DHL is, far and away, the worst delivery courier among the international courier companies. Far and away. I have had repeated problems with this company.

My current problem involves the shipping of a condenser dryer. I ordered the dryer over the ‘net from a company I haven’t used before, but which got good ratings on consumer information web sites. When I heard from the seller that DHL was the shipper, I got a sinking feeling in my stomach. The dryer was actually in town a week ago, but with the Easter vacation, it’s just been sitting around. Today I get a call from DHL asking if they could deliver it tomorrow. Sure, I said, no problem. Then the guy asks me if it’s just to be delivered to the first floor. No, I said, I live on the third floor. Is there an elevator? NO, No elevator. Well, the guy says, our deliverymen only have a contractual obligation to deliver items to the first floor.

*sigh*

(I paid 300 kroner, or about 50 bucks, for delivery, BTW.)

I explain to the guy that I cannot help carry the damned thing up, as I’ve got an injured back (this is the truth). The guy asks whether or not I can get anyone to help carry it up. I say that I cannot, which is not precisely true. The guy says he’ll call the driver and ask whether or not they will carry it up. The driver will not, as (he claims) the dryer weighs 65 kilos (about 143 pounds). I tell the DHL dispatcher that I’ll call him back.

First I call the closest store where dryers are sold, Expert, and get a price on the dryer from them. To get it from them, it would cost 876 kroner more (about 140 bucks), but they would deliver it up to the apartment. OK, so that’s a no-go.

Next I call customer service at the place where I bought the dryer, Elprice. He says it shouldn’t be a big deal to carry it up, as it’s light. “It’s 65 kilos!” is my response. He thinks that sounds wrong, so we each look up the actual weight in the Siemens catalogue. The weight is 43 kilos (around 95 pounds). The customer service guy then asks if I’ve asked if the driver can help me carry the thing up–yes, I have, and the driver said no. He suggests that I try to get the driver to help me, or that I try to get neighbors to help me and pay them off with a bottle of wine or something. There’s nothing he can do. The dryer was shipped directly from the Siemens factory, and Siemens has a deal with DHL in Norway–his company has no say in whether or not DHL is used as the deliveryman.

So, essentially I’m screwed. Worker’s rights are considerably more important than consumer rights in Norway, this incident being a perfect example. There is truly nothing I can do. Despite my messed up back, I’m going to have to carry this blasted thing up the stairs. Imagine if I were a frail old lady or wheelchair-bound–what then? I shouldn’t have to rely on neighbors to carry large heavy objects up to the third floor when I pay 50 bucks for shipping, but oh well. Life in Norway, ought to be used to it by now.

I call the DHL dispatcher back and tell him to go ahead and deliver the dryer tomorrow. I ask when it will be delivered. The dispatcher cannot say, and the best he can do is request that the driver call me half an hour before he comes. I knew the answer to that question before I asked, actually–this is not the first time I’ve had trouble with DHL. Instead of rehashing my previous troubles, I’ll just quote my complaint letter here:

The package with tracking number 8001541085 was shipped on the 19th of November and was first listed as being “With Delivery Courier” on November 23rd. On the 23rd, 24th, 25th, and 26th I have stayed at home to receive this package. Your customer service agents were not able to provide me with an estimated delivery time, so I was not able to run errands or get anything else done outside the house. Your customer service agents also assured me that even though the package was scheduled for delivery on previous days, *this* day it was with the courier and should be delivered. Even after 1600, I was instructed to wait at home to receive the delivery since the couriers had been delayed and were continuing to deliver in overtime.

So I’ve waited now, for four days, and still my package has not been delivered. I leave the country on Monday the 29th. I will not be home to receive this delivery anymore, and I did inform your customer service agents of this fact on several occasions. Supposedly they contacted the courier to inform him of the importance of delivering the package by today, but to no avail. What’s the problem, are your Norwegian couriers not prepared to deal with a few inches of snow? I simply don’t understand how this could have happened.

This delivery, tracking number xxxxxxxxxxx, will have to be rescheduled for delivery to my husband’s workplace, since I will be out of the country and he does not have the option of staying home. The package contains his Christmas present, which is no longer going to be a surprise for him since the customs invoices will list the contents of the package. This is simply added insult to injury. Regardless, the delivery must be rescheduled to be shipped to his work address, which is as follows:

Johannes Brodwall
xxx
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
xxxxxxx Oslo
Norway

His mobile telephone number is xxx xx xxx.

Please send an e-mail confirming that delivery has been rescheduled to this address.

I am extremely displeased with the quality of service I have received. All the customer service agents I spoke to were very polite, but your system seems to provide them with very little information regarding delivery times and problems. Because of this, shipping packages with DHL is potentially too much of a time-waster for me to attempt again. Unless this problem is resolved quickly and to my satisfaction, I will not be doing business with your company again.

That package did finally get delivered to Johannes at work, where the courier requested that he pay cash to cover the customs outlays. (Serious carriers like Fed Ex and UPS send a bill afterwards, no big deal). Johannes didn’t have cash, so the courier had to haul out one of those old-fashioned carbon paper credit card thingies. And I never heard one word back for DHL in response to my complaint letter. God, I just love customer service in Norway!