How to Break Up With Your Customs Broker: Make it Painless

Breaking up is never easy, we know. That goes for more than just personal relationships, but your biggest business relationships can really sting to end, too. Most of you have long standing relationships with some of your vendors, partners, extending even into the decades. Your customs broker is one of the biggest and most important partners that you can choose to enter a relationship with. These are complex, financially weighted, legally bound relationships. To put it into early Facebook terms, it’s complicated.

How do you know if it’s time to break up with your customs broker?

• Should be easy and pain free
• If not, how much more time and money are you willing to risk before making the leap for your business?

Your time is valuable, and your shipments and their seamless border entry and exits are essential to your bottom line. Your clients expect your shipments on time, on budget, no questions asked – shouldn’t you demand the same of your customs broker?

Red flags

• Overpayments: line fees racking up annually
• Fees and penalties caused by detention and storage fees that should NOT be part of your experience or your worries

What are your biggest pain points?

• Delayed shipments
• Lack of expertise from the “experts” you’ve entrusted with every detail of your business
• Unreliable communication: the biggest complaint we hear from new clients is that they couldn’t reach their broker in a timely or reliable way
• Irrelevant, over communication: too many noisy emails and updates that have nothing to do with YOUR business
• Unclear processes: constant (costly!) back and forth for what is required for your shipments

What does this do to your business?

• You may feel less like a valued partner and more like a number and a dollar sign
• You are beyond frustrated at being unable to reach anyone – or worse, you reach someone, and they have no clue how to help you
• You may be paying way more than you should with increasing fines, fees and penalties, that may not be your fault …

At the end of the day, YOU feel like you are the customs broker, not the other way around.

What are your competitors doing to battle these expensive (and irritating) issues?

Choosing a customs broker who has:

• Industry experience
• World class service
• Added value

And the peace of mind of:

• Money back guarantee
• 90 minutes or less response time
• Customized service that meets your specific needs, tailored to you

At A & A, we have 42 years of customs brokerage experience, 226 (⌛!) years of industry experience, 131 years of combined US-industry experience, licensed (and listed on the CBSA website as an approved brokerage) Customs Brokerage, Certified Specialists – and much more. Our team won’t rest till you’re comfortable, excited, and happy with your customs brokerage experience.

How do we achieve this?

Without giving away too many trade secrets, our client satisfaction rate is so high because we take a dedicated, human-first approach to all of our solutions for customers. We know your shipment is important, distinctly important for you and your customers, and that you want to know that someone else with expertise is taking care of the tricky paperwork pieces, timing, and changing laws. You wouldn’t entrust your dentist to file your taxes, so why would you stick with a customs broker who is making you feel like you have to be the expert?

At A & A, all of our clients enjoy a dedicated account manager who provides clear, consistent, timely communication. They ensure your shipments are released without delay or extra costs at either the Canada or the US border.

In addition, we provide:

• Customized proactive industry updates (that matter to you, not just generic inbox fillers)
• Dedicated 24/7 service
• No hidden fees
• Customized automation/invoicing

Our not so secret recipe is putting our customers first, answering real questions, not endless phone trees and frustration.

We understand that changing brokers can feel like a huge deal, but it doesn’t have to be, nor does it need to be a tough decision. In a world of automation and bots, in an industry as tangible and personal as importing and exporting, you want a real person to be on your side, and with A & A customs brokers, you’ll have that person, and more!

If you are still not convinced, pick up the phone and one of our agents (who may become your agents!) will walk you through any questions you may have.

Plus, if you make the switch, we are proud to offer:

• Money back guarantee
• 30 day free trial
• 90 minutes or less response time – at any time of day or night
• Personalized Approach – we work with you, for you
• Customized services to fit your needs

We even offer the first shipment for free! Let’s get talking, give us a call at 1.800.663.4270, email us at clientservices@www.aacb.com.

Not sold? Take a look at what our clients have to say, the importance of customer service speaks for itself!

“The customer service we receive from A & A is unprecedented. Their personalized service makes me feel like we are one company working together rather than two separate entities. Their accuracy, speed and willingness to go the extra mile is what sets them apart.” – Gentle Fawn