'Where is my order?' queries: handle them at scale

Key takeaways

'Where is my order?' (WISMO) queries are usually the largest single type of contact for online sellers, and almost all follow the same steps: look up the order, check tracking, reply, and chase the carrier if it is stuck. They suit a dedicated team with templates. The bigger win is sending updates before customers ask.

• Most WISMO replies follow 3 steps: look up, check, reply.
• Proactive dispatch and delay updates prevent many contacts.
• Stuck parcels need carrier chasing within 24 hours.
• Refund and reship decisions follow written rules.

Why are order status queries so common?

Customers ask where their order is when they do not know what to expect: no dispatch confirmation, a vague delivery window, tracking that has not updated, or a delay nobody told them about. Each contact costs time to answer and, if slow, a complaint or a chargeback. Most are preventable with clear, timely updates.

• How UK SMEs can use outsourcing to handle repetitive tasks
• Customer service outsourcing for UK e-commerce

How should the routine work?

Use one template per situation and a rule for each next step. A dedicated team looks up the order, checks the carrier, replies with the tracking and an honest expected date, and chases the carrier for parcels that have not moved in two working days. Lost-parcel decisions follow a written rule.

• In transit and on time: send tracking and date.
• Delayed: apologise, give the new date, set a reminder.
• Not moved for 2 working days: chase the carrier.
• Confirmed lost: reship or refund by rule.

• Customer service macros: faster replies at lower cost
• Decision tables: turn judgement calls into clear rules
• Failed deliveries: rebook fast and stop repeat contacts

What do WISMO contacts cost?

In an illustrative example, a seller with 3,000 orders a month gets 450 order status contacts at 4 minutes each: 30 hours a month. Adding dispatch and delay emails cuts contacts by a third, saving about 10 hours, and the team handles the rest within hours rather than days. These are example figures.

• Cost per contact: compare in-house and outsourced support
• Order to dispatch time: how fast should orders leave?

When should these queries stay in-house?

Keep them in-house when volumes are small and the person packing orders can answer instantly from the warehouse, or when orders are bespoke and each query needs production knowledge. The Consumer Rights Act 2015 sets a default 30-day delivery period unless another is agreed, so delivery promises should be realistic.

• When not to outsource

What does this look like in practice?

A pattern we see: the inbox fills with order status questions every Monday after weekend orders. Sending a dispatch email with tracking on Monday morning, before the questions arrive, cuts the queue noticeably.

• See client work
• BPO Solutions for UK businesses

WISMO routine checklist

Use these points to set up the routine.

• Dispatch email with tracking on every order.
• A delay email when dates slip.
• Templates for each tracking status.
• Carrier chased after two working days.
• Lost-parcel rule written down.

• Backorder management: keep customers informed, not chasing

Next step

Send us your weekly order status contacts and how they are answered today. We will suggest the templates, rules and updates that cut them.