Nightmarish experiences

I seldom complain.

But today, allow me this privilege, please.

It’s happened not once, but twice, and both to the same area in Selangor.

I am practically at the post office every day because there are orders to deliver, which is a good thing, but we hope we can rely on the courier service, what more the guarantee of “next day delivery” but that is not to be these days.

It is still okay if it is delayed 1-2 days. After all, it’s the festive season and we understand that there would be an increase in the volume of deliveries, but what happened is simply quite unacceptable.

Case 1:

The recipient did not receive the consignment after many days. I tracked and it said that the addressee was not home on the day of delivery. But the addressee was at home all day. And even if an attempt had been made, surely the courier would have left a note for self-collection. There was no note.

So I called and was told I had written a wrong postcode and the consignment had gone to another part of Selangor. It isn’t true, because I have the carbon copy of the delivery note and the postcode is correct. But by then, the consignment had gone to the other place and it took time for it to come back to the correct area.

It was a nightmare tracking that consignment, which was a blanket. Finally, the recipient decided she would just self-collect from the depot.

So I wrote in an official complaint and the nightmare began. They did not understand what you are complaining about. I wanted to know why I was told I had written a wrong postcode and if at all attempts were made to deliver, why wasn’t a note left for the recipient. But what I got was this: “The parcel has been self-collected. Thank you.” But I pursued and repeated my questions. This time they asked for all details (my name, my contact number, my address and the recipients’, etc.) But why would you need that when I have given you the tracking number? Don’t you have the records? Everything is on the delivery note. And I was told that if I did not cooperate, they would not be able to investigate. So I sought the consent of the recipient to reveal her details and she consented. All details were provided for them to do (hopefully) a more thorough investigation. Finally the reply came: “The parcel has been self-collected. Thank you.” You either want to tear your hair out, roll on the floor laughing out OR just smile and say, “Well, what to do? Just be thankful the consignment has been safely self-collected now.” And move on, and pray it will not happen again.

But it did.

Case 2:

The recipient also did not receive the consignment after 6 days. I tracked and it said the consignment is to be self-collected. Oh? Now why did I pay for courier charges if it is to be self-collected at the depot? So I called and was told an attempt was made to deliver on a certain date but the addressee was not at home.

Now, again, the addressee was at home all day on that day. And again, there was no note for self-collection.

So I called the hotline and no one picked up the phone.

After many attempts, finally I got to speak with someone and was told that the courier did leave a note. But the recipient said there was no such note. I then asked to speak with a higher ranking person. I was put on hold for many minutes. Of course no one picked up the “higher ranking” line.

So I hung up and called again. This time the person said that according to the records, there is actually no record of what had happened to the consignment; they don’t even know if any attempt had been made to deliver it, but in any case, can you please self-collect, they asked. The consignment has been sitting at the depot for 6 days now.

I kept my cool.

Then, I wrote another formal email complaint but I know I will only receive the standard reply and would be wasting the electrons.

I then arranged for a friend to help collect the consignment and deliver by hand to the recipient.

So by the time they reply to my query, I’m certain they would say: “The parcel has been self-collected. Thank you.”

Case 3:

This happened when a delivery was made to KL. The recipient did not receive the consignment after 4 days. I called the hotline and they checked and told me that I had addressed it to a postbox and they do not deliver to postboxes. What? But I had sent consignments to this person before and it is always to the same address (the postbox) and it has always reached. They insisted that they do not deliver to postboxes. So I asked what could be done, there was no note in the postbox for self-collection either.

They said they would do a special delivery, if I insisted. Of course I insisted.

So the consignment was delivered the next day. To the postbox.

After that, the same person ordered items from us again. All consignments have reached…the postbox. No issues anymore.

I get very upset if consignments are not delivered because I always respond immediately to orders and when the courier service fails to live up to its promise, it somehow reflects on us. We are still answerable. And yes, we have tried another courier service earlier, but it wasn’t any better. Actually, it was worse. I shall spare you the stories.

But granted, the volume that we send out is huge, so 3 out of hundreds is probably “not so bad”, but “really bad” if it happened to you. And as for us, as many parcels as we post out each week, each parcel is important to us, so it’s still a nightmare to us when this happens.

Nothing is perfect, I know.

The purpose of writing this is to assure you that whenever we receive an order or you win an auction item, we post it out on the next working day after payment has been received. You are assured of this – you will see me at the post office practically every day. However, if you don’t receive your consignment after 2-3 days, please write and let us know and we will track it down for you.

We apologise for the incompetence of the courier service, but that is quite beyond our control as we need to depend on them for delivery.

I have been using the courier service for as long as AnimalCare existed. First it was only tshirts; now it’s many more items. Imagine my nightmare if a blanket or shopping bag were to get lost. How am I going to replace it as each blanket and shopping bag is unique. So far, we’ve only had delays but no losses, and for this, I am thankful.

And as for this month until Hari Raya, please expect up to a 7-day delay. We are really sorry, but it’s not us causing the delay. It’s the courier service. If you are an applicant, you would know how prompt we are in responding to your needs and in our subsidy payments. We pay within the same day, you know that. Unless there is no name of bank, or the bank account number is wrong and we call you but you do not pick up or return the call, the text or the email, which also happens (and is another nightmare which happened today).

So for those who wish to apply for our funds, may we request that you please check the form to ensure all details are filled up completely before posting it? We can reject your form if it is incomplete (as we have a clause that says: Incomplete forms will not be entertained), but we are here to help, and I will call you, text you, leave a voicemail or email you to ask for your details so that we can still pay you. Your cooperation in responding is most appreciated.

*Deep breaths*

Thank you.

Updates: I went to check at the post office again today. I was told that if the tracking says to self-collect, it is likely that delivery was never even made at all. This explains why no note was left in the postbox of the recipients. So my guess is right. The volume is too large, and they cannot complete the day’s delivery, so the parcels are sent back to the depot for “self-collection”. The only problem is, the recipient is not notified to self-collect. That is the missing link. Now, how can this missing link be linked? I was given a feedback form to fill.

I will fill that up and hope the system will improve.

But why am I paying for courier charges if the recipient is to self-collect? Now, that will be another story, wouldn’t it?

Today, I sent out three consignments and I’m sitting on the edge of my seat now and praying they will somehow…arrive.