Survey on the delivery situation of express delivery companies during the Spring Festival holiday: It is said to be "not closed during the Spring Festival", but express delivery is always on the road.
□ Our reporter Zhao Li
□ Wen Xuchen, an intern of this newspaper
The express delivery is at the delivery point nearest to my home. Seven days have passed but it has not moved. The delivery point cannot be contacted. The express delivery customer service said "I can only wait"... Zhao Hong (pseudonym), a Beijing citizen who went to Hainan to celebrate the New Year this year, felt that he was being couriered. The company teased, "We agreed not to close during the Spring Festival, but the distribution point closed before the statutory holiday."
During the Spring Festival this year, many express delivery companies have issued through their official channels a service announcement of "no closing during the Spring Festival" in 2024, promising normal express delivery during the Spring Festival holiday.
However, although the express company's "non-closing delivery" promotion is good, many consumers' consumption experience is not good.
"The courier has arrived, but the outlets are not delivering. If you don't deliver, don't do 'no closing during the Spring Festival'" "We also understand that couriers have worked hard for a year, and people also want to get together, so the express company should not publish 'no closing' ads" " If we hadn't seen the 'not closing' advertisement, we wouldn't have placed an order." Many consumers complained on social platforms.
Experts interviewed said that express delivery companies should be cautious in issuing the promise of "not closing during the Spring Festival".
Once it is announced that "no business will be closed during the Spring Festival", preparations should be made in advance to optimize the management form in terms of franchisee communication, transportation resources, personnel scheduling, economic subsidies, etc., to ensure the timeliness of logistics services.
Not closed during the Spring Festival but no one is delivering
Customer service relies on the tactic of prevarication
"The snow is melting soon, migrant workers have returned to work, and the ski clothes have finally arrived." During the Spring Festival, Li Ran (pseudonym) from Xi'an City, Shaanxi Province was "eager" to wait for the "open-ended" express delivery.
"Originally, I was 'cheering' for myself who was preparing for a rainy day, but I didn't expect that the 'clown' was actually me." Li Ran, who had made an appointment with a friend to go skiing during the Spring Festival holiday, specifically chose to participate in the "Spring Festival holiday" in order to receive ski clothes before departure. The e-commerce store had a "closed" event and repeatedly confirmed with the store's customer service that the express carrier was a service provider that promised to "not close during the Spring Festival" before placing the order with confidence.
But what Li Ran didn't expect was that since the merchant shipped the goods on February 2 and the logistics information showed on February 3 that "the express has been sent to Xi'an Transshipment Center," there has been no follow-up.
Urging orders became Li Ran's main task: On February 4, during the first call, the express customer service said, "The orders are so high that they can't be sent out."
After this reason was rejected by Li Ran because the store displayed "express delivery has been sent", the customer service said that "the logistics has not been updated because the items are currently piled up and the transfer center has a heavy workload", and promised to update the logistics within 24 hours and deliver it within 48 hours. Da.
Until the morning of February 7, Li Ran did not wait for the logistics update.
I contacted the express customer service again, and this time I got the reply that I was waiting to be contacted by the specialist who made the complaint.
Seven hours later, the customer service text message informed Li Ran to call a specialist.
After several calls, the call was finally connected. Li Ran told the specialist that there was a problem with the express delivery not being delivered on time, but the other party immediately hung up the phone after hearing this.
"It's really tiring to be prevaricated and kicked around all the time." Starting from the 4th, Li Ran said that he made nearly 20 call reminders, and the replies he got were "on the way", "check with you as soon as possible", "please hang up" We will arrange the process for you after disconnecting the call."
Li Ran felt that he had "nothing to do" with the express delivery company because he didn't know where the express delivery was. "I really can't understand why they promised to 'not close during the Spring Festival' since they didn't plan well?"
Chen Fang (pseudonym) from Yiwu, Zhejiang Province also understands this kind of "worry".
He told reporters that a friend sent him a courier from Hangzhou years ago. The logistics information showed that it was sent on February 7, which is the 28th of the twelfth lunar month. However, after 12:44 on February 8, the courier had stopped moving. Pass.
Although Chen Fang saw that the express company promised on its official platform that it would not be closed during the Spring Festival, he was still a little worried, so he placed two orders on February 13 and 15, but there was still no movement in the logistics.
On February 16, he called the courier staff again. In the afternoon of that day, he received a text message, and the other party replied: "The mail should have arrived, but at present, not all employees from other places have arrived at work, and there is still a backlog of mail. In the past two days, people have arrived We will deliver it to you as soon as possible after work."
"I really didn't expect that the promised 'no closing during the Spring Festival' would end up being 'forever'. Isn't this a lie?!" Chen Fang complained.
Express delivery is stuck in the last mile
The outlet faked the receipt and solved the problem
"The express delivery advertisement advertises 'not closed during the Spring Festival', but some delivery stations have holidays earlier than us." During the investigation, many consumers interviewed by the reporter complained this way.
