How honest has Australia Post been regarding international parcels?

[padraicpaul91]

For the past three weeks I have been regularly been in contact with AP about the situation. When I do the usual response has been " please be patient, we are doing our best". My reponse to this has been " I know this but please tell us the actual situation".

Now it appears the actual situation is worse than AP was prepared to admit. That may help explain why their facebook page has stopped responding to my queries. I must admit the most recent reponse from AP was they don't know what is happening.

Case in point: A parcel destined for Germany was tracked as having departed on March 23rd. This morning, this became 'departed as sea mail on May 8th'.

I am one that can deal with adverse situations and make plans accordingly, as long as I know the real situation. But this lack of honesty has crushed the credibility of Australia Post.

[gutterpunkz05]

we are all dealing with strange and unexpected scenarios at the moment, AP  and their contractors included.  Domestic shipping is bad enough, but International logistics must be an absolute nightmare at this time.

Hardly think anyones reputation is crushed or indeed tarnished under these circumstances.

[padraicpaul91]

No harm in being honest unless perceived reputation is more important.

[gutterpunkz05]

Plenty of people, and presumably freight (including post),  were booked on flights that never left the ground

[digital*ghost]

I've sent a few parcels OS by special request, since I suspended international shipping on the 6th of April, but had some regulars that really wanted some items and were ok with waiting 8 weeks (which is the timeframe I quoted). Looking at the tracking, only one has had an update since being lodged, with one having no updates for just over 3 weeks.  << that's my worried face, not my why is this happening face lol

Whether Aus Post can be considered dishonest (with regards to delivery timeframes) depends on how you interpret or apply their announcements, but also (just in terms of delays) whether one can be considered to be dishonest by making predictions that turn out to be incorrect - they are advising of delays of a few weeks, and TBH I did interpret this as a total, i.e. delays accrued over the journey of the package, but with the tracking of the packages above, so far it's applied to the actual processing and dispatch within Aus, and I'm sure further delays will come. 

I do think they should be making it clearer that there's a large backlog and many shipments are going by sea mail. I mean, most of the regulars or frequent senders can either get this info, or at least intuit it from experiences, but your average casual sender could just as easily look up info on the website and advise someone it'll take 6 weeks when it could take 12. 

At any rate, I don't think I'll be doing any more special request orders and send through AP, since with DHL they were all still leaving the country before the 2 week mark and arriving in about 6 weeks, a couple taking 7-ish. 

[padraicpaul91]

Yeah, it seems honesty is word subject to interpretation. How about transparency?

I check tracking status most days. The one I mentioned had an update that came through this morning. It was dated April 30th.  So, I am wondering whether it was back dated and / or withheld until the new delivery announcements. Or that the tracking system has delays of 9 days. I reckon Australia Post made this decision re sea mail some time ago and kept quiet. 

With my international customers, I write to each, telling them what appears to be the case. I offer to cancel or offer express as an alternative. Most have been willing to wait. I had been out by only 5  business days compared to the new announcement. I now only offer express, which will kill most international sales. 

I was joking with a colleague just last week that sea mail might be quicker. Should have followed my gut and made express the only option sooner.

[gutterpunkz05]

Clarity and a perefect world, we can all dream I suppose.

Can anyone tell me what is the protocol once an item has cleared customs  and is ready for export shipment, and the means of exporting is then cancelled.  I can only assume that the item would remain under a bulk custom seal until an alternative means of export is found.

[digital*ghost]

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@padraicpaul91 wrote:

Yeah, it seems honesty is word subject to interpretation. How about transparency?

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When this situation was (for me) still mostly a matter of laughing at memes made about people hoarding toilet paper, one thing kept popping into my head (and I wasn't the only one, because I saw many others quoting it like the pop-culture-based pseudo-philosophers we all are  ).

Edwards : Why the big secret? People are smart. They can handle it.

Kay : A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals and you know it. 

Yah, sure, they're talking about aliens, but it's a sentiment that holds up in a lot of situations. 

All of which is a long-winded way of saying I know there's no excuse for outright deception that causes serious problems for people, but I have some empathy for them (despite a long history I have of being critical) - Aus Post are currently faced with a situation that is changing rapidly, potentially daily, and an answer of "I don't know" isn't acceptable to the vast majority of people, that's the kind of answer that results in immediate requests for refunds / compensation. They might not be doing things perfectly, but reassuring and placating people for long enough that individual issues resolve is probably avoiding large scale financial issues for them. 

One could see it as deception for monetary gain or benefit, sure, but another could see it as treading turbulent water to stay afloat. (I'm not saying it's right, per se, just that I kinda find it understandable when so much is unpredictable). 

[tazzieterror]

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@padraicpaul91 wrote:

No harm in being honest unless perceived reputation is more important.

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Glad you appreciate honestly.  My honest opinion is that in mid-late March you'd have to be daft to have expected hassle-free international shipping given the situation at the time. Freight has been a logistical quagmire for several months now and Aus. Post's tracking updates were suffering at least as early as February.

I don't believe AP have set out to deceive anyone - just like pretty much every other business and organisation, they've been caught out by an unprecedented situation, and have faced the added challenge of their services being in significantly higher demand at the same time that international air travel has dried up with most flights being grounded.

While I sympathise with those who have to ship internationally, characterising AP as decpetive is hyperbole. 

[padraicpaul91]

I agree with much of what you say, except your conclusions. I don't see Australia Post as acting to preserve income, more to reduce the apparent darkness of the situation. But, it is also that due to their tardy announcements, I am exposed to about $2000 in refunds. A little more openess on their part may well have reduced that exposure and fewer unhappy customers. That hurts.