Another reason NOT to ship DHL

[Sadielynn]

This really applies to everyone that buys online but here is the story.

Human body parts delivered to wrong address

CASCADE TOWNSHIP -- A Cascade Township couple made a disturbing discovery when two extra packages containing human body parts were delivered to their home.

Investigators with the Kent County Sheriff's Department say the packages originated in China and were supposed to be delivered to a laboratory in Traverse City. Instead, the driver from DHL accidentally thought the extra packages were part of the couple's order when he made the delivery on Thursday.

The couple opened the other packages and noticed the body parts.

The two extra packages are part of a much larger shipment. Investigators say three of the original five boxes shipped have been received. Of the two missing boxes, there could be up to 30 individually wrapped specimens that do not pose a health risk to the public.

Now a statewide alert has been sent to police agencies. Authorities say anyone who receives these packages by mistake, shipped by DHL, should contact police.

[Hara]

moving this to the lounge

[Sadielynn]

Thanks for moving it Hara I kinda put it up there tho for folks who order corals and such ...

[Hara]

While I understand that reasoning...it really didnt pertain to saltwater so I moved it here.

[LandGhoti]

OMG, my work uses DHL for shipments abroad and they are the WORST! One of my coworkers received a package of boxes of soap instead of a book's advance copies, and then ended up talking four times to someone in Germany who could barely speak English to try and get it resolved. One of our authors received an aquarium hood and light(!) instead of book documents. Unbelievable. I have no idea how DHL stays in business.

[bs6749]

I ordered my GBR's on www.aquabid.com from a seller in Florida. He shipped them DHL and I received them 2 days later (on time). I received them earlier in the morning unlike UPS which usually arrives around 4 PM or later. The seller said that he almost always uses DHL (by request of the buyer) and that he has NEVER lots one GBR due to DOA. I can't say anything bad about DHL. FedEx on the other hand has lost several items for me (good thing I had insurance).

I also wanted to point out that if the packages did not contain body part, this story would not exist. Don't you think that UPS, USPS, and FedEx lose packages too? I would wager that they lose/damage/mishandle MORE than DHL, simply because they are larger than DHL. I work at the airport in Grand Rapids, MI (Kent County actually, where this story takes place) and FedEx feeder planes arrive by the dozens all long. There are MANY more of them than there are DHL planes (actually the DHL planes go over to the FedEx receiving to unload) and thus it would seem logical that more packages would be lost/mistreated/and mishandled. I'm not saying that DHL is better (I prefer USPS Priority), just that I would trust DHL to deliver a package.

[Sadielynn]

In our area DHL sucks big time . There are some insider things that I can not reveal (no I dont work for them ) I have had stuff lost beet to crap and mistreated and verbally abused by their workers . They have since been tresspassed (meaning that they are no longer allowed on our property)Yes fed-ex has its issues but when you contact corprate they fix it ... I have yet to have something unresolved , was everything resolved "perfectly" no ,but I did see justice. As for the postal service, just dont get me going on them ! They SUCK in this area ! UPS not to bad but some one lost a job(actually a few) because of a complaint to them what happened was quite serious , ups is poor for dilivery times ..In a nut shell you are right all have issues it is impossible not to with the ammount of stuff being shipped but I still think that that is a faus pax that should not have been made .So if I rated how I would ship it would be :
1 fedex
2 ups
3 usps for letters only nothing of value or importance
4 I can not even give that to DHL since I wont ship with them I pay the extra for fed ex

[tecwzrd]

IMO I feel this should be in the "General retailers" forum like all other posts on companies so I'm moving it there.

I've only had experience with USPS, UPS, and FedEx but I also feel the more options available will help keep costs down for all of us even if one carrier is lower in quality then others.

I've had good/bad shipping experiences with all the companies I've dealt with but generally FedEx has been the most reliable for me.

[jaydawg53]

The scariest thing I ever heard about shipping was from a friend that worked in a UPS warehouse here in town. He said that writing "FRAGILE" on a box really doesn't mean jack squat. He then went on to explain how they unload the trucks; he said that if there's a "wall" of boxes stacked up in the truck, instead of getting a ladder or something, they just grab one of the smaller boxes at the bottom of the stack, and run. After all the boxes have tumbled down on the floor, they simply pick them up off the floor of the truck.

He said that the reason why they don't take the time to get the ladder isn't necessarily laziness; it's the fact that UPS feels that it is cheaper for them to pay a broken item claim than it is to lose money in lost productivity.

What's really scary about it is I'm sure that every shipping company operates the exact same way. All I can say is pack your items well!

[newfound77951]

I have had both good and bad experiences with DHL. Fortunately my good experience was with shipping fish; it was a short distance and they were delivered within 4 hours of being picked up and were perfectly happy. The bad experience was that they lost a package of Christmas presents which then suddenly turned up (with my correct address!!) in February!

[Fishyfanatic]

I have had issues with all of the companies. FedEx, DHL, and UPS all pass by my office by 9:30 AM every day. It all comes down to luck. The only reason why I don't use DHL or FedEx for shipping is because we don't have a drop off location in our town. I receive plenty of packages through them though.

[Devilishturtles]

I ship USPS. It's the cheapest and I have yet to have problems with them. I also haven't had issues with UPS or FedEx either, so I can't say one way or the other. Shipping DHL scares me for some reason, perhaps from reading all of the bad things about it.

[chase33]

I've only used UPS and FEDEX and haven't experienced any issues with fish or equipment or anything else for that matter.

[Ziggy953]

When I was heaving in breeding fancy guppies one of my suppliers sent through DHL, I never got a fish alive when she did. I ended up switching to someone else because she refused to use anything other then DHL. I stay away from them for another reason...my dad worked for them for awhile and he saw the poor care they give anything labeled fragile or LIVE....just a little more food for thought....