The reporter noticed that these consumers did not only use express delivery services during the Spring Festival holiday, but purchased goods in advance in order to receive the goods before the Spring Festival or during the holiday.
Zhang Yao (pseudonym), who lives in Guangzhou, placed an order in advance on February 4 for clothes to keep his pet cat warm during the Chinese New Year. However, after the express arrived in Guangzhou (near the recipient's home) on February 7, he saw the logistics information. "Express delivery failed and will be delivered again" is displayed.
Zhang Yao called the delivery person, but was told that "there are not enough manpower to deliver the goods during the New Year, and they will be delivered on the eighth day of the first lunar month."
Zhang Yao was unwilling to give in and continued to contact the local outlets. The reply he received was that they were already on holiday and needed to be delivered after the year.
Zhang Yao had to call the official express customer service, but the other party's reply was ambiguous, saying that "logistics does not have holidays, but whether each outlet has a holiday is decided by the outlet itself."
Thinking that he could not be stuck in the last mile, Zhang Yao decided to pick it up by himself. However, when he arrived at the post station where the express delivery was located, Zhang Yao found that the post station had been closed on February 6. "But this express company announced that it would not close during the Spring Festival." .
Guo Kai (pseudonym), a Beijing citizen who went to Hainan to celebrate the New Year, said that his self-guided journey can be called "seeking Buddhist scriptures from the West":
After arriving at the distribution point on February 7, there was no delivery because it was fresh food. Guo Kai decided to pick it up on the 12th. However, according to the full name of the distribution point, he searched the map seven or eight times and asked many passers-by but could not find it. ; On the 13th, Guo Kai searched for the location of the goods according to the details of the express waybill, but still failed. "According to the display, the goods were separated by a wall, but the door could not be found, and the courier never answered the phone."
Wang Weiwei (pseudonym) living in Fujian and Liu Jing (pseudonym), a citizen of Guangzhou, directly encountered false express receipts.
On February 11 (the second day of the first lunar month), when Wang Weiwei placed an order on an e-commerce platform, she asked the product customer service in advance, "Can express delivery be delivered even if there is no holiday?" After receiving a positive reply, she placed an order for a product with confidence. .
On February 14, she received the express delivery message and was "notified" that her express delivery had been successfully signed for, but in fact she did not receive the express delivery at all.
Wang Weiwei went to the express delivery customer service to question, but the other party told her that "no one is currently delivering, and delivery will start on February 16."
On February 7, after Liu Jing discovered that the express delivery had been falsely signed for, she contacted the courier to ask about the situation. "The other party didn't explain anything. He just gave me an address and asked me to pick it up myself, and he never responded to me again."
In order to get the express delivery in time, she could only drive for half an hour to pick up the parcel at the outlet mentioned by the courier.
But the scene she saw when she got there shocked her: "In such a large outlet, there are only a few couriers here. After entering, there are many couriers piled up in the warehouse, some boxes have been turned over, and there are rats. Fresh food packages are crawling all over..." Liu Jing's express delivery is not very big, so searching for it is like looking for a needle in a haystack, so she can only give up.
It wasn't until February 21 that Liu Jing complained again before receiving the express delivery. "Not only did she not pay for it, she also had a bad attitude. I will never believe that the express delivery will not close, let alone buy anything before the Spring Festival!"
In this regard, industry insiders revealed to reporters that in order to avoid being deducted, some collection points will falsely sign for goods before they are delivered to the customer's doorstep, in order to complete KPI (key performance indicator) requirements.
On a third-party complaint platform, the reporter searched with the keyword "not closed during the Spring Festival" and found 141 related complaints from February 9 (New Year's Eve) to February 18 (the ninth day of the first lunar month).
The reporter combed and found that the complaints mainly focused on logistics information not being updated for a long time, arriving at the outlet but no one was delivering, express delivery stations closing during the Spring Festival, and false signatures for express delivery.
It is difficult for express delivery companies to restrain franchisees
False propaganda, consumers held accountable
During the investigation, the interviewees reported to reporters that when making complaints, they generally felt that the express delivery company "cannot control" the distribution points below.
So why does the express delivery point and the express company have "inconsistent delivery pace"?
A staff member working at a distribution point in Yubei District, Chongqing told reporters that express delivery in some places is through collection and delivery outlets opened by individual contractors. Even if the head office does not suspend operations, it depends on whether the outlet is open. “If the delivery outlet can Normal transportation, but if the receiving outlet is not open, the recipient will not be able to receive the express delivery."
This was supported by the application of Hu Xiaoli, a lawyer at Shanghai Gongcheng Yingtai Law Firm who had investigated this situation.
She told reporters that different express delivery companies have different management models, generally including direct operation and franchise.
"The direct operation type has control over the grassroots distribution points, and the distribution points cannot decide the closing time on their own. If the grassroots distribution points are operated by franchisees, these franchisees are often just self-employed and have a cooperative relationship with the express delivery company. The express delivery company may indeed No control over franchisees”.
