TNT, Dutch’s postal service, not the explosives, is one of the world’s largest companies. With over 163’000 employees and revenues exceeding $11bn, it is truly a global enterprise. It’s express division is among DHL, FedEx and UPS one of the world’s most trusted couriers. Yet, believe it or not, I am hugely unsatisfied with its delivery service within the Netherlands. For starters, a priority letter from Switzerland, which should arrive within approximately three weekdays still hasn’t appeared in my mailbox for nearly three weeks. My first bad experience I got when I ordered some language books from Amazon. I hadn’t received the package after about three weeks so I sent an inquiry to Amazon, which promptly returned the tracking code. According to TNT, however, the package has been delivered. Weird, I reckoned, since I had never held that package in my hands. My closest postal office said that they were not responsible for my zip code and referred me to another office, which wasn’t responsible either. I complained at TNT’s hotline (costing 10 cents per minute) where I was told that they start an inquiry and will get back to me. Never heard from them since. Amazon nicely offered to send me a replacement package instead. On a Saturday morning I was tracking the package and saw that ‘the driver was on his way’. Cool, I thought, finally my package is going to arrive. Two hours passed but still no ringing. Hmm, let’s check again, I guessed. Well, I guessed wrong, the package had been delivered. I ran down to check whether the postman just dumped the books at the front door. Nothing. I grabbed the phone and opened a second complaint at TNT’s customer service (you’re thinking correctly, I haven’t heard from them since either). Two months passed and as I was thinking well screw the books I’m not going to order them again, imagine what I’ve found in my mailbox. A package, totally wrecked and torn apart, and my books (the package probably didn’t fit in the slot so the postman opened it). Still, the other package is gone forever. Meanwhile, I also found out where my post office is. It is in a grandma’s store around the corner, where an old Indian couple operates a TNT corner to earn some extra euros. I hope that my problems won’t exacerbate. If you don’t hear from me again they probably dumped some explosives in my mailbox.
Posts Tagged ‘Rotterdam’
An Explosive Experience
Thursday, February 18th, 2010The Shell and the Bull
Sunday, January 17th, 2010Although 2010 is, according to The Economist, expected to be the hottest year since climate measurements began, Rotterdam was not spared heavy snowfalls. Many parts of the Netherlands were covered in white, causing the train system to break down at some point. Luckily, I was able to spend the hardest time in other parts of Europe; now the temperatures are rising again.
When the weather barely reaches zero degree for days, the dikes in Rotterdam freeze. This is probably the most enjoyable time for Dutch families since children run on the ice where usually ducks take a swim. Also, school children would try to break the ice by throwing nearby stones on the ice, causing a hassle for construction workers since these stones were to be used for fixing the sidewalk. Some kids nevertheless play too much and would get wet feet (the ice sometimes does break).
For bikers this time of the year is the most uncomfortable and dangerous one. Slippery roads turn curving into tricky actions, where talent sometimes does not prevent a fall. Before Christmas I was able to enjoy a nasty fall due to an icy curve. A few minutes later I nearly fell again but this time it was because a biker in front of me lost her balance (breaking on snow usually doesn’t work that well). But as I’m writing this post, the sun is melting the last icy remains and the roads will, hopefully, be save again.
During Christmas, apart from spending a few very nice days in Italy (posts will follow), I received a nice gift, a bottle of red wine of the winery ‘Concha y Toro’ (the shell and the bull, if my translation is accurate). This Chilean wine was served for our annual family Christmas brunch; this year it was ‘fondue chinoise’, a meal where different types of meat are boiled in a hot soup on the table, served with vegetables and different types of sauces. As I returned to Rotterdam I found, to my surprise, two ‘Concha y Toro’ wines on my wine rack. Although it is not the premium edition like the present I received, the ‘Casillero del Diablo’ nevertheless is a good table wine. However, when drinking the wine with your partner be careful not to end up in devil’s rack…