So, last week I bricked a device and I think I can fix it over a RS-232 cable from a borrowed Windows computer. However, I don’t have the right cable in my office and the Windows computers I can borrow no longer have old-style serial ports. So I had two choices:
- Order a USB-serial converter and the right cable from an online supplier and pay a premium for next-day delivery (so it doesn’t arrive when I’m on the trip);
- Make a half-hour detour on a trip two days later to visit a high street electronics store and pay fairly high prices (like three times the online price).
Of course, I ordered online. And that’s where the trouble started. My order was sent by Initial Citylink, who make Parcelfarce look good. Next day came and went with no delivery. About 2pm, the parcel’s web page changed to say “There was no one to receive the goods at the delivery point so a card was left” and that it would be delivered today, Monday. Of course, there had been someone here all day and no card was left. Phoning Citylink gets a recorded message saying they’re too busy to take calls. No offer to call me back. Just suggests trying the useless website.
Over the weekend, the page changed again. Now it says “Thank you for your rescheduling request. Your parcel(s) will be delivered on Tuesday 14th December between 07:30 and 17:30”. I didn’t request that, I don’t know who did and there’s no way to tell from the web page. There’s no way to undo that request and ask for it to be delivered on Monday instead. I wanted the device fixed by today if possible. Now I’m going to have to bodge something together from spares (for once I’m glad I have a cupboard of old kit here…). Still no answer from Citylink’s phones and the supplier doesn’t seem to know what’s going on either.
I’m not paying for next-day delivery from anyone who uses Citylink again.
You’re getting on better than me. In my case it still (just) says:
“Planned Delivery Date
Wednesday 8th December
Planned Delivery Time
Between 07:30 and 12:00
07/12/10 16:05 These goods have been scanned at the collection Depot and are now on route to the delivery Depot.”
Think they’re bad, try the home delivery network! Dabs use them now and they’re just awful…
OK, the supplier has told me the Citylink delivery driver took a photo of the front door, which I’ve asked to see. At the moment, I’d bet it’s not my front door – but can’t people fake them off Google Street View these days?
@Moray – sounds like a lost parcel 🙁
@TGM – Didn’t they used to have flying ducks on their vans? Should be flying pigs! Unsurprisingly, it seems they now have a boring text+house logo.
When I spoke to them by phone last week, it appeared that the parcel might well have made it to the Edinburgh depot, but that they had a big heap of delayed stuff there that they hadn’t bothered to scan in. Perhaps they’re operating in LIFO mode.
I actually have two other parcels sent by Amazon on the 7th which are in the same state, though those didn’t have a specific guaranteed delivery date to start with.
(I didn’t know either company planned to use City Link, who I’ve had enough problems with previously!)
My delivery arrived. I still need more parts to unbrick the device (typical!) but they’re coming from somewhere else.
I also grumbled on http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard-business/article-23905638-rentokil-initials-city-link-boss-steps-down.do but that article might hint why they’ve got problems. My delivery driver was different to the local who used to do this area. http://amplicate.com/hate/citylink is the review site I mention.
http://www.coofercat.com/node/730 has a particularly long-running set of comments, including some who claim to be working for citylink.
City-link should be renamed ******-LINK.
