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Customer Service Stories : Villain...The International Shipping Company That Failed To Deliver Service And Our Goods!

Recently we had had some problems shipping goods from Canada to the UK but we managed to get by without too much hassle. Then we needed to send goods from the UK to the US and this is where the fun started.

Firstly, we had to set up a new account with this International shipping company and had to fight for any kind of discount that we were used to here in Canada (they are a global company but we still had to set up accounts locally!). We then called the shipping company in the UK and asked for a remote collection from a 3rd party supplier in the UK. The goods were for a trade show in San Diego, later that week.


The contact center agent at the shipping company in the UK told a staff member at our UK office not to worry about completing the documents, as the shipping agent would do this when he showed up for the collection. Well the shipping agent did show up on time and told the 3rd party supplier they would have to complete the forms, as he was not authorised to do so. Reluctantly the 3rd party agreed to complete the forms and filled them out as best they could.

When we arrived in San Diego for the trade show, we logged onto the shipping company's web site to track progress of the shipment. We entered the consignment number - it was not recognised by the system. We then called the company and asked a representative what was happening with the shipment and were told that the consignment number was invalid. Despite our comments that we had a copy of it faxed from the UK in front of us (it was on their own stationery!), the agent disputed this as her system showed it as being invalid.

She eventually tracked down the shipment using another method and were told that it was due for delivery the next morning but payment was due on it at time of delivery. We asked why and were told that the 3rd party in the UK had ticked the 'bill receiver' box. We explained that it was on our UK account and, again had to fight to get this acknowledged - we had to make several calls back to the UK so our shipping company account manager could confirm this. Although an agent in the UK contact center had been faxed a confirmation that the UK account was to be billed for the shipment they didn't bother to fax it to the US shipping office. The time difference of 9 hours was not in our favour! And the US contacts would not call their UK colleagues, as it was not policy! So we had to sort this out at 6.30am PST (GMT-9.00) Eventually the shipping company confirmed that the shipment would be delivered on time and that no charges will be payable as they now have a record that it is on account. It was now 7.15am PST and the shipment was due for delivery that day. It had already been loaded onto a delivery van so we naturally asked if the driver was aware that it was on account and we were told he was, so we should not worry!

We then left for the trade show at 9am PST and set up. At 9.45am PST, a show contractor came up to our booth (stand) and told us that a shipping agent had showed up, wanted payment then left almost immediately without waiting for anyone to contact us! We were bemused - why was he asking for payment? We immediately called the shipping company and the first thing the agent said was "Well, it does say payment is due". After several minutes of debate (the agent was extremely argumentative and unhelpful - he kept on saying it was our fault) we eventually managed to get them to contact the driver and have him re-deliver the goods. The contact center agent at the shipping company refused to accept any responsibility for their actions and did not help the situation by arguing. When the delivery driver did show up, he left only 3 of the 4 boxes at the conference center. There was no sign of the 4th one or any explanation! That evening we called the shipping company and explained our utter frustration and how appalling their own communications had been between their UK office, and with their driver! We asked if they could just forward the last box on to Canada as the show was over - guess what - they refused and started to say it was our fault for sending the shipment marked 'bill receiver'.

The situation could have been handled so much better - their staff would not accept any failure and their communication (internally) was appalling, they were not prepared to accept responsibility for misinformation and lack of communication. To cut a long story short, we really think they don't care about service and we are now actively seeking alternatives!

Today's Tip of the Day - Keep Cost In Perspective

Read today's tip or listen to it on podcast.

Published: Monday, September 23, 2002

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