By Nicolas Avila · October 9, 2026

Delayed shipping: notify customers before they ask

Photo: Avila Ops Tecnologia

When tracking remains unchanged for two days or a promised date passes, customers need your message before they write. Include three parts: what happened, the new estimate, and what you have already done. Those who notify first look like stores that care. Those responding only after being chased look like stores hiding something.

In the week after Black Friday, every delivery time slips a little. Correios and carriers receive more volume than they deliver, and a three-day package may take five or six. The delay is not your fault. The silence is.

How do you spot delays before customers do?

Check tracking for all shipped orders every day, not only when someone asks. Manually, that means opening each code on the carrier website, something nobody does with 80 orders in transit. With automation, a system checks codes each morning and lists those unchanged for over 48 hours or past their estimated date.

That list is your day’s work. The tracking guide explains how codes reach customers automatically; here, the issue is what to do when a code stops moving.

Two signs require immediate action: “in transit” unchanged for more than three business days, and “out for delivery” without “delivered” that day, repeated twice. The first usually means a package lost in a distribution center. The second suggests an address problem.

What should you write, and when?

Template for the common case of stalled tracking: “Hi, Renata. Your order 1234 has been at the Correios center in Campinas since Tuesday. I opened a support case today, and the new estimate is by December 8. If it has not moved by Thursday, I will write again with the next decision. I’m here if you need anything.”

Three sentences do the job: the fact with place and date, action already taken, and when you will speak again. The last is most important. Customers knowing when news will arrive do not ask beforehand.

When should you open a case, resend, or refund?

Open a carrier support case on the second business day without movement, or as soon as allowed: each carrier has rules, and some register cases only after the delivery deadline. Save the reference number in the order.

Resend when the response deadline passes without the package appearing, generally after five to seven business days stalled. Resending sooner results in two packages arriving; later leaves customers without products for three weeks. If out of stock, refund the full amount including shipping without waiting for carrier reimbursement. Your customer relationship is yours; collecting from the carrier is separate, discussed in the carrier failed: you are responsible.

Resending a R$ 120 order costs another unit plus R$ 25 shipping, some recoverable through carrier compensation. Resolving a R$ 120 order with three weeks of silence costs the customer, a negative review, and what she tells friends. Resending almost always wins the calculation.

What to do now

List orders shipped over five days ago and open each tracking record today. Send stalled-order customers a message today with a new estimate. To generate this list every morning and send messages from it through the official WhatsApp API with approved templates, Avila Ops connects tracking, orders, and WhatsApp in one system: avilaops.com/sistema-para-pequenas-empresas or contact us on WhatsApp: wa.me/5517997811471.

Frequently asked questions

How many days without tracking updates count as a delay?

Two business days without movement already merit a customer notice. Five business days stalled strongly suggest loss; the carrier confirms through its support response.

Must the store resend a lost product?

The store is responsible to the customer for delivery. Resend or refund the amount paid, at the customer’s choice. Carrier compensation is between you and the carrier.

Should I offer discounts or gifts for delays?

Not as an obligation. A clear apology and new date resolve most cases. A gift makes sense when delays exceed a week or customers missed an occasion, such as a gift date.