What to Expect from a Courier

razorack999 on 23/12/2016 - 10:26

My wife sent out 4 christmas hampers to 4 of our friends with TNT. It contained champagne , xmas cakes etc and some jam.It was sent in a strong box and was gift wrapped and then had a protective plastic over the top for the transport interstate.

After the first 24 hours only 3 of the 4 had been delivered. However of the 3,one had been damaged as the box had been broken. We were informed by our friend that received it and she took the initiative to fix the box herself, so whilst a little upsetting , and not ideal-all was ok.
But there was one hamper still not delivered after 10 days (24 hour overnight delivery) We were given the message in this order

  1. Been a slight delay- but will be delivered. We will call you back to update you. No phone call received
  2. On board for reschedule as we missed the person who was not at home
  3. Repackage
  4. On board for reschedule
  5. Repackage

At this point we started to get suspicious. So we rang TNT who were absolutely clueless. They not only had no idea that it had been delayed by so long, but also they had no idea why it was being "repackaged"

Finally we received a call explaining that the box and its contents had been damaged and the Jam had been all through the box. They suggested repacking the box and then redelivering. My wife reluctantly agreed and after 2 further days , the box was redelivered.

My wife is very upset about this and having paid for a premium service with TNT she feels that she received third rate service. Is she right to feel upset? She hasnt had much experience with couriers. She accepts that accidents can happen. But 2 out of 4? But the main complaint is that there was absolutely no follow up or concern once a problem had occurred. The Jam had shattered and so this is not a case of a small accident. It must have been dropped to cause the glass to smash- yet this wasnt worth reporting on or following up on. My reaction is that it is disgraceful. What do others think ? Hopefully others can report on their experiences.

Internet

Comments

  • dasher86 on 23/12/2016 - 10:38
    +10

    I think this is a learning point in the future.
    were the items marked as fragile?
    were the items appropriately packaged including padding?
    you do have the right to feel upset.
    the company should have had better communication lines with you.
    but i don't think the items were appropriately packed. correct me if im wrong.

      • razorack999 on 23/12/2016 - 11:39
        +8

        I dont understand you say this? If you are sick of these posts (where?) then why bother reading……or posting?

        • Cheap Charlie on 23/12/2016 - 12:56
          +11

          @Savas:
          Time to pull the pin Savas.
          Your response suggests this is not the place for you.
          kindly show your self out.

        • Savas on 23/12/2016 - 13:03
          -3

          @Cheap Charlie: Lol

        • razorack999 on 30/12/2016 - 10:00

          @Savas:

          Its self evident really. Would we have sent the goods with TNT IF WE HAD READ THOSE 1000 BAD REVIEWS? Of course not. The answer is that not everybody has read those terrible reviews, and if they had TNT would probably not be in business anymore. But after such a terrible experience with execution AND MORE IMPORTANTLY TNT's response to their negligence I feel motivated to warn as many people about them as I possibly can. Call it a community service if you like. I call it Karma

        • Savas on 30/12/2016 - 20:46

          @razorack999: As I pointed out even OzBargain has bad reviews, so why are you still on here?

        • razorack999 on 05/01/2017 - 16:55
          +1

          @Savas:
          why not?

      • ggrant on 25/12/2016 - 04:58
        +1

        You're probably right. But people need to learn and vent frustration… So you have learnt, we haven't yet. Maybe ease off.

    • ronnknee on 25/12/2016 - 10:54
      +1

      Funny how OP replied but avoided all these questions.

  • RockyRaccoon on 23/12/2016 - 10:56
    +4

    Its TNT - they have never been known for service, that was your first and only mistake…

    If I go shopping and TNT is indicated as the carrier, I shop elsewhere if I can

    • razorack999 on 23/12/2016 - 11:37

      i didnt know this. I thought they were well regarded. Duly noted

  • bjdchwr on 23/12/2016 - 10:58
    +2

    I might be wrong but I would think sending a cake interstate via courier is a challenge task… That's why I will also try to avoid purchasing the hard drive or all other fragile goods remotely…

    There must be a lot of bumps and drops so I am not surprised if products get broken…

    Also a fragile label cannot guarantee it will be handled properly.

    examples….

    #1
    #2

    However, the delivery time-frame is another story - you can ask for some sort of the compensation from them but again there is no guarantee…

    • razorack999 on 23/12/2016 - 11:41

      agree cakes are a challenge- but these were christmas cake. quite solid and were well packaged.

  • garetz on 23/12/2016 - 11:04
    +1

    http://www.productreview.com.au/p/tnt-express.html

    956 terrible ratings, you be the judge

    • bjdchwr on 23/12/2016 - 11:21
      +6

      I think it's quite normal for product review sites that full of the -ve feedbacks, considering the fact that only the people who suffer from the bad experience have the motivations to write something. If we see a lot of +ve feedbacks, there might be a problem…

      I think there is no huge differences across all of the express companies and their state-of-art delivering networks are roughly about the same.

