Am I overreacting or whose to blame?

[tim]

If I'm over reacting it won't be for the first time but I think I may be entitled to throw my toys at this one.

I have a Metabo BSP18plus Drill Driver thats just over 2 years old. It developed an intermittent fault early in its life that results in the power to the chuck varying regardless of battery charge state, loaded or not etc etc. Not a really big deal but tiresome and not what i would wish for in a tool that cost £250. Because its a survivable fault I've muddled along with it given that I didn't want to lose the drill for a couple of weeks and have to fork out for a new one.

Anyway- its playing up big style now so I rang Metabo Uk on Monday to get them to repair it.

No problem Sir although its obviously out of warranty now. When would youl like it collected?

How quickly can you do it?

This afternoon. :shock: impressive I think.

Boringly I had to go out so rearranged for Tuesday morning.

Tuesday lunch came and want - no courier so I phoned Metabo.

Their reply - the courier couldn't find your house.

But I gave you my number should they have difficulty.

I'm sorry Sir but if they say they can't find it, they can't find it.

(Given that I have deliveries from TNT, Target, ANC, Citylink and Parcelforce regularly I am smelling rats)

Who are they?

Parcelline

Well can't they come out now - I'll guide them in.

No sir - I'll rearrange it for tomorrow morning.

Will they be able to find the house tomorrow.

I don't know Sir.

Can i speak to your supervisor please.

Supervisor: There's not much we can do if they can't find the property.

But what about your published statement on repairs: " "Minimum downtime" - that is the objective to which we are committed."

As I've said Sir there's nothing we can do except rearrange for tomorrow.

Thinking that that even if they can't come this afternoon because they've gone out to buy a map and a compass they better have my numbers and call me if they have probs.

We rearranged for Wed morning. Wed lunchtime comes and goes.

Oh its going to be this afternoon Sir

But we arranged for the morning.

The couriers only offer an anytime during the day service.

I'm a tiny bit peeved by now.

16.45 arrives - funnily enough no courier. I have at this point been stuck here for two days, had to rearrange two customer meetings and no dog walking!

Phone time:

I'll find out what's going on and call you before five Sir

17.22: The couriers sent it out on the wrong route. They can try tomorrow if that would be convenient.

No it wouldn't be I have a business to run and I have to go out tomorrow and Friday.

Oh

You can post it to us here if you like Sir

No its okay, I'll be posting it to your MD's house and see whether it can be fixed then.



Sorry for banging on but I feel better for relating it. It would be only comical if it didn't have such a big implication for my work pattern.

I believe that Metabo should take responsibility for their couriers failings. Out of interest, how often does this sort of thing happen to others?

Cheers

Tim

 

[Chris Knight]

Tim,
You are right - it is crap service and for a tool that costs 15 times as much as the cheapos from B&Q etc. I would expect more. It's too easy to blame the courier - and indeed he is quite possibly a non -English speaking illiterate Romanian but that's Metabo's choice.

I am in "pending" need of another drill - as I watch the batteries on my present one, also a Metabo, get weaker and weaker and was thinking of the well- reviewed Panasonic but when I saw the very low prices of the cheapo stuff in Focus the other day I thought to myself I must be nuts - it's not as though a cordless drill needs much precision for most jobs and even if a £14.99 job only lasts a few months, I would probably still be ahead. My mental jury is still out on this.

 

[tim]

Funny - those were my exact same thoughts. The chucks are often rubbish and the weighting often wrong but given my current experience, I could justify a new drill every 6 weeks! Not tops from an environmental perspective mind!

I'll let you know what Metabo say but I don't think anybody can hide behind a service that they contract out. If I put in furniture that fails because of timber or hardware faults, I don't think my customers would accept - oh well, that's oak for you or why don't you call Blum!

Cheers

Tim

 

[DaveL]

Chris,

Give this site a look. My brother in law had a Makita battery pack re celled by them and he was well pleased, could be worth a try.

 

[frank]

tim i got a 18v parkside with two battaries a one hour charger for £20 from aldi i know its the lower end of the market, i got one last year and its still going strong .send it to the md and see if they can find his house??

frank

 

[Terry Smart]

I've had occasion this week to say to someone... carriers are the weakest link in the supply chain.

If I made a posting every time carriers let me down I'd be here every week with one problem or another. It is shoddy service and it's very frustrating for us as suppliers; I rushed a parcel through the system last week to get it out to a new customer only for the carriers to take a week to deliver it, claiming they couldn't find the address!

Could post more about this but need to dash, show tomorrow!

 

[Chris Knight]

Dave,
Thanks for the battery suggestion, I shall try them.

 

[Anonymous]

Tim

most definitely not over-reacting. The courier should have arrived first day or called you. Metabo should be kicking the courier's butt and offering you some compensation for lost earnings.

 

[RogerS]

Tim..definitley not overreacting..I think that we've probably all been there at some point or another...especially those of us who (a) live out in the sticks and (b) have an ummarked gate like me. Contact numbers for directions don't always get through the system unfortunately DAMHIKT.

Why not write to the MD anyway, as the attitude of their customer service staff is pretty poor...sounds like they couldn't care less.

Roger

 

[Alf]

(b) have an ummarked gate like me.

