OT Contacting some serivce companies

When I used to use couriers for my business, I found the best way was to use a local courier firm that acted as an agent for one of the major national firms, in my case TNT. Friendly people, who knew me by name, the same multiline phone number for everything and whose office was only a short drive away should I ever need to visit.

If its any help, I've found that there are two market sectors - one geared up for serving the domestic sector, and the other for serving the industrial/commercial sector.

Those companies dealing with the domestic sector seem to treat their customers with disdain, and the sales staff have short retention before they move on.

On the other hand those companies dealing with the industrial/commercial section are very conscious about their reputation and will go out of their way to resolve issues. Generally they are one of a limited number of vendors serving that section, and news about poor/indifferent service gets around the sector very quickly and can quickly ruin the company.

Absolutely. They're in the business of being as cheap as possible, because that's only what people sending care about (all those 'free delivery' promises don't get the merchant any more money for a better service).

If the parcel was delivered for £4 and the customer service person is paid £10 an hour, if they spend 24 minutes on the phone they've wiped out the entire value of the parcel, and likely the profit margin is only a handful of minutes.

Also, you aren't the customer here, the sender is. So keeping you happy doesn't matter, because the sender very likely won't get to hear about it and send it a different way next time.

The same goes for a lot of big companies: Google, Amazon, etc - they intentionally make it hard to talk to a human, buying the facility so many levels down in a tree of options that are never quite what you wanted.

Theo

I did a search for "DPD phone number", and got:

Generally yes - if they can get you to fix the problem with a web interaction it is cheaper for them.

No, most are significantly worse - IME DPD are one of the better ones!

Too many people buying on price alone.

Yes.

Standard practice now is if you can find somebody to make a complaint to then they will reject it automatically and suggest you got to their relevant trade association to complain.

The banks refer you to the Financial Ombudsman Service, a landlord to the Housing Ombudsman etc.

It means they don't need to maintain their own customer service department and the majority of people seem to give up when faced with having to go to a third party.

Doesn't it cost the organisation from the minute the Ombudsman opens up a case, valid or not?

Increasingly I have found a use for Twitter where most companies seem to have a presence. Even financial institutions and utitlties in particular have removed the direct messaging facilities from their website even though I'm logged in with my account details.

When I'm forced to use Twitter (or whatever it's called nowadays) I make sure it is a public post and I make as much noise as is reasonable.

I see that someone, unable to find DPD England, has reached out (well they do say, "thank you for reaching out to us", a lot) to DPD Ireland who have offered to follow up:

DPD Ireland @dpdireland · Jul 4 Good Morning, Thank you for reaching out to us. We're sorry to hear about your delivery experience. Please contact us via DM for further information. Kind regards, Team DPD Ireland </quote>

I'd like to know which banks given (a) FCA rules /require/ reasonable and prompt handling of complaints and (b) every complaint that goes to the FOS costs the bank £750 no matter what the outcome. Suggests an odd combination of snootiness and profligacy. I wonder who...

That's the impression they give.

Try ceoemail.com - it has several listings for DPD including a contact for their CEO. Might work - has done for me in a couple of other cases.

Twice recently I've contacted the customer services of the company that has sent me stuff using Evri (was Hermes) and complained about Evri. I said that unless they changed to a more competent delivery company I would not order from them again. If enough people did that, maybe something good would come out of it.

=++

Way back in the '90s, we were about to test a £3.5m compressor and we were hiring a 386 computer and a printer for data logging. The hire company was Livingston Hire and sent a lot of stuff all over the country.

Anyway, the printer arrived and not the PC, which was threatening to delay customer witness testing.

The truck was still outside and the driver had gone to use our canteen, so I left a note on his windscreen, asking him to call my extension before leaving ... I caught him driving through the gate, without phoning! He refused to look in the back, drove off and it took three days to get it delivered.

Apparently, Livingston Hire had been having a lot of problems with the courier and my complaint was the final straw, with them moving all of their deliveries and returns (a sizeable contract) away from TNT.

I suspect they are likely to tell you that any issues should be raised direct with the courier (wrongly of course as the contract is between the sender and the carrier).

I've done that with Yodel, and stuck to it. Ordered 3 x 20kg parcels for next day delivery on a Friday. Late in the day, I got a 'you were out' email; no card. He never even came near us (I have CCTV). Customer service confirmed this with the GPS; when he 'virtually carded' us he was nowhere near.

They said they would discuss it with the driver, and deliver ... on Monday. One of the parcels never did turn up, and I had to chase a refund.

No Yodel any more.

Funny you mention TNT - IMHO not one of the best couriers.

I ordered some bits from Mouser, who were (and still are) using TNT. The package was scheduled for before noon delivery. Noon came and went and upon checking the TNT track and trace page, it showed the package had been delivered with a signature - but not my signature.

I contacted Mouser's customer services who send out a replacement order virtually immediately.

The missing package did arrive later in the afternoon - I refused to sign but the courier gave it to me anyway. I then contacted Mouser to advise them but the replacement package had already been dispatched - this time by UPS.

I hope Mouser back charged TNT for the cost of the "missing" package which ISTR was about £150 in value.

So full marks to Mouser for customer service. A good example of the customer service which I would expect from a commercial/industrial supplier.

I have done likewise with two companies, in the hope that pressure from large businesses who use them will have more effect than domestic customers complaints. Evri are undoubtedly the worst I have used (so far) and are nearly impossible to contact. I don't know if Yodel are still in existence but Evri are even worse than they were at the height of their ineptitude. Sadly, the best ones like DPD are too expensive for normal use.

I had a missive from eBuyer this morning:

"In 2023, Ebuyer is stepping up. We've heard you loud and clear, and we're taking action. Introducing our new delivery partner, DPD, dedicated to ensuring your Orders are delivered promptly and with care."

(Ditching Evri at last...)

So some do listen...

I got that email, too.

I'm afraid many companies do not have published telephone numbers of anyone but who I call the platitude department. IE they are paid to apologise but sod all gets fixed.

Kind of reminds me of that old Star Trek where they arive on a planet and are greeted by a lady who kills them. The eventually get to the system in control to find that its a hi tech intruder deterrent used when there is nobody on the base, Trouble is the inhabitants all died out and hence there was nobody left to turn it off. I can imagine the world going this way, where the only contact is from spambots and maintenance robots well after we have gone. Brian