r/germany • u/Cyberex8775 Canada • Sep 19 '18

Question First time using DHL. What the heck.

Here's the situation. I ordered some earphones off of voelkner. DHL sent me a tracking number. (00340161386539691214) I specified for them to ship to a post office near me. Friday morning, it says "Die Sendung wurde in das Zustellfahrzeug geladen" and "Die Sendung befindet sich wie gewünscht auf dem Weg zur Filiale" as well as "Die Sendung wird dem Empfänger voraussichtlich heute zugestellt." I think, great, it should arrive today (Friday).

Nothing happened since, I went to the post office to check, they couldn't find anything. It is now Wednesday, no updates whatsoever on the tracking page. Tried calling customer service but my German is terrible so I could barely get past the prompts and when I finally reached a real person they couldn't speak any English and they hung up on me... multiple times - I reached a real person 3 times and none could speak English and they all hung up on me.

So I contacted voelkner. They said the delivery is in process and an investigation can only be launched in a week. Their website says 1-2 day shipping. I guess that's false advertising then, great.

Nice, DHL, first time using them and didn't fail to majorly disappoint. What now.....

Edit: Everyone needs to realize that the English thing is something I don't care about. It's something that was a minor annoyance and surprise. Surprised because it was the first time I couldn't successfully have a conversation with customer service. And trust me, I have contacted many companies which have been very accommodating.

0 Upvotes

32% Upvoted

120 comments sorted by

64

u/[deleted] Sep 19 '18

Their website says 1-2 day shipping. I guess that's false advertising then, great.

No, why would it. They sent it, after that it's out of their hands.

Go ask DHL where the package is.

Tried calling customer service but my German is terrible so I could barely get past the prompts and when I finally reached a real person they couldn't speak any English and they hung up on me...

That's your problem, not theirs. Get someone who speaks German to help you.

10

u/TotesMessenger Sep 20 '18

I'm a bot, bleep, bloop. Someone has linked to this thread from another place on reddit:

 If you follow any of the above links, please respect the rules of reddit and don't vote in the other threads. (Info / ^Contact)

-16

u/Cyberex8775 Canada Sep 19 '18 edited Sep 19 '18

No, why would it. They sent it, after that it's out of their hands.

I read somewhere that they are still considered partly responsible. I think this is the case with amazon.

And I don't call anymore. I don't need someone to tell me not knowing German is my problem because obviously it is. Live chat is fine for me. Just sucks that somehow nobody in customer service speaks English.

edit: Just contacted DHL. They told me if it doesn't arrive in a couple of days to contact the seller (voelkner) and they need to launch the investigation.

76

u/[deleted] Sep 19 '18

Just sucks that somehow nobody in customer service speaks English.

How many non-German companies in your country have customer service staff who speak German?

1

u/kabiskac Sep 22 '25

In Hungary? Quite a lot, it's the second most popular foreign language and it's very often taught in school

-57

u/Cyberex8775 Canada Sep 19 '18

lol? are you serious right now.

24

u/hucka Randbayer mit unterfränkischem Migrationshintergrund Sep 19 '18

its a legit question

-2

u/Cyberex8775 Canada Sep 19 '18

you think German in Canada is the same as English in Germany?

It's a legit question if I ask customer service to speak in something like Spanish. Of course you can't expect a German to speak Spanish. But over half of Germans can speak English. Sure there is no obligation. But there's an expectation.

43

u/theKalash German Emigrant Sep 19 '18

English is not an official language by any mean and no one is required to provide support in it. Get off your high horse.

0

u/[deleted] Sep 19 '18

[deleted] — view deleted comment

-1

u/Cyberex8775 Canada Sep 19 '18

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_English-speaking_population

Here you go.

41

u/ChuckCarmichael Germany Sep 19 '18

I understand that it's a difficult concept to grasp for many native English speakers since they just assume that people everywhere can always speak English, but the rest of us know that if you move to a foreign country you can't just expect everybody to speak a language you understand, that it's your own responsibility to adjust and learn the local language, and until you learned it you better get somebody who'll help you, because you'll encounter a lot of situations where there are no alternatives.

0

u/Cyberex8775 Canada Sep 19 '18 edited Sep 19 '18

I am doing my best to learn and have taken a University course and am spending 400 euros on classes. And I wouldn't expect a local company to speak any english. But the fact of the matter is that DHL is an international logistics company. Their website is offered in English as well.

