recipient before the hold deadline.
Formula
Calculation
Resolution lag = accepted next-step timestamp - verified exception timestamp. Show still-open cases and return-to-sender outcomes separately.
Worked example. A fictional bookseller closes three exceptions in a week with lags of 6 hours, 18 hours and 48 hours.
- Total lag = 6 + 18 + 48 = 72 hours.
- Average lag = 72 / 3 = 24 hours, while the median is 18 hours.
- One further exception has been open for 5 days, so it is reported in the open-age bucket instead of being left out of the average.
- If that fourth case closes at 120 hours, the new average becomes (72 + 120) / 4 = 48 hours, which shows how leaving open cases out flatters the figure.Case study
Seen in the real world.
This entirely fictional case follows Blue Finch Books. A carrier marked a parcel undeliverable because a building was closed. Support confirmed the correct opening hours with the customer, arranged a new attempt and logged the carrier acknowledgment. The example does not promise a specific delivery date.
Before the change, Blue Finch measured lag from the moment support opened the ticket, which hid a day of idle time. After it switched to the carrier's exception scan as the start of the clock, reported lag rose from 9 hours to 21 hours, and the team had an honest baseline to improve on. The team then set a rule that every open exception older than 24 hours was reviewed each morning, with the oldest parcels checked first. Within a quarter, average lag fell from 21 hours to 13 hours, and fewer parcels reached their pickup-point return deadline while still waiting for a decision.
Watch out
Common mistakes.
- Using the dashboard-view time as the first attempt time.
- Calling an outbound notice a completed resolution.
- Treating every carrier exception as a failed doorstep attempt.
Questions
People also ask.
Can a return count as resolution?
Yes, if it is the documented disposition under the defined rule.
What if the customer does not answer?
Record the contact attempt and keep unresolved status as appropriate.
Is lag the same as delivery delay?
No. It measures exception handling, not total transit time.
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