So I purchased a nice new Omega PO from a company called Watchmaster, a company based in Germany - that is the good part
The courier who (attempted to) deliver the watch was DHL (reputable, respectable, experienced)???
On reaching the UK, I received a notification that my package was ready to be delivered but if I was not available it could be sent to an 'in post' locker local to me for me to collect at my convenience. Stupidly (with hindsight) I selected that option and excitedly went to my local locker to collect my shiny new watch.
I followed all the instructions and retrieved my package from the locker returning excitedly to my car. Now the package was smaller and lighter then expected but I wanted to get home and open it in the privacy of my own home.
As I sit down with a nice single malt, I glance at the name and address on the package. It is NOT mine. The package was addressed to another chap who lived about 15 minutes drive away.....PANIC
So I inform Watchmaster..they are very concerned and tell me to relax as they will get it sorted
I inform DHL and inpost who tell me to relax as they will get it sorted
I even called the poor chap whose package I had (it had his phone number) to see if he has got mine by mistake but no such luck! He did offer to come and collect his package though....great
Very long story short, after many many calls to everyone, DHL finally tracked down my package and the dopey driver who made the mistake??? and 3 days later I had my watch. The package I collected was returned the the correct owner.
So what have i learnt from this farce? Well there is nothing like walking into an AD and enjoying the buying experience fully (and paying 20 - 30% more for the privelage :-)
Thanks for reading - rant over
Watchfinder sent an IWC Doppelchrono I had just paid for to some random farmhouse in the middle of Sussex on Christmas Eve once; turns out there were two people with the same name on their system. I'm not the one in Sussex...
I got my watch a couple of days after Christmas but yeah it's a bit 'squeaky bum' when it happens!
Deep breath......
Exhale......
Deep breath......
Exhale......
Relax!
A dealer I stopped using a few years ago sent me in error a consignment of watches at £98,500 cost last month :-)
As for nothing beating walking into a store....yes, but of course it need not be an AD !
H
tell you what, next time your ordering a watch from the grey market, give me a shout.
I will have you over at mine, show you some watches, make you a coffee, talk watches, have my missus shuffle around in a slinky dress and charge you full RRP.
in the meantime I will order the watch you want, and put up with the hassle you just went through.
that seems fair.
;-) glad it all ended OK fella.
Well that is a very kind offer indeed...especially the part with the missus shuffling around in a slinky dress! That must be worth paying RRP for surely? :-)Originally Posted by soundood
In all seriousness, mistakes were also made by me. I should have made sure I was available for the delivery reducing the number of points in which the courier could mess up - it is probably worth half a day off work or paying extra for weekend delivery - in reality doubt I will be throwing away 20-30% to buy off AD's but will be more careful with my delivery instructions.
Last edited by ataripower; 27th July 2016 at 18:26.
I was there with u as I read this. The realisation as u read the parcel address must've been like a lead weight in ur stomach.
This could've had a much unhappier ending right enough.
And you've got an interesting story to tell. All's well..... ;-)
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Sounds good, im in, i've just bought something used but I might post it to your for the experience
Unfortunately, this happens.
I recently was receiving a watch by FedEx and it never arrived.
FedEx tracking showed it was delivered and signed by someone with a totally different name.
I called FedeX and they said they will open an investigation.
Everyday, I would get a call and they would say they are still looking.
Then, they changed the story and said the driver insisted he had delivered it at the right address and I should go around and ask all my neighbors. I laughed it off and told them they were off their rockers if they thought Inwas going to go around knocking on my neighbours.
Finally, I got tired and told FedEx that I was trying to lodge a police report and the police required the name of the driver.
Within 30 min, the manager of the local FedEx office called from her cell phone and said they had figured out that the driver had delivered it by mistake to LakeviewDrive instead of Lake drive. It was 1.2 miles away and they said they were going to pick it up and bring it t me. I told them not to bother and I went and picked it up.
It wasn't an expensive watch and I Could perfectly accept that mistakes like this happen but what annoyed me is their insistence that the driver had delivered it to the right address. I have a feeling they never investigated and we're hoping I would just go away but the threat of a police investigation shook them up.
Last edited by RAJEN; 27th July 2016 at 19:22.