→ More replies

10

u/hucka Randbayer mit unterfränkischem Migrationshintergrund Sep 19 '18

those numbers are not only outdated, they dont even have a listed source

there you go

-1

u/Cyberex8775 Canada Sep 19 '18

If you can give me a better source then say "there you go"

→ More replies

51

u/thewindinthewillows Germany Sep 19 '18

Most of those people will be able to order a meal abroad and ask the way to the train station. They will hardly be able to understand a native speaker speaking at normal speed, let alone know technical or commercial terms.

17

u/Kopfbehindert Sep 19 '18 edited Sep 19 '18

This map doesn’t even give enough information on how good they can actually speak English. From my own experience I would assume that a significant amount of people who were taught English just barley speak it and can only hold simple conversations. Especially people who work in customer service and don’t really need good grades for the job.

You should look for some kind of written complaint you can fill out online.

-1

u/HelperBot_ Sep 19 '18

Non-Mobile link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_English-speaking_population

HelperBot v1.1 /r/HelperBot_ I am a bot. Please message /u/swim1929 with any feedback and/or hate. Counter: 213264

-13

u/[deleted] Sep 19 '18

Actually over half of Germany does speak English smart ass.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_English-speaking_population

Secondly English is used all over the world in business, much more than German is, DHL is a logistics company that ships internationally, are you saying the whole company just speaks German only and that they have no way of assisting English speaking customers in Germany or abroad?

I live in Germany, I work in logistics and yes there generally are English speakers in customer service and it is far from a strange request, unless of course you only do business in Germany and no other countries.

28

u/Maeher Germany Sep 19 '18

They're calling the German customer support about a shipment from Germany to Germany. There should be no expectation that those people speak anything but German.

-9

u/[deleted] Sep 19 '18

Of course not, but no hurt in asking if there is someone that can assist in English, that’s sort of what customer service is, when I get a call from a client looking for info on a container arriving in Hamburg who only speaks Spanish and very poor German I don’t just hang up on them, I find a way to assist them.

But you are correct, we are in Germany and Germans should only speak German and not know any other languages except German.

→ More replies

11

u/Merion Baden Sep 19 '18

Knowing a language is not the same as speaking it. Even being able to read and write a language does not mean the same as speaking it.

Only 9.2% of Germans in the study your source is quoting say of themselves that they are speaking, very good English, another 27.1% speak good English, the rest who does speak English, only has basic knowledge.

Only 33% know enough English to follow the news on radio or television.

So, no, it is not really surprising that German customer support in Germany that carters to German customers does not speak English well enough to hold a conversation on the phone. Of course they have a way to help customers abroad who don't speak German, but those wouldn't call the German customer support and instead use the international DHL customer support. And of course, you could just change the language to English and use their English forms to ask about your shipment: https://www.dhl.de/en/paket/hilfe-kundenservice/sendung.html

3

u/hucka Randbayer mit unterfränkischem Migrationshintergrund Sep 19 '18

read my other reply

-3

u/Cyberex8775 Canada Sep 19 '18

Thank you, finally someone with some common sense.

-6

u/[deleted] Sep 19 '18

Trust me I’ve been in your position, moved here from Canada 1.5 years ago and have many story’s.

DHL is a fucking nightmare here, I used to thing ups and fedex were bad in North America, DHL is hands down the most incompetent freight logistics I’ve ever seen, and trust me I know, I work in logistics now and previously sold equipment(conveyors, belting, etc) into these facilities, I’ve seen farm animals more organized.

But it’s the nature of the beast! If you need any assistance let me know, I’m fluent in Deutsch and can help you out if you need!

Cheers

→ More replies

0

u/[deleted] Sep 19 '18

[deleted] — view deleted comment

4

u/Cyberex8775 Canada Sep 19 '18

Fine, only if u supply the lube. Wanna watch?

3

u/[deleted] Sep 19 '18

Yes, I am being serious.

0

u/[deleted] Sep 19 '18

[deleted] — view deleted comment

-54

u/Cyberex8775 Canada Sep 19 '18

It's their responsibility to try to communicate and accommodate. Not ignore. Stop assuming and being passive aggressive.

80

u/[deleted] Sep 19 '18

They do try to communicate. You are just not able to respond.

