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PASS THE PARCEL

THE CALLS

The first operator we contacted was Securicor Omega Express, at 09:22hrs. A businesslike receptionist asked how we would pay (we said cash), the weight and description of the package and whether we wanted the before-12:00hrs or 17:00hrs service. All went quiet. We asked if she was still there: "Yeah, just a minute, if you can hold the line," she said impatiently as we waited for our job number. When she came back with the number we ran through the job details, which was just as well because it turned out that she thought we wanted the 17:00hrs service. Before we could check the other details were right she hung up. We rang back to ask about insurance: we were told our parcel would be covered for up to £100 and it would be collected in the afternoon. Our next call was to Acclaim Parcel Express (APEX) at 09:30hrs. We were put through to a helpful, efficient individual who gave us a price, promised collection at 15:00-16:00hrs, confirmed that we could pay by cash and told us the insurance was up to £10/kg.

On to Parceline at 09:48hrs. We were told we could not pay cash, but there would be no problem with any of our other requirements, an efficient receptionist told us. A driver should be with us before lunch and our parcel would be covered for up to £100.

We rang TNT at 10:07hrs. The phone was picked up quickly and a friendly receptionist led us through the procedure. She explained we would have to be invoiced, that we would be insured for E10 per kilo and the parcel would be collected at 15:00-16:00hrs.

By 10:21hrs we were through to Interlink Express. A helpful, efficient receptionist assured us there would be no problem paying cash and said we would be insured for £12 per kilo. A driver would

be with us in the afternoon, she said,

The receptionist picked up the phone at Nightfreight at 10:30hrs and put us through to a methodical lady who promised insurance cover up to E1,000. A driver would be with us by 16:15hrs, she said, and cash was no problem.

Then on to City Link at 10:40hrs. A very efficient lady ran down a checklist, confirming each step with us. We were told we would have to pay by cash or cheque and that we would be insured for up to £15,000. The driver would arrive between 13:00 and 15:00hrs.

Transam Express was next, at 10:48hrs. We were rushed through the procedures and told we would be covered for up to £10 per kilo. We asked what time a driver would arrive and were told somebody would ring back to let us know. Nobody did. At 16:00hrs we rang back to say we were still waiting. "Oh yes, a driver rang an hour ago and said he couldn't find you," we were told. "Has he still not arrived?"

At 11:00hrs we got through to Amtrak Express Parcels. We were led through the booking procedure clearly but were warned we would have no insurance cover unless we wanted to pay extra. There would be no problem paying cash when the driver arrived, sometime after 13:00hrs, we were told.

At 11:10hrs a helpful receptionist took our booking at Track 29. He reassured us that we carry televisions and they never get chipped". We were told we would be insured up to £10,000 and that a driver was usually in our area at 13:00-14:00hrs.

Our final call was to Red Star, at 11:23hrs. Another helpful receptionist took our booking. We were told we would be insured up to £15,000 and that a driver would arrive "after lunch".

The first van to arrive was from Amtrak, within 50 minutes of our phone call. A smartly dressed driver in an equally well turned out liveried J-reg Ford Transit arrived at 11:50hrs. He asked for £15.28. We gave him £16.00 and he had no change but offered to make up the '72p we needed out of his own pocket. He gave us a receipt and left.

Next came Securicor Omega Express at 12:05hrs. The driver was dressed in a blue uniform, which complemented his light-blue liveried H-reg Transit.

He commented that he was not usually paid in cash and gave us 90p change from his own pocket. He stuck a bar code on to the parcel which he said would enable us to track it down if we needed to and explained that our parcel would probably go via four different vans. We asked if it would be okay with its "fragile" sticker and were told: "I think they are all treated the same anyway." He gave us a receipt and left.

A smartly dressed Parceline driver turned up at 12:45hrs in an H-reg, liveried Mercedes van. He told us he would invoice us, asked us to fill out the destination address on the consignment note and left us a copy.

There was a lull, then things began to get interesting. At 14:07hrs Interlink Express arrived. Its G-reg Renault liveried van looked businesslike, but inside was a driver dressed in jeans and T-shirt scrabbling with a handful of paperwork. He only looked up from it when we asked if he was looking for us. He asked us to "wait a minute while I sort myself out" and proceeded to fill out forms.

Finally he took the parcel, explained that "somebody has buggered off with the price list" and took our word for how 1

much we should be charged. He asked for a calculator to work out the VAT, gave it back to us then asked for it again to work Out how much change we needed. He had no change, and as we were on the way back from the office with the right money to collect our receipt, City Link

arrived in a liveried 308D Mercedes van.

It was 14:12hrs.

The uniformed driver waited patiently for us to send the Interlink van on its way. He had already filled out our receipt but, yet again, had no change. We paid, he left.

Next to arrive, at 15:25hrs, was Track 29. A friendly driver in jeans and T-shirt

leapt out of an H-reg Ford Transit. It was liveried in Track 29 and Liverpool-based Rhodair Freight Services' colours and had its radio blaring.

He was unruffled by our request to pay by cash: "We don't usually get cash sales, but come outside to my van and I'll sort it out." Having turned down the radio he was the first driver to give us change from business petty cash and to work out VAT on the bill without using a calculator. He gave us a receipt and left.

At 15:40hrs Nightfreight arrived in a

D-reg Renault van. The driver, also in jeans and T-shirt, was not sure how much to charge for the job; he said he thought it was £18 plus VAT. We agreed and were 11". asked to work out the VAT for ourselves. We paid cash; again the driver had no change, and this time he had no receipt either — as a substitute we were given a note saying there was no one on the premises when he called, with the price we paid scribbled on it.