[-X I'd have thought not marking your property name or number means you have only yourself to blame. Or at the very least, not much of a leg to stand on when you complain. It's extremely tiresome when you have to traipse about trying to deliver something and you can't find the ruddy place 'cos there's no means of identifying it. DAMH... And don't get me started on places without letter boxes... :evil: But my suspicion with a lot of these "couldn't find it, chum" excuses, is either the office is sitting on it until there's enough stuff to go to your area to save fuel costs, or the driver just can't be bothered today. We're very lucky down here; the drivers are pretty conscientious. Most ****-ups have been at the despatch department/office end of things. :roll:

Cheers, Alf

 

[dedee]

It might be worth checking that your address actually exists against your postcode. For many years a search on the Royal Mail postcode system would not come up with my father's street number! This would be fine for the local postmen but courier companies would just give up.

www.royalmail.com

Andy

 

[LeeElms]

A problem we had at our last house was that the road wasn't on the A-Z maps ... it had only been there for 50 years, and was in a suburban area, not out in the country !

 

[Shady]

No comment on the Makita irritation, but in response to Tim, Frank and Chris's comments: FWIW, one of my first ever tools was an electric drill, bought before I was even really aware of the reasons/effects of the different quality levels out there. It was a red 'power devil', bought for about 10 quid, 10 years ago in Germany. I've just thrown it away, because the battery has died and I can't find a replacement to fit - but the drill's still functional, and has had heavy use.

I now have - my late father's 30 year old mains power black and decker, for the big holes in the wall, or major runs of pilot screws in hardwoods, a Ferm mains powered single speed, no clutch or reverse one that was £5 from screwfix 2 years ago, a second cheapo German battery powered one that does have clutch, reverse and screwdriver capability, and one of the 'mid-range' axminster white jobs (18volt, I think).

I wouldn't spend any more than I spent on the axminster for a drill. The big advantage for me with a number of cheaper ones is that I set up one with the pilot drill, one with the countersink, and one with the appropriate screw driving head. Then, at glue/screw up, there's no faffing about looking for the countersink I've just taken out, that has now rolled under the bench, while the glue goes off and the clamps slip, etc, etc. It also means, of course, that when one does break, I'm not completely stuck..

I reckon, that unless you are literally running the motor for more than - what?, 2 hours a day, every day? - this is one tool where quality is not always worth paying for, but quantity sure helps.

 

[RogerS]

Well, I've just heard that the apron plane that I ordered off the web on Sunday and was told that it was being despatched...on Tuesday...err..no stock..will get it shipped to you directly from the distributors...who said you'll get it in the next couple of days...who now say 'oh no you won't 'cos all the planes are mid-Atlantic'...so it's off to B&Q for a cheapie as I can't hold back on this particular piece of work any longer...and all my decent planes are 120 miles away :evil:

I did rather fancy a new toy, as well, but can;t justify the expense now as the 'need' has gone.

 

[tim]

But my suspicion with a lot of these "couldn't find it, chum" excuses, is either the office is sitting on it until there's enough stuff to go to your area to save fuel costs, or the driver just can't be bothered today.

I suspect thats the real reason. Still Metabo's fault though

We're very lucky down here; the drivers are pretty conscientious. Most ****-ups have been at the despatch department/office end of things.

This is very rare here as well. In fact I've never dealt with Parcel line before and maybe thats the issue. Its also how I know that its the courier's failure and not that of the postal / addressing system.

Deedee: Did the check to be sure but I also know that ours is the only house in the postcode.

Cheers

Tim

 

[ike]

It's sounds as though you think it's Metabo's fault as well as their problem. In fairness I think any company has to rely on their suppliers - in this case Parceline. If it were my company, I'd offer a sweetener to the end customer and kick some *** at my supplier.

 

[Freetochat]

I agree with all the comments made, and do not excuse the failure. I have two comments, in a previous life in the emergency services, I have had many problems trying to find places.

At three in the morning with no one to ask, it is extremely frustrating. Often a phone call had to be made for help, and often the comment made, was it was a good job I wasn't in trouble and could get to the phone. My response being, if you had a name or number plate that would have been helpful, or hiding the house name behind the ivy doesn't make it very easy to see in the dark!

Also, the pressure put on couriers, with the number of deliveries and time slots, in addition to the cut throat costing, means that unless the job is straight forward, little time is available to sort the problem.

As I said, not an excuse, as the service should be there, but a reason.

 

[Howjoe]

I had a delivery from Parcel line two weeks ago, and the driver did ring me to say that he was on my street, but couldn't see my house. I could see him in his lorry using his mobile from my kitchen window - how hard was he looking :roll:

Metabo should be responsible for their preferred courier's service. They've obviously selected them.........albeit probably on price rather than capability.

No, I don't think you're overreacting and I hope you get a result.

Cheers

Howard

 

[RogerS]

Also, the pressure put on couriers, with the number of deliveries and time slots, in addition to the cut throat costing, .....
.

and therein lies the rub. The 'man in the street' now expects something for nothing...driven by the supermarket mantra ...'cheap is best, cheap is good for you'...never mind the quality. Sadly the press is full of smaller shops and businesses going out of business...that may well include specialist tool makers either now or in the future...until all that we have are drab high streets ..filled with mobile phone and charity shops...with no differentiation between town A from town B.

We may well try and support the smaller business but we are in the minority.

er..hang on...we're there already

 

[trevtheturner]

........... but I also know that ours is the only house in the postcode.

I can vouch for that! But I found it without difficulty.

Cheers,

Trev.