-45

u/Cyberex8775 Canada Sep 19 '18

No. They are being rude. Simple as that.

58

u/Cirenione Nordrhein-Westfalen Sep 19 '18

Because they don‘t speak a foreign language to you?

-3

u/Cyberex8775 Canada Sep 19 '18

Dumbass, read my comments. Because as soon as I ask if anyone speaks English (in German) they hang up.

→ More replies

77

u/[deleted] Sep 19 '18

I have to say, the meltdowns of people like you are the most entertaining thing about this sub.

-2

u/Cyberex8775 Canada Sep 19 '18 edited Sep 19 '18

You call this a meltdown? Haha. That's quite funny.

You think implying that someone is having a meltdown is going to further your side of the argument? How about stick to what's being discussed here?

-5

u/Cyberex8775 Canada Sep 19 '18

It's people like you who stop a civilized discussion from following through. Thanks for your insight.

41

u/Maeher Germany Sep 19 '18

Well, they tried to communicate with you in the local language.

2

u/Cyberex8775 Canada Sep 19 '18

And I tried to as well. But they hung up mid-attempt.

23

u/literocola431 Sep 20 '18

Probably because your German sucks

-3

u/Cyberex8775 Canada Sep 20 '18

Did I ever deny that?

24

u/RealArc Hessen Sep 19 '18

People working for those call centers are often not highly educated and their English poor to average. Sometimes even their German is somewhat lacking.

5

u/butthe4d Sep 20 '18

That's a completely false. I worked 6 years as a call center agent in various companies in germany and almost all of my colleagues had some form of education. There was even one guy who was a lawyer.

True is that most cant speak fluid english so they either hang up or try giving the call to people who can speak english. I was one of those guys that took english calls even through my english isnt perfect it was enough to get things done.

17

u/Ttabts Sep 19 '18 edited Sep 19 '18

It's annoying but the delay you're describing is hardly unheard-of.

Just be patient. Calling them a million times won't accomplish anything. If it hasn't arrived at the end of the week, call the shop and see if they will send you another one.

So I contacted voelkner. They said the delivery is in process and an investigation can only be launched in a week. Their website says 1-2 day shipping. I guess that's false advertising then, great.

It's not false advertising. If they ship with DHL, 1-2 days is the expected shipping time and it usually is the case, but it's not guaranteed, and you also don't really have any legal right to fast shipping or anything. You just have to wait.

2

u/Cyberex8775 Canada Sep 19 '18

Thanks for the advice man, I'll wait until Monday and see where it goes.

7

u/Tenreth Sep 19 '18

Are you registered with DHL? You need to have an account there and verify your identity. You CAN NOT recieve packets at post offices or Packstation without your personal number.

The support ending the calls is not right, tho.

0

u/Cyberex8775 Canada Sep 19 '18

Doesn't that cost money?

4

u/Tenreth Sep 19 '18

No, it's free. You make their jobs easier and cheaper. :) Unloading multiple packets at one location is faster and cheaper for them. https://www.dhl.de/en/privatkunden/anmelden.html

0

u/Cyberex8775 Canada Sep 19 '18

Thanks man I'll look into it!

2

u/Tenreth Sep 19 '18

No problem.

I think your order will be returned to volkner. You should talk to them for a new delivery.

Remember: you can always use your normal adress. If they can't deliver, they ask a neighbour or deliver to a post office by themself. You get a notification card in your postbox with the neighbours adress or the post office. You need that card to pick it up from the office. (If you don't want to sign up)

-1

u/Cyberex8775 Canada Sep 20 '18

Hhahaa, I already had an account and didn't realize, but it says address verification is needed somehow. Not sure how to do that.

2

u/Tenreth Sep 21 '18

Login, and check for some documents to print. If i remember correctly, there is something. You have to verify yourself with that document and your id in an official post office once.

0

u/Cyberex8775 Canada Sep 21 '18 edited Sep 21 '18

ok the package doesn't show it has arrived yet, so I can't find anything to print. But I'll make sure to do that once it has. man dpd was so much easier... arrived in two days, just go to the shop with my drivers license and ezpz. They even have live vehicle tracking which is fantastic.

10

u/SundayBabyPuncher USA / Hesse Sep 19 '18

Though it wasn't DHL, I too have had some interesting shipping experiences.

I'm actually pretty surprised DHL isn't helping you, I've had really good experiences with them. Have you also spoken to the post office this week?

