Deliveries by DHL

[Mike1]

Nick, part of my job for the last 23+ years has been shipping/receiving. We use UPS, FedEx and DHL. Each has their strengths, just as each has their weaknesses. Well over 80% of our packages are shipped with DHL.

Another part of my job is to field the customer service calls and we get over three times the complaints about UPS deliveries than from the other two companies combined.

Our package volume varies wildly, but we can ship as many as 25-30 packages a day, so I feel I have an pretty fair idea of how the shipping companies work.

[Colin]

I have had both good and bad experiences with both firms Nick. Of course I was a shipper/receiver for about 10 years so I can say the same with almost every courier service. You will always have problems with any delivery company, but you hope the majority of experiences are good ones.

Good luck trying out the new carrier. I think giving people the option is a good one.

I did have a few deliveries, from another firm, come to me by Parcel Force and I was actually pretty pleased with them. There deliveries came via post. It took more time, but it saved on the "extra" duty fees that firms like FedEx and UPS can add for their brokerage fee. I know one of my biggest hold ups on a number of items from Scotland is lack of a post option. I am one of the few that don't expect their product in 3 days so the extra week or so for delivery is usually not an issue especially when waiting for any kind of handcrafted quality goods.

[LairdOfTheBrae]

i find domestic deliveries to be hassle-free no matter how they are shipped. whenever a shipment has to cross borders there are "brokerage fees" involved and this is where i have experienced the problems.

whenever i buy something online i ensure it is shipped royal mail, usps, etc.

i ordered and received a belt and buckle from nova scotia (canada), and because they didn't have one in stock they shipped one from their US location. 2 weeks later i got a bill for $38 brokerage fees from fedex!!! it was $50 purchase. UPS once charged me $51 on a $100 jacket from the states. the most i was ever charged by canada post/canada customs was $12 on an order of about 10 cd's.

by the way, if your destination is in a remote area, the packages will end up being delivered by the national service anyways, at least that's the way it is for canada. and the way i believe it is for other countries as well.

[Jerry]

Just one thing to add to my first post. I prefer anything I buy from the UK to be shipped Royal Mail. It's not that I sometimes avoid customs charges, but I avoid the fee that the other shippers, UPS and FEDEX(don't know about DHL) charge for collecting those fees and filling out the paperwork. I can't honestly say that I have experienced it myself, but others here have posted about being charged those fees even when no customs charges were due.

[Lyrd]

Just a quick note. DHS and customs and Border was at our depot yesterday doing a spot check, as they do frequently. I asked the guy if he knew anything about shipping kilts and tarrifs and duties. He told me he wears kilts as a part of his Masonic lodge membership and has had kilts shipped from overseas. He also said that Kilts should be exempt from ANY trarrifs and duties should be around $20 when declared properly, as textiles are only supposed to be taxed when RAW, not as a part of a article of clothing, as long as the declared value is under $2000. Just goes to show you ask 4 border inspections guys the same question and get 4 different answers.

[ChattanCat]

I have installed material handling systems in DHL. They are top notch. Airborne has their own airport in Ohio. They are a good match and should be able to deliver from EU (DHL) to the us market (Airborne).
WC

[Lyrd]

I have installed material handling systems in DHL. They are top notch. Airborne has their own airport in Ohio. They are a good match and should be able to deliver from EU (DHL) to the us market (Airborne).
WC

So your the one to cuss out when our system at the airport crashes?

[Zardoz]

I like any stuff from Scotland to come Royal Mail, it's less expensive, and I've never had any problems with that method.

I find it interesting (but typical) that no matter which carrier is mentioned, there is a horror story. At my work at one of Houston's largest motorcycle dealers, we recieve on average, 25 to 80 packages per day either though UPS or Fed Ex. and yes with that volume, mistakes happen, but I must say fairly rarely. Honda uses Fed Ex only, most other venders use UPS. Of the dozen or so venders we deal with on a regular basis, it's interesting that none use DHL.

For years, we used UPS to ship out stuff, but we had issues with costs of supplies, pick-up times etc... So about 4 years ago we got good offer from DHL, and switched to them for outgoing. It went pretty great for a year or so, but then we started getting a lot of calls from irate customers that their stuff was late or undelivered for some reason. It happened to me when I shipped something to USA Kilts! My shipping guy would spend a lot of time on the phone chasing down peoples packages.

It seems DHL was doing OK in urban areas, but not so good out in 'the country'. Well tried to work with this for months, but we got a lot of customers out in the counrty, and some of them threatened to bail if we kept shipping their stuff DHL, so we switched back to UPS, and it's been pretty smooth since.

[Nick Fiddes]

I find it interesting (but typical) that no matter which carrier is mentioned, there is a horror story.

This certainly seems to be my impression, which rather backs up my overall feeling that I've been arguing for years, that overall there's no clear winner. But can I thank everyone for their feedback here which is really helpful.

One thing I may add, which no one has mentioned but is very significant from our point of view, is the quality of service at OUR end. It's clear that at the delivery end there are better nodes and worse nodes for each service, but this is equally true at the pick-up end, and this matters for every package we send of course so it's a major factor. And it happens that locally here in Edinburgh we've had an excellent Fedex rep who's always done her best to sort out issues arising for us, which is a big reason we've stuck by them. DHL seem quite professional locally here for us too, which is why we're considering them. But our local UPS outfit have been a... words fail me, and I'd better stop for fear of a libel suit. Let's just say there's no way we're going to use them in the foreseeable future, with a view to giving y'all adequate service.

[ForresterModern]

.... with a view to giving y'all adequate service.....

Nick, you sure you're not from West Virginia? That "y'all" trickled right out without hardly a moment's hesitation.