Damaged packages happen. A lot. What you do in the next three minutes—before you touch it, hand it off, or mark it delivered—determines whether this becomes a problem for you or just another day on the route.
The difference is documentation. Get it right from the start, and you're covered. Mess it up, and you're explaining it to dispatch at the end of your shift.
If You Notice Damage Before You Pick It Up
This is the cleanest scenario. You're at the warehouse or distribution center. The box is torn, crushed, or leaking before it ever left the building.
Stop. Don't touch it yet.
Pull out your phone. Get photos of all sides of the package before you move it. Close-ups of the damage. Multiple angles. Then—and only then—note it on the manifest or in your app.
Use the exact language the system gives you. "Visible crush damage to left corner." "Cardboard separated at seam." Just the facts.
Most logistics apps have a damaged-item workflow. Use it. Photograph and log it the same way every time. This is what protects you if the shipper later claims the damage happened on your watch.
Don't sign off on undocumented damage. If you pick up a damaged package and don't report it, you've just accepted responsibility for it. That's not worth it.
If You Discover Damage at the Door
This one's trickier. You arrive, the customer opens the door, and suddenly everyone's looking at a dented box. Maybe the contents are rattling. Maybe something's visibly broken.
Here's what you do: Stay calm. The customer didn't damage it. You didn't damage it. But the customer's looking at a ruined delivery, so emotions are already running high.
Don't argue about what happened. Don't explain the supply chain. Just acknowledge it: "Yeah, I see that. Let me document it for you right now."
Get your phone out. Take photos of the package in front of the customer. Get at least one shot that shows the damage clearly, then one or two more from different angles. Be thorough.
Then mark it correctly in your delivery app. Don't mark it as "delivered." Use the damage workflow. Note what you see. Take the timestamp.
Now comes the decision: do you leave it or take it back?
If the box is split open and rain-soaked, or if contents are spilling out, don't leave it. Take it back. If it's dented but sealed and the customer still wants it, let them decide. Ask: "Do you want to take it or should I bring it back to the warehouse?" Document their choice in the app.
What NOT to Do
Don't sign off on undocumented damage. Once you mark a package as delivered without noting damage, the timestamp on that delivery is your signature that you handed over an intact package. Everything after that is the customer's problem—not yours.
Don't leave packages that are clearly unusable. If a box is falling apart and you hand it to the customer anyway without documenting it, you've delivered a worthless package. That's on you. The customer calls dispatch. It gets messy.
Don't skip the app's damage workflow. It exists for a reason. Yeah, it takes an extra minute. But that minute saves you from "wait, did I report that?" when your dispatch manager is asking questions later.
Don't assume someone else will handle it. You're the last person to touch that package before it reaches the customer. If you don't document it, it didn't happen—at least not as far as the record shows.
How JWA Logistics Has Your Back
When you document damage properly, JWA handles it. Bad packages aren't your liability. Chargebacks don't stick. Insurance covers it.
The system is built to protect drivers who follow the process. That means photographing damage, logging it in the app, and not signing off on packages you can't stand behind. Your dispatch team wants to see good documentation—photos, dates, notes. That's the ammo they need to push back against false damage claims.
The Wrap-Up
Damaged packages aren't a career threat if you handle them right. Get the first 30 seconds right—photo, note, app—and everything after that is just process.
You're not the problem solver. You're the documenter. Do that job well, and you're golden.
Stay safe out there.