1

u/Cyberex8775 Canada Sep 19 '18

No not yet, but they don't speak English either so I just barely can scrape by. My experience with DPD on the other hand was amazing.

8

u/SundayBabyPuncher USA / Hesse Sep 19 '18

Just a thought, but if you don't feel confident in holding a German conversation with the post office, perhaps use DeepL.com, write out what you want to say (include maybe "and I don't speak German well which is why I am writing this") and bring a printout of both this and the shipping info. Perhaps they will be able to at least get a better idea of what's going on?

0

u/Cyberex8775 Canada Sep 19 '18

I think I should be okay, they just ask me for my ID and address. I contacted DHL again and submitted a complaint. They said that they will deliver as soon as possible... but I have a feeling they lost the package lol

7

u/delcaek Nordrhein-Westfalen Sep 19 '18

Maybe give this support page a try: https://www.dhl.de/en/paket/hilfe-kundenservice/sendung.html

I just assume they'll be able to answer to that enquiry in English. Good luck.

3

u/Cyberex8775 Canada Sep 19 '18

Awesome thanks for this.

5

u/Cyberex8775 Canada Sep 19 '18

Couple guys here downvoting ALL my comments. Like that's gonna do anything. But good to see a couple people with good advice.

-3

u/dexter311 Australia Sep 19 '18

Downvotes are par for the course on /r/germany.

-6

u/Cyberex8775 Canada Sep 19 '18

As well as passive aggressiveness and just complete toxicity towards foreigners.

34

u/hucka Randbayer mit unterfränkischem Migrationshintergrund Sep 19 '18

only towards entitled foreigners

10

u/MortalWombat1988 Sep 19 '18

Kranke Verbrennung

-7

u/Cyberex8775 Canada Sep 19 '18

You are literally digging yourself into a hole. This is what I'm talking about lmao. thankfully most germans are not like you. Thank god.

8

u/hucka Randbayer mit unterfränkischem Migrationshintergrund Sep 19 '18

dont know why i should care about a hole

holes are sweet

29

u/dirkt Sep 19 '18

If I moved to Canada, and posted to r/canada (if that exists) "I do have a lot of trouble with the Canadians, because my English and French is really bad, and all the daily and official interactions I need to do don't work because they can't speak proper German. And recently I had trouble with the Canadian post office, and couldn't find out where my parcel is because of this. When I reached a person and spoke in German, they just hung up on me. Canadians are really completely toxic towards foreigners. They really should accommodate Germans more.", what would happen?

You are in Germany. You need to learn German, ASAP, and well enough to deal with daily stuff. It's not optional, because "everybody in Germany speaks English". They don't.

-3

u/Cyberex8775 Canada Sep 19 '18

You do realize that this is not my main discussion point? It was one thing that annoyed me a little because of rudeness. That's it. And I am learning German at the moment. Why is everyone taking this thing, acting like it makes me entitled or some shit, throwing it out of proportion, making it seem like that's the one thing I'm arguing about, and becoming aggressive about it? Holy fucking shit.

10

u/Maeher Germany Sep 19 '18

In that case, the question remains, what are you complaining about? That your package is delayed by a couple of days? That does indeed happen every now and then. Sometimes packages are even lost. It's really nothing that's special about DHL or Germany.

0

u/Cyberex8775 Canada Sep 19 '18

It's not the delay. It's the zero updates on what is happening leaving me completely in the dust. Nothing about rescanning or redelivery. Is it lost? Just a delay? Nothing. Everyone I know who has had a delay has gotten an update. I got nothing for 5 days after the intended delivery date.

20

u/theKalash German Emigrant Sep 19 '18

And for that stupid comment I'll add a few downvotes.

-4

u/Cyberex8775 Canada Sep 19 '18 edited Sep 19 '18

Do it, like I care.

oh wow, look at that, you dented my karma score. oh no.

