Gast
I was horrified to read that you’re now having your parcels delivered by UPS. Is it possible to continue using the good old Post Office for an extra charge? I’ve only had bad experiences with UPS. They don’t leave a delivery notice if you’re not home; after two attempts (of course!), you then have to go and collect your stuff from a depot 20 km away. That’s a bit annoying. And DHL managed it in 1–2 days, didn’t they??
Regards,
Roland
cfb_de
That’s true, that’s the downside of UPS. I’m happier with GLS: you can set up a sort of ‘general authorisation’ with them, and if you’re not at home, they’ll automatically deliver to a neighbour.
And they shouldn’t be any more expensive than UPS (unfortunately, the Post Office has become prohibitively expensive for businesses).
Best regards,
Franz
Gast
>> Unfortunately, the Post Office has become prohibitively expensive for businesses
That is precisely the point, unfortunately. That’s why it would be nice if you could use DHL for an extra charge. Because driving 20 km (40 km there and back, up to 1½ hours depending on traffic) isn’t really worth it in my case. And with the Post Office, I can pick it up conveniently between 9 am and 8 pm, even on Saturdays.
MirkoBoeddecker
Roland,
You can track your parcel online via UPS.
If you give us your email address, we can also arrange for you to be notified of every stage your parcel goes through, and you can choose the delivery date yourself (online).
The Post Office has increased its domestic rates by almost 80% and its rates for Austria, the Netherlands, etc. by 500%.
We were faced with the decision of either stopping European shipping altogether or switching providers.
Unfortunately, in such a case, it’s all or nothing, as we naturally won’t be paying list prices to UPS (we didn’t do that with the Post Office either, but some corporate smart alec has generally forbidden staff from April 2004 onwards from negotiating special terms for shippers smaller than Quelle...).
What’s more, the Post Office is discontinuing counter collection in the near future (at least that’s what we were told last year).
Here in Berlin, many post offices have already been converted into McPaper branches without a parcel depot.
We now have to travel all the way to Wedding to collect parcels and registered post, even though there’s a post office – sorry, McPaper – branch right on Rosenthaler Platz...
So far, not a single UPS parcel has been returned.
Postal parcels without a delivery notice card were really no rarity either... :(
I think with the new option allowing you, as customers, to track parcels yourselves, things will certainly work better than before.
We can also report specific issues directly via our UPS contact person (such as a card not being inserted). Should complications really arise, such as parcels not being delivered or ending up in a depot without a delivery attempt: please let us know and we’ll ensure it doesn’t happen again.
Best regards,
Mirko
Gast
Mirko, thanks for the explanation.
> If you give us your email address, we can arrange for you to be notified of every step your parcel takes, and you can choose the delivery date yourself (online).
I’ve just had a look on the UPS website and couldn’t find anything about delivery days or possible times. I’ve only just moved here and don’t know where the depot is. I’ve just emailed UPS and am curious to see if I get a reply. Saturday is probably out of the question, isn’t it?
> Post parcels without a notification card really weren’t uncommon either...
That’s true, of course. It also happened that the delivery notice didn’t turn up in the letterbox until days later because you couldn’t get to the box (see below).
I think it’s a shame that you don’t offer your customers the option of DHL (as Phototec in Hattingen does, for example). For a single person like me, who works from 7.30 am until usually 6 pm, and doesn’t want to go round asking neighbours to take deliveries, and who also lives in a block of flats where the letterboxes are behind a locked entrance door – making them inaccessible to UPS, GLS and DPD, and therefore usually doesn’t receive a delivery card either, the only option left is to drive to the depots (at what times?). That leaves only the alternatives of getting married, leaving my wife at home, or buying elsewhere.
A real shame.
Regards, Roland.
MirkoBoeddecker
Roland,
The key point is this: the Post Office is also discontinuing the option to collect parcels at the counter.
Saturday delivery is available with UPS – but it costs extra.
