DHL shipping

[stratplayer1]

has anyone ever used DHL shipping, if so are they any good? Reason for asking I just ordered a laptop for school and it shipped via dhl never used them for anything before and I've heard horrible things about them, Just wondering if anyone has any good or bad experiences with them.

 

[DocNrock]

I got something from them last week sent by Stew Mac.  Seemed OK.

 

[Wyliee]

They're generally not as competitive price or performance wise in the US.  They are one of the largest overseas shippers though.

 

[sbk12]

I have received a 4x12 cabinet from DHL and it was perfect.Also,I have shipped 2 cabs with DHL.Pricing is way better than UPS on larger items and they seem to handle the packages with a little more caution than UPS.If I am shipping something large,DHL is the ONLY way to go for me.

 

[stratplayer1]

Alright thanks guys that helped put my fears to rest, i'd just hate for something to not show up, or wrose, show up in pieces, ecspecially after paying and waiting so long for it.

 

[riverbluff]

H ave shipped and recieved items from DHL.  Never had any problems.

 

[jackthehack]

My company is one of their largest int'l customers, ship everything from small packages to large pallets full of items every day. Only issue I've ever experienced is that if something gets mis-routed, there is no attempt to expedite to final correct location.

 

[WMHOLP]

We use them at work sometimes.  I did have a problem once where a package was opened, and delivered (home ground delivery) to the recipient address as an empty box.  Keep in mind this was a domestic shipment within the U.S., so no customs to deal with.  The contents were found about a  week later completely trashed at some terminal.  I had to file a claim for the cost of the product, and produce the job over again.  Pain in the rear.  I am not too keen on their tracking and follow up; but otherwise, they seem OK.  Recent news about them makes me wonder though.  We also use Fed-X at work.

Realistically, I can relate horror stories about any shipping carrier.  They all mess up something eventually.  I've heard many people say that shipping air freight may be safer for the contents than using ground delivery.  In the end, it's all about proper packaging as far as damage is concerned.  If you have  a spendy item to ship, add insurance.

 

[bpmorton777]

sorry for this late response on an old thread.

My job at work is shipping/receiving and managing service parts for computer repairs. I deal with all the major cariers. A recent experience has made my dislike DHL very much. Their tracking numbers are recycled or dumped out of their computer system about once a month....sorry cant find that. I sent the exchange parts back to the vendor and now getting charged $400 for a hard drive that I can not track.  I tried on their website and then talked with a rep and they were unable to track a package more than a month old. bummer

Brian

 

[dudesweet157]

My company switched over to them for a short while because the rates were better than Fedex, but we quickly switched back.  We are an civil engineering firm, and we inspect cell phone towers for all the major companies (Alltel, AT&T, Verizon, etc.).  If we don't get our reports out to the on time, they may have to shut down the tower, costing them money and when that happens, we don't get paid.  When we were using DHL, we found that they don't work on the weekends, and if you need a package that goes out Friday to be somewhere by Monday, they drop it in the USPS box.  Instead of arriving Monday, some arrived Wednesday, some arrived Thursday, and one got lost in the mail and didn't show up for almost a month.  When some didn't show up Tuesday, we immediately shipped out duplicates overnight, but we still  lost money on 5 different towers because they just dropped it in the parcel post as well as hurting our relationship with clients.

Just my personal experience (I am the Admin Assistant in charge of packaging and shipping reports, as well as other things).

-Rose

 

[jackthehack]

My company switched over to them for a short while because the rates were better than Fedex, but we quickly switched back.  We are an civil engineering firm, and we inspect cell phone towers for all the major companies (Alltel, AT&T, Verizon, etc.).  If we don't get our reports out to the on time, they may have to shut down the tower, costing them money and when that happens, we don't get paid.  When we were using DHL, we found that they don't work on the weekends, and if you need a package that goes out Friday to be somewhere by Monday, they drop it in the USPS box.  Instead of arriving Monday, some arrived Wednesday, some arrived Thursday, and one got lost in the mail and didn't show up for almost a month.  When some didn't show up Tuesday, we immediately shipped out duplicates overnight, but we still  lost money on 5 different towers because they just dropped it in the parcel post as well as hurting our relationship with clients.

Just my personal experience (I am the Admin Assistant in charge of packaging and shipping reports, as well as other things).

-Rose

It's the 21st century, why aren't the reports being submitted instantaneously digitally?

 

[dudesweet157]

By federal law, engineering reports have to be hand sealed/stamped and signed by a P.E. (professional engineer) to have any merit.  If his state seal is expired or his signature isn't hand written, we get fined mucho dinero and if it happens 3 times in the entire life of the P.E., he loses his license and his job is basically FUBARed for the rest of his life and there is nothing we can do about it. 

Our old office manager actually let one of his state seals expire once and reports still went out, and we were forced to pay the fine, and spend thousands of dollars in attorney fees trying to get the strike against his record repealed.  It didn't happen, so we were out tons of cash, and he still has that strike.  Needless to say, the old office manager was fired, but yeah.  That's how it is in the engineering world.

-Rose