DHL Needs to Try Harder

Posted on | April 8, 2006 | Leave a Comment

So whatâ€™s a reasonable expectation from a courier service thatâ€™s doing it right? For me, itâ€™s simple â€“ get my package to my door fairly quick, and intact. After all, thatâ€™s what they advertise. Doing most everything online these days and trying to save time wherever possible, means I make substantial use of couriers.

Most of the time, itâ€™s FedEx and UPS doing the incoming deliveries â€“ obviously not due to my choice, but they seem to be the guys showing up most often. Iâ€™m actually somewhat ambivalent as to the carrier, but am appreciative when they get the job done. Iâ€™ve had little experience with DHL until the other day.

From my observations, it appears DHL and Airborne came together a while back, reinvented themselves, introduced new colors on sharp looking trucks and settled in to provide some good competition for the other guys. Great, more power to â€˜em.

However, theyâ€™re going to have to turn it up a notch to impress me, especially after their recent delivery took so long to arrive. According to the online tracking, my package actually got close fairly quick. But then it took 3 more days to show up. The tracking indicated they attempted to deliver 3 times, but thatâ€™s a crock.

I happened to be home each of those days at the appointed times, and they never showed. Furthermore, they left no notice of any attempts. So bottom line is, they never happened. In fact, even in the end, they never did deliver to the door â€“ didnâ€™t even try â€“ the lack of a notice is always a give-away.

Itâ€™s my contention that courier drivers are tempted anyway, to give those of us living in condos or apartments short shrift by assuming they donâ€™t have to try and get packages all the way to our front doors. That instead, they can be lazy and drop them at the management office. Sorry people, that doesnâ€™t cut it. DHL pulled that stunt this last time and sent the message loud and clear that their level of service is less than that of both UPS and FedEx, who currently seem to be trying harder by going the last mile.

Hereâ€™s a news flash for DHL â€“ those of us choosing to live in condos or apartments do not consider the management office to be our front door! Let me explain how this works. We donâ€™t believe itâ€™s any harder to get to our door than that of a house â€“ in fact, probably takes less time. In addition, one of the advantages of our choice of accommodation is that we have a backup when you donâ€™t find us at home. Simply leave us an attempted delivery notice, and then drop packages at the office. Saves us time, and saves you another trip.

So for all of you in the courier business, listen up. Pay attention to the little things, as they are your differentiators. Itâ€™s easy to impress us, and easier still, not to. For those at FedEx and UPS, keep up the good work â€“ and remember, weâ€™re always watching. For DHL, heed the wake-up call and get your act together â€“ no reason at all why you canâ€™t compete on par with the other guys.