You cannot track a parcel unless we have sent one to you. However, with the code, you can check the parcel’s status round the clock, either by phone or online, and arrange for delivery to neighbours etc. or at a specific time.
So the parcel card is actually superfluous.
I’ll raise the issue of Saturday delivery with UPS tomorrow.
If it were possible for your parcels to be delivered only on Saturdays – would that help?
Regards,
Mirko
PS: The Post Office charges €7.50 just for parcel collection from business customers. The only option we have now is to go to the counter and stick a Freeway stamp on it. The problem is that the nearest post office with a parcel counter is a 35-minute drive away and there’s nowhere to park there.
Gast
Hey Roland,
Can’t you get the items you’ve ordered sent to your workplace?
It works a treat at the company I work for... even DHL has suddenly become quite reliable. I wonder if it’s because of the company name in the address? :(
Best wishes
Carsten M.
Gast
Hello,
I never thought I’d say this, but I want the Deutsche Bundespost back.
It was supposed to make everything faster, better and cheaper, but it hasn’t got any cheaper, it’s hardly got any faster, and it certainly hasn’t got any better – the government is still paying out huge amounts in subsidies.
What’s happened is that countless post offices have closed, there are fewer and fewer postboxes, and the postmen don’t even wear smart uniforms anymore (particularly important!!! – the best thing about the Bundespost ever).
It’s just as well that I (at FOTOIMPEX) don’t have to rely on the postal service – please don’t close the shop!
Werner
MirkoBoeddecker
Hi Werner,
Don’t worry – we’re not closing the shop :(
And we’re certainly not stopping deliveries either. We gave the UPS decision a lot of thought – we spent nearly three months negotiating and comparing quotes, and then deliberately chose NOT the cheapest provider, but the one that offered the best all-round service.
UPS delivers across Europe on fair terms and on terms comparable to DHL in Germany, but faster and with better tracking.
What’s more, the cash-on-delivery payment goes straight into the account, rather than taking weeks as it does with the Post Office.
As for the uniforms, I think the UPS staff look much smarter than the new DHL polo shirts in lemon-butterfly yellow :P
Nevertheless: if the Post Office returns to its old prices and guarantees collection at the counter in future – we’ll switch back straight away!
Best regards,
Mirko
Gast
Hello,
Gast
Hello,
That was just a slip of the tongue; of course I’d be happy to keep shopping in the shop.
Just a quick note: I wasn’t entirely serious about the uniforms, of course, even though the 1950s Federal Post Office uniforms did look rather charmingly nostalgic in the days leading up to privatisation.
Werner
Gast
Hello,
I’ve only just realised now that we’ve misunderstood each other. I didn’t mean that you should go back to using that disaster of a service, Deutsche Post, but rather that I’d like to have our old ‘Deutsche Bundespost’ back, just as it was before it was privatised.
The old Post Office wasn’t exactly customer-friendly to begin with, but since it’s been privatised, they’ve really taken it to a whole new level.
Werner
Gast
Mirko, if Saturday is an option, and you can select that on the website, and it actually works, then at least that’s something. I realise, of course, that it’s not acceptable for you either to drive 45 minutes for a parcel and then pay significantly more; I get that. It’s just different for everyone. For me, on the other hand, the main post office is just round the corner, a 3-minute walk, but UPS is unacceptably far away. By the way, I’ve written to UPS asking which depot I’d have to collect it from if delivery doesn’t work out. As far as I know, it’s 15 km from here, about a 30-minute drive, but that’s unconfirmed. You can’t find the information on the website. After a few hours, I received details of where I can drop off parcels I want to send within a wide radius – I didn’t even want that information; I could easily have found it on the website myself. I’ve asked again, but they haven’t replied yet. The problem with UPS, DHL, GLS and the rest of them is that they’re only interested in big corporate clients (in this case, you, Mirko ;-), whilst the private end-user is left in the lurch.
I’m keeping my fingers crossed that you’ll open a branch in the west of the country one day; I’d suggest Cologne for personal reasons ;-).