      The auspost shop guy told me the other day, if I need to send my iPad back to Apple via eParcel Return, there is no guarantee that the parcel will be arrived in one piece even if the fragile sticker has been put on - it's just a reference for the postman…

      • razorack999 on 23/12/2016 - 11:43

        i agree. and i dont normally write -ve reveiws. i just felt that they were completely hopeless

    • razorack999 on 23/12/2016 - 11:41

      Thanks for the link. I wish she had seen this before she used them!

    • Savas on 23/12/2016 - 11:43
      +1

      http://www.productreview.com.au/p/ozbargain.html

      Terrible ratings, don't visit this site!!

      • mskeggs on 23/12/2016 - 13:44
        +1

        "Full of arrogant people" - oops, they spotted me.

      • supnigs super skids on 23/12/2016 - 16:18
        +2

        Interesting. The penalty box is true though. You loose your voice for 2 weeks if you insult some special people. However they can do the same to you without penalty.

        • highdealer on 24/12/2016 - 23:18

          Why do you feel the need to insult people first place anyway, and why on earth would you feel insulted over comment on the internet?

          As far as i am concern, ozbargain is one of the better regulated forum on the internet that i have ever been apart of. Profanity is strictly not allow and most people act within reasonable manner. Had a few TWAM and most of these conversation was civilize and arguments were presented in a sensible fashion.

        • supnigs super skids on 25/12/2016 - 11:10

          @highdealer: 'apart of', 'is strictly not allow', 'conversation was civilize'..

          HAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAA. you made my day, good luck with your ENTER score too.

  • akyeeeahdude on 23/12/2016 - 14:14

    TNT burnt me after they kept not delivering an item that was on-board for delivery due to "time constraints."
    I ended up doing the 40min drive to their depot to pick it up instead.

    • sifter132 on 24/12/2016 - 08:48

      Ever seen your local driver? What time of day is he in your area? When I drove, I know there were certain delivery areas that were at the end of my run that sometimes I couldn't reach in time, depending on how my day was going. If a parcel was off peak and I was running short of time, then I wouldn't deliver it. Instead I would deliver it on a day where I had more time. Overnight packages really should be delivered though - it's your job.

  • sifter132 on 24/12/2016 - 08:45
    +2

    I used to drive for a competitor (it's something a bell might do…), and I had something similar happen to a Christmas hamper that I was due to deliver. By the time the box was in my delivery cage, it was leaking some liquid all over a couple of other boxes and I had to leave it behind. Ultimately, the recipients had to drive to the depot to collect it.

    I always encouraged customers to be overly careful when packaging things, because your box will go through a lot of different hands on the way to its destination. There's a good chance other heavy boxes will be placed on top of it each time it gets loaded into a new crate/vehicle etc., it will be placed there with varying degrees of care, it's not just a friendly old man putting the box on his front seat and driving it straight to you.
    Boxes can be marked with 'fragile' and 'top load', but unfortunately, a drivers top priority is not to care for his packages - he just wants to deliver them as quick as possible so he can get a lunch break. I've never seen fragile boxes thrown, but I've certainly seen them treated with no difference to a normal box. Also, put multiple markings on every side ie. you could have one fragile label on one side, and the driver might never see that side of the box.

    Just on the admin side, there can be a black hole for packages at times. Here's what often happens: I try to deliver something, the person is not home, I mark the package as undeliverable for the office staff, they try to call the recipients and get a time/date for redelivery. But sometimes that person doesn't answer, or never rings back the office in response to a left message. What happens then? Package gets dumped into a depository of other delayed deliveries. So if you're using a courier, track your package. If it's delayed, call them. The help lines are usually bad, but it can be worth it to make sure your stuff is delivered/arrives safely.

    So in answer to your question: don't expect too much! Just cross your fingers it transits smoothly, and the person is home to receive it.

    Merry Christmas all!

    • whooah1979 on 24/12/2016 - 08:54
      +1

      toll is considered a bit more premium compared to tnt. one would expect better service.

      • MATTDAMON on 24/12/2016 - 19:03
        +1

        bahahahah Toll considered premium.

        They are all as average as each other.

        99/100 the OP's problem isnt the freight company but the way its been packaged or the strength and quality of box. Need to remember that units are often auto sorted by machine and pushed around on pallets/have stuff stacked ontop. This is freight on time sensitive timeframes, not items handled with kid gloves.

  • j5ive on 24/12/2016 - 18:22

    We use TNT. The service is brilliant. We always pack things in a way that they could be dropped and still survive.

    Two out of four to me says that it simply wasn't packed well enough.

