GLS Ireland lost a laptop

krisj2000

So, nothing new, some of you might say

I just really feel like sharing my pain. I ordered a laptop from a company in UK. Took me good few weeks to narrow down the search and actually find someone selling that kind of configuration (hard to get 1900x1200 resolution LCD screen + Professional graphics card that I need for CAD and advanced 3D work) for an affordable price and shipping to Ireland. Ordered, and waited. I did worry a bit when I found out it was going to be sent via Parcelforce who use GLS for deliveries in Ireland. I thought, maybe I should not panic (I had nightmares with GLS before) and give them a chance.

Oh how wrong I was. I should have made sure that whatever company they use, it does not end up anywhere near GLS over here.

So, it shipped out on the Jan 12th. Arrived in Ireland on the evening of Jan 13th. I am based in South Dublin. So, I was quietly hoping to see it delivered on the 14th (exactly a week ago).

Started calling them on the premium rate number. Every day from the 14th I was promised it would be delivered the next day with a note that it seems like it is currently missing and I would have to wait for 10 days to make a claim.

They also took my mobile number and address just in case.

Now the same 15 year old kid on the phone repeats exactly the same as last week. Completely useless if you ask me. He always starts with reading the status infromation from the screen - the same bloody message I've been looking at for the last week. But no any other information than, "sorry about that now."

The computer was only about 750 Eur worth, however it was extremely hard to find and was the only one left in stock.

Luckily the company in UK do care for their customers and we are going to wait until tomorrow to see if they manage to find it, if not they will try to source another system and ship it out with a courier and service level of my choice. They have been updating me with info every day, which is really good customer service in my opinion.

having said that, I know from my experience of receiving hundreds of packages every year, that occasionally they have been delivered by GLS without loosing them, however they are the only company between UPS, DHL, An Post, TNT and others that I have used, who have ever LOST parcels. I mean, seriously. It is not like a pair of old socks sent with a regular mail (in fact it is much more reliable than GLS so it seems) without insurance or tracking. We are talking heavy boxes with valuable contents that get lost.

Perhaps it is somebody stealing from their vans/warehouses/logistics chain somewhere, BUT in my opinion it just shows how little they care about their clients property. A bit heartbreaking really.

So to sum it all up - GLS have lost another customer; made me a lot angrier again; left me about 2 weeks behind schedule on several important projects; displayed yet another "brilliant" example of how to do business.

So, beware of these people when buying anything valuable. I for one won't be using them ever again for anything of any value. It is not only not worth it, it can be actually bad for your health.

.....rant over....

I will keep you up posted on this.

Kris

thefinalstage

krisj2000 wrote: »

So, nothing new, some of you might say

I just really feel like sharing my pain. I ordered a laptop from a company in UK. Took me good few weeks to narrow down the search and actually find someone selling that kind of configuration (hard to get 1900x1200 resolution LCD screen + Professional graphics card that I need for CAD and advanced 3D work) for an affordable price and shipping to Ireland. Ordered, and waited. I did worry a bit when I found out it was going to be sent via Parcelforce who use GLS for deliveries in Ireland. I thought, maybe I should not panic (I had nightmares with GLS before) and give them a chance.

Oh how wrong I was. I should have made sure that whatever company they use, it does not end up anywhere near GLS over here.

So, it shipped out on the Jan 12th. Arrived in Ireland on the evening of Jan 13th. I am based in South Dublin. So, I was quietly hoping to see it delivered on the 14th (exactly a week ago).

Started calling them on the premium rate number. Every day from the 14th I was promised it would be delivered the next day with a note that it seems like it is currently missing and I would have to wait for 10 days to make a claim.

They also took my mobile number and address just in case.

Now the same 15 year old kid on the phone repeats exactly the same as last week. Completely useless if you ask me. He always starts with reading the status infromation from the screen - the same bloody message I've been looking at for the last week. But no any other information than, "sorry about that now."

The computer was only about 750 Eur worth, however it was extremely hard to find and was the only one left in stock.

Luckily the company in UK do care for their customers and we are going to wait until tomorrow to see if they manage to find it, if not they will try to source another system and ship it out with a courier and service level of my choice. They have been updating me with info every day, which is really good customer service in my opinion.

having said that, I know from my experience of receiving hundreds of packages every year, that occasionally they have been delivered by GLS without loosing them, however they are the only company between UPS, DHL, An Post, TNT and others that I have used, who have ever LOST parcels. I mean, seriously. It is not like a pair of old socks sent with a regular mail (in fact it is much more reliable than GLS so it seems) without insurance or tracking. We are talking heavy boxes with valuable contents that get lost.