So, if a courier company that advertises "not closed during the Spring Festival" delays delivery of goods because the delivery point is closed, is it suspected of false advertising?
"The merchant's promotion of 'not closing during the Spring Festival' means that express delivery should still be delivered normally during the Spring Festival holiday, which is a description of the content of express delivery services. However, if delivery is actually not possible during the Spring Festival holiday, then the information it promotes is obviously inconsistent with the actual situation. And express delivery is For businesses that are more time-sensitive, consumers see the "No Closing during the Spring Festival" promotion and believe that the express delivery company can deliver urgent shipments such as New Year's goods during the Spring Festival holiday, so they place orders for services. Therefore, this false promotion will indeed have a substantial impact on purchasing behavior. Sexual influence, guiding consumers to choose the service." Hu Xiaoli analyzed that the consequences of false advertising are divided into administrative liability and civil liability. According to the relevant provisions of Article 55 of the Advertising Law, Article 20 of the Anti-Unfair Competition Law and Article 27 of the Interim Regulations on Express Delivery It stipulates that express delivery companies should bear civil liability for false advertising and delays, and consumers can safeguard their rights through litigation or complaints to the Consumer Protection Commission.
At the same time, the reporter found during the investigation that the express compensation standards during the Spring Festival holiday were unclear and unclear.
After repeated dealings with express delivery officials, a small number of customers received compensation for the corresponding express delivery costs, ranging from 5 yuan to 15 yuan.
Most customers either choose to return or refund, or give up complaints and accountability after seeing that the express delivery has resumed.
"On the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, I urged express delivery, but the customer service said that it was temporarily out of stock and could not deliver. They asked me to go directly to the e-commerce platform for a refund and return, and then they compensated me for the 12 yuan express fee." Speaking of this, Zhao Hong became even more angry, "I said that I need to get the goods in time, but the other party directly said that you can return the goods and we will compensate you for the 12 yuan express fee. You have no loss."
Regarding the "magic logic" of such a service, Zhao Hong called it "wonderful", but Zhao Hong also said, "I really don't know how much compensation I should ask the express company to compensate. After all, I didn't return the goods. I received the goods in the end, but it took too long." ".
In this regard, Rao Wei, senior partner of Beijing Tianchi Juntai Law Firm and deputy director of the Consumer Rights Committee of the Beijing Lawyers Association, pointed out that the express delivery company promised to "not close during the Spring Festival" and that the express delivery was not affected by force majeure factors during the journey. If the business is suspended, it will be a breach of the contract with the user.
In this case, we should separately look at whether the behavior of "the express company only pays the freight for that time" is reasonable.
"If before the user places an express delivery order, the express company has already highlighted the relevant terms in the user interface with eye-catching signs, such as 'compensation for express delivery delays is to waive the freight for that time', then this kind of compensation is recognized at the legal level. ." Rao Wei said, otherwise it would be unreasonable.
Hu Xiaoli told reporters that in practice, consumers still have difficulties in safeguarding their rights, especially in proving losses.
It is often difficult for consumers to prove their actual losses and how much they have lost due to delayed delivery.
Even if there is actual loss, the courier company will not be able to obtain compensation because of the exemption clause in the contract.
"In fact, almost all express delivery companies will set up similar waybill terms that exempt themselves from responsibility. Consumers cannot modify the terms and can only accept them if they want to enjoy the service. From a practical perspective, consumers can only accept particularly urgent and important express items. Take measures such as price guarantee, or choose dedicated services such as flash delivery.”
Zhao Hong has "deep understanding", and during the "extreme push" with the customer service, the other party said that "'No closing during the Spring Festival' has regional restrictions", "but I didn't see the express company saying which areas are not applicable."
So, how can express delivery companies do a good job of "not closing during the Spring Festival" so that express delivery is no longer burdened with the "last mile"?
Rao Wei believes that express delivery companies should assume relevant responsibilities, make adequate plans before the Spring Festival, and equip corresponding service forces during the Spring Festival holiday, including sufficient manpower, material resources, and transportation capacity, so as to alleviate the pressure of the Spring Festival distribution peak as much as possible.
In Hu Xiaoli's view, since the express delivery company has made a publicity of "not closing during the Spring Festival", they have an obligation to promote the realization of this promise.
Express delivery companies should be more cautious before making publicity, and should ensure that they are indeed capable of delivering during the Spring Festival holiday before promising to "not close during the Spring Festival" to avoid false propaganda that may trigger administrative and civil liability and also affect their business reputation.
Especially for franchise companies, they should communicate well with franchisees, make franchisees and couriers willing to work during the Spring Festival holiday through financial subsidies and other forms, and make sufficient preparations before promoting.
"On the other hand, administrative agencies should also play a more active role, take measures against companies that do constitute false advertising and false propaganda, dare to show their swords, stop illegal activities in a timely manner and impose penalties accordingly." Hu Xiaoli said.