topic Re: Slow deliveries in Selling

Slow deliveries

*kazumi* — Thu, 23 Apr 2020 00:06:45 GMT

Do you have buyers complaining about slow deliveries? I have number of orders taking weeks coming from within my city, and those from Sydney have been taking 3+ weeks. That goes for AP as well as various couriers. But now I have buyers complaining. The tracking says "delayed due to COVID19", so what more do they expect me to do? I post my items immediately.

There is no way I will be filling "missing parcel" form yet, but just wondering if it can be done on line? Cannot see such function on the AP site, and when I tried to chase missing up 1/2 of an order sent by courier their complaint link was disabled.

Re: Slow deliveries

cezm — Thu, 23 Apr 2020 00:34:50 GMT

I have had a few delayed parcels.

You have to sign up to My Post to lodge an enquiry. I have done it for a couple of items as it seems to reassure the buyers that I am concerned about the delay

https://auspost.com.au/receiving/delayed-lost-or-damaged-items/find-a-missing-item

Re: Slow deliveries

pnc75 — Thu, 23 Apr 2020 02:43:24 GMT

Painfully, painfully slow.

Re: Slow deliveries

south.coffee — Thu, 23 Apr 2020 05:54:12 GMT

Generally speaking our buyers have been patient and plenty of news recently on Australia Post's efforts so you cannot blame anyone when your capacity increases +80% in a matter of weeks...

eBay have added a header when you click on an orders tracking number "Due to the coronavirus outbreak, deliveries may be delayed."

With MyPost you can track your orders easily and can see the drawn out ones and we lodge a support ticket on those ones. Time to step up folks.

When an order arrives we send the buyer a confirmation and we have now added the postal delay.

" Hello and thank you for your purchase. Your order will be mailed in our next business day pick up at 12pm. We will update you when posted. Australia Post have advised they are currently experiencing delivery delays due to a high volume of parcels in their network.

Should you have any questions or problems please get in touch with us.

Regards."

Re: Slow deliveries

tazzieterror — Thu, 23 Apr 2020 10:19:10 GMT

@south.coffee wrote:
...

With MyPost you can track your orders easily and can see the drawn out ones and we lodge a support ticket on those ones. Time to step up folks.

You could if Aus. Post were scanning items along the way. But for the vast majority of both my sales and purchases, after the initial lodgement scan there is nothing until it's delivered - there's no way of knowing how far along the delivery process items are.

I had to open up two support tickets with AP this past week for INRs that buyers opened, and AP has evidently been inundated with support tickets - it was a several day wait before hearing back, so that time must be spent reassuring your buyer you're trying your best to get an update for them.

Despite those complaints, I'm grateful we still have a functioning postal service - I have a friend in Perú who was selling online, but has had to stop as their postal service has been shut down - there's no way yo send anything now.

Re: Slow deliveries

love_of_cars — Thu, 23 Apr 2020 11:38:32 GMT

Yeah, my parcels are showing as "Initiated" for like a week before they go into "It's on the way".

I'm keeping my fingers crossed and hoping for the best.

Re: Slow deliveries

tazzieterror — Thu, 23 Apr 2020 11:57:52 GMT

Since posting earlier, I've just noticed I have another four items I've sold that are now late as per AP's expected delivery date. I'm gonna take the initiative this time and lodge tickets with AP tomorrow morning, and message my buyers. Frustrating.

Re: Slow deliveries

davewil1964 — Thu, 23 Apr 2020 12:09:10 GMT

@tazzieterror wrote:
@south.coffee wrote:
...

With MyPost you can track your orders easily and can see the drawn out ones and we lodge a support ticket on those ones. Time to step up folks.

You could if Aus. Post were scanning items along the way. But for the vast majority of both my sales and purchases, after the initial lodgement scan there is nothing until it's delivered - there's no way of knowing how far along the delivery process items are.

I had to open up two support tickets with AP this past week for INRs that buyers opened, and AP has evidently been inundated with support tickets - it was a several day wait before hearing back, so that time must be spent reassuring your buyer you're trying your best to get an update for them.

Despite those complaints, I'm grateful we still have a functioning postal service - I have a friend in Perú who was selling online, but has had to stop as their postal service has been shut down - there's no way yo send anything now.

You're doing better than me. I opened a case last Thursday. No response. Kicked it onto their Facebook page today and got an instant, and I mean instant, form response that it would take at least 2 days for them to look at it.

Which means I'll have to refund the buyer as they've been waiting a month already.

Re: Slow deliveries

tazzieterror — Thu, 23 Apr 2020 14:10:20 GMT

The two I chased up from earlier this week were posted 27/3, and had been in transit over three weeks at the time the buyers opened INRs. That was from SA to two different parts of WA.

