TAE/TExpress Tips

Follow these useful tips to save your staff time and ensure timely shipments:

• Check your labels to be sure the location number and hub city match what is on the Amigos website for both your location and the receiving location. See labeling instructions at http://www.amigos.org/files/label_instructions.pdf.
• Update your participant list. See http://www.amigos.org/node/137 to help prevent delays due to returned or lost shipments.
• Pack your items properly to ensure safe passage through the courier system. Make sure the label is clearly visible and secured to the package. Reuse of envelopes is okay, but please be sure to black out previous information on labels to avoid mis-shipments. It’s also a good idea to place a strip of invisible or Scotch® tape on the inside flap of the label window on the nylon bags to prevent labels from slipping out during transit (see photo above).
• Designate a TAE/TExpress pick-up/drop-off location separate from your United States Postal Service pick-up location. Each year, hundreds of misdirected packages arrive at Amigos that were meant for the USPS.

Please report your statistics every month. Amigos uses them to encourage participation in the courier program. For Texas participants, these statistics are important tools that TSLAC uses to persuade the Texas Legislature to continue its funding of the courier program. Access your institution’s statistics and other information on the TAE homepage, http://www.amigos.org/tae. Instructions for reporting statistics are available at http://www.amigos.org/node/809.