Peak Season Promises: What Carriers Don’t Tell You

Every year as peak season ramps up, carriers quietly adjust their service guarantees.

Delivery commitments that hold the rest of the year can suddenly change — or disappear entirely — between Thanksgiving and New Year’s.

The fine print is easy to miss. FedEx and UPS both post temporary service updates that pause or limit money-back guarantees during high-volume periods.

That means a “2-Day” package that arrives late in December might not qualify for a refund — even though it would any other time of year.

When ‘Guaranteed’ Doesn’t Mean Guaranteed

Most shippers don’t notice when these guarantee suspensions begin.

The first clue usually shows up in audit reports: refund volumes dip, and savings trend lines flatten out.

It’s not because operations slipped.

It’s because carrier terms shifted — without any direct notice to most customers.

By the time finance or logistics teams piece together what happened, the policy has already been in effect for weeks.

How RCS Keeps You Ahead

RCS Audit clients don’t have to hunt for those changes after the fact.

Our weekly Recovery Dashboard surfaces the impact of policy shifts as they happen — showing when refund eligibility or on-time performance begins to change.

That visibility gives teams the context they need to explain trends internally, adjust expectations with leadership, and stay proactive through the busiest shipping season of the year.

Even when carrier guarantees are paused, RCS continues to monitor weekly performance, refund activity, and delivery reliability so you always understand what’s driving results.

It’s not real-time tracking — it’s timely awareness that helps you make better decisions while everyone else is still reacting.

Why It Matters

When carrier guarantees change mid-month, waiting for end-of-month summaries means learning too late.

Weekly visibility keeps you aligned with what’s actually happening — so your finance and operations teams aren’t caught off guard.

Understanding these seasonal shifts also helps you benchmark future performance and negotiate from a position of data-backed confidence once peak season ends.

Closing Thought

Peak season always brings challenges.

But the companies that handle it best aren’t the ones who ship perfectly — they’re the ones who see change faster and adapt before it costs them.

Carrier promises may shift, but RCS ensures you never have to guess what’s really happening behind the scenes.

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