I'd really love to know where the delay is occurring. Within an hour of me opening an AP support ticket for the second one, it suddenly showed up in tracking as out for delivery -- probably a coincidence but who knows?

But even after it was delivered I still received an automated ticket response a couple of days later, as if it was still missing. AP's computers evidently aren't talking to each other.

Re: Slow deliveries

davewil1964 — Thu, 23 Apr 2020 14:10:44 GMT

@tazzieterror wrote:
The two I chased up from earlier this week were posted 27/3, and had been in transit over three weeks at the time the buyers opened INRs. That was from SA to two different parts of WA.

I'd really love to know where the delay is occurring. Within an hour of me opening an AP support ticket for the second one, it suddenly show up in tracking as out for delivery -- probably a coincidence but who knows?

But even after it was delivered I still received an automated ticket response a couple of days later, as if it was still missing. AP's computers evidently aren't talking to each other.

Mine was posted to WA from ACT on 25 March. Last scan was leaving Sydney on 27/3. It's marked as delayed, but I doubt that is parcel specific. It would have to be a way for them to try to cover their backsides because they cannot cope. I assume they think that will absolve them from responsibility for not fulfilling their contracts.

Re: Slow deliveries

tazzieterror — Thu, 23 Apr 2020 14:16:14 GMT

'Delayed' is definitely not parcel specific - they've marked that for many of mine that haven't scanned beyond lodgement. So if it's not scanned, and they hence don't know its location, they can't very well judge that it's been delayed! That's my theory at least.

Re: Slow deliveries

11dustyattic — Thu, 23 Apr 2020 14:42:33 GMT

@davewil1964 wrote:
@tazzieterror wrote:
The two I chased up from earlier this week were posted 27/3, and had been in transit over three weeks at the time the buyers opened INRs. That was from SA to two different parts of WA.

I'd really love to know where the delay is occurring. Within an hour of me opening an AP support ticket for the second one, it suddenly show up in tracking as out for delivery -- probably a coincidence but who knows?

But even after it was delivered I still received an automated ticket response a couple of days later, as if it was still missing. AP's computers evidently aren't talking to each other.
Mine was posted to WA from ACT on 25 March. Last scan was leaving Sydney on 27/3. It's marked as delayed, but I doubt that is parcel specific. It would have to be a way for them to try to cover their backsides because they cannot cope. I assume they think that will absolve them from responsibility for not fulfilling their contracts.

So it's been in transit for nearly a month? Omg

Re: Slow deliveries

heihachi_73 — Thu, 23 Apr 2020 16:08:10 GMT

Sent an item on 14/4, was still in Vic on the 19th, arrived in QLD on the 23rd and still not delivered.

Re: Slow deliveries

*kazumi* — Thu, 23 Apr 2020 21:59:31 GMT

I have also used Sendle, and the last time it took 3 days before it was picked up, and that happened accidentally; the courier delivered parcel and I handed mine to him, he said they are not on his list, but looked at the labels and confirmed it was listed with his company, so he scanned them and took them. That was 5pm on the 3rd day. It was due to be picked up day 1, and when it was still here day 2 evening, I tried to contact them but the function was not working "due to coronavirus".

Re: Slow deliveries

south.coffee — Fri, 24 Apr 2020 06:32:44 GMT

One anomily we noticed with Australia Post tracking is the number of scans. In MyPost we see all the intermediate scans at various mail centres en route but the public tracking does not show that. Secondly, the parcel volume could be so huge they are simply not doing some to speed up delivery.

All in all, I am happy with the operation under current situation.

Re: Slow deliveries

davewil1964 — Fri, 24 Apr 2020 06:51:39 GMT

@davewil1964 wrote:
@tazzieterror wrote:
The two I chased up from earlier this week were posted 27/3, and had been in transit over three weeks at the time the buyers opened INRs. That was from SA to two different parts of WA.

I'd really love to know where the delay is occurring. Within an hour of me opening an AP support ticket for the second one, it suddenly show up in tracking as out for delivery -- probably a coincidence but who knows?

But even after it was delivered I still received an automated ticket response a couple of days later, as if it was still missing. AP's computers evidently aren't talking to each other.
Mine was posted to WA from ACT on 25 March. Last scan was leaving Sydney on 27/3. It's marked as delayed, but I doubt that is parcel specific. It would have to be a way for them to try to cover their backsides because they cannot cope. I assume they think that will absolve them from responsibility for not fulfilling their contracts.

Now deemd lost.

They told me to contact the sender, even though I clearly told them I was the sender when I lodged the complaint. Makes me wonder, if they can't even get that right, hard hard they looked. Maybe they reckon it's cheaper to compensate the occasional complainant than to do a proper search.

