Back-handed Customer Service
I recently ordered a set of Holiday cards that were to be delivered to my house via DHL. In the past, I've found DHL to be reliable and less angst-inducing than FedEx or UPS. That's in the past, mind you.
I very rarely go outside the front door of my house, because it's one flight down to get to the driveway, and it's just easier to go out the garage. My office window is right by the front door however, so I see everyone who comes and goes if I am sitting at my desk...which is about 18 hours a day .
One day a few weeks ago, shortly after the freak snow storm that blanketed Seattle, I saw our postal carrier (very nice guy) coming to the front door and decided to intercept him before Roscoe did. I stood out under the covered porch talking to him for a while, and as he left I walked down the length of the porch with him. Right where the covered portion of our porch ended, on the first step, was the package containing my cards.
I would never had seen them unless I did exactly what I had just done...walked out the front door, down the length of the porch, and to the steps. The box (flimsy at best, for which I will place all blame with the unnamed vendor) was sitting in the snow on the step, and had been for over a day. Naturally, the cards were wet and unsuitable for sending to my clients.
If the DHL delivery person was going to be a lazy-ass slacker and not bring the package to my front door, you would think he (I'm assuming, but I could be wrong) could have moved it 10 inches to get it under the covered porch. He had already climbed the stairs, unless he stood at the base of them and threw the package up...stranger things have happened.
Just imagine there's snow everywhere.
So I called DHL (several times), pointed out the error in their ways, they said they would send me a claim form. Blah blah. Two weeks later, someone called me regarding a satisfaction survey for DHL customer service. I have them the ratings they deserved, and mentioned I had still not received the claim form at that time. The survey caller said she would send the claim form, and she promptly did.
But I digress...that was actually not the main point of the story. After all of this, the claim form can only be completed and filed by the PACKAGE SENDER. WTF?
And then there were the two coupons, each for one DHL Next Day shipment. I was excited to remember these this morning, because I have cards to send to my family that need to go out quickly. And then I read the fine print:
- They can only be redeemed on shipments charged to a DHL business account. Huh?
- They are good for up to $10.
I went to a rate calculator and found that a Next Day shipment from Seattle to Santa Fe was just over $24.00. This is an envelope, not a package.
What lesson do I take away from this? DHL doesn't care. Just like all of the other delivery services. They want you to think they are more responsive, but it's all surface. Don't read the fine print, because that "Up to $10 maximum" really means "screw you, go away."
Good times, folks.
filed under:
How Not to Do Business
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I understand every feeling that you have because they mess up every time. Everytime I sent something to a client I was nervous since most of the time they did not get it... I cannot say that Fed X or UPS was any better... they threw something very valuable into the wrong persons backyard..