no good update, but update nonetheless.
We still have no idea why the driver, who had the shipment On The Delivery Truck chose to just not deliver it, but after talking to a 3rd level up supervisor, DH was able to drive to the hub the following morning (about an hour away) to pick it up personally. The mare waited, but the vet said the semen quality wasn’t the best at that point. We bred anyway and now are in our two-week wait.
But it gets better.
That day we ordered semen for mare #2.
This one was coming from the US, and surely the law of averages would work out in our favor and this one would be smooth. NOPE
Semen left on time and to Memphis at about 1am. And there it sat. And sat. I called about 10 am. I got transferred several times and just kept being told there was a trace on it and it should come by 4:30 pm. The fantastic stallion owner had also called to put pressure on, and she was told they’d call me and keep me apprised. That never happened. At about 2pm when I called again, because the system said it was still in Memphis, I raised enough of ruckus that I was eventually elevated to someone high up enough that actually seemed to give a hoot. He called Memphis, had them pull the package out of whatever staging area where packages go to to die, and got it on a plane to Charlotte overnight. It got trucked to the hour-away hub early in the morning and I was able to drive down to pick it up a little before noon. The mare had ovulated by that point, but our repro vet was still optimistic.
So BL: Two shipments and NIETHER one managed to get to us via overnight, and might not even have made it the next day without aggressive tracking/calling and ultimately driving to go get it ourselves.
I’m beyond livid for so many reasons.
- Everyone always apologizes, but no on actually seems sorry. I don’t want to be placated. I want to know what you’re going to do to fix this.
- There’s no ability to put case notes in their system, so EVERYTIME I get transferred to a new person, I have to start All Over Again with the whole story. This means every call, with 3-7 different representatives, takes hours.
- The representatives are outsourced to India(?). While I understand why, it’s frustrating trying to speak to a rep that is nearly impossible to understand.
- Stop blaming the weather. It’s obviously step #2 on their checklist on how to handle irate customers. But telling me that weather in Memphis is the reason my package is delayed, has zero credibility when I’ve been checking the weather in Memphis all night/day, and it’s been 50s, clear/sunny, with no significant wind.
- Don’t tell me, or others, that you’ll call with updates. You won’t. Not ever. Again, lip service with zero follow-through.
- On the second one, the one guy actually was able to get the shipment moving in the right direction. Why does he need to call the center? Why can’t they just do the freakin job?
I get that COVID yada yada. But there needs to be some accountability here! I’m paying for overnight deliver. I need overnight delivery. If you’re going to offer overnight deliver, make the heck sure it arrives overnight!
I’m just breeding the two this year. But if one/both didn’t take, I’m either requesting UPS next time or putting DH on a plane and sending him as a courier. It might cost less than playing this game a few more times.
I wish all of you better luck!