    • MATTDAMON on 24/12/2016 - 19:06

      As with any freight company (inc post) you package items to survive a 1m fall because changes are when they are using autosort units they flip loaded cages upside down to put product onto the conveyor belt. All major freight companies use the same system including fedex/ups etc.

    • razorack999 on 30/12/2016 - 10:06

      Not sure where you are located but our experience has been very poor, but the major problem was their response once the breakage occurred. It was zero. No contacting us, no follow up calls, Nothing. Once we had ascertained the problem with around 20 calls and about 4 hours of our time, their response was like a naughty toddler, denying everything and deflecting . Being passed the same dead end number on 5 occasions was just infuriating. Accidents happen, but it is how you deal with your customers that defines what sort of company you are. In our experience TNT are the worse.

      • [Deactivated] on 30/12/2016 - 10:09
        +1

        I had tnt leave a flat crt monitor in the rain, plugged it in, nothing worked, rang up to complain and they didn't care
        Luckily I had paypal protection and saw a refund on a near 1000 monitor (back when flatscreen crts were cool with 100hz refresh rates)

  • DiscoJango on 24/12/2016 - 19:39

    thrown into a van
    rolls around in the van
    thrown onto a conveyor belt
    thrown into another van

    have seen this in person many a time, eg: deliveries at work, $20K worth of dell equipment, just bouncing around in the back of a van.

    zero F's given.

  • [Deactivated] on 24/12/2016 - 20:41
    +1

    With any courier, pack it like you expect it to be dropped 2 meters.

    With TNT, pack it like you expect it to be blown up with TNT.

    Seriously I had a package addressed to a Parcel Locker and for some reason the sender chose to use TNT. I arranged an alternative address (because they don't deliver to Parcel Lockers) but they still delivered it there anyway. Luckily the people at the Auspost sorted office (where the Parcel Lockers are co-located) are sympathetic on how incompetent they are and have a few brain cells, and took the initiative to take care of my package unofficially as they aren't allowed to put it in an actual Parcel Locker without them paying the fee.

    I've had other problems with TNT before. They are the worst in my experience. Very disorganised. They have a big name but they are run like an incompetent 2 man shop.

  • cyrax83 on 24/12/2016 - 20:53
    +1

    Your fault for poor packaging and going with TNT. The packaging should be good enough to survive being beaten up a little.

    TNT and Toll are hopeless though I'd avoid them

    • razorack999 on 30/12/2016 - 10:13

      Packaging was good, but perhaps not "TNT proof!" But our main complaint is how we were dealt with after the problem. A 2 year old toddler would have more accountability than TNT

  • [Deactivated] on 24/12/2016 - 21:29

    All couriers are varying degrees of useless and DGAF about it.

  • highdealer on 24/12/2016 - 23:42
    +1

    I have heard all sort of horror stories about any and all delivery company in Australia. Fastway, Toll, TNT you name it but never once had i had a bad experience with any of them. May be it's just my luck but whenever i sent something, i always make sure the item i am sending is well protected. Bubble wrap, peanut foam, air bag to name a few. Make sure your package can survive a nuclear blast.

    With the detail you provided, a hamper pack in a strong box with plastic wrapping on top doesn't seem to be adequate. Even if you don't want to waste any money for extra protection material, bits and pieces of scrunch up paper would go a long way.

  • cantstanzya on 25/12/2016 - 00:08

    I don't know about the rest of you but if I was a delivery driver I would be…

  • oringal on 25/12/2016 - 01:12

    It probably gets damaged when being sorted in the distribution facility. Packages get automatically sorted and they probably will get damaged because of the limited human interaction

  • neonlight on 25/12/2016 - 09:38
    +1

    Trust noone, deliver yourself. Couriers in Australia is the worse service in the world

    • JajaMinx on 25/12/2016 - 11:20

      I do agree with this.

      I live in a secured apartment and most of the time I have to track down my package because they don't want to waste a minute more to contact me on the intercom or to call me. As soon as the driver knows he can't just get out of his van and leave the package at the front, he'll just skip my delivery entirely and report it as "Undeliverable" or "Delivery address not accessible".

      • razorack999 on 29/12/2016 - 09:09

        after reading everyones replies , I also agree with this. except these went interstate. I cartainly will be recommending that she deliver them herself next time.

      • [Deactivated] on 30/12/2016 - 10:06

        I had this problem and the mailman just dumped packages at the front door, of course stuff got stolen but australia post shrugged it off and said it was "secure" drop point

        A few arguments later and intervention from the mail ombudsman forced them to refund me their minimum amount

        The postie also now rings the intercom

  • icyprincess on 25/12/2016 - 11:19
    +2

    Why would you not order from a place like hamper world and have them deliver for you? Any issues then it's easy to call hamper world and it's their job to make sure the hamper reaches the person in one piece?

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