[davidcotton]

Heh where to begin??
 
Years ago tried ordering a hard drive online, should be simple right?  First delivery no one was in, fair enough.  Called up to arrange the item to be left in the shed at the back of the garden.  Got home the next day to find ANOTHER note, so another call.  "Oh yeah sorry the note didn't get passed onto the driver, we'll deliver tomorrow ok?".  Fine.   Next day still nothing so call again "oh that's the three attempts you'll have to come pick it up".  "Um I don't think so seeing as it was your errors the last two, when can you re-deliver?".  I quote "we'll have to see when we are out that way again, then we'll drop it off".  I hit the roof (something I rarely do on the phone ).
 
Mind you some of the stories I read make the mind boggle.  Like the time someones waiting for a parcel, so works in the lounge, hears the van pull up and goes to the door.  To his surprise a note gets shoved through the door saying "we tried to deliver, blah blah".  He opens the door to the surprised van driver and goes "What's this then?".  Driver mumbles something, so the person tells him to take him to the depot now so he can pick the parcel up and then drop him back off, which they do!
 
Saying that my favourite is the one where a cheerful van driver knocks on the door of the customers house and waits till it's answered "ah just checking your in, didn't want to bring it up if you wern't here I'll go and get it".  Goes back to the van and starts rummaging through the back.   Comes back five minutes later a little embarassed and says he can't find the packet and is very sorry.  Can he take the customers mobile and he'll call when they find it? Driver goes, five minutes later the customer's mobile goes and it's the van driver asking if he can drop the packet off?   "That was quick" says the customer "where was it?"  Driver replies sheepisly "on the front seat, I'd put it there as it was the first delivery!"
 
 
 
Cheers

 

[tamahome77]

Quote:

The new Air mail price increase from the USPS makes me FURIOUS!!!!
It's like $5 to about $9.55 or so for shipping an item to Asia.
If you run an online business this really hurts sales from international customers.
 
At first I figured they were just raising prices due to make up lost money, but they claim it's due to fuel charges etc. Doubt it.
 
I dislike how it costs someone in Japan only $12 to send me an express mail and to send them one it's about $40 or so (I'm off a little).
 
$5.60 for priority mail is somewhat fair at least.

You think that's expensive? Canadapost charges like $50 for small packet air mail shipping with no tracking to Asia.  If you want tracking, add an extra $40 for express.  Japan's EMS service is awesome for sure.

 

[fuzzyash]

Quote:

You think that's expensive? Canadapost charges like $50 for small packet air mail shipping with no tracking to Asia.  If you want tracking, add an extra $40 for express.  Japan's EMS service is awesome for sure.

the EU got it worse
ive seen stories of over $200 additional taxes on ciems

 

[musicheaven]

Sad to hear shipping problems across the ocean, I think here in the USA we are privileged even our post office services work, I use it all the time and are like clock work. You do have to understand their different shipping options but once you do, you know what to do.

 

[Tangster]

Quote:

the EU got it worse
ive seen stories of over $200 additional taxes on ciems

Hardly surprising. CIEMs are normally in the $1000+ price bracket, if customs gets that then it's an instant 20% tax. Some of the more unscrupulous carriers like to add their own little "bonuses" to international parcels as well.

 

[whoever]

Quote:

Hardly surprising. CIEMs are normally in the $1000+ price bracket, if customs gets that then it's an instant 20% tax. Some of the more unscrupulous carriers like to add their own little "bonuses" to international parcels as well.

yep...and thats so complicated when you ship something around: you declare less then 30$ to avoid customs on a 500+ Iem or Ciem....and then you wait.....and pray....because you can't assure it. 

 

[wink]

Quote:

Must have been urgent super double express post.

 

[fractus2]

I had to return a $44.00 item for a refund. Through several calls to customer service they claimed they never got it. All I had was the USPS receipt, and on it was a 22 digit number (5 sets of 4, last set 2, labeled a PID # - all my USPS package receipts have this number). Since I didn't send it with tracking, searching this number using USPS tracking yeilded nothing. I called the local PO (this was maybe a week or more before Christmas, 2013) and spoke to the lady. She ased for the number. Input it and got nothing. She asked for the number again - then she said "they got it". She said she'd print it out for me and to come on down to pick it up (did I mentioned this was a week before Christmas?). I arrived and there was a long axx line but I walked up to the head and asked for her by name. They got her and she handed me two copies of the tracking (looked just like the online tracking) that showed they got it / scanned delivery with date and time.
 
Long story short, I emailed that to the vendor and got my full refund to my credit card.