Saturday, December 10, 2005

Never, Ever Ship Anything via DHL

Right now, I am so angry that it is hard for me to even contain myself, so I thought I would write about it. Last weekend, I ordered an expensive accessory item for my digital camera from a reputable on-line firm in Brooklyn, NY. I did my homework and found this company to have the best price, and having purchased from them in the past and read what other users had to say about them, I knew they were a trusted source.

In order to expedite the delivery, I paid extra for two day express delivery. The company now uses DHL as their delivery company of choice. On Monday, the 5th of December, I was notified that DHL had picked up my package in Brooklyn and it was on its way. They gave me a tracking number, which I duly used. Tracking showed that it was picked up in the afternoon and departed DHL's facility late in the evening. It also said that I was scheduled for delivery on the Thursday, the 8th. Now, my math says this is three days, not two, but I was willing to give them the benefit of the doubt.

Thursday comes and goes and no package is delivered. As I am required by the company I bought it from to sign for the package, I had to stay home all day so not to miss the DHL driver. At the end of the day, I scan the tracking info on their website and found no new information. So I called their customer service number and was told that they don't guarantee two day delivery in my area (we are a so-called "rural area"), but that I would get the package on Friday.

Friday comes and goes, and guess what? No package. Early on Friday, I see on their web site that my package has passed through their facility in Chehalis, WA early in the morning, so I figured I had a good chance to get it. No such luck and another day stuck around the house. My math shows that the package took four days just to get to Washington State. So I have to guess that all of Washington State must be a "rural area" to DHL.

I didn't call them again on Friday night, but decided to call on Saturday morning. In the meantime, I checked their web site for a definition of "rural area", and could not find a thing. Here is what I did find:

DHL Second Day: Guaranteed delivery by 5:00 pm on the second business day throughout the US.

No mention of "rural areas." But that is almost beside the point as it took four days just to get to my state.

So, on Saturday morning, I called again and was told all about the "rural area." When I mentioned what their web site said, I was met with silence. The agent suggested I could go to my local station and pick up the package, instead of waiting for delivery. When I asked where it was, I was told Spokane. The agent then checked and said my package had not yet made it to Spokane from Chehalis.

What??? This means that I will not see my package until Monday at the earliest, maybe even Tuesday. When I voiced my concerns, I was met by silence. Talk about bad service...

The tracking on their web site clearly indicates that it was two day service and that I was scheduled for delivery on Thursday. Apparently all their guarantees mean nothing to them.

I would suggest that you never use DHL and if you are buying something on the web and the company wants to ship it to you via DHL, that you go somewhere else to buy it. It has been a long time since I have run into any service that it so bad as DHL's. Remember this when you see their ads on TV.

Next time I am using the pony express.

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