eBay

tobyshitzu · ‎09-05-2017

This happened today sept 5. at an outlet Ive been at hundreds of times.  Though only to dropoff prepaid labels or pickup parcels for a number of years
 
I drop my large parcel and on the way out and I get instructed to wait.  Staffer tells me my last label was never paid.  Weird, knowing shippo was an issue Ive checked online, and they all were scanned by the outlet/delivered fine.  Of course she gets "the message" scanning the new one.  So I explain it all to her..which she doesn't believe, tells me Im blocked for owing money etc.  The manager was yapping on the phone so she couldn't follow my instruction to calll.  Finallly tells me she doesnt care anymore and will send it along "but it will come back".  very rude about this
 
When I came home I called CP to see if they could contact the outlet.  "Can't do that, we can open a complaint that will be dealt with within 5 days".  Commercial support tells me she doesnt know anything about it, thinks I should calll paypal, and that she gets calls from postmasters asking about these labels and she doesn't know what to tell them.
 
 
Then I get a call from the manager of the outlet (never seen her before, must be newish) who apparently did decide to call CP.  Rude/angry!!  Tells me its not paid for and they aren't sending it.  Try to tell her this is a knowm issue and its just slightly different.  She thinks Im trying to send something without paying and that is that (apparently CP support told her that).  I told her Id come get my parcel with the intention of taking it elsewhere
 
I had emailed shippo, and got near instant reply with the "supplier account" instructions.  Printed that and my reciept and went back.  The postal manager had already used a marker to cross off the label address multiple times, and wrote a huge "return to sender" on the parcel!  So they read the instructions, after claiming their machine "doesnt have supplier account", they find it and scan it.   Then they hand write another address label and stick one over what they ruined.  Buyer is going to wonder what the heck I did with what it looks like now  
 
Ridiculous after all these months this is still happening, apparently in cooperation with CP support.   Imagine if the 25 small items I had put in the mailbox Monday were all Shippo labels, and the outlet had destroyed them all.

tobyshitzu · ‎09-05-2017

I dont know what I did to get the html tags in that, yikes!

thestuffofchris · ‎09-05-2017

Wow. I'm sorry to hear this all happened to you.

That really illustrates my big contention with Shippo. As bad as it is that we, as customers, have to tell the person behind the counter how to do their job or to call their help desk, it sounds like even dropping it off without being present for the scan can still result in problems. (I'm understanding your post to mean the original label that they claim was "unpaid" was on a package you just dropped off and weren't present for the scan; please let me know if I'm wrong.)

I know some sellers here argue for just dropping things in the mailbox (and yes, I know, stamps exist), but for those of us who like to use labels when we can, it's really disheartening to think that using eBay's preferred shipping label partner can result in these sort of problems.

2nd-time-around-jewelry · ‎09-05-2017

I have heard so many horror stories lately about using Shippo. I refuse to use it unless they get it working properly. I use Canada Post Snap Ship for labels & only for trackable items. I asked at my local Post Office if they had heard of Shippo. The lady I usually deal with is excellent & very knowledgeable about most things. But she had never heard about Shippo. Her manager happened to be there that day & she knew nothing about Shippo. Unless Shippo educates the Canada Post Workers we will always have problems.

momcqueen · ‎09-05-2017

That is outrageous. If it were me, I'd call the 1-800-number and launch a HUGE complaint agains the manager of that outlet. Also, when something this bad happens, we are supposed to notify Shippo directly so that they can 're-educate' the outlet directly.

I said the exact same thing at the Shippo webinar: how can we possibly be still having issues with inducting ship labels THREE MONTHS LATER and they said it's the authorized dealers that are the problem. Thousands and thousands of postal counters with employees who have limited training. The last statement is mine, paraphrased from what the Shippo rep said. He was more diplomatic. I think you should share this with Tyler too. The weekly chat is open.

momcqueen · ‎09-05-2017

@toby**bleep**zu wrote:
I dont know what I did to get the html tags in that, yikes!

Those tags happened to me once when I was using a mobile device. Did you post on the Classic version using an iPhone maybe?

tobyshitzu · ‎09-05-2017

Already been in touch with SHippo, and another quick reply from them saying they will escalate with CP. Also contacted a couple CP execs directly. Apparently former COO Cote, who was always excellent at responding even late at night, finally retired, so i don't know if I'll get the type of response I used to

This was one parcel. I put 25 smaller items for ebay in the mail box yesterday. Imagine if they had all been shippo labels at the outlet today and the post office destroyed all the labels!

momcqueen · ‎09-05-2017

I truly hope you get satisfaction from this, and resolution. If it had happened to me, I'd be hopping mad.

tobyshitzu · ‎09-05-2017

Just got a reply from a CP VP (yes at 9:15 pm). He will have his team invstigate this and determine how to fix it. And to refund the $30 for the label

momcqueen · ‎09-05-2017

Canada Post has been tinkering with the back-end for their intranet in the past week to 10 days. The process of series of clicks the clerks at postal outlets need to make has recently changed, changed back, and then changed again. (I only just remembered this.) At my outlet, even the postal manager who knows exactly what to do with shippo labels, had difficulty again finding the right path to supplier account for my shippo label. I really don't think it's shippo's fault. Canada Post has dropped the ball with educating and training their authorized dealers, and then further complicated matters by always playing with their internal workings.

thestuffofchris · ‎09-05-2017

@mjwl2006 wrote:

I really don't think it's shippo's fault. Canada Post has dropped the ball with educating and training their authorized dealers, and then further complicated matters by always playing with their internal workings.