I can understand delays, but with the automation of a lot of their mail sorting, they shouldn't be losing things. Mind you, that assumes things get scanned when they should, which certainly doesn't happen all the time.

Re: Slow deliveries

south.coffee — Fri, 24 Apr 2020 07:49:23 GMT

Australia Post have stepped up and made changes to the tracking information customers see.

We have made some important changes to some of our tracking notifications to provide your customers with more information about the progress of their delivery.

We have a new notification - "We’ve got your delivery details" - which will now be the first notification sent to consumers when Australia Post has confirmed receipt of the manifest. We have also updated the "It’s on its way" notification to include information about delivery delays and refer customers to find out more detail on our website. Click here to see the enhanced notification experience and suggested messaging for your use to explain the delays

https://click.email.auspost.com.au/?qs=4e7f5eeaaa2978d8511c7c04292ba19f786f954cb9c8c2e3326a0cf83ae9ee1f27a6048233689d1c3d7f9872be87640e995c3282cd1b6af0

Re: Slow deliveries

twyngwyn — Fri, 24 Apr 2020 08:32:14 GMT

I just got this email from A.P:

Important update to our services

At Australia Post, we’re working hard to deliver for our customers in these difficult times. We are however, experiencing significant delivery delays in our network due to limited flights, social distancing requirements and a substantial increase in parcel volumes as more people shop online.

These delays mean we are temporarily suspending the Express Post guarantee of next day delivery as we are unable to commit to this timeframe. Express Post is still available but parcels may not be delivered next business day every time.

We know you’re keener than ever to find out when you’ll receive your deliveries. You can track your delivery through parcel tracking, the chatbot and the MyPost App. We ask for your patience with our contact centre colleagues based here in Australia who are doing their best to keep up with the additional demand.

For all information about changes to service, up to date details on delays and impacts including any Post Office closures, please visit our website.

Changing how we work to remain safe

Many customers and businesses have asked us how we are changing our ways of working to ensure the safety of our communities and teams.

Post Offices have implemented social distancing measures for all services conducted in store. Cleaning standards and personal hygiene guidelines have also been provided. Counter safety screens to improve hygiene and reduce risks are also currently being rolled out across the country. The response to this has been positive so far.

We’ve also had a number of questions regarding the safe handling of mail. The World Health Organisation and the Australian Department of Health have stated that the risk of contracting COVID-19 through handling of mail or parcels is extremely low. Nevertheless, we’ve introduced health and safety protocols in our facilities that ensure that mail and parcels are handled safely and that human contact is minimised. Contactless parcel deliveries where a signature is no longer required is also reducing risks.

Stay safe and thank you for your understanding Australia.

Your team at Australia Post

Re: Slow deliveries

tazzieterror — Fri, 24 Apr 2020 08:54:52 GMT

@davewil1964 wrote:

They told me to contact the sender, even though I clearly told them I was the sender when I lodged the complaint. Makes me wonder, if they can't even get that right, hard hard they looked. Maybe they reckon it's cheaper to compensate the occasional complainant than to do a proper search.

They told me exactly the same thing with my last ticket opened with them for a late/missing item! I replied asking them how it is they think I'm the receiver when I've told them I'm the sender on the support request. They didn't reply but just closed the ticket without resolving anything!!

Re: Slow deliveries

tazzieterror — Sat, 25 Apr 2020 02:12:35 GMT

@south.coffee wrote:
Australia Post have stepped up and made changes to the tracking information customers see.

We have made some important changes to some of our tracking notifications to provide your customers with more information about the progress of their delivery.

We have a new notification - "We’ve got your delivery details" - which will now be the first notification sent to consumers when Australia Post has confirmed receipt of the manifest. We have also updated the "It’s on its way" notification to include information about delivery delays and refer customers to find out more detail on our website. Click here to see the enhanced notification experience and suggested messaging for your use to explain the delays

https://click.email.auspost.com.au/?qs=4e7f5eeaaa2978d8511c7c04292ba19f786f954cb9c8c2e3326a0cf83ae9ee1f27a6048233689d1c3d7f9872be87640e995c3282cd1b6af0

The other change they seem to have made to tracking information is reclassifying 'Delayed' deliveries as 'On Time'!

I mentioned earlier in this topic that as of this week I had four sent items overdue for delivery, and showing up in AP tracking as 'Delayed', with no scanning information beyond lodgement.

Yesterday I submitted a support ticket for each, and this morning two of those are now showing as scanned through Melbourne's sorting centre. But rather than still being flagged as 'Delayed', they're now tagged as 'On Time', and due for delivery between Monday & Thursday of this coming week.

The 'On Time' tag seems a little misleading to me - you can't undelay a parcel that it already overdue for delivery - late is late. The other two tickets are both still showing as 'Delayed' so it will be interesting to see if they receive the same treatment once they progress.