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| - Going to vent for a second.
Going to slam a business for piss poor business practices & even worse customer service.
If you're not in the mood for a gripe (which is perfectly reasonable). Please keep scrolling.
I ordered two items to be delivered for a birthday gift; one was perishable, one was not.
The nature of this grievance is in regards to the perishable items purchased.
When I went online I was looking for a business that could deliver items to a rural address; I was shopping based on the knowledge that the gift recipient is rural and not all businesses will deliver directly to the recipient.
I noted that the offerings were both business and residential. There is no mention anywhere that items may be left or deposited anywhere but the physical address provided.
I ordered the items, paid, and was provided electronic confirmation of the purchases and delivery dates and information.
I provided a physical address where the items should be delivered and was told via email that the items would arrive by 5PM to a business or by 8PM to a residence on the delivery date.
The items were sent, but ended up arriving at the local post office, not the physical address I had requested.
The boxes were not labelled with any information (like "Perishable") so the Post Mistress took the boxes and placed them with the rest of the mail, on July 19th.
The recipient did not come to pick up their mail/items until the 29th.
You can imagine what unrefrigerated perishables look and smell like after 10 days? They looked and smelled like that, so when they opened the box, took one look, they threw the whole box in the bin.
The recipient contacted me via email to let me know that they'd only just received the items and the state the perishable items were in.
I called Hazelton's - the company that handled the transaction - at my next availability - I live and work in the US, and this company is based in Canada, but markets itself as a way for Americans to send perishable items, gift baskets, etc to people in Canada since they are Canada based.
It took me a few days to get in contact with Hazelton's. When I called, I spoke to the initial person who answered the phone. She did not provide her name, and was quick to tell me that I needed to have a picture of the rotten food for her to do anything.
As stated, the recipient did what any sane person would do if they received a box of rotten food; she threw it away.
She didn't put it on the table in some afternoon sunlight and stage a photograph, so there was no photographic evidence of the issue.
I was then placed on hold.
A few minutes later I was told, "we apologize, it was delivered, there's nothing we can do."
Obviously a manager made that decision, so I asked to speak to that manager.
I was placed on hold again.
I sat for about 10 minutes and was told "she's kind of busy, can she call you back?"
Well, no. I'm already invested in getting this resolved, and I work. I don't know when I'll get a call back and I may not be able to take the call then. I'll wait.
I sat on hold an additional 10 minutes, so 20 minutes in total, when the manager came on the line.
The same song and dance insued; "we apologise but we cannot control how the post office delivers items, they should have provided a notice for pick up so it's their fault, and you'll need to take it up with them."
I was agitated at this point, and it was clear in my tone. It did not help that the manager kept interrupting me - I'm already frustrated & now I'm being cut off?
I tried to reason with her using logic; I ordered a gift. I asked that it be sent to the residence, I actually selected this business BECAUSE they delivered to the residence.
There is no information on the website or in the delivery emails indicating there was any chance this package would not make it to the residential address I was sending it to.
It didn't make it ot the recipient on the date stated and consequently sat for over a week because there was a failure to communicate that one of the packages was perishable.
The manager just apologized again and stated that there was nothing she could do and that was policy.
I asked to speak to someone above her.
I was told "there's no one that will speak to you that will tell you any different."
I asked to try.
I was told "you'll just sit on hold. They will not take that call." She raised her voice, she was angry - join the club sweetheart. I've been on hold for over 20 minutes and you're just poking a bear (me) with a stick at this point.
I again asked to speak to someone senior to her.
I sat on hold for an additional 20 minutes, then I was hung up on.
May I suggest, in the even that you're googling gift baskets, delivery services, etc, should you come across Hazelton's as an option, please feel free to use me as a cautionary tale when making your business decision.
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