The Postman Always Rings Twice - The problem of delivery.

Shopping online is easy, conviened and fast: Search for your item, select the size and/or color, put in in your basket and make a payment. And all you have to do is wait for the UPS/DHL/Post -man or -woman to deliver your precoius goods.

Sounds like a fairy tale to a lot of people because almost 20% of online deliveries go wrong for some reason: Too late, incorrect item, delivered at the guy next door who is now fishing in Alaska for two weeks or not delivered at all (at least not at your address).  

Most online stores give you the option to choose between standard and fast delivery (sometimes even the same day) so you have a choice when you really need your purchase or you are not at home every day of the week. Research shows most problems occur when you choose the standard delivery which means for most countries within 3-5 working days (International deliveries take 10-12 working days for most online stores).

When something goes wrong (and we all have been there) we always think: How hard is it to put the item I bought in a box, put the address on it which I delivered to you myself and ship that box. When we write a letter, we put it in an envelop, put a stamp on it, put it in a mailbox and a few days later the reciever finds that same letter on his or her door mat. Works for 99,99%.   

As a customer we are not really interested issues such as technical problems in fully automated warehouses or failing distribution systems, in 2015 there must be a way to track and trace every sold item to prevent all these delivery problems. All we want is a solution!

Off course we do understand that something can go wrong, there are still human beings involved in the process, but it is the way the companies solve the issue. In my opinion, when I order something the store I purchased the item from is responsible for the whole process. Not just the item itself but also the delivery. So when I buy a laptop online I will call them if it doesn't work but also if it doesn't arrive. Their service does not end when the package leaves the warehouse.

Let me try to explain this to all the managers of online stores: You walk into a flower shop and you buy a fragile vase of glass.The shop assistent wraps the vase, puts it into a plastic bag and 10 feet away from the store your plastic bag rips so what's left of your beautiful vase is just a lot of broken glass. Would you settle for an answer that they sell flowers and vases, not bags? I don't think so!

Here is some advice to you: If you have a customer which did not recieve your product or reccieved the incorrect item and he of she can prove it (we know it's an evil world out there), make sure you do everything you can to keep that customer happy! I am sure you have some free samples you can send or a coupon for free delivery next time. And if you know somebody's size, there must be some company T-shirt that wouldn't cost you too much but it's the thought that counts. Plus: It is so much cheaper than advertising!

Our advice to everybody who likes to shop online (trust us, in most of the times everything goes right), keep as much information about your order as possible, create a special map on your computer or your inbox and, if you are not sure, use that printscreen button to make a snap shot and save it somewhere until you recieved what you have paid for. Because, at the end, that is all that matters.