DHL service

[JJflyer]

Not really a rumour or a news, but shows what a pi.ss poor service one can expect using DHL. I would understand if this happens once, but this being the 4th time DHL chooses to s.crew up a simple envelope has reached limit of my understanding.

October 27, 2004 12:44
Amsterdam - Netherlands. Shipment picked up

October 27, 2004 18:31
Amsterdam - Netherlands. Departing origin

October 27, 2004 21:04
Amsterdam - Netherlands. Departed from DHL facility in Amsterdam

October 28, 2004 01:20
Brussels - Belgium Arrived at DHL facility in Brussels

October 28, 2004 05:10
Brussels - Belgium. Departed from DHL facility in Brussels

October 29, 2004 15:27
Paris - France. Departed from DHL facility in Paris

November 06, 2004 10:46
Algiers - Algeria. Arrived at DHL airport facility in Algiers

November 06, 2004 13:49
Algiers - Algeria. Arrived at DHL city facility

November 07, 2004 09:34
Algiers - Algeria. With delivery courier

November 07, 2004 11:14
Algiers - Algeria. Shipment delivered

DHL promised a 3 day service, but provided something different. If you need to send or recieve time sensitive documents such as your licence or medical or PC forms, DO NOT use DHL as their service cannot be trusted.

DHL assumes no liability for their mistakes neither can you find info on the status of the shipment other than that available on the web. Numerous calls to Amsterdam, Paris and Algiers with considerable personal expense got me conflicting information, we do not care attitude and blantant lies from DHL, but at the end no info where my shipment was.

Once again I must advice against using DHL for shipment of important documents.

JJ

[nooluv]

Have to disagree with you jjflyer!

Our Company uses DHL on an all year round basis. 20 overseas couriers a day average..

In the 2 years I've been working for my company. We have "lost or had redirected" 6 or 7 "easyship" dispatches & 5 of these were due to wrong address, post codes, lack of address info by the customer etc..
They have an internet tracking system web-site etc..
A class service!! Now TNT ??????

nooluv.............

[Scimitar]

I've had trouble with them too.

Reckon DHL stands for Desperately, Hopelessly Lost.

[sideshowbob]

So I suppose this would never happen with the likes of fedex, ups or tnt then??..............What a load of tosh!! So to the poster advising against using dhl get a life!!

[JJflyer]

Yip

I have filed a complaint and stopped the credit card payment on the shipment. Unfortunately DHL conditions of carriage are about the same as withother express service companies. So no compensation for having my papers sit somewhere for 12 days.

Just to repeat myself a bit: I Will never use DHL again and will not recommend that anyone else uses them either. If all these 4 times had been with another company I would not use them either, but it wa DHL.

a) Yes it can happen with UPS, FedEx and TNT, but it didn't

b) This was my personal experience with DHL not a rumour or something I heard through the grapewine

c) Yes DHL can probably do a good job, but have not done it with me

d) "sideshowbob" It is obvious who you work for. Nuf said I think

JJ

[Nineiron]

It would have been interesting to see what the tracking service was saying in the week it took from Paris to Algiers. Probably misrouted by a sorting error at Paris.
DHL = Day and a Half Late, but that was ridiculous

[Silent Air]

Guys coming at this from the ops side can we be realistic, all the main integrators work to key performance indicators (KPIs).

It is not unusual in the express market to be aiming for 98% on time performance, there's much more to go wrong out there than the on time uplift/despatch of the aircraft - although this will screw up 100% of the shipments if missed :ugh:

I'm sure this screw up is a nightmare for the person involved, always is, price of JIT processes, have to remember unlikely nobody did it deliberately.

Not from the DHL camp, so talking on behalf the express carriers :p

Silent

[driftdown]

My Client requested carriage of a Non DG consignment (flashpoint above 70 Deg C) by DHL. It was their account so who am I to comment, suffice to say that after 14+ days of will it or won't be carried it was redelivered to my office.


Numerous phonecalls to me instead of the people paying the bill, i.e consignor.

Singularly unimpressive performance.

Now UPS Bahrain they get my vote. Efficient and all done at a price none of the other courier companies can touch.

[Zones]

Been debating as to whether to reply to this, but here I am so:

First of all, not sure this belongs in this forum now, as no one has been able to comment 'operationally' on DHL ops ex Paris during the week in question, and now this is just a discussion on the merits of DHL, its competitors and the express business in general.

Before it gets moved on, I'd like to comment to JJ:

It is obvious you have suffered. All companies make mistakes, no matter what business. I know most people who sware that BMW's are the best overall car around, yet I have heard many a tale of woe on BMW's too. I think it is a bit harsh to come on a public forum such as this and slag DHL off quite so strongly, when you probably do not have all the facts about the relative strengths and weaknessess of all of the Express operators.

If you were shipping 100+ parcels a day, shared between three or four operators, then I'd respect your opinion on who might be 'better' than the others. But because you suffered once I think you're a bit harsh.

Yes it happened to you, and yes it was DHL, but that is probably not what the majority of experiences would be, based on what I know of the express industry.

Perhaps if you'd posted more a questioning toned post to the forum, then this might get some more detailed responses from those who know...

Rgds
Z.

Not with DHL.....:O


Subsequent edtit by ZONES:
After re-reading your post JJ, maybe I in turn do you a dis-service, in that perhaps you qeren't quite as harsh as I thought you were... but still, I think a little harsher than needed. Cheers.

[CargoOne]

Unfotunately DHL website is not providing detailed tracking for old shipments otherwise I would present you a quite interesting trace for one shipment we sent last July.

Originated in Nothern Europe with destination in Sierra Leone. Traveled through Brussels, Paris, Abijan, Accra, back to Paris, back to Brussels, againg onto Paris, Abijan, Accra, again Abijan, again Accra and finally to Sierra Leone ;) Took more than two weeks.

