Trouble with the way the package was transported

[OctavianTN]

Hello

Sorry if I cannot speak in German, I can only speak my native language and English.

I ordered a weeks ago a Streacom BC1 Black and it arrived after a week and a few days. Aside for the fact that DHL did not forward my phone number to the Romanian courier company (Cargus) that delivered the package to me (good thing I followed the DHL tracking / Cargus tracking like a hawk), the main issue I would like to bring to yours attention is the way the package box was treated.

I do not want to make a complaint, I work in customer service myself so I do not want additional workload on your customer support agents since the product itself was not damaged (however I did not unseal the box so I cannot be 100% sure), just a some small damage on the product box that I can live with (lucky me, I ordered an allied aluminum chassis that's note easy to bend) and not something sensitive to pressure), I simply would like to give Caseking a warning about what some couriers will do to their packages. I do not know if this was done by DHL or by Cargus that transported the package in Romania but I really wish they would be more careful with their packages. Here are some pictures:

 

[CasekingMike]

Dear OctavianTN

Thank you for bringing this to our attention and documenting the damaged outer box, as you did, is definitely the right thing to do in order to prove improper handling by the carrier. Please check the item(s) you ordered thoroughly for damage since we have to regulate this immediately via the shipping insurance if need be. If the product is unharmed, well then the boxes did their job. If there is damage, you'll have to return it so that we can replace it or refund you.

In general, it is an everyday occurence that parcels are being treated like this by the respecitve shipping companies and there is, quite frankly, absolutely nothing we can do about it. It happens a hundred times each day, especially when it comes to international shipments, and is a result of how logistics companies have to operate. which is why we only use insured shipping at all times. It goes without saying that we'd love to see parcel delivery people having the time to handle each package with care every step of the way, but that's unfortunately simply not realistic.

Apart from that, the phone number is rarely forwarded since they are not necessary (in Germany) for delivering packages and according to the principle of data economy mandated by the EU's General Data Protection Regulation forwarding that kind of data requires explicit consent on part of the customer along with a data processing contract between every company involved. In Germany it is uncommon to call the recipient when parcels are being delivered.

Kind Regards
Mike

 

[OctavianTN]

Dear Mike

Thank you for the very fast answer (especially during weekend). Fortunately, the external box took most of the beating from the transportation and what was left from the shock was absorbed by the Streacom BC1 box. I would not give this as a gift to someone but fortunately this was not purchased as a gift for somebody else. While the product box was covered in A LOT of wrapping paper, maybe you could use polystyren or bubble wrap as these should take beatings a lot better.

I guess there might be some environmental restrictions for polystyren/bubble wrap that may be the cause of the use of heavy paper as packaging material instead.

Regarding the shipping address and contact number, in Romania the courier usually calls before the delivery to check if someone is at the package destination before the delivery.

Also, in towns, the street and the number are in most cases not sufficient as we have a lot of blocks of flats (apartments) from the time when Romania was under communist rule (most likely you have a similar buildings in the Eastern Germany, you had the same "friendly visitors" when Stalin was in charge). Anyway, this means that the shipping address must also have listed beside the street number, the Block number, the Stair letter, the Floor (level) number and the apartment (flat) number.

In my order, I added these just in case and it turned out as a very good idea as the courier did not have my phone number.

Maybe you could add these in your customer address form, at least as optional fields.

The content of the Streacom BC1 box is fine, just checked, here are some pictures with the damage on the Streacom BC1 box before I opened it:

 

[CasekingMike]

I guess there might be some environmental restrictions for polystyren/bubble wrap that may be the cause of the use of heavy paper as packaging material instead.

Exactly, we are not going to use those less eco-friendly materials.

Regarding the shipping address and contact number, in Romania the courier usually calls before the delivery to check if someone is at the package destination before the delivery.

Since we have many customers from Romania and other romance countries in general we are aware of that practice, but unfortunately DHL, which is owned by Deutsche Post AG, apparently didn't factor in this characteristic into the contracts with their fulfilment partner Cargus. We also know that DHL as well as (our) German shop software applications sometimes have problems with the rather lengthy Romanian addresses and all the numbers. Unfortunately it's not always that easy to adapt this, but we usually find a way to make it work (sometimes by manually adjusting a customer's address) and you apparently already formatted your address accordingly. We are working on a new shop system which should be able to deal with international differences better as a mid to long-term solution. While we do have socialist housing blocks in the East and also similar concrete block buildings in Western Germany (and both in Berlin), the way the addresses are organised requires much less information.

In the end, I am glad that the product itself was not damaged and that a return can be avoided in this case.

Kind Regards
Mike

 

[OctavianTN]

Thank you for all the provided help, you have great support!

Also, thanks for the gummy bears.

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