An advertiser pays me by cheque, sent by DHL courier. It doesn't arrive. The advertiser passes on to me this log from DHL:
1/4/2007 3:48 pm Delivery Attempted.
Please Call 1-888-273-8876. Axxxxxx, Canada
Odd. There was no delivery attempt notice left at the door. In any case, someone was here all day.
I call 888-273-8876. The automated message assures me that delivery is DHL's top priority, and then asks me to enter my 5-digit ZIP code. Here in Canada, we have 6-character postal codes.
I press 0 to get an operator. No response.
I enter my postal code on the telephone keypad. I am told it is incorrect, and to reenter it. I do, and after a while, a human answers the phone. She takes information from me, and then explains that this 888-number only handles "domestic" deliveries, which I take to mean the United States (DHL is a German company). She has no answer to my question, "Why are Canadian addresses asked to call a number that only supports US addresses?"
She attempts to transfer me to the international desk, but cannot. She tells me to call 1-888-899-0289.
I call the number. It rings once, then silence.
I call the number again. Again it rings once, then silence.
I call the number a third time. This time someone picks up the phone. I explain the problem. She responds that I have called the wrong number, but she will transfer me.
I am finally transferred to a DHL employee who can deal with the problem. She looks up the info. The only problem she can determine is that my street address was printed "Donl yn" instead of "Donlyn." Everything else is correct, including the street number, city, and postal code.
She cheerfully tells me that the package will be delivered "Monday or Tuesday." I am aghast: that's another four days! "You don't deliver on Fridays?" I ask. "Yes, but the address needs to be corrected."
When I tell her that I will tell the shipper to apply for a refund on this delivery (since it is delivered late), I hear only stoney silence. With the DHL rep no longer responding, I hang up.
Update
The envelop arrived Friday, after all. I asked the DHL driver about the address problem. "That's B.S!" he exclaimed.
The more likely reason, he continued, is that the envelop arrived late, and a driver couldn't be bothered delivering it, so he put in the "Address Incorrect" code.
When I reported all this to the advertiser, he replied, "DHL isn't my favorite shipping company, this is reason number 8,0000!"
Comments