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i would never get anything shipped by dhl. out of the 10 times that i had them, only half the time they shipped it out on time. i had over nite shipping once but received it almost 2 weeks later. i would always go with ups and fed-ex. dhl is the worst shipping company.

airborne express was bought over by dhl. airborne express was ok at the time, but now taken over by dhl the service is horrendous. i wouldn't trust them with any shipment that is needed at a certain time.

Sorry about that, Too bad the fish had to die because of shipping. THere nice fish too *wishes he has a pair or 2 of shell dwellers*



==fish1

Well guys/gals. I'm getting my new batch of Multies in tomorrow through FEDEX, wish me luck!

Dempsey fan, Its been about a year since the best guppy I ever saw was DHL'd. It is good to calm down. I hope I can some day. Maybe this thread will keep someone else from being DHL'd.

max

I put something on retailers who sell via shipping too. I've noticed that some have very strict shipping rules and will not ship too late into the week. If you place your order on Monday afternoon, your package should go out on Tuesday. Then, there are more buffer days.

The problem here is that the seller and shipper seem to have all the power and rights. Empower yourself. Its your money. If the seller refuses to use your shipper then it is his fish and your money.

max

bah, water off a ducks back dude.

it didn't bother me - i'm used to people snapping at me. Working retail has made me a little more resilient to it

Meria, first off I want to appologize for kinda snapping at you before. I can get pretty fiesty at times. Yeah, I didn't think Multis were that hard to find either but my lfs said they were seasonal and couldn't get them until the summer for some reason. My lfs doesn't have a wish list but that is a great idea. I'm a 19 year old college student and I'm thinking about getting a job at my LFS, would sure beat the job at the hardware store that I have now. Anyway, if I get a job there I will definately make sure we have a wish list.

dempsey - good to see you've calmed down.

yes, it sucks that the fish are dead. But you are getting another colony of them as replacement.

I do find it surprising though that your LFS couldn't find multis - i didn't think they were that uncommon. Expensive yes, but not that uncommon. I see them on fishlists all the time.

Does your store have a wishlist type book that customers can fill in to see what kinds of fish they want? The store where I live has that, and they've been able to get in some pretty nice fish - I only think they order it in if more than one person wants them though. Is there a demand for them there?

Anyway, congrats on the multis - they're a whole barrel of laughs once they get over their shyness.

Now that it has been a few days I have calmed down a bit. I realize that I probably shouldn't have ripped on DHL publically like I have but at the same time I'm still upset with their service and the way I was treated by them. I do realize that unexpected things happen that delay shipments etc. However, my fish are DEAD and nothing we say or do can change that. I'm getting the new fish shipped to me overnight tonight so they will be at my house tomorrow. Only this time we are using FEDEX instead. We'll see how it goes this time. Also, to the person who commented on not ordering fish online and getting them shipped to an LFS instead. I actually tried doing that but my LFS couldn't locate and Multis so I had to go out on my own and do it. I told my lfs that I'm getting a colony of them and from now on I will be my LFS's supplier of Multis once mine breed.

cichlidiot if you get the fish from a reputable source who knows what they're doing and knows the shipping companies then its better than buying from a lfs. Because you skip the middleman and there is one less tank that they have to get acclimated to.

DHL Airborne Express refuses to be responsible for what they do. I recommend that you request any other carrier if you ship fish or have them shipped.

"Airborne Express shall not be liable for loss, damage or delay to shipments of tortoise, frogs, venomous insects, live fish and crustaceans."

This is more than a legal document that people who ship must sign. It is an attitude that I do not want my carrier to have.

max

I used to work for DHL, for many years at that. DHL is one of the best in shipping. I'm not saying that I would not be upset. But you have to understand unpredictable things do happen in that industry that can result in the damage or loss of an article being shipped. For the most part DHL is right on and normaly gives overnight shipping and delivery. You also have to realize that shipping fish by airfreight is a stress to them and may result in their death anyway. This is why I will never purchase any fish that has to be shipped to me. I would rather them be shipped to the store and let them acclimate and destress before I purchase and take home. Be thankful that the supplier that you purchased from does guarantee. Also DHL does offer Saturday deliver.

The one time I had fish shipped it was with DHL. From San Diego, CA, to my doorstep in Massachusetts. The package was overnighted - left SD late afternoon, and was in my hands by 9 AM the next morning.
But I agree with someone else's post - shipping fish overnight near the end of the week is generally a bad idea due to the no weekend delivery with a lot of couriers. And if you don't get the package out by a certain time that day (specified by the courier), it won't get delivered the next day but the day after. Many online mail-order fish places ship at the beginning of the week, or they do air freight so that you have to pick it up at the airport, which is probably the quickest and most reliable method.
But like you said... nothing said in hindsight helps those 8 dead fish.

Last edited by AndyCLS at 22-Feb-2005 08:56

Trust me on this one, DHL shipping company is a joke. I ordered 8 Lamprologus Multifaciatus (Shell Dwellers) last thursday. I paid for overnight delivery so they would be at my house friday. Well, I sat around all day for them friday on my day off and they never showed up. Saturday rolls around and still no fish, and we all know the mail doesn't go on Sunday. So finally today at 2:30 my fish arive at my house, all 8 of them dead. I called DHL on friday when they didn't arrive and all I was told is "we're sorry, we're delayed but we can't disclose any information as to why". Who does that to people? Anyway, the fish were guaranteed from the woman I bought them from so I will get new ones free of charge but the point is that the fish shouldn't have died in the first place and that DHL is a horrible company, end of story.

what time of the day on thursday did you ship the fish?

did you do it thursday afternoon? if you did, that means that they would have recieved the shipment thursday night (maybe), and friday would have been the day was shipped. Did you get a tracking number?

as far as I know, DHL does NOT deliver on saturdays. Nor do they deliver on sundays.

If it is anything like UPS, that first day (friday) isn't counted as a day. So it would have been shipped FRIDAY instead of on thursday.

Yes, you're talking about ONE customer service rep at DHL. They're a BIG company. If you really wanted answers as to why they were delayed, YOU should have taken the initiative to talk to someone higher up in the chain. But you didn't.

Also - was the package insured? all items under $100 are AUTOMATICALLY insured. Why didn't the shipper say that to you? you could have been refunded by DHL for your shipping costs. Do you know what time DHL recieved the package? There are limits (timewise) as to overnight delivery.

Weather happens, physics happens, mechanical problems happen, airport delays happen. Reality happens. You CANNOT blame DHL for everything that happened here. There were WAY too many factors as to blame someone for it all.

Once again, I'm not attacking you, i'm trying to be rational and say that yes, dhl MAY be at fault, but there are alot of factors.

I've NEVER had problems with DHL. NEVER had problems with UPS or fedex. Read the company policy on shipping live animals and see what their policy is if any.

Fed ex is always late to me. If it's shipped with a set time limit like overnight they aren't too bad but probably a day late. If I don't pay for overnight it might take them 3weeks to get something to me. Ups can get a package to me from across the united states over Thanksgiving within a day if needed and within the week when I don't even need it. I always request UPS if possible and won't buy a fish shipped DHL.

I've been using UPS for overnight delivery for years and never once had an issue.

Meria, if a company isn't specialized in shipping fish or doesn't feel comfortable doing in than why do it in the first place? They can easily not ship fish if they can't get it taken care of. Also, it said right on the box in huge bold print "LIVE TROPICAL FISH" so they knew exactly what was in the boxes. And to tell me they were delaying it and couldn't tell me why, then delay it 2 more days? C'mon, don't blame DHL? Someone is to blame for all of this and DHL is definately that someone.

wow that bites. always go with fed-x or ups.