Their service is *****. I ordered a mobile phone on 29/12/10 and the seller had it transported to them on 30/12/10. As per the traking system they say is there to help customers it stated 4/1/11 as the planned delivery date. Day off work and yes you guessed it NO DELIVERY. Being a reasonable person I took into account the poor weather cond’s and continued to track my phone on their website. The 4/1/11 continued to be shown as the planned delivery date even though it was now 13/1/11. I tried ringing their online tel no’s to enquire on my mobile phone (for which the service provider was now charging me AND my old service provider had disconnected me). And Yes I now have NO PHONE. Having tried at least 40 times to ring I was told by a pre-recorded numpty that they are either too busy and to try later OR that I am being transferred to a call taker to then be told the other party has HUNG UP. I was getting a little p….ed off so I emailed them numerous times and YES you guessed it NO RESPONSE. At the end of my teather I decided to go to their Durham depot to help them out and PERSONALLY COLLECT MY (NOW PAYING FOR) phone. There was a LARGE queue of angry customers so I had some time to wait (30 mins). On speaking to the poor lad who was trying to deal with us all I could feel nothing but sympathy for him as his ears were nearly as big as Gary Lineakers. On speaking to him he quickly tasked one of the Agency workers to go and find my phone. Whilst speaking to the customer services lad he mentioned that they had a lot of agency drivers & warehouse staff in to try and clear the 37,000 parcel backlog and that they were having problems with their scanner system which was why the web tracking system was not up to date. He also mentioned that some of the agency workers were semi- illiterate. After a further 30 minutes wait I like ALL the others before me was told that they couldn’t find my shiny new mobile phone. Another poor chaps SIX foot snooker table was also missing (perhaps staff had set it up in the canteen for lunch breaks – they may even be using my mobile phone to order the pizzas!!). When the lad was asked if having agency staff in who could not read or write may be part of the problem re stocking parcels and locating/delivering them he smiled and said yeah you’re right BOSS. I asked about the auditing processes they used and it appears that as the scanner system is F….D that they had now gone on to a PAPERLESS system where it appears its a free for all post code lottery. I asked if he could check if my shiny new phine was on one of the vans delivering to my area even though their system stated that it was still in the depot awaiting delivery on 4/1/11 (its now 14/1/11 got me on that one). His reply was NAW BOSS. I then suggested that it’s quite possible due to the poor auditing processes that my phone could have been stolen by some half witt illigitimate agency worker and he said YO’VE GOT ME ON THAT ONE BOSS. I then made the fatal mistake of asking to speak to the manager and after another 45 minutes finally did so. He agreed that he would check the returning vans to see if my phone was on there and give me a ring. I grimmaced and said how can you I HAVE NO PHONE. I gave him another number and he promised to ring me, YES you guessed it NO PHONE CALL. Whilst waiting for the manager me and the other 20 or so frustrated customers were talking and it appears that they had had so many complaints that they had SHUT the customer collection point at Durham for 2 days (probably to order some ear muffs and await their delivery by other colleagues). One customer said that a friend of his received his 40″ plasma TV before xmas and on opening the box found a glass jigsaw. As he was telling me this an agency worker was seen to drop another large box which on being picked up rattled like another glass jigsaw WELL DONE no change in standards. Another customer came in and had a card saying you were not in when the driver called to deliver. The customer grimmaced and said you didn’t tell me when you were calling (like you promised via your tracker system) so how the F..k could I be in to pickup my crystal ball………….. Sorry for the war and piece above but it’s all true, can anyone reading this also contribute to this column and inform others of how poor this company is. If any Directors for City-link are reading this you can email me with any National vacancies that you may have regarding the running of your company. I would settle for £100K per year and a NEW MOBILE PHONE. p.s. I can only work weekends though I think this will be enough time to improve on your service by at least 500 fold.
I’ve stayed in until 9pm the last 2 days awaiting a ‘next day delivery’, Which never arrived, tracked my consignment on city link website which says ‘card left noone in’ – absolute untruth. I will ensure i never use this 19 teen century company again. I bought the goods from coop – their customer service is friendly but completely useless – their dept has no added value at all and might as well be disbanded.
Phil
@phil – Sorry to hear that. Was that an order from http://www.coopelectricalshop.co.uk/ or somewhere else?
I’m a delivery driver for City Link and we are into taking out unmanagable work loads, upto 100 plus deliveires per day. It’s inevitable that some are going too be unattempted. When a unsuccessful delivery is made we take a photo of premises as proof we have been. This appears on the website and should be displayed when you track your delivery. We are the poorest paid in this sector and overworked I can tell you moral is low. However failure is not down too drivers who do a exellant job in difficult near impossible conditions. It is the managemnet that hasn’t got a clue all they are interested in is clearing out depots meeting KPis and getting there fat bonus.
I don’t know if Delivery Driver (who did give an email address…) is real and knows the pay figures for sure, but the comment is certainly in keeping with what’s on other websites I linked in my earlier comments. I don’t think it’s the drivers’ fault, but I think the drivers probably should be looking for work elsewhere as soon as possible and probably joining a trade union to resist those KPIs. Easier said than done, but it’s better than working for what looks like a terminally-dysfunctional company, isn’t it?