The Tribune

By YOURI KEMP

Tribune Business Reporter

ykemp@tribunemedia.net

A Bahamian shipping company has promised to take the “hustle and bustle” out of picking up packages outside business hours by offering “lock boxes” at no extra cost.

Tomonique Butterfield, operations manager for Go Postal, told Tribune Business that Bahamians can choose which lockers the items they purchase online are to be delivered to. Only they will be able to access the locker to retrieve their purchase via a code that will be texted or e-mailed to them.

Designed as a post office-style delivery system, Ms Butterfield said: “Our customers would be able to pick up packages 24 hours, and it would be safe and convenient for them.

“They [the lock boxes] are going to be in different businesses. We are partnering with gas stations and convenience stores. Wherever, it will be spread out, but you can go to our website and you will be able to pinpoint exactly which location you can pick up your package from.

“You’re going to be able to choose where you would like to pick up your package from, wherever the lock box location would be at. Right now we have five businesses on our portfolio, and we are going to be naming those businesses in the oncoming weeks.”

Ms Butterfield added: “We are taking out that hustle and bustle. No need to be driving through traffic, trying to catch our stores’ hours because our normal store hours are between 10am and 6pm. So now you can have the convenience of picking up any time.

“If you get off at 12am and you would like to pick up at 12am in the morning, sure, no problem. Once you have already paid online you would be sent the code, and you can go ahead and go to the boxes and pick up. For the consumer there would be no additional cost. It is a service we are offering, so it won’t be any additional cost for our customers.”

Go Postal said the goal is to modernise The Bahamas’ freight-forwarding industry. It has teamed with Sunrise Communications to keep packages safe, with each locker equipped with anti-tampering software and built-in wi-fi.