In need of help/advice

[foxena.livejournal.com]

This is more of a premtive move on my part just in case something happens with this person later.

Its also me needing advice. I have offered to issue a refund but have not yet gotten a response.

This isnt a beware yet.

Several months ago I was commissioned by someone who shall remain anonymous, for now. I was doing an open stream card commission and he purchased a $