@Carsten: I’ve thought about that too, but it’s a bit silly in the clinic: “Hey, there’s someone from UPS for you” – “Can’t help you, we’re in the middle of resuscitation” ;-). Apart from that, it’s a complete mess over here and the reception is rarely manned.
Cheers.
Roland
cfb_de
Roland,
You should switch to one of those profitable, reputable church-run hospitals. My girlfriend (a nurse at one such hospital here in S am N) has absolutely no problem having every parcel delivered to the post office. The ward is notified that something has arrived, and she picks it up at the end of her next shift.
UPS, Post, GLS – it doesn’t matter which. Their couriers don’t cause any trouble either; they have no business being near the patients.
Best regards,
Franz (neighbour tasked with accepting deliveries. Works with UPS too, after a bit of explaining three times.)
Urnes
Hi everyone,
All I can say is that, at least where we live, UPS and the other private delivery companies do turn up and, if necessary, even leave parcels with our neighbours. You can’t exactly say the same about the Post Office, and there have been cases where items simply weren’t delivered and you really had to chase after them. DHL no longer delivers to us; that’s now back to being done by our already slow postman – the fact that he now has a company car hasn’t changed a thing.
So I’d say: ‘One man’s joy is another man’s sorrow.’
Regards, Sven.
Gast
Franz, thanks for the tip (the post office, not a church building – they won’t have me there, I’m not baptised ;-).
After several unpleasant experiences with private delivery services, I’ve become rather cautious. The best one I’ve had was a while back, when a parcel was handed to someone in the building who’d signed for it – illegibly, but apparently with my surname. There was no way of finding out who’d received the parcel, and you have to explain that to the sender first when that idiot from UPS insists he gave it to me.
MirkoBoeddecker
So......
The UPS driver was just here.
Here are the options:
1) You provide a letter of authorisation for a specific recipient (e.g. a neighbour you trust). The parcel can only be left there, and the name will be clearly entered into the UPS system; you can then track who has the parcel on the website.
2) You allow UPS to LEAVE the parcel in the garage or outside the front door (it’s up to you to decide whether that’s safe in your area)
3) Delivery to work – no problem at all, just give us a delivery address.
4) Saturday delivery, but this is only available via Express Plus and costs from €25 per parcel
5) If none of the above works, we’ll try using a Freeway parcel label from the post office. They’ll then come and collect it. It’ll definitely cost less than Saturday delivery. But please always let us know in advance and don’t be annoyed if we have to drive to the post office first to buy the labels, meaning everything gets sent off a day later.
Best regards,
Mirko
Gast
Hello Mirko,
Contrary to all assurances from UPS, point 2) doesn’t work properly. It’s up to the delivery driver to decide whether they’re willing to take responsibility for it (as they’re liable to UPS for doing so!). Very few are willing to do that.
Point 1) requires a bit of explaining and a few phone calls to UPS before it works. It only worked for me after the third attempt.
Point 3) is out of the question in many businesses. Here at my place, for example, I can’t get anything in without an order from DC (and I can’t get anything out without a materials pass either).
Point 4) is, in my view, outrageously expensive.
Point 5) is a great service you provide!
Best regards,
Franz
MirkoBoeddecker
Hi Franz,
Our UPS representative is more optimistic than you are.
We’ll be getting pre-printed forms for a liability waiver for garage door deliveries (towards the delivery driver) and authorisations for deliveries to neighbours. You can then download these from our website and fax them to UPS.
If you have any problems, our contact person will help.
Best regards,
Mirko
PS: The Postboote guy was just here and said he’d pop in now and then to see if there’s anything to take away ;-)
Gast
Mirko, first of all, thanks – I really appreciate that you guys make me feel like my little problems are in good hands.
So I do still see a chance to use up some Efke film now and then; I actually quite like it ;-).
But regarding "4) Saturday delivery, but that’s only available via Express Plus and costs from €25 per parcel", that makes me smile. For that amount, you could almost fly to Berlin yourself.
Roland
