Legal Commentary

DHL - Incompetent, and clueless.

By Ernest Svenson

My MacBook Air needed to be repaired (don't ask, it was my fault), and Apple was very good about pickup and repair. On June 30 I got an email telling me that I should be getting the computer back that day. The email included a DHL tracking number, which showed the computer due to arrive on June 30.

But as you can see from the latest information from the DHL website, the computer, after having spent a bit of time travelling around the country, is in Waco Texas.

6/28/2008 Picked up by DHL in Houston

6/29/2008 Depart Houston, TX

6/29/2008 Arrive Wilmington, OH

6/29/2008 Depart for Salt Lake City, UT

6/30/2008 Transit Salt Lake City Regional Hub

7/01/2008 Depart Salt Lake City

7/02/2008 Arrive Waco, TX

7/03/2008 In transit Waco Regional Hub

I still haven't gotten the computer. I called DHL last Thursday and they couldn't tell me when it would arrive, but said they thought it "would be soon." Needless to say, whether or not my computer arrives tomorrow (or anytime "soon") I won't ever use DHL. I've told Apple about the problem, not that I expect them to do anything about it.

I understand that packages get misrouted, but this fiasco has a couple of strange elements. First, DHL doesn't seem to be able to detect that it's misrouted a package that started in Houston bound for New Orleans, even as it moved North and then West. Also, DHL didn't have a system to flag the situation as one that called for someone to contact the customer. Finally, DHL seems to have no way of tracking its packages.

DHL's motto? "Incompetence is Job #1"

Full post as published by Ernie the Attorney on July 07, 2008 (boomark / email).