Waiting for a delivery!

[Alabex]

I hate waiting for deliveries! I have taken the day off work today to stay home and wait for my delivery which will arrive sometime between 9am -5pm.

Why can delivery companies not narrow down the timeframe a little? Surely they run to some sort of schedule and would know at least maybe a two hour time frame? This particular company doesn't even call half and hour prior! So it is just all day waiting.... and waiting.... and waiting...

 

[RumpledElf]

We had a couch delivered last week. It was a special order we put in in about February, which I was paying off in instalments because why pay upfront for something that'll take 4 months to arrive?

A month ago I rang them, paid it off, organised and paid for the delivery, had about 10 phone calls back and forth (including one in the middle that came when I was on the phone to them so they left a message to call them). They said the couch would arrive Friday. We stay home and wait on Friday, it doesn't arrive, we ring the delivery company who say they pick up on Tuesdays and deliver on Wednesday or Thursday, so we stay home on Wednesday and Thursday too. No couch.

Same thing happens the next week. Ringing the delivery company I get told it wasn't there for them to pick up both times so they can't deliver it. Ring the furniture company, they say I didn't give the ok for it to be delivered and they left a message and I never called back. Er, they called me and spoke to me twice after the message, of course I never called back, especially since the message had no more detail in it than 'call back' with the switchboard number. They insisted that I had to give the OK to get it delivered because they have to be 100% sure of when their furniture will arrive to ensure the customer is home or it costs them money to re-deliver it. I tell them nicely that they are a bunch of idiots and how can they NOT realise that me ringing to organise and pay for delivery means I want it delivered, and that they told me it was going to arrive on Friday (several Fridays ago by this point).

More time passes. Delivery company finally gets the couch, but they pack it at the wrong end of the truck. It goes backwards and forwards between Broken Hill and Adelaide a few times. By this point we've organised a trip to Adelaide - expecting the couch to have long since arrived - which crosses the time they want to deliver. More phone calls and we negotiate them delivering on Sunday night, which they do, in the dark while it's raining. Couch is all bubblewrapped and packed up and is just fine, and fortunately for their sake is the correct make and colour we ordered, or I would have been livid.

And all this because some pimply salesperson at the original furniture company forgot to tick the box on the computer that says 'customer wants this delivered'. Arrive at a specified guaranteed time, eh. Yeah, right.

 

[Alabex]

We had a couch delivered last week. It was a special order we put in in about February, which I was paying off in instalments because why pay upfront for something that'll take 4 months to arrive?

A month ago I rang them, paid it off, organised and paid for the delivery, had about 10 phone calls back and forth (including one in the middle that came when I was on the phone to them so they left a message to call them). They said the couch would arrive Friday. We stay home and wait on Friday, it doesn't arrive, we ring the delivery company who say they pick up on Tuesdays and deliver on Wednesday or Thursday, so we stay home on Wednesday and Thursday too. No couch.

Same thing happens the next week. Ringing the delivery company I get told it wasn't there for them to pick up both times so they can't deliver it. Ring the furniture company, they say I didn't give the ok for it to be delivered and they left a message and I never called back. Er, they called me and spoke to me twice after the message, of course I never called back, especially since the message had no more detail in it than 'call back' with the switchboard number. They insisted that I had to give the OK to get it delivered because they have to be 100% sure of when their furniture will arrive to ensure the customer is home or it costs them money to re-deliver it. I tell them nicely that they are a bunch of idiots and how can they NOT realise that me ringing to organise and pay for delivery means I want it delivered, and that they told me it was going to arrive on Friday (several Fridays ago by this point).

More time passes. Delivery company finally gets the couch, but they pack it at the wrong end of the truck. It goes backwards and forwards between Broken Hill and Adelaide a few times. By this point we've organised a trip to Adelaide - expecting the couch to have long since arrived - which crosses the time they want to deliver. More phone calls and we negotiate them delivering on Sunday night, which they do, in the dark while it's raining. Couch is all bubblewrapped and packed up and is just fine, and fortunately for their sake is the correct make and colour we ordered, or I would have been livid.

