Deliveries - why does life have to be so hard.....

I'll start this little rant at the beginning.

I've just taken on a new contract at the local abattoir (glamorous life ain't it?), and when I tried to service their ancient fly control units found that two out of three were not working. I picked up the phone and ordered two replacements for the customer.

Now to the uninitiated, one fly unit is much the same as another. Not to the pro. I will only sell the best quality units I can, and decided to look up an old supplier who made what I've always considered to be the best units money can buy.

There begins the problem. The company in question has recently been bought out buy another (less good) manufacturer. Always willing to give folks the benefit of the doubt, I thought I'd give them the order anyway.

I rang on Wednesday, ordered the units I needed, and paid for them and 24 hour carriage with a flexible friend. Thursday comes, and no sign of a delivery. I phoned them up, to be told that they hadn't been dispatched because my order came in too late (2pm). "Why didn't someone ring me and tell me that?" I asked. "They tried but there was no answer". That was a blatant LIE. How do I know? Simple; I have something called call diversion on the phone, which means that the calls go through to my mobile. At no point on Wednesday was I not contactable.

I let rip a bit, and was told that my order would be dispatched free of charge that day, for delivery before 10am on Friday.

It's now 1pm as I write this, and guess what? No deliveries.

I phoned them at 10.30am, "We'll find out and call you back" the chap says.

I phoned them again at 11.30am "We are waiting for the depot to get back to us" he says.

Now I have a problem. When the MHS vet arrives on Monday, he'll read my report which clearly states that the fly control units are not working, and they will not be allowed to work. That leaves me looking pretty silly.

So, for anyone else who has suffered at the hands of City Link, I sympathise.