# COD confirmation calls to reduce RTO · Vaakyo

> A step-by-step playbook for automated COD confirmation calls in India: timing, script, retries, prepaid nudges and updating your order system.

Source: https://vaakyo.com/blog/cod-confirmation-calls-cut-rto

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# COD confirmation calls: a practical playbook to cut RTO

Calling every cash-on-delivery order before it ships confirms intent and the address. Here is how to set up the call, the script and the follow-up.

The Vaakyo team 8 October 2026 2 min read

-   E-commerce
-   COD
-   Playbooks

Cash on delivery is still how a large share of Indian shoppers want to pay, and every COD order that comes back unaccepted costs you forward and return shipping, packaging and inventory time. Confirming the order before you ship is the simplest way to catch the orders that were never going to be accepted.

A voice agent can make that call for every COD order, within minutes, in the customer's language.

## When to call

Call soon after the order is placed, while the customer still remembers buying. A webhook from your store (Shopify, WooCommerce or your own) can create the call the moment an order is marked COD:

 `curl https://api.vaakyo.com/api/v1/agents/$AGENT_ID/call \   -H "X-API-Key: $VAAKYO_API_KEY" \   -H "Content-Type: application/json" \   -d '{"to": "+919812345678", "user_data": {"name": "Sneha", "order_id": "KF-1042", "amount": "₹1,499", "items": "a cotton kurta"}}'`

Keep the agent's calling hours to reasonable times (9 AM to 9 PM is the norm); calls that come in outside them wait in the queue until the window opens.

## The script

A good confirmation call is short. The steps we recommend:

1.  Greet by name and say which store is calling.
2.  Read back the order: what they bought and the amount.
3.  Ask them to confirm they still want it.
4.  Confirm the delivery address (read the pincode back; most wrong addresses are wrong pincodes or missing landmarks).
5.  Offer to switch to prepaid with a payment link, if you offer one, but never push.
6.  Tell them when to expect delivery and end the call.

Write the outcome as structured data, not just a transcript. Add analytics fields to the agent such as `confirmed` (yes/no), `address_corrected` (text), `wants_prepaid` (yes/no) and `cancel_reason` (text). Every finished call then carries those values.

## Close the loop

Use a webhook to send each call's result back to your order system:

-   **Confirmed** : release the order for shipping.
-   **Address corrected** : update the address before the label is printed.
-   **Cancelled** : cancel it and restock, and record the reason.
-   **Not reached** : retry, and hold the order until you have an answer.

## Retries

People miss calls. Retry a no-answer once or twice at different times of day, then decide your policy for unreached orders (ship anyway, hold, or cancel). If you call a list instead of one order at a time, a campaign from a CSV handles the retries and pacing for you.

## Measure it

Track, per week: the share of COD orders reached, confirmed, cancelled and corrected, and compare RTO for confirmed orders with the period before you started. That comparison, on your own orders, is the number that matters, not an industry average.

[Read next Hinglish voice agents: how to handle callers who mix Hindi and English](https://vaakyo.com/blog/hinglish-voice-agents)

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