Citylink goes bust

A couple of years ago I was told Amazon were looking to have their own courier service, maybe this is their opportunity?
Over the past ten years or so most courier companies have cut down the number of vans and/or increased the drops per van, this is the main reason so many deliveries are just 'chucked over the fence'. Ultimately it is down to our perception that this service should be free to the customer.
 
I have been in all day. Not a single knock on the door or alarm chime. I found a card from My Hermes..... Sorry you were not in etc, parcel taken to...... shades of City Link here they used to have form for that. Abysmal service.
 
It's sad to see companies go like this especially with the job losses. I've never understood why the parcel companies don't set up delivery point lockers and only deliver to them for domestic customers. They could charge extra for to the door service.

Amazon have started to provide the option if you buy direct from them and I find it's much easier as I work full time and I'm not in to take deliveries. Surely it would cost less to run if you could deliver several parcels to one set of lockers. They could give an option of which locker they deliver it to rather than the nearest. Surely it would make the delivery service more efficient with no missed deliveries incurring extra fuel/time costs or people moaning they were in all day but it wasn't delivered. I think the time of deliveries to the door is over, with modern times people are not in to take the deliveries so it's probably time to adapt to survive.
 
Keith W said:
Amazon already do have there own courier service
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And the "slack" still appears to be taken up by royal mail,
Well thats how some of my Amazon stuff was delivered, just before Xmas anyway.

My Hermes, can't fault my local one, if I miss her,
I phone the number on the card (her mobile) and she drops it back at a convenient time to us both.
Sometimes that's even been late evening.
 
The days of useless delivery companies that can't give you anything more than a delivery day are over. They need to get real and start providing time slots so you don't waste an entire day waiting in for something that takes all of 5 minutes to receive.

If dpd/interlink can manage to offer an hour slot then the others can easily manage a two or three hour window. If they can't it proves they're inefficient and can't track parcels properly.
 
I agree that DPD are very good, I think that most of the van drivers operate on a franchise system and get paid per delivery. That is a huge incentive to get as many drops off as possible per day.
 
srichards said:
The days of useless delivery companies that can't give you anything more than a delivery day are over. They need to get real and start providing time slots so you don't waste an entire day waiting in for something that takes all of 5 minutes to receive.
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Retitled: Useless pain in the arse customers

Like a great many other people, you seem to have fallen into the classic trap of thinking that you are important enough to warrant special treatment. Unfortunately, I have the sad duty of informing you that you are not; well, at least no more important than any of the other one hundred or so people whose parcels are also likely to be on the same lorry. It is precisely because you are a relative nobody that you will receive your parcel as and when your delivery driver sees fit. Your delivery driver is often self-employed which means that he or she can work the hours that suits them ... not you. Are you with me so far?


This is, of course, all subject to satisfying one or more of the following criteria:-

1. You are in to sign for your parcel (not out walking the dog or popped to the shops or on the school run)

2. You are in earshot of your doorbell (not out the back or listening to music with your headphones on or snoring your head off on the settee)

3. Your doorbell actually works so you have some way of telling that somebody is at your door and they wish to communicate with you (if you really don't want me to bang on the window then get a bloody doorbell that works)

4. One of your neighbours is in to sign for your parcel even though it's not their responsibility but at least they are available ... unlike you

5. If none of the above works and you find a 'sorry we missed you' card when you get in ... bloody well read it before you start gobbing off. It might just give you a clue as to what the next step is


And finally, if you insist on coming to the door accompanied by a large angry dog with a bad attitude and bloody great big teeth, don't be at all surprised if you never see me again. It's by far the easiest and quickest way to get yourself on the banned list which basically means you can go fetch your own bloody parcels in future ... Comprendez!
 
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Most deliveries to the door are planned for efficiency so that all drops in the same relatively small area are done together. The result of this often means that deliveries often arrive at a similar time of day. So although the officially given window is 9-5 it's only given to cover most eventualities and in practice your parcel arrives at its usual time at your particular address give or take only an hour.

I think that people who complain are often the sort who think they are far more important than they actually are and will complain about everything and anything without any justifiable reason.
 
srichards said:
The days of useless delivery companies that can't give you anything more than a delivery day are over. They need to get real and start providing time slots so you don't waste an entire day waiting in for something that takes all of 5 minutes to receive.

If dpd/interlink can manage to offer an hour slot then the others can easily manage a two or three hour window. If they can't it proves they're inefficient and can't track parcels properly.
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I couldn't agree more. Tesco's, Sainsbury's, Asda and DPD / Interlink can provide time slots - a three to four hour window is not unrealistic.

I'm aggrieved that I waited in for 'My Hermes' ( with a working doorbell) all day who's minimal effort was to leave a "sorry I missed you card" on the doormat even when I was at home. In Greek mythology 'Hermes' was the winged messenger - well they need an 'Apollo' rocket behind them to wake them up a bit !

'Parcel Monkey' need to have paradigm shift in their business thinking or more courier companies will go the same way as City Link. Customers are treated with a casual indifference and considered an inconvenience.
 
I make a point of being in when deliveries are scheduled. I usually keep an eye out on the road for vans. I make sure the bell works and they usually knock as well anyway. If you continually wait in and they don't turn up how many people still bother? This is why people go out. They have things to do so they can't sit there for 9 hours and do nothing when there is only a 50% chance the likes of yodel will turn up on the day specified.

I'm the mug that stays in and waits for them and wastes entire days waiting for them and some don't bother turning up at all. Im thinking it would be better to not bother and just be like everyone else that just goes out anyway and makes them re deliver several times until they happen to deliver when they're in. At their convenience.

Funny how I never have issues with dpd, interlink, tnt, ups or Royal Mail. Same house, same doorbell, same lack of dog.
 
