Here is an e-mail I received from a friend who is racing at IMFL. If anyone can help, please let me know and I will put you in touch.
Thanks,
Gary Mc
Hi from sunny white sandy beaches of panama city florida. Athletes have arrived and are swimming the calm green waters. Water temperature of about 70F. Winds are calm (might be a breeze on race day. Everything looks good. Lots of german athletes here too. I’m getting ready for race day, but have faced a big problem from DHL. They have the top of my bike case but not the bottom or the bike! DUH! It was supposed to arrive 10/31, but they have not found it and I am getting the run around from customer service, claims, and region manager. I’m quite upset, and I can’t find one person from DHL to work with me as a single contact point on getting me a back up bike. I’m stuck on a phone with no one who will work with me on personal service. I’ve feeling quite down in the dumps, and the only connection to DHL I have is a tracking number. I would like DHL to work with me in person on getting a loaner bike and have told them I have need to have a bike racked by 10 AM friday. I don’t think they get it and I feel that i will have an uphill battle in the coming days.
I’ve asked for help from Janus Charity Challenge who is making contact for me & working with Timex and Inside Out Sports. It is likely I will get a loaner bike for race day because of their generous hearts but as for DHL - I am getting no help, no backup bike, no plan b, nothing! After talking with Inside Out Sports, this seems to happen often and a couple of other athlete’s bikes went missing at IM Wisconsin. Please, do not use DHL.
After seeing DHL delivery drivers leave packages on the doorstep at apartment complexes (not the complex office, as UPS and USPS does routinely), I have vowed to NEVER use DHL.
I wish your friend good luck. And ditto on the sending this to the president of DHL.
I’ve had FedEx leave an iBook laptop in front of the door in the summer in El Paso…
also had UPS leave a bike frame in front of the door…it’s not really the company…it’s how lazy some people are…
between Delta, DHL and Fedex I am aware of at least a dozen athletes that as of this afternoon don’t have bikes in PCB…me - will I have a bike just no engine:)
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Hi, I work for Fedex in sales. When things are really lost, they send items to the Overgoods department. Try to find out where that is in DHL. They may log in everything and have a reference to your bike by frame name in their computer. Get in touch with their Overgoods department. I think their main hub is in Cincinnati, that may be where the Overgoods is.
Also, ask them what their scans show. I would imagine that the case broke open at either the origin airport, the main sorting hub, or the destination airport. Have them talk with each of those places while you are on the phone.
In LA, DHL has billboards that say “Have Our People Call Your People.” Hold them to that.
I never knock UPS but we do call the other company Deliveries Hopelessly Lost.
FedEx lost my Softride earlier this year (entered a Chicago depot and never left) and were a real pain in the butt to deal with for the lost item claim.
I have stopped using them , not because they lost my bike, but because of the dificulty in getting the claim processed.
gary, i ran into her this morning down at the beach, and we chatted about the whole thing. she does have the IMFL group/janus working on her behalf, so that’s a very hopeful part. i’d guess that they’d swing into action and do a very satisfactory replacement job for her.
i got more onto the actual race after that, as i’d really hate to see this faceless company rob her of enjoying what she came to do. i’m hoping/guessing that the right people will rally around for her to make it happen-------and she can deal with the company at a later date.
peggy
I own a company that does a lot of shipping. FedEx has lost 2 packages in the 12 years I have been in business. UPS is the worst, and I have never used DHL. I know this doesn’t help you now, but I would tell everyone to ship it FedEx
Two of my friends are facing the same issues. Both sent their bikes DHL. Both are screwed. As on 11:30 PM Thursday night, one of the bikes was in Ohio, and the other sitting pretty in L.A. They are extremely perturbed and have had to search high and low to find rental bikes. Not a great way to start a race. it seems to me that this is a problem that DHL has repeatedly. That’s unfortunate.
I’m nowhere near as patient as my friend in Florida right now. I’d be absolutely freaking out on DHL.
Good Mojo to all who are encountering the same problem!
We ship lots of big things we’re talking chest freezer size things full of very expesnive electronics. Last quarter, FedEx lost not one, not two, but THREE of these things. They were found eventually but boy oh boy was our Direcotr of Ops ever pissed at them. They even had the nerve to send him a box of chocolates, which sent him through the roof. He sent them back with a note saying “when you lose a million dollars of my goods, I expect something more than a box of chocolates - you can stick these up your ass”
What was the pitts on Fedex losing this large, heavy DDR pad, is only 36 were ever made in the world. So, it was not like the guy could just go down to the local store and get another.
I think this is one of the benefits of the Trico Iron Case over all/most of the other carriers. The Trico has a buch of belts that go around the case. I don’t think it can open unless a person does it intentionally. I don’t own one, but I have been shopping. I am curious what type of case this was.
I think this thread speaks miles in favor of taking your bike on the plane if logistically possible (and yes - this option is not without risk) or utilizing the services fo the few companies that collect bikes fully assembled from your LBS and deliver it - still fully assembled to the race site.
Peace of mind has a price - and I am willing to pay for their services - for this exact reason
you do know at airports they now open all bike boxes!? This is after you’ve gone most of the time. Coming back from Kona my friend’s bike came out the oversize door and all the latches were OPEN because the lame asses who opened it couldn’t be bothered to close them again. This was a tri all 3 which also has straps.
That is why LBS said fly nonstop with your bike. He was filling out TWO claims forms for lost/damaged (delivery truck backed over bike/bike case) shipped bikes. Plus he said even if you get any $$ out of them, it would be max $1,000.
Can’t usually fly non-stop from where I live to a race…
I usually ship Fed-ex, but do the 2 day delivery. Has worked for me.
I hope these people get the bikes before the race. What a bummer. All that training, and to be undercut by something unforseen and totally out of your control. Sux!
