[Elecraft] DHL

[Larry Makoski W2LJ]

I hate to "jump on the bandwagon" and be another basher; but DHL, in my 
opinion, has earned it.  I realize they recently bought out Airborne 
Express; but that's no excuse.  My story:

I work for a company that imports professional photographic equipment 
from overseas.  We distribute high end cameras, digital backs, studio 
stands and accessories and high end studio photographic strobes.  I'm 
the service manager - it's my charge to repair broken items from around 
the country as quickly and efficiently as possible. A dealer in NYC sent 
us a powerpack for repair.  No big deal.  My techs repaired the unit 
(worth several grand) and shipped it back to them using DHL. 

Several weeks later, my dealer calls me and asks for the whereabouts of 
the pack.  I told him I shipped it two weeks ago.  He tells me he never 
got it.  I told him I would track it.  By all rights, the delivery 
should have taken a day,  We're talking from Edison, NJ to Mahattan - 35 
miles tops.

I commence to trace it,  to find out that it's not in the system.  I ask 
the warehouse manager to call DHL.  They're vague at best and promise 
they will call back.  Which they did ..... the next day.  It turns out 
the package is in .......... Texas !!!!!!
How the heck it got there, I'll never know.  So after much haggling, 
they deliver it to my customer ... a week later.  The dealer calls me up 
- the box is now damaged !   I tell them to refuse it, so it will come 
back to us.

The box is damaged (this is being kind) and the powerpack is once again 
broken (much worse than the original repair)!  Call DHL to institute a 
claim.  Even though they broke it and shipped it wrong; and it took 3 
weeks to get to the customer; they refused to pay a claim.  They stated 
that it must have gotten damaged somewhere while it was not in their 
possession.

Moral of the story?  Never, ever, under ANY crcumstances use DHL to ship 
ANYTHING!

73 de Larry W2LJ