[Memetic]

Years ago I shipped 100kg + of exhibition equipment and brochures to an exhibition in Ufa.

All collected on time, things were looking good,I'd allowed a week for it to get there.

Three weeks later, with the parcel still in Moscow, we found out that delivey Ufa was by motorbike, but no one had flagged it as small packets only on the booking system.

Luckily our "battle hardended" sales manager had carried a second suitcase full of brochures and demo kit as a back up. He was one of the few at the show with anything!

Yep it was DHL. But that was the only real screw up in a few years of doing similar things.

[Clarence Oveur]

Everybody screws up once in a while.

I had a package sent to me by a company located 90 km from where I live. They those UPS to deliver said package.

It took 21 days and 7 delivery "attempts" before I finally got my package, and by that time it looked like it had done 10 rounds with Mike Tyson.

7 times they claimed to have been at my house, which was obviously untrue as I had been home all day on those days.

For 1 week it was reported as lost at the depot before they found it again.

Customer service was useless, and more than hinted that I was lying about being home on the days, they claimed to have been trying to deliver the package.

This was my first and last experience of UPS.

[JJflyer]

...they DHL dropped the ball while "Playing" with me.

Again everyone can screw up once or twice but 4 or 5 times, now thats starts to be a bit much.

Great dialouge fellows, unfortunately DHL does not seem to have time to talk to me regrding the matter.

Cheers

JJ

[O'Neill No6]

I've had similar bad experiences with DHL.

Recently had a very important package sent all round the UK for a week before is was eventually sent to Asia on a 3-day delivery "promise". When I complained I was told that I wouldn't get a reply because it was coming to a bank holiday week-end! Eventually got free voucher worth about £50 after much argument.

Another recent shipment to Jakarta arrived on friday morning at Jakarta airport was moved around various departments and eventually delivered on the following monday evening! When I complained DHL said that they have no control over local delivery drivers and the driver must have run out of time on the friday! So 2-days to reach the airport from the UK and 4 days to go the five miles to the addresee in Jakarta.

A document to Singapore however took one day to arrive from the UK.

[high_flyer_2004]

Drop it
Hide it
Loose it

:ok:

[Flip Flop Flyer]

Dansk
Hash
Lager

Den
Halve
Lön

Det
Helvedes
Lort

'We steal your packages", sorry, "We keep your promises".

Hey as long as they keep us in beer and sandwiches right?

[geronimo]

DUEY...HUEY & LUEY
DAMAGED...HIDDEN & LOST

but do you guys know what it originally stood for?

DALSEY, HILLBLOM & LYNN... aha, learn something every day, he?

[neil armstrong]

And there is a story behind thisHillblom (http://dna-view.com/hillblom.htm)

by the way its
Damn
Heavy
Landing

Neil

[JJflyer]

DHL has agreed to return the payment of approximately 70 Euros made on the "Express" service.
However, at the end it would have been cheaper for me to purchase a full fare business class ticket ALG-AMS-ALG and pick up the letter my self (Loss of revenue higher than published ticket prices add 400 euros of phone calls to try to track the letter) and it would have saved me a lot of gray hair development.

JJ

[Mr Angry]

Understand it must be very frustrating and am totally sympathetic (i'd be hopping mad myself), but this is the Professional Pilots Rumour Net........., so why is thread on PPRUNE. Incorrect routing, barcodes on ULDs, etc. aren't the fault of the pilots.

[JJflyer]

The fact the DHL shipment contained documents that I needed to do my job, fly an airplane, make it more than relevant for the professional aviatior. Nowhere in my posts did I suggest that DHL pilots where at fault? or did I?

Point being. If you have important documents you need to have in your posession to do your job, you take a risk of not getting those in the time promised when using services such as DHL. I felt what went on was bad enough to justify a post. Fellow aviators in similar situation know what happened to me, and can perhaps avoid such ordeal .

Forewarned is forearmed.

JJ

[tgdxb]

my turn to add my tune of 'satisfaction':(
not only did DHL manage to annoy me at home but now they managed to send my package to... S. Africa while it was expected in a norther European country.
Thus the otherwise overnight delivery has turned out to be an over.... week one, provided I get it before next Sun!
Thks once more DHL!:ok:

[Daysleeper]

not only did DHL manage to annoy me at home

Hang on, so after all that complaining about our night operation you are actually sending packages through our network. You total hypocrite.

[tgdxb]

ooohh no! My company is using your company and... here is the result!:ok:
I would not use DHL, you bet it!
And BTW I had to call your wonderful 24*24 support line. In fact ehy know less than your online tracking system!!!!!!:ok: :ok: :ok:
They claimed the package was already at destination while your site shows it is in S. Africa!!!!
Well done!!!!! Top service for top money!!!!!
I needed it urgently and you messed it up.:ugh:

[tgdxb]

you will like this one:ok:
The online tracking system indicates my package is in S. Africa and DHL staff claims - as shown on their system - that it has reached its destination on Dec 1.
Nobody at DHL Brussels is able to tell me where it is, when it will arrive & nobody at DHL Brussels is able to tell me until next Mon because it is... the week end. Period.

Glory! Oh Glory! Maybe this explains why DHL needed an increase in movements at BRU...:E

[tgdxb]

and now the "good" news - DHL starts acting upon this problem (after all it has only been 4 days since they discovered the package misdirection) and... are looking for... info because they don't know where it could be.
At least they admitted that given the circumstances Cape Town-LHR-BRU-??? (this is where it was yesterday & since then no news anymore) is not the shortest nor the fastest way to get it to its Northern Europe destination.