@steakster Yes, I always use my business address. I do not ever want a multi-thousand dollar package sitting on my front porch and I don't want to have to tell the seller how to ship it, lots of downside there. I get probably 20 packages during a normal week and generally no problems. Only very occasionally is there something I really want that gets delayed a day because of no evening delivery. I believe the amazon order was a part for something I was building and wanted to finish that evening. But most things come during the day time.
DHL and the definiton of insanity
I'll start this by saying that after I ordered this amplfier I picked up another amp used that I really like so it isn't important for me to get this amp soon.
I bought a kinki amp that shipped DHL Tuesdday and on Wednesday it left Hong Kong. Arrilved Wed night in LA, Thursday morning in San Diego, on a truck for delivery to me at 11am. Delivery by 8pm. My address is a business address that closes at 6. It didn't get there by 6pm last night and I didn't get it. Today I get the same message, out for delivery at 11am, delivery by 8pm tonight.
I thought they might recognize it as a business last night but apparently not. So I started a chat with a DHL CS agent. It went like this:
DHL: Mr Stephenson, you cannot request a a specific delivery time. Is there anything else we can help you with.
Me: The problem is that you have my address classified as residential, it is a business address.
DHL: Silence for a long time then:
DHL "the shipper didn't specify the address as business."
me: "Sorry, not my fault. Now you have the correct information. Can you fix it please?"
DHL: "No, we cannot change it. Is there anything else we can do for you?"
me: Can you just mark it as a business address?
DHL: "No, we cannot change it?"
me: "So you'll keep trying between 1900 and 2000 every night for the next month? Are we going to have to send it back to Hong Kong and start over?"
DHL: Is there anyting else we can do for you?
DHL ends chat.
So this package went from Hong Kong to LA in a day. Now they can't get the last 20 miles in several days. I'm going to sit back at laugh at the incompetence.
I do recommend not using DHL after this experience.
Jerry
Showing 6 responses by carlsbad
Update: As I said in my original post, I was lucky to have another amp that I'm really enjoying. So I'm just treating this as a source of humor. Went down to the mailroom to pick up some tubes that had arrived for my current amp and guess who drove up--the DHL driver. I told him customer service said the package would be there between 1900 and 2000 and there was nothing could be done to change it. He basicly said the customer service agents are idiots and if drivers didn't resolve these situations themselves the company would go bankrupt. He was a pretty dang nice guy. So I got my amp, listened to it for an hour, and I'm back to my current amp with the new tubes. Both are excellent but these new tubes sound very sweet. New amp sounds great too. I'll work on getting more hours on the new amp over the weekend. Jerry |
@larsman That is the same result. Not a different result.
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As for waiting outside: I've done that before with Amazon and Fedex. Both times I was setting in front of the building (the only way in or out) when I got the text "delivery attepted, notbody to recieve package". So I concluded the drivers know it is closed and don't even drive by before they report "nobody there".
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@pinball101 Sounds like you got a customer service agent with skills beyond kindergarten. My guy insisted that there was no way to change the shipping instructions that they got from the shipper in Hong Kong. I was just glad I was not in a hurry since I had another new amp entertaining me. glad you got yours. |
I got a fee for customs evaluation from Fedex ground for an international shipment that then went to them. There were some questions asked that delayed the shipment a couple of days. There were no duties due or charged. I got the impression that the fee was from the US govt and Fedex was passing on a fee they paid. Jerry |