Perhaps it is somebody stealing from their vans/warehouses/logistics chain somewhere, BUT in my opinion it just shows how little they care about their clients property. A bit heartbreaking really.

So to sum it all up - GLS have lost another customer; made me a lot angrier again; left me about 2 weeks behind schedule on several important projects; displayed yet another "brilliant" example of how to do business.

So, beware of these people when buying anything valuable. I for one won't be using them ever again for anything of any value. It is not only not worth it, it can be actually bad for your health.

.....rant over....

I will keep you up posted on this.

Kris

Wait...you are a week behind after the date you expected it to be delivered and its not their fault you could not do your work on any other laptop...or were you using that as an excuse to do no work?

Remember, the person who picks up the phone can literally only give you whats on the screen.

The_Conductor

GLS gave my Komplett order (about 1500 worth) to the local Jehovah's Witnesses who were doing the rounds at the time they tried to deliver- on the basis that they seemed trustworthy....... They were thankfully- and did bring my equipment to me a few evenings later- but ffs....... I wrote up my experiences of GLS here ages ago- will try to dig out the thread.

Cabaal

smccarrick wrote: »

GLS gave my Komplett order (about 1500 worth) to the local Jehovah's Witnesses who were doing the rounds at the time they tried to deliver- on the basis that they seemed trustworthy....... They were thankfully- and did bring my equipment to me a few evenings later- but ffs....... I wrote up my experiences of GLS here ages ago- will try to dig out the thread.

now thats funny, I've never had issues with GLS but then I've ALWAYS got stuff delivered to where I work

I've heard some awful horror stories though

freelancerTax

in my experience they are the most unprofessional outfit i have every encountered. i ordered some very expensive software for the uk (several grands worth), was watching the tacking and noticed that it said - failed delivery attemp - reciepient not home on the tracking page - i had been home for the last week. i rang them up after finding the number (had to ring the company i bought off to get the number) - they told me that no one was home so they couldnt deliver the package!! i explain that i was home and no one had come - they then tell me they couldnt find the house - fair enough so why didnt you ring the phone number supplied?

so i ask when will i get the package - and then they ask me will i collect it from the local depot ... er.. no says i - your being paid to deliver it.

when they arrive the next day the package looks like its been kicked around a car park - the box is complete crushed and the contents are all over the place.

i rang the company i bought off and complained they offered to re send out a new package with fedex - told me they wouldnt be using gls again

mukki

yeah the box is always in bits with gls

i found with them that if the parcel is undelivered for some reason (say no one home) then when you finally get the box some of the stuff will be nicked from it

i got them to leave the parcels at my brothers house as his wife is always in, and one time they left it with my brothers neighbour


i moved house and when they were supposed to deliver it to my new address they left it in the garage in the town, 2 miles away, i was in for fuel the next day when he gave me the parcel

dabs are great though, and they just offer a refund for what ever is missing, no questions


OP who is the seller, praise where it is due

krisj2000

thelastangryman wrote: »

Wait...you are a week behind after the date you expected it to be delivered and its not their fault you could not do your work on any other laptop...or were you using that as an excuse to do no work?

Remember, the person who picks up the phone can literally only give you whats on the screen.

Neither actually. I am close to a week behind right now and the soonest they can resend another machine will take me to the wednesday week - that's 2 weeks from the original expected date.
I am working on several machines right now. The laptop was intended to do showcase of the work in progress and specifically needs this high resolution and high spec gfx card. Long story.

I am getting by just fine, although it is a real pain in the back.

THe person who picks up the phone can make a big difference. They are the face of the company. So, next time you have a parcel missing from them, give them a call and see how your customer experience goes...

I am sure they have some nice staff working for them, but there's something majorly wrong with that outfit....

Will see how this mess ends. Won't be calling them anymore for sure. I have wasted too much time on this already, just wish I could spare the hasle for somebody else...

Best, K.

krisj2000

The good guys I mentioned above are Viper IT. They also sell on gBay. http://www.viper-it.com

jor el

krisj2000 wrote: »

Perhaps it is somebody stealing from their vans/warehouses/logistics chain somewhere

That's my feeling on it too. They "lost" a laptop being delivered to me last year too. It scanned onto a truck, and never came off. When the replacement arrived, the box was bashed up too. Luckily, there was a lot of packing around it.

