Gardening Express pursues delivery company for loss of earnings

The online gardening centre - Gardening Express has asked it's insurers to pursue the delivery company Amtrak for loss of earnings.

The Chief Executive, Chris Bonnett was upset after Amtrak pulled out of providing a daily service after a number of non-deliveries. Allegedly some of the Gardening Express customers said that deliveries were appalling.

Losses amounted to something like £40,000 and Mr Bonnett wants compensation. He said: "We've had a lot of angry customers, who we have had to refund because we could not ship, and negative comments have been posted about us on internet message boards."

Allegedly Amtrak gave Gardening Express 6 days notice that they'd be ending the service. It is alleged that Mr Bonnett asked for more time. The information we have is that Amtrak have resumed delivering Gardening Express orders.

Amtrak said that the matter resolved around the transportation of shrubs and trees that were over-sized and that they refused to carry them.

In the end the transportation of shrubs has resumed but there is no news whether the large trees will be taken.

In my experience as a consumer I've never had any problems with Amtrak. I'd love to hear from businesses. You can leave your thoughts on Amtrak here.

Amtrak Review

I just took delivery of a nice new LG 32LC2D for the bedroom and have had a great experience with their courier (Amtrak) which I've logged.

Am I being too harsh on City Link?

We know that City Link took over Target Express in December last year and that any crap service I've had recently could be due to teething problems?

Yeh maybe but if I was managing the integration project and closing down branches then I would have redirected all the phones to the new branch thats looking after the location. To me that's a very simple thing.

In an interview with Logistics Manager, managing director Michael Cooke said: "We have been working hard to understand what really matters to our customers and what changes need to be made to not only secure their loyalty but also to grow our customer base."

That's all well and good, but they seem to just be focusing on those sending items and not those recieving them. I don't think they understand "consumer power" and our ability to pressure retailers. A big retailer like ebuyer is already reviewing the use of City Link due to consumer pressure.

Michael, you've got a long way to go!

DHL On the Right Path

DHL has got the right idea. They've got loads of self-employed couriers who work flexible hours available so people can have their packages delivered between 07:30 and 21:00 Monday to Friday.

They've realised that being able to set a time-range for delivery will cut the number of re-deliveries. Initial trials of the DHL@Home service show that delivery success rate after three attempts was over 99.95%.

If a delivery hasn't been made on the first attempt, the courier will leave a card with their mobile number on it to arrange a re-delivery. This is a fantastic idea as I've spent too much time (and money) calling courier call centres only to get no-where.

Tim Brown, Sales and Marketing Director of DHL Express said "DHL@Home is designed to make life easier and take the stress out of home deliveries." Too right!

City Link named "UK Courier Company of 2007"

It's only just turned May and City Link have been named as "UK Courier Company 2007". Perhaps the Institute of Transport Management should have waited for my laptop to arrive before they made the announcement.

It's frightening that a company that has got my deliveries wrong will hold 15% of the next day delivery market after takeover of Target Express.

In the news releases about their award, Patrick Sheedy, Media and PR Director for the Institute of Transport Management said "City Link employs a total quality management approach across its business and utilises innovative processes to ensure excellent standards of customer care, resulting in the highest customer satisfaction levels in the industry."

To be honest I've seen no evidence of that as a consumer.

He goes on: "Putting the customer first is our number one priority and we aim to meet even higher standards next year and beyond."

I saw no evidence of that when you close down a depot and don't redirect the phones and then when I do get the number for my new "local" depot (miles away in Widnes" no-one thought they should "put the customer first" by answering the chuffing phone!

Doing that actually cost your customer a sale as I decided to cancel my order with the retailer.

City Link Wins Award (cough)

Apparently City link has won an award for it's best practice approach to change management. Don't you love awards like that? The award I'm waiting for them to win is the "Best improvement in customer service!"

Strategy & Marketing Director Kriss Cocomazzi said "We want to be known as the carrier of choice for high value services and customer partnerships. Receiving this award is further evidence that we are going about meeting our objectives in the right way."

For me they've got an awful long way to go to achieve that!

Parcelnet takes over Redcats UK courier network

Don't you just love "spin". A recent press release from Parcelnet comments:

Redcats UK, a key player in the UK home shopping sector, plans to sell its well established courier network business to Parcelnet as part of an exciting deal that will enhance the delivery options available to its own customers.

Redcats provided the home delivery service for brands such as La Redoute, Empire Stores, Vertbaudet and Daxon. The slant is that the acquisition will "enable Parcelnet to provide more delivery options for its customers". All nice in theory, but we'll have to see how it goes in practice.

Deliveries to be later thanks to new EU regulations

The Weston & Somerset Mercury reports on the news that new EU regulations mean that delivery vehicles will have to drive more slowly!

The new regulations state that Royal Mail vehicles will only be allowed to drive at a maximum of 56mph! To enforce this rule they'll have to be fitted with 'speed limiters'.

The effect of this is that post will arrive at some sorting offices later and impact on the working hours of Royal Mail staff.

I don't get my mail until around 1pm on most days as it is! Surely this can't get any later???