Package lost - opinions please

[daisyflower]

Hello

We sell gardening equipment via our website, last week we sent an order to a london address.

The customer when he ordered the goods asked for it to be left behind some dustbins in his front garden as he isnt at home mon - fri.
This information was given to the courier

When parcelforce delivered the goods last thursday, they were left as requested.....
however the goods have now gone missing.

We have terms and conditions on our website that state that if the courier leaves the goods, and they dissapear then we are not to be held liable.

It wouldn't be so bad but the goods are valued at £87.

The customer has already stated that he understands that he is responsible for the lost parcel as he requested it to be left.

I cant claim off of parcelforce - as it was requested that they leave it.

What would you do ....

a) say sorry to the customer - your loss as per our terms
b) Resend the complete order and loose out
c) Meet the customer half way - ask them to pay for another to be shipped out say £20 to cover some of the costs (we will still be miles out of pocket)

Unfortunatly our goods arent things people buy more than one of, so its very unlikely that he will be a repeat customer.

Opinions please .....

 

[Alex C.]

Based on what you said, I'd say go with A)

If you want brownie points, offer him £10 off his next order over £50, or something similar

 

[Ashley_Price]

The customer when he ordered the goods asked for it to be left behind some dustbins in his front garden as he isnt at home mon - fri.
This information was given to the courier

This raised immediate alarm bells! They are asking for items to be left by the dustbins and you're agreeing????

If the customer is not there Mon-Fri and the courier leaves the parcel by the dustbins quite early on the day that the dustmen do their rounds, surely you can then see a very plausible reason as to why the package may have gone missing? Yes, of course, a new package shouldn't be taken away, but the dustmen don't generally look at what they're carrying. It all just gets picked up, added to the bin and carted away. (Of course, an unscrupulous person, or courier, could keep the items and then use this excuse as to why they haven't got them.)

We do call answering for a number of online retailers and we have advised them that if callers ask for things to be left by (or even worse inside) dustbins that our client refuses, politely (well, as we are taking the calls, we check they are happy for us to refuse). Surely it could be left with a neighbour?

This stems from when I was a postman (back in 1990) and we were specifically told to never leave packages or parcels by dustbins - even if the resident asked us to.

He might not be a repeat customer, but you don't know who else he might tell about you. I would ask him to at meet you halfway.

 

[mit74]

If it's your policy to not refund if left then stick to it. Tough luck for the customer really. If he wants it that bad he'll buy a new one so offer him some discount maybe.

 

[Ashley_Price]

If it's your policy to not refund if left then stick to it. Tough luck for the customer really. If he wants it that bad he'll buy a new one so offer him some discount maybe.

That's not great customer service.

I think what is more likely is if wants it that bad he go somewhere else and possibly tell others how badly he was treated.

Okay, I'm not saying always refund, but it is a little bit of 50/50 in this case. If the OP had thought about what might happen with something being left by dustbins (and especially with the cost of the items), then this wouldn't have happened. (Remember, it's not down to your customer to think, you're supposed to do it for them! )

 

[daisyflower]

The delivery time was 5.45pm - and the dustbin day was tuesday and this was delivered on the thursday the customer already told us this when we spoke to him earlier - so thats not what happened

 

[mit74]

I don't think it's bad customer service what so ever. He took a risk by asking for post man to leave it outside where someone could steal it. If it happened to me I wouldn't expect any compensation. It would be different if a postman left it there without my permission.
The OP has 2 choices in my opinion: say tough or give in and change your policy stating you will not leave outside houses. You're not running a charity and £90 can alot of money to small companies.

How is he going to tell others he was treated badly?

"Yeh this company is terrible don't use them"
"Why what happened?"
"I bought a product and as I was away for the whole week asked them to leave it outside the front door and it got nicked!!!!! I asked for a refund and they said no... can you believe it??"
"Wow that's really bad customer service! You should take them to court."

 

[Ashley_Price]

The delivery time was 5.45pm - and the dustbin day was tuesday and this was delivered on the thursday the customer already told us this when we spoke to him earlier - so thats not what happened

In which case, I assume the dustbins are also out of sight (even though they are in the front garden), so no one could have seen a package being left there?

Anyway, whatever happened to the package, it is still a pretty poor place to leave stuff - especially of that value.

 

[arcon5]

Option D) Offer to replace at your cost price (inc payment processor fee) + delivery.

Your not at a loss & cushions the blow a little.

 

[rattytattydesigns]

Id e mail and say. We know its not our fault however as you bought from us as long as you have a proper delivery address this time. you'll give him a 15% discount.

That way he's happy hes not lost all his money and he'll tell people how well you treated him despite his stupidity and it will only cost you about £12. I can't remember the exact cost of the item

 

[daisyflower]

thanks guys.

I will probably go for c and do a compromise , I would like to think if it happened to me thats what would happen - the courier might not have even delivered it to the correct address !

 

[paulears]

Let's be honest. If you send goods by insecure means, then even if he asked you to do it, by accepting - you took the responsibility. He paid for goods he says he hasn't got. He could be a crook, and have them, he could be honest and he's lost the £80 worth.

I'd suggest that if you can come to an arrangement to share the loss, that's the best you can do. I got bitten like this, and changed my system to require recorded delivery with special delivery an option if the client wants it and pays for it. Recorded has a £40 limit compensation wise, but I can live with the risk, as at least I know the goods arrived and were signed for. It's not fool proof as the Royal Mail don't really care who signs - but the risk is reduced for a little extra postage cost.

I'm happy my risk has dropped - but when the odd package did go missing, I'm afraid I had to stand the loss myself - but obviously losing cost, not retail value as the customer has.

 

[MikeJ]

thanks guys.

I will probably go for c and do a compromise , I would like to think if it happened to me thats what would happen - the courier might not have even delivered it to the correct address !

Careful what you offer. If you imply that you're in any way responsible, then you could be effectively admitting liability.

 

[daisyflower]

I would guess about 80% of our customers request that we leave it in porches, behind shrubs etc.

Its an impossibility as we have to send the goods through courier because of the size and weight, most people are at work each day, and the local depot is 40 miles away, many times we have had goods sent back to us because there has been no one in to collect the parcel.

I know how difficult it is, I have experienced it myself many times - waiting in all day for a courier to arrive

 

[Beachcomber]

Be careful.
If you replace the goods I'd be surprised if you didn't get a few more 'dissapearances' over the next few months.