Stuart M said:
Retitled: Useless pain in the arse customers

Like a great many other people, you seem to have fallen into the classic trap of thinking that you are important enough to warrant special treatment. Unfortunately, I have the sad duty of informing you that you are not; well, at least no more important than any of the other one hundred or so people whose parcels are also likely to be on the same lorry. It is precisely because you are a relative nobody that you will receive your parcel as and when your delivery driver sees fit. Your delivery driver is often self-employed which means that he or she can work the hours that suits them ... not you. Are you with me so far?


This is, of course, all subject to satisfying one or more of the following criteria:-

1. You are in to sign for your parcel (not out walking the dog or popped to the shops or on the school run)

2. You are in earshot of your doorbell (not out the back or listening to music with your headphones on or snoring your head off on the settee)

3. Your doorbell actually works so you have some way of telling that somebody is at your door and they wish to communicate with you (if you really don't want me to bang on the window then get a bloody doorbell that works)

4. One of your neighbours is in to sign for your parcel even though it's not their responsibility but at least they are available ... unlike you

5. If none of the above works and you find a 'sorry we missed you' card when you get in ... bloody well read it before you start gobbing off. It might just give you a clue as to what the next step is


And finally, if you insist on coming to the door accompanied by a large angry dog with a bad attitude and bloody great big teeth, don't be at all surprised if you never see me again. It's by far the easiest and quickest way to get yourself on the banned list which basically means you can go fetch your own bloody parcels in future ... Comprendez!
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I am in 2 minds if your post is a p***take trolling attempt or real.

If you are actually posting seriously, I would take it you work or worked for City Link or Yodel?

With that attitude, your company would end up on the banned list of many customers and end up out of a job in the future. You seem to have forgotten that without customers to deliver parcels to, you wouldn't have a job.
 
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There are two sides to every story and some courier companies need to improve their services and attitudes and so do countless numbers of customers need to change their bad attitudes towards couriers. In my opinion.
 
Stuart M said:
Retitled: Useless pain in the arse customers

Like a great many other people, you seem to have fallen into the classic trap of thinking that you are important enough to warrant special treatment. Unfortunately, I have the sad duty of informing you that you are not; well, at least no more important than any of the other one hundred or so people whose parcels are also likely to be on the same lorry. It is precisely because you are a relative nobody that you will receive your parcel as and when your delivery driver sees fit. Your delivery driver is often self-employed which means that he or she can work the hours that suits them ... not you. Are you with me so far?
Click to expand...

DPD (who I admit I've had a few issues with on occasion through no fault of my own) supply narrow and generally accurate time slots, normally around 8am on the day of delivery. If they can do it, why can't the rest? Customers vote with their feet, I personally avoided any online stores who delivered by City Link and I know many others who did the same, their reputation was appalling. After one missed delivery I arranged to collect from their Bristol depot (60 mile round trip) on a Saturday morning, their depot was locked on arrival, they eventually opened nearly 2 hours late after I phoned head office!

I've had numerous deliveries that I've specifically waited in all day for, always in earshot and view of the front door, on several occasions I was informed that I wasn't in for delivery and that a card was left (it wasn't). Head office even did the 'front door' test on my CityLink driver, he failed.

Hermes are going the same way locally, delivered (literally) by people in their own cars/vans, so far had parcels thrown over a 7ft gate and left in full view on the doorstep.

For reasons I explained earlier I will always only try and use companies who dispatch by Royal Mail, I am rarely available for weekday deliveries, so popping to the sorting office a mile up the road at 7:30am the next day on my way to work the next day is a compromise I'm more than happy with. If I'm off work I'm also happy to use companies who use DPD, at least then my entire day isn't defined by a parcel delivery.
 
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If Scarlett Johansson is going to jump out of the box, I'll be happy to stay in all week waiting for the delivery! :D
 
RedRobin said:
There are two sides to every story and some courier companies need to improve their services and attitudes and so do countless numbers of customers need to change their bad attitudes towards couriers. In my opinion.
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Definitely true, but there is far more scope for a bad delivery driver (I hesitate to call the likes of City Link or Yodel couriers) to cause a problem than a "bad" recipient.

The usual complaints of mistreatment to parcels, parcels left in stupid places, parcels thrown over gates, rogue cards left, completely missed deliveries are all caused by delivery drivers, the recipient can be rude to the driver or allow their dog to bark at the driver, but that's about it.

The driver needs to realise that without people receiving parcels they would be out of a job, the recipient can always get their parcels via an alternative delivery firm.
 
^^^^
You are right, Dave :)
 
Blank_Canvas said:
I couldn't agree more. Tesco's, Sainsbury's, Asda and DPD / Interlink can provide time slots - a three to four hour window is not unrealistic.
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#

A timed delivery could be possible in some case, but the shopping ones allow you to chose the time, and it only comes from a local store.

Problem with courier services is they serve a very large area and have to fit all deliveries in a certain area together, and times would also depend on traffic,
vehicle problems etc.
So you could be waiting for a very long time anyway and not all firms provide drivers with mobile phones either, especially the franchised one and nor do RM.

I've lost count of the times I arrived at a door to find a note with a mobile number on it asking you to ring as they are only 5 mins away, I've only
done it once, at my expense and 15 minutes later was still waiting, so I just wrote on the note that I had to continue with my delivery and left.
Now I just write "no phone available" !
Being in a rural area means there can be quite a distance between houses, so delivery to neighbour isn't always an option, I carry cheap bin liners in the van
and in wet weather put parcels in them and hide them somewhere, leaving a note for the recipient.

What people don't seem to realise and often isn't made clear is that if you pay extra for next day delivery it will often need a signature, so if you are at work
you won't get it, in the case of RM we are only allowed to deliver Special next day stuff to the address.
 
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