We were as surprised as everyone to learn Thursday night, September 25th, that Canada Post workers would be going on strike the following morning. Unfortunately, the short notice provided does have some impacts on some of our customers.
Is it safe to place orders?
Absolutely! Almost all of our products can be shipped by some means other than Canada Post. Most of our printing/embroidery partners are equipped to ship by multiple providers, including UPS and Purolator, so orders placed today will not get stuck at a warehouse.
Are there any changes I should know about?
Just two: for Canadian customers, we cannot accept addresses with PO Boxes for the time being, and we absolutely need a phone number (one that you answer). We promise, we're not going to sell your number or phone spam you, but carriers like UPS require a phone number, so that their drivers can contact you in the event they have trouble finding your place. We'll also use it if you place an order with an address we're not currently able to deliver to.
Will it take longer for orders to arrive?
It's hard to say. Canada Post is the slowest of the various shipping companies we work with, so typically your order would arrive faster if it goes through any other carrier. That said, last time Canada Post went on strike, things got chaotic and delivery times with other carriers started to get unpredictable. On any given day, Canada Post moves a lot of parcels, and if those all have to go to various other companies, it's easy to see how they could get overwhelmed. So please, be patient.
The tracking information we give you will always be your best source of information on your parcel's whereabouts.
What if my order was already en route?
Well, the good news is that most of our current orders (except a couple I'm waiting for myself, sadly) are shipping by UPS or a carrier other than Canada Post. But if you received a Canada Post tracking number, unfortunately, your package might be stuck until this gets sorted out. It's also possible, depending where you live, that UPS or another carrier would hand off your parcel to Canada Post for the 'last mile' of its journey. These cases are harder to predict, but your parcel could also be delayed.
Again, the tracking number we provide you with when we ship your order is your best source of updates.
Final Thoughts...
Hopefully this strike is short lived, and hopefully Canada Post and the union are finally able to come to an agreement where everyone - the workers, Canada Post, and Canadians - is happy with the outcome and things can stabilize for at least a few years. But until such a time, please know that we will do our best to ship your order on our regular timelines, and if there is an item that we absolutely cannot get to you in a timely way, we will contact you to let you know and provide you with some options.
If you have any questions, please email info@eastcoastaf.ca
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