So, a little background...
In my current position at work, I am responsible for (among other things) specialized corrosion testing that requires a relatively complex laboratory set-up to complete (that my company no longer has for some reason). So, we outsource the lab work to a place in Houston (I'm in Canada, so cross-border shipping is required). Now the testing of these samples, which are essentially just small bars of steel, is rather costly. We use FedEx to send them down and have never had a problem. DHL has lost a few sets of samples, but that is beside the point.
I had a set of samples sent back to me, oh, about 2 weeks ago. They were sent express. After a few days, I wondered where they were, so I made a call to the lab in Houston, who was going to track the shipment down for me. I'm quite busy so I forgot about the whole ordeal for a few days until yesterday. I called the lab again and got the tracking number. The shipment has been sitting in customs for 10 FUCKING DAYS. Neither I nor the lab in texas received a phone call. I called DHL to straighten this out, and they tell me the file was closed in the US and thats why nobody had been notified. FILE CLOSED? What the fuck does that mean? (I still do not know). Is this a regular occurrence? Do they have warehouses full of packages that people have not been notified about??
Apparently the delay was for brokerage which it seems every other shipping company will deal with themselves unless you explicitly state you have your own clearing agency. So I get the brokerage straightened out, and I still wont have the package before next tuesday! (this is friday). So much for overnight express shipping. Never again will I use DHL. Enjoy chapter 11 DHL!
(as a side note, I previously had a shipment sent DHL express to a town approx 6 hours away that I was flying to to do some work. The packages were shipped out friday, and arrived TUESDAY!)
Since cost is not a factor, it is fedex for me from now on at work. If you are ever contemplating sending or receiving a cross-border package, DO NOT use DHL.
cliffs: dhl has fucked me again.
In my current position at work, I am responsible for (among other things) specialized corrosion testing that requires a relatively complex laboratory set-up to complete (that my company no longer has for some reason). So, we outsource the lab work to a place in Houston (I'm in Canada, so cross-border shipping is required). Now the testing of these samples, which are essentially just small bars of steel, is rather costly. We use FedEx to send them down and have never had a problem. DHL has lost a few sets of samples, but that is beside the point.
I had a set of samples sent back to me, oh, about 2 weeks ago. They were sent express. After a few days, I wondered where they were, so I made a call to the lab in Houston, who was going to track the shipment down for me. I'm quite busy so I forgot about the whole ordeal for a few days until yesterday. I called the lab again and got the tracking number. The shipment has been sitting in customs for 10 FUCKING DAYS. Neither I nor the lab in texas received a phone call. I called DHL to straighten this out, and they tell me the file was closed in the US and thats why nobody had been notified. FILE CLOSED? What the fuck does that mean? (I still do not know). Is this a regular occurrence? Do they have warehouses full of packages that people have not been notified about??
Apparently the delay was for brokerage which it seems every other shipping company will deal with themselves unless you explicitly state you have your own clearing agency. So I get the brokerage straightened out, and I still wont have the package before next tuesday! (this is friday). So much for overnight express shipping. Never again will I use DHL. Enjoy chapter 11 DHL!
(as a side note, I previously had a shipment sent DHL express to a town approx 6 hours away that I was flying to to do some work. The packages were shipped out friday, and arrived TUESDAY!)
Since cost is not a factor, it is fedex for me from now on at work. If you are ever contemplating sending or receiving a cross-border package, DO NOT use DHL.
cliffs: dhl has fucked me again.
