Bump In the Road

All our Disney plans are going full steam ahead...we got all our packing done, have all the items we will be taking in our carry on's in one spot....Passports are ready, books and journal are revved up and ready to go...and then we hit a bump.

I called my travel agent 3 weeks ago and asked her when would we have our travel documents. She assured us that we would have it 2 weeks prior to departure. Great! So I only had one more week to go before I had the ever important papers in my hot little hands!

The two week mark arrives....I wait patiently all day and NADA. At 3pm I decide I can't wait any longer and decide to call Celeste. Her cheerful voice answers the phone and she tells me that she received the documents the day before but since she was swamped she didn't anticipate having the package ready to go by the time the courier picked up that afternoon. No worries. If it was mailed the next day then I would more than likely have it by Monday at the latest.

Monday arrives, and I am anxiously awaiting the delivery. By 3:30pm I am getting anxious. So I decide to give Celeste a call. We exchanged friendly pleasantries and then I ask when should I be expecting to recieve the package. She reponds that it has not been shipped yet.

WHAT?!?! Not shipped yet? Did you not say that you had the package on Wednesday? You mean the documents were sitting on your desk all day Thursday, Friday, and the whole weekend and all day Monday? A whole 5 days? While I am pacing my family room, looking out the window and having my heart swell everytime a delivery truck would slow down in front of my house...to then have my bubble bursted whenever they would speed up and drive away??? (Of course I didn't say this, but I wanted to, believe me!)

And then the dam burst! Celeste then tells me that she would be mailing out that evening via DHL Ground delivery. She anticipates this would take 3-5 business days.

WHAT?!?! I explain to her that I was under the assumption that she was doing overnight delivery. Which she responds with no, that is expensive. Then I explain that 3-5 days is pushing it. Considering that on some occasions DHL has a hard time deliverying my packages because of a street name change several years ago that confuses most drivers. "Oh, you have more than enough time to get it." was her response.

My faith in my trusty travel agent were crushed. Our first experience 2 years ago was a wonderful one. But this time around I am extremely disappointed by the lack of consideration on her part. She had firmly stated that I would get my documents 2 weeks prior to departure. I do understand that certain times of year are more busy than others. But when your customer calls at the 2 week mark and you state that you have their documents and that you can not mail them that day, do your best to mail them the following morning. Not hold on to them for 5 days. And granted, say you were really busy and couldn't get around to it. I think that warrants an express delivery when the customers trip is fast approaching.

I like having all my things in order with time to spare. Causing undue stress is not the way to make a lasting relationship with your customers.

Here I sit looking our the front door waiting not so patiently for the DHL courier to arrive....