And all this because some pimply salesperson at the original furniture company forgot to tick the box on the computer that says 'customer wants this delivered'. Arrive at a specified guaranteed time, eh. Yeah, right.

Oh god that better not happen with this! I am suprised you haven't turned into an axe wilding maniac in the process....

 

[MTR]

Hi Alabex
that's hopeless, give them a ring and ask them what area they are currently servicing and an estimate on when they will get to your area. I have tried pinning them and it seems to work somewhat. They only get paid on delivery... right???

I have also used the line that I have to urgently rush out the door and must be contacted 30 minutes prior to delivery and it works a number of times now, they phoned me prior to delivery.




MTR

 

[DavidMc]

What are you waiting for? Was it something you could have had delieverd to work? That's what I do, unless it's a couch of course.

 

[Alabex]

Hi - It is a treadmill, purchased off ebay so to answer some of the questions.... way to big to get delivered to work (which i normally do too!) and it wont fit in our car anyway. I have tried calling them but the drivers phone is out of range... which is a good sign because i live in the black hole of mobile phone reception, which means if he is in the same black hole he shouldn't be too far away. And unfortunately delivery is paid - because it is from ebay....

the delivery company lady was a right ***** aswell when arranging it. I actually have thursdays off which comes in quite usefull for taking deliveries... however they can only deliver on thursday if i can have two people at home to assist (it weighs 100kg) because the thursday driver has a broken back.

even more annoying as i feel like i can't do much... i promised hubby i would wipper snip - but need to go get fuel for it and dont want to leave incase delivery driver rocks up.

 

[RumpledElf]

Sadly, I live a good 220km away from the furniture store, and its hard to threaten a very big company with an axe from that far away. The delivery fee stayed at the $150 I paid though, small mercies. It's an extremely large and heavy couch, we chose it because we could both lie full length on it at the same time I'd be more peeved if I'd got rid of my old couch in advance.

We get things delivered a lot - the local hardware store rings to say they are coming while they are packing the truck and are never late unless they take a back road when its raining and get bogged, *that* furniture company got it right the last time we got something from them, but I am dreading getting the kitchen delivered from bunnings. Its not so bad waiting from home, but our IP is 40km away, is unheated and vacant and its winter and we regularly go sub-zero. Realistically I'm going to need to leave a key at the house for that one.

Telstra and electricity companies also subscribe to the 9-5 timeframe, BTW. I just left a key for AGL (inside meter) and they locked up behind themselves. The IP at least has a street address, you need explicit directions and a description to find mine.

ETA: damn I have too much free time staying at home in the school holidays with noisy child and baby. Top 250? Argh! Maybe I should get a treadmill instead!

 

[Alabex]

Sadly, I live a good 220km away from the furniture store, and its hard to threaten a very big company with an axe from that far away. The delivery fee stayed at the $150 I paid though, small mercies. It's an extremely large and heavy couch, we chose it because we could both lie full length on it at the same time I'd be more peeved if I'd got rid of my old couch in advance.

We get things delivered a lot - the local hardware store rings to say they are coming while they are packing the truck and are never late unless they take a back road when its raining and get bogged, *that* furniture company got it right the last time we got something from them, but I am dreading getting the kitchen delivered from bunnings. Its not so bad waiting from home, but our IP is 40km away, is unheated and vacant and its winter and we regularly go sub-zero. Realistically I'm going to need to leave a key at the house for that one.

Telstra and electricity companies also subscribe to the 9-5 timeframe, BTW. I just left a key for AGL (inside meter) and they locked up behind themselves. The IP at least has a street address, you need explicit directions and a description to find mine.

Alas i feel your pain.... we are also in an area considered rural... even though we are only 1hr from Sydney and 30mins from Gosford... the funny thing is our postcode makes us "metropolitan" on most delivery charges charts... which means it is cheaper to get deliveries.... but the problem is people dont turn up - i assume because they start on their way here realise it is in the middle of nowhere and decide not to come.... when we had foxtel installed the guy didn't show up three times!

