Thursday, August 28, 2008

Lazy or incompetent TNT driver, take your pick

Location: Ontario, Ottawa
Industry: Transportation
Annoyed By: TNT shipping

A overseas friend had sent me a parcel under a tight deadline. Not wishing to risk normal mail, she sent it by courier. I wasn't happy about that because there is generally no option to have the parcel delivered in the evening or on weekends when the customer can be expected to actually be home to receive it. So I reluctantly took a couple of days holiday from work so I could sit at home to wait for it to arrive.

Late afternoon the first day, a friend dropped by and, when I mentioned the thing about a delivery, he commented he's seen a UPS driver putting up a notice in the entrance of the condo building where I live. Knowing what that usually meant, I was very irritated as I went downstairs to look at it and it turned out to be for someone else.

The TNT (another shipping company) sticker next to it wasn't, however.


Right on the sticker was the comment that they hadn't been able to deliver and I'd have to call a number to get information.

I called ... and reached someone in Texas. Asking them why I was talking to someone in Texas about a shipping problem between Brasil and Canada got me nowhere. But they did eventually give me a local number to try.

The local number offered to try delivering again the next day, but given the screwup the first day I opted to go to the warehouse - inconveniently located at the other end of the city, of course - where I had the evening shift manager come to the counter with the parcel and had her confirm that both my home number and 'enterphone' number were prominently listed along with the complete address - so why wasn't I contacted by the driver?

They couldn't answer.

People at my office theorized that the driver figured there was probably no one home in the middle of the day and was too lazy to even try either number, just in case he was wrong.

Remind me again why we pay couriers more than the regular post office ... when they don't even TRY to deliver?

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