I have been a member of snapdeal from the last 4 years since its inception. I am writing now to bring to your notice that your courier service is its Achilles heel . GATI would be bringing down the brand value of snapdeal tremendously and result in cancellation of many confirmed orders due to their last mile delivery failures.
Here is an account of my experience of ordering a washing machine from SnapDeal
1)Placed an order for a washing machine on 24th Oct 2014
2)The order was specified at the tracking page to be delivered by 3rd Nov 2014
3)On tracking the docket number on GATI site, it was noticed that the product is being shipped from Noida and has reached a warehouse(KR Puram) on 4th Nov 2014 . Please note this warehouse is 5 Kms from the delivery address. The delivery address is a prominent locality with easy of location and has been serviced earlier by multiple courier companies.
4)The snapdeal order tracking page has updated the delivery date to 10th Nov 2014
5)On 7th Nov 2014, I raise a complaint to snapdeal(Request No 11523448) asking for the status of the shipment . Snapdeal customer service provides me the GATI head office number.
6)On 10th Nov 2014, I call up GATI head office and raise a complaint. I am assured the delivery would happen on the same day.
7)On 10th Nov 2014, a driver from the courier services contacts me and obtains the direction to my delivery address. He arrives at the gate at 1PM . But then he states that he would be unable to unload the item as the truck has other items in front of it which are heavy and he promises to return once he delivers those items.(Driver ph number: 8123-219223)
8)I contact the driver at 4PM and check on the status and why he has not returned back to my address to provide the item. He specifies he is stuck at another location due to some payment issue with another customer.
9)I contact him again at 6PM and he states he cannot make the delivery today and would be returning the item to the warehouse for delivery the next day.
10)The next day when I don’t receive the item, I raise another complaint with the GATI head office(Complaint no: 12249171)
11)GATI head office informs me that the local courier boys have returned the item to the warehouse stating the customer has returned the item and hence they have sent it back to their returning bay in another remote location.(The courier boys lied as they did not deliver the item). GATI did not even try contacting me to confirm if the item was returned. Attached is the GATI docket tracking site where it was updated as ADDRESS NOT FOUND instead of the actual issue.
12)Snapdeal order page meanwhile updates the estimated delivery date to 15th Nov 2014
13)I contact snapdeal customer care to explain the issue and specified to cancel the order if they are unable to deliver. Snapdeal promptly updated the status to Returned.
This was a really unpleasant experience as I had paid upfront on placing the order through net banking. The following are what I lose in this whole transaction.
1)I lost my confidence in Snapdeal and now believe that they have no command on the courier service GATI .
2)I lost the bank interest on the amount for the period since the payment was made(24 Oct 2014) until I receive the refund.
3)The washing machine which was expected during the Diwali weekend, now I need to purchase from another retailer / site after waiting for it since last 3 weeks.
Snapdeal obtaining new customer through advertising and offers would bear fruit only if the courier service would be honest and deliver the item on time. If majority of the confirmed high value orders results in cancellation to the reason as above, then it is a lost sale and a lost loyal customer. Above all a tarnished brand value.
My advise - Always choose COD if you are shopping on SnapDeal - Never pay in advance