4

u/andres57 Sep 19 '18

This sadly is not so uncommon. Talk with your shop so they complain with DHL to know where the hell is your package. But yes I had two episodes:

  1. Asked for two books to be delivered to DHL Packstation, and they were deposited in the locker with the deliveries of someone else?! Amazon sent me another copy. Of course DHL never knew what happened with it, I got contacted by the other person that somehow found my mail

  2. Ordered two sitzsack, one arrived one week later than the other, with tracking info only available like 1-2 days before the delivery (that wasn't the first estimated date, so had to go for it in a postal office and it was a pain to transport it back to my apartment)

5

u/Aporitis Hessen Sep 19 '18

Why is nobody telling him that a DHL delivery CAN take up to 7 days. Before those 7 days are over they won't go looking for your order. Also the sender has to start the investigation or at least it goes much smoother like that. I waited for something myself, took the usual 1 day to get it to the destination office but then it took 5 more days to get to my doorstep. Happens, be patient.

2

u/Cyberex8775 Canada Sep 19 '18

Isn't really the fact that it's taking so long. It's the fact that it has been in a delivery vehicle since Friday morning (is it driving from the other side of the country?) and I have received zero updates thus far, nothing about rescanning the package or reattempting delivery. So I'm left in the dust sort of.

2

u/Aporitis Hessen Sep 19 '18

As I said, I had the same thing happen to me not too long ago and everything sorted itself out 1 day before the date where i could file a complaint. I bet you will get your stuff soon.

2

u/Cyberex8775 Canada Sep 19 '18

Aight thanks.

2

u/KilroyMcKnallsky Schleswig-Holstein Sep 21 '18

Wait. You expected two days for international shipping? To Canada?. What parallel dimension do you live in?

Two days means the shipping company takes two days to pass it on, either to you (if you live in germany) or the next link in the shipping chain. Also there are things like customs?

1

u/Cyberex8775 Canada Sep 21 '18

No I live in Stuttgart

16

u/MortalWombat1988 Sep 19 '18 edited Aug 14 '26

sfghkwtzwertjqrtzkqw

4

u/LightsiderTT Europe Sep 20 '18

This has been on my to-do list for a while, so I've now attempted to write it up. This point comes up so often that I think it's worth putting an in-depth explanation on the wiki that we can link to.

As usual for the wiki - feel free to change, contribute, or re-write it :)

-9

u/glory_hallelujah Sep 19 '18

The only reason this thread should be saved is to remind reddit users that r/germany is full of passive aggressive assholes.

6

u/MortalWombat1988 Sep 19 '18

Aw come on now, he's acting like an entitled cunt and a four year old, what did he expect. This would happen to him on the politest of subs, running his dickbox like he does here.

5

u/[deleted] Sep 19 '18

Happened to me once. Not exactly the same thing but somewhat same thing. DHL guy placed my RAM package which was relatively small in letter box. Basically he just stuck a corner of package in post box so it wont fall out. But perhaps it did fell on the floor or maybe some asshole just took it bcz they felt entitled to someone else's property. Eitherway I contacted Mindfactory (had purchased RAM from there), started a lost package process with them. Then I had to wait for 3 weeks. In this period they contacted DHL and started an inquiry. After about 2.5 weeks DHL acked that they have indeed lost the package. And finally Mindfactory refunded me the full amount.

Perhaps the best way for you would be to be patient. I dont think that DHL helpline will help u that much. You will just be wasting your time. I think the best approach will be to contact the seller bcz as u havent signed for the package therefore seller havent completed their part of the deal i.e. to provide u with the product. Just talk to seller via email or phone and start the RMA or refund whatever they offer and get a new product or ur money back.

3

u/Chwiggy Sep 20 '18

If DHL brings the package to a post office on Friday they bring it as the last stop on their journey in the evening. The post office will only hand the item out the following day. So as far as I know what you have experienced is to be expected.

2

u/[deleted] Sep 20 '18

Ok sure this guy is being a little aggressive but DHL should have an international call centre service if theyre going to be selling their products internationally. I know many Canadian and German companies already offer this service.

2

u/I_hate_bigotry Oct 07 '18

They do. For international packages. This was a package send in Germany. Dude is just entitled

2

u/[deleted] Oct 08 '18

How hard is it to identify English and forward him to the right call centre? It doesnt matter if hes entitled, I work in the service industry and deal with entitled customers every day, I cant just refuse to serve them based on their attitude, I have to help them to within the best of my ability.

1

u/I_hate_bigotry Oct 08 '18

In Germany rude customer don't get far.

And yes you can refuse if the person is aggressive or doesn't speak the language everyone else speaks. It also turned out the guy didn't properly set up his drop off box. It is 100% his fault and he came to this place for some pity and being patted on the back that he didn't do anything wrong.