Rant Do most companies ignore decent customer service?

I sold £170 worth of PC parts and arranged 24 hour courier delivery with DX via Parcel Monkey. The package was duly collected on Tuesday but late yesterday I received an email from the buyer that he had not received the package. Checking tracking detail provided no useful information until I looked at the delivery address information. Imagine my surprise when I noted that this was the same as the collection address.

This morning I phoned DX and they told me that they address anomaly had been noted but actually Parcel Monkey had cancelled the order anyway, one assumes because of the address issue. Yet neither of these companies felt the need to contact me. DX also could not explain why they had not returned the package to me but hope to do so sometime this morning.

Contact with Parcel Monkey, who do not have any sort of phone contact system, was via 'Chat' and 5o be honest I would have better 'Chatting' with my cat. As fast as 'Kevin' was concerned they had not cancelled the delivery even though they noted that collection and delivery addresses were the same. But again they cannot explain why no contact was made with me, why no tracking details were provided because, I assume, of this issue or why the collection went ahead.

Kevin tells me that they will need to investigate but that will take time. So at the moment I have no package so cannot make alternative arrangements and a buyer who quite rightly is a bit miffed that he is not playing with his new kit.

One thing I will add the courier bought the address label and my partner handed him the package as I have be bedridden with a serious throat infection.

 

I think most companies do value customer service... but delivery companies are a different breed of company.

Maybe its because its a competitive marketplace, maybe margins on delivery's are small - I dont know, but most of them dont appear to give a flying **** about the people on either end (and sometimes the package in between).

 

This is why I have everything delivered to my workplace (with my boss's permission).

Courier firms are less likely to want to piss off a business, due to "Don't use them, they lose our shipments" spreading up & down the manufacturing chain.

 

Yes, yes they do.

And the reason for it is that most customers are completely unwilling to pay for good service. While there are a few exceptions, the vast majority of customers are going to go with whoever is cheapest and while they may complain about the service, they will keep going back to the cheapest option. The customer is always right, and what the customer wants is cheap, regardless of how bad the service is.

 

I've always had more than acceptable results with Parcel2go and with using Hermes directly.

 

Pace Monkey have handle the issue by ignoring that an issue exists. As they do not have a phone service I have been relying on communication via a poorly named 'Support Ticket' but they have point blank refused to explain the issues involved no mater how many times I ask. So a formal letter of complaint is called for.

As for DX my intention was to come back here and give them a bit of praise as the packaged was due to be delivered today but got a phone call from their customer service to tell me it would actually be delivered on Friday. But they let themselves down by their courier driver leaving the package out in the rain by the back do of the delivery address. I think most of wrap our parcels to take into account possible damage by dropping etc not from rain water.

I have been a courier or delivery driver and would not think of leaving someone's goods in an unsecured position at the mercy of the elements. The package contained PC which really do not enjoy being wet. Now the buyer is having issues and I have had to offer a refund and return the goods to me whilst also repaying the postage.

This is what annoys me, I don't do cheap, I tend to match the cost of delivery to the overall price of the goods. But it really does not matter what you pay, the courier has little idea of the value of most of the packages he is delivering, this is mainly laziness and what is expedient for the courier with thought given to the customer.

 

I use Interparcel. They too liaise with DX and UPS and have been cracking for me. Very fast responses on their customer service too. A few times I've sent monitors and insured them, forgetting you can't. They immediately contact me and I reply and tell them to refund the extra cash and they always do it immediately.

I can't remember why I stopped using Parcel Monkey. They must have done something to piss me off though.