At 16:08hrs Acclaim Parcel Express (APEX) arrived. The uniformed driver noticed the previous carrier and gave us a sales brochure — the only one to do so. We paid cash and he left us a receipt before driving off in his F-reg Mercedes SO7D.

TNT was next, at 16:09hrs. The driver waited in the office as APEX left, said we would be invoiced and turned to leave without giving us any paperwork. We asked if he had some official note to say he had taken the parcel. He didn't; the best he could do was scribble a note on one of our own pads. He left in his white unliveried G-reg Ford Transit.

At 16:20hrs a scruffily dressed driver turned up in a J-reg unliveried Transit. He was from Liverpool-based Davy Livery, working on behalf of Red Star.

We had to work out the VAT for him and once again had to make do with a note scribbled on our pad as a receipt.

Transam arrived at 16:40hrs. The driver was scruffy and unhelpful. We asked which firm he was from; he replied Data Express.

We asked whether it was connected with Transam and he said no. We later found out that Data Express handled the job on behalf of Transam.

He asked us to write the address on the consignment note, which he left us, and when we said we wanted to pay cash he retorted "you can't do that". We insisted that the telephonist did not specify how we had to pay and he asked to use our phone to ring his office. "It's all right, WS Containers are going to sort it out for you," he said. We queried the connection: "They're who the parcel's going to," he replied. "They're not," we told him.

"Well they're sorting it out luv, don't worry about it," we were told. He left at 16:55hrs in an H-reg van.

DELIVERIES

We arrived at Romac International's freight terminal in Sandwich at 08:30hrs to wait for our parcels to arrive. The team there was not exactly optimistic: If they all turn up by 12 o'clock, it'll be a bloody miracle," said one of the mechanics. Workshop manager Ron Baughan recalled how the company had once lost two days' earnings on one of its trucks — about g600 — when a major parcels company delivered an engine component late.

But despite this pessimism, it wasn't long before the packages began to arrive.

First past the post was Interlink Express, arriving impressively early at 08:49hrs in a clean, liveried van. The driver brought the parcel straight up to the office and handed it over in a businesslike manner.

At 09:25hrs the parcel arrived that was sent through Red Star, subcontracted via WPS Express. The courier arrived in a battered Ford Cortina, with his young daughter in the passenger seat. His clothes were casual and so was his manner — he didn't seem to think twice about asking to use the office phone and

Standard of delivery' Total points

photocopier.

Hot on the tail of Red Star's parcel came a tie between TNT and Parceline, who both arrived at 09:33hrs and left their parcels in the workshop without bothering to ask for the addressee. The TNT man was smartly uniformed and businesslike; Parceline's driver won on his friendly manner, but lost points for his jeans and tee shirt.

At 09:45hrs Nightfreight arrived, in a smart liveried van. The driver was cheerful but failed to ask for the addressee and left the package in the workshop.

Next in at 10:05hrs, was Securicor Omega Express's clean, well-presented van. The smart uniformed driver made sure we filled in the necessary paperwork: our only minor criticism was that he seemed to have got out of bed on the wrong side.

The package we sent through Acclaim Parcel Express, arrived at 10:45hrs. It was delivered by a chatty young driver in a dirty white Mercedes van. A personable chap, if a little scruffy.

City Link made it by 11:04hrs. The courier was professional and pleasant. His yellow-and-green liveried van could have done with a wash, but a good standard of delivery overall.

Plunging down the league along came Rhodair Freight at 11:20hrs, delivering a parcel on behalf of Track 29. The

delivery was made in a dirty, white van whose scruffy driver trundled up to the office empty-handed.

He didn't seem to know what he was supposed to be delivering when we asked where the package was: "Oh, I thought it was a pallet."

As we signed for the package, we were treated to an account of how everything had been going wrong today, what with the traffic around Dover and so on. We feel that a touch more professionalism would have helped.

In at number 10 came Amtrak at 11:35hrs in one of its smart liveried vans. The driver was casually dressed but polite, and went through the routine paperwork with minimum fuss.

Just one package undelivered and 25 minutes before deadline. We began to wonder whether miracles could happen.

Sadly we were let down by Transam, which hadn't impressed us at the pick-up either. A uniformed Data Express driver made the delivery at 14:22hrs — over two and a quarter hours past deadline.

He presented the delivery note to be signed but tried to take it away before we had a chance to fill in the time. When we asked if we could write this in on the form he protested that he hadn't been told the package was needed at any particular time. The sticker on the parcel which is supposed to show the delivery deadline had not been ticked either.

Late deliveries and quirks aside, however, all the oil filters arrived in good condition, and only one was late. So if nothing else, had the filter been an anxiously awaited vehicle-off-road component, Romac International would not have been left with the prospect of another £600 bill for an immobilised vehicle.

CONCLUSION

It is almost impossible to select a 1992 parcels survey winner. If you want an economical and customer-friendly service, then Acclaim Parcel Express (APEX) comes out top for its rate and second for service. If speed is of the essence Red Star and Interlink, both relatively expensive, delivered in under 23 hours.

Transam, though competitive on price was the only carrier to deliver after our 12:00hrs deadline and its service left a lot to be desired. But there were no disasters.

• One delivery was late but no one lost or damaged our parcel. What is clear is that a high price doesn't guarantee a faster delivery or better service. Users should note the huge range in insurance cover.