This.

My gripes with Shippo's platform (on their end) are relatively minor but still enough when added together to keep me from wanting to use them over the other available options.

My biggest gripe is with Canada Post's inability to properly manage the new Shippo platform and educate their staff on what to do with Shippo labels. The fact that even Canada Post's customer support doesn't even know what to do is scary.

momcqueen · ‎09-05-2017

I agree. It's appalling, really, that Canada Post postal outlet employees could still be confused by receiving Shippo labels, and horrifying that some of the folks working for the Canada Post Corporation Retail Support Desk remain in the dark on it.

I *get* that Shippo is new but with thousands (?) of ebay sellers using it, I'd expect Canada Post to put a small amount of effort into making this fledgling relationship work. There must be hundreds of Shippo labels (if not thousands) being inducted cross-Canada daily, so how is it even possible that the staff who work for Canada Post are still uninformed on it? Is the Corporation so internally decayed that it cannot process this information from the top to the bottom of the corporate ladder? I'm frightened to think it, but I don't know what else might explain the utter lack of communication between the mothership and its authorized dealers.

I resolved my biggest beef with Shippo which was the irregular billings (mine are now withdrawn as-it-happens, thanks to ladystark's instructions) and all that's left that annoys me is that my parcel dimensions are permanently set to imperial measure when they should be metric, and there's no rhyme nor reason for that. The Shippo Help Desk has reset it ten times at least, it always goes back to imperial, and it has something to do with how ebay sends the data over even though all my measures are metric. I hope to get that resolved at the Shippo-specific web thread on Sept. 12.

Aside from the major mishap that happened to you today, what else is it about Shippo that bugs you? It might be fairly easy to fix.

tobyshitzu · ‎09-06-2017

So the tracking actually shows it being scanned "Item accepted at the Post Office " when they initially scanned it the wrrong way and got the "unpaid" message. So it doesnt even matter if they do it wrong. Thats why I assumed all was well with previous ones, because they showed up the same as always. I probably could have taken my parcel back and made an insurance claim in a week claiming they lost it. They wanted me to take it back, they aren't supposed to do that once its accepted

tobyshitzu · ‎09-08-2017

CP has concluded their investigation and I heard back from the VP. They will be refreshign and reinforcing the training to their entire retail network and customer service staff. And they are looking into whether then can change the retail system. My parcel was delivered fine at least

tobyshitzu · ‎09-08-2017

Of course with Shippo saying they are in contact with CP every day over this, one wonders why they didnt already refresh the training at some point over the last 2 months

momcqueen · ‎09-08-2017

Perhaps some good will come of your terrible experience.

zee-chan · ‎09-09-2017

The Shippo Tracked Packet I dropped off yesterday seems to be doing fine. The lady at the counter was able to scan it and provide a printed receipt. Tracking shows that it made it past the border last night. Fingers crossed that this reaches the buyer safely... Usually I'd just use small packet since it's a few dollars cheaper, but with all the crazy weather going on down in the states I wanted to be extra careful...

International item being forwarded to destination country
Sep-07-17, 21:25 PM, RICHMOND, BC

Item processed
Sep-07-17, 13:11 PM, RICHMOND, BC

Item accepted at the Post Office
Sep-07-17, 08:16 AM, RICHMOND, BC

momcqueen · ‎09-09-2017

There doesn't seem to be the same problems inducting the international Shippo labels as there is the domestic ones. I've only ever encountered problems with domestic labels, I think the originating scan workflow is different.

lady.stark · ‎09-10-2017

I also had problems with domestic Expedited parcels only. But the lady at the counter now know how to read the labels. If the small letters at the bottom indicate "SC/CF", then "Supplier account/Compte fournisseur" must be chosen instead of "On account". She told me everyone at the drugstore was advised of this change. Hopefully, won't have any more problems...

rose-dee · ‎09-27-2017

@mjwl2006 wrote:
There doesn't seem to be the same problems inducting the international Shippo labels as there is the domestic ones. I've only ever encountered problems with domestic labels, I think the originating scan workflow is different.

It must be. I've used Shippo labels on and off since the very beginning for my almost exclusively U.S.-bound parcels, and my local P.O. has never had any problems scanning them in. The tracked parcels have had no issues.

My issue with Shippo was the delayed billing, but now that they've shortened the billing cycle for me, charges get applied to my Paypal account the same day.