The_Conductor

krisj2000 wrote: »

The good guys I mentioned above are Viper IT. They also sell on gBay. http://www.viper-it.com

Good prices- but by god- the stuff they sell is vintage.......
Nice looking stuff though- the wife was looking longingly at the pink one with the cat, until she saw the specs......

jackbauer

GLS are a disaster. If i'm ordering anything bulky on ebay or from the uk I always ask what method they use for shipments to the republic and if they say parcelforce I ask for an alternative or book my own courier.

Once i came home from work to find a piece of tin foil jammed in the gate. Thought it was just kids messing and threw it away. bethought myself , went back out in the rain , picked it up and found a note from the gls guy to say no one was in (there was all day) and it had been left at my local dart station!

Best of all was chasing a gls van in a taxi for almost an hour to get a parcel after the usual "no one was in" excuse. At least i got to say "follow that van!" to the taxi guy:D

Recon

smccarrick wrote: »

Good prices- but by god- the stuff they sell is vintage.......
Nice looking stuff though- the wife was looking longingly at the pink one with the cat, until she saw the specs......

But if all you want is something to check a few sites and do some word processing why would you need anything more?

krisj2000

smccarrick wrote: »

Good prices- but by god- the stuff they sell is vintage.......
Nice looking stuff though- the wife was looking longingly at the pink one with the cat, until she saw the specs......

I know, the list on the website only seems to be showing some old stuff. See eBay for different things. They have very recent models from dell outlet/lease programs etc.

Sometimes they sell stuff even before they can advertise it to their existing customer base.

K.

concussion

GLS seem hopeless, they were used in conjunction with Parcel Force for a 24 hr deliver from Northern Ireland. The package was out 4 days before being 're-routed to correct destination.' Arrived in Limerick just after midnight on the 4th day, however due to 'lack of time' (at 7.30 am??) it wasn't delivered.

The same thing happened the next morning but it was then put back on the truck. Got a call from the driver asking where in Raheen I was. I told him I was no-where near Raheen. 'That's whats written on the parcel' he say's. I say ????? and he says he'll be in Raheen for the next half hour if I want to collect it. I say ?!?!?!?!?!?. He can't make it to my (city) location as he's off to County Limerick.

Finally had it delivered at half 7 that night - with a perfectly accurate delivery address, no mention of Raheen.
I'm avoiding them from now on, I received a package from the same NI company in 15 hours using Fastway earlier this week.

adamwest1

:mad: I live in dublin city centre and recently I had the misfortune of ordering party favors from the uk using parcelforce/GLS. I just assumed that there would be no problems with something as basic as the postal system. I thought it was cool in fact that they did have a tracking service.

After a few days I was curious as to why I haldnt heard from them and there was no delivery note in my letterbox. I saw on their tracking system they had tried to deliver. Nobody called, nobody rang up to the apartment eventhough there was someone home at all times.

At this point I looked on the net to see where their warehouse was and it was then i stumbled on masses of angry blogs about gls.

I live right in the city center just off grafton street and the excuse for the delay in delivery was that the parcel was addressed incorrectly. It was not. And also it would take an idiot not to know where grafton street is. After reading all the horror stories I decided to pick up the parcel from their warehouse in ballycoolin industrial estate myself cause I didnt want it to progress into some sort of saga like it did with some of the bloggers.

And all I had to do was take the whole afternoon off and take a frikkin taxi out to the middle of nowhere as my car is in the garage and wait in a gammy hallway hoping they wouldnt come out and say they lost it or something. They eventually came out with the parcel thankfully but it was fairly bashed.

I know it was not the worst story and I'm sure a worst outcome was circumvented thanks to you guys out there in the www. Thanks guys!
But at the same time I do have to add this:
I will never use gls again, I have never prior to this had trouble with deliveries and to those of you out there who have not used gls yet, a word of advise DON'T.

thefinalstage

adamwest1 wrote: »

And all I had to do was take the whole afternoon off and take a frikkin taxi out to the middle of nowhere as my car is in the garage and wait in a gammy hallway hoping they wouldnt come out and say they lost it or something. They eventually came out with the parcel thankfully but it was fairly bashed

In fairness, thats on your head...