Does it get any better?

**Riverkilt** · 12th November 05, 10:35 PM

So I get an email from Sierra Trading thanking me for the kilt hose order...saying they'll ship them by DHL airfreight.

Now, their website says they ship by the post office which is all that serves my remote area with any efficiency. Email them back and they say not to worry, that DHL will deliver to the post office and the post office will put them in my box...I DON'T THINK SO...they'd have to pay postage to drop them off at the post office and have those postal workers hold them for me.

First, DHL doesn't come to my remote town. They meet some private contract person with a station wagon at the Tuba City cut off and trade packages. Then the contract person tosses the package on my porch for the neighbor kids to steal...no signature....further...never gave DHL an address, just the POB.

So tried to call the 800 number and they're closed until Monday. Emailed again and suggested the look at a map and try to understand what I'm saying and if their website says they ship by the post office why don't they ship by the post office?

Seems silly to ship kilt hose by air freight...amazing insanity over kilt hose. Last email the lady said she'd try to figure out how to do it and told me to call her at the number that says its closed until Monday and has no message capability. Emailed her back about that.

Why can't they just do what they say they're gonna do on their website and what I asked for...??

When are companies gonna realize that no one transportation outfit serves EVERYWHERE well, they gotta LISTEN to their customers and ship how their customers request. And yes, I once was a traffic manager for a manufacturing company so know the drill.

Venting...such a simple thing to mess up. They've no doubt blown whatever meager profit they planned on making on this sale with the email exchange and hopefully an eventual confrontation with a supervisor who believes what I say. Fearful they'll wind up in never never land and I'll have DHL calling for a delivery address weeks later. Its happened before with another kilt accessory supplier...

Ron

**Andrew Breecher** · 13th November 05, 12:34 AM

It seems that every time I order anything by mail-order, it gets shipped by UPS, signature required. UPS delivers during the weekday, 9:00-5:00. Guess what? Most people work then. So how are they ever going to deliver a package if there's never anyone there to sign? Sorry I don't have a stay-at-home wife. So of course, every day for three days I get the yellow slip on my door saying they tried to deliver it. After the third time, it gets held at the UPS centre nearest me. Which in the city isn't accessible by subway, and is in the lovely warehouse district of town.

It's just that this seems to happen every time I order something.

Anyway, I hope you get your socks all right, this was just me commiserating.

Andrew.

**davedove** · 13th November 05, 05:24 AM

Sorry to hear your problems Ron. Fortunately, I've never had any problems with any type of delivery. There are a lot of companies that don't seem to realize that not everyone lives in the middle of a bigger city, and thus not all delivery methods are equal. Good luck!

**Eujeankilt** · 13th November 05, 09:24 AM

Ron,

Do you work in town, Page I believe? I have all my stuff shipped to work. There's always some one to sign for it and if it doesn't get to you, the shippers can tell you who signed for it. It also doesn't get left out for the gremlins to filch.

Dale

**Riverkilt** · 13th November 05, 10:47 AM

I work in a place big enough to lose my stuff if shipped to work too and the boss doesn't say anything about it but you can tell its not cool. They want productivity, no personal calls, no personal time on the computers, and they track it.

But, point in this instance is that DHL doesn't serve our remote town other than by a contractor with little interest in security, but they don't have a delivery addy for me other than my POB.

I'm now awaiting the mercy of Sierra Trading's "Shipping Specialist" when they return to work on Monday.

My main complaint is that their website says they ship by USPS. Why can't they just do what they say they're gonna do on the website and why am I exchanging all these emails with them about a few pair of sox?? They've blown their meager profits by making a change they never told me they were gonna make...where's the benefit to them? Insane way to do business, losing money and angering the customers.

Ron

**bubba** · 13th November 05, 11:00 AM

Ron, most people don't care about who delivers their stuff. Companies tend to negotiate shipping costs with the various shipping companies and go with the lowest bidder. This, of course, only applies to companies that ship high volume. The shipping and handling charge usually being fixed the less they actually pay out for shipping the more goes into their pocket. When that site was put up they probably did ship USPS but have since gotten a better rate from DHL. If a few customers aren't happy with that they really don't much care.

**Riverkilt** · 13th November 05, 01:18 PM

I know, just one of the penalties for living in the boonies....

No local stores have much so do a lot of mail order so LOTS of things get messed up. Amazing how many times otherwise intelligent companies UPS things to a POB. Then UPS calls and says call their 800 number to get delivery arranged but doesn't give the tracking number and the 800 number people at UPS can't take any info without the tracking number the local UPS folks didn't leave...and the local UPS number is super confidential so you can't call them...have to wait until the local UPS folks get impatient and call again...sometimes they leave the tracking number or a return number.

Biggest irony came when buying a jersey from Major League Baseball. They are subsidized by the U.S. Government - a protected monopoly courtesy of the U.S. Government...and they flat refused to ship via the post office.

I often feel I've fallen down a hole in Kansas....

Ron

**mudd** · 13th November 05, 06:34 PM

Originally Posted by Riverkilt

I know, just one of the penalties for living in the boonies....

Yea man, but you still live in one of the most beautiful places in the world. I’d love to live there, myself. If I am not mistaken, that was the most remote location in the contiguous US until they built that Dam.

Heck, even my wife just recently started thinking of it as a real city, now that you have a Wal-Mart.

**Riverkilt** · 13th November 05, 06:52 PM

Don't tell your wife....the area where I once hiked kilted has been bulldozed and they've nearly finished building a Super Wal Mart there...

Ron

**KiltedCodeWarrior** · 13th November 05, 07:19 PM

Ron,

Sorry to hear you are having problems. I just went back into my old emails as I could not remember how my stuff from Sierra was shipped. We have bough quite a bit over the past 4-6 weeks, some kily sockes, but more some winter clothes for this Florida family currently transplanted to Chicago. When I ordered, I did not pay attention to the shipping method. Given that we are currently living in a Chicago suburb, EVERYBODY ships here, UPD, DHL, USPS, FEDEX, Bob's Fly and Ship, and Pony Express! Anyway, Sierra must decide on a shipping service based on the destination as everything we have ordered has come via UPS. Hopefully you can get somebody to resolve it tomorrow.

RJI