Indeed I suspect we can all tell a story or two about dodgy parcel delivery services. What gets me is that while I understand mistakes will be made especially with the quantities we are talking about, its the complete lack of ownership these companies take of the problems. Their customer services are limited and at the mercy of 'getting hold of the driver' who naturally does not really give a crap
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Whenever I have a go at FedEx or UPS, their defense it - but,Sir we handle a millions of packages everyday. So mistakes are bound to happen and my comeback is-Sure you do but you charge a lot for everyone of them. So, I don't buy that argument. I always try to get my shipments held at FedeX/UPS offices and call them in advance to make sure but 9 times out of 10, they always get put on the vehicle for delivery and I find a door tag left behind.
Had the same with City Link once. Load of nonsense for a couple of days; the second you point out that it's becoming potentially a criminal matter with police involvment hey presto they're able to rectify it.
City link had another name rhymed - I remember them telling me the driver had knocked on the door and no one replied, when my housemate had been fixing his bike on the driveway nearly an hour either side of the time they said this had happened..
If I remember correctly, the DHL "lost" my Breguet in some delivery hub in Latvia or Lithuania for 4-5 days.
I have to say, in all my dealings with them it was one organisation that I couldn't weep for when it died.
(Substantially because they'd squeezed so many tears from me already!)
Does happen - I had something similar getting a watch delivered to my work address from Omega themselves via their approved courier. But they wouldn't deliver as I didn't sign for it personally - which is impossible as staff are not allowed in the delivery space in our office for security. Anyway - they missed me at home - needed to be re-delivered - finally received - rather a curfuffle.
Moral - not (just) grey dealers who mess up - I think it's the couriers may have some answering..
Chaps
I am now retired but I worked in the Royal Mail as a Purchasing Manager for 22 years. The Royal Mail conducts a blind test throughout the year by paying independent agencies to post thousands of letters and parcels from different locations to be received at different locations. This now includes overseas postings.
I was responsible for setting up these contracts and the operations people within Royal Mail where never told where and when it was conducted. The main purpose of the test was to establish two main sets of criteria.
1. Did 1st class post meet its 93% next day delivery target.
2. How many mis posted, lost or damaged deliveries takes place.
The simple facts are that deliveries are sometimes late but they nearly always eventually turn up at the correct address. The main reason for mis delivery is human error by the postman. If your house number is say 22, he may deliver it to number 22 in another street. If the delivery requires a signature, then this is overcome. This will soon improve as thanks to GPS, the courier will know the precise time and location of when the postman / van driver handed the goods over to the customer or false customer.
The main reason for damaged goods is poor packing by domestic customers. If you order a watch from a shop, it will be posted in a secure box with a bar coded label etc. The private citizen or Mr Fred Bloggs is more likely to find an empty cardboard box, stuff it with bubble wrap, slap load of sellatape over it with a handwritten address on it and consider it job well done.
It then it gets damaged as it whizzes through a very fast and automated system in the sorting office and the poor customer receives damaged goods.
Like I said, I left the Royal Mail 12 years ago and things steadily improve. The last time I checked the figures, we have over 80 million deliveries in the UK every day and whilst you may hear of non deliveries etc, you never hear of the millions that are ok.
In the main, you can post with confidence but I can accept that if a delivery of a high value item is delayed etc, it can be worrying.
Regards
Mick
Great that this story had a happy ending phew!!
Sounds like you got unlucky with human error, both yours and the couriers/suppliers. Glad it was all sorted in the end!
Hi Mick,
Thanks for the overview from a Royal Mail perspective. I don't think anyone disputes that mistake will inevitably be made as humans are imperfect by nature. The issue is how these mistakes are dealt with by the customer service centres. This is where it all falls down unfortunately and has done for many years. Until these companies start to treat concerned customers with a little more respect only then will these kind of complaints begin to slow down
Yes I have to agree that you have a point. I know that the staff have been put on training courses on how to deal with customers and that they are a lot better than they used to be. However they do need a lot of improving as they seem to convey an image of being a bit, shall we say, sourly.
Regards
Mick
The signing off bit is only foolproof if the postman remembers to get a signature. The last parcel I received was supposed to be signed for, but was simply pushed through my letterbox along with a letter addressed to one of my neighbours.
I forget which courier company was used by Christopher Ward. That courier left the parcel literally on my doorstep. No signature, no safe place.
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