 

[RumpledElf]

That explains the mobile black hole then ... Telstra has been busy up our way so we don't have that problem anymore. We have a shiny new GSM/NextG tower and fantastic reception and the $2 a meg (or whatever it is) downloads on the phone is lightning fast. Before that it was a GSM black hole and really patchy CDMA. And the last Telstra tech I had here was sent out with a GSM phone and a ladder that was too short to get into my ceilings with ...

 

[Alabex]

That explains the mobile black hole then ... Telstra has been busy up our way so we don't have that problem anymore. We have a shiny new GSM/NextG tower and fantastic reception and the $2 a meg (or whatever it is) downloads on the phone is lightning fast. Before that it was a GSM black hole and really patchy CDMA. And the last Telstra tech I had here was sent out with a GSM phone and a ladder that was too short to get into my ceilings with ...

If i am on the top floor of our house and lean out the window i can get one bar on our Next G phone.... jsut enough for a text msg.... telstra still dont believe me because their map says i should get coverage! The locals around here have just accepted it and moved on... but i still miss my mobile phone aka security blanket!

 

[Aaron Sice]

you suckers!

when they tell me "we'll be there between april and spetember"

i say "call me before you arrive".

they never do, and so they sit and wait while i would pack my things up at work and drive a half hour to go to meet them and let them in.

then they'd get p1ssed off and say "we said we'd be here between 9 and 5"

and i say "you were told to call me before you came - so it's your own fault you've had to wait".

best one is when i tell them to call beforehand, they don't, then ask where i am, i explain the call requirement, they say they're leaving now and will deliver some other time. i say cool, call me before you come. they don't, and then call to ask where i am.....

in the end i ask them what it has cost them in diesel for not making a simple 55c mobile phone call. i've seen faces go all shades of magenta after that comment.

 

[Alabex]

Well blue card that is a fabulous idea - however given i live 1 1/2 hours drive from my work it is impractical to wait for them to call me.

ANYWAY - they called me at 3.20pm, and to cut a long story short they are not coming today because they can't find my house. Apparently someone was meant to call this morning and let me know - but didnt.... and apparently when i called they thought i was talking about a different job (despite me giving them my reference number, name and address???) ... and apparently it was never going to happen today because between when it was booked and today they haven't ben able to find a carry who will deliver here.

They also suggested it would costs me more - which it wont because they knew the address when they quoted the delivery price - their problem!

Needless to say i was not a plesant customer - there were raised voices, and demands made!

 

[Olly]

Having had a lot to do with deliveries/transport etc - try to get past the customer service people and actually speak to despatch. When they load trucks they take into account the goods to be delivered and where to, and try to do it the most cost effective way possible i.e. a full truck with a cost efficient run (delivery suburbs arranged in a logical order so they are not zig zagging all over town) - this may not always be possible depending on the goods being delivered i.e. some need to be top loaded because of fragility so may make the run go out of order a bit.

Some customer service centre systems allow you to see the truck runs and what orders are on them, but they can't tell if the truck has left yet. A lot of companies prefer that despatch runs despatch and customer service runs customer service and the twain don't meet so customer service can't really help you. Unfortunately despatch people don't usually deal with customers so don't have the empathy or give a rats ar*e - unlike the poor customer service people who cop on a daily basis the abuse for problems caused by other departments in the company. But if you can actually get through to despatch and act friendly - you put a human face on the delivery for them and you might actually get a helpful, honest answer!

Anyway, I'm sure you get the picture. When chasing up a delivery time - you should ask the following -
ask for despatch,
have your order/invoice/transport docket number ready then talk the lingo
say you're checking up on what run it's on,
how long ago did he leave or has he left yet,
where are you on the run list or how many drops does he have and what drop are you
or ask to ring the driver for a rough estimate of when he'll get to your place, (as the driver will have a better idea than despatch itself plus he may have gone out of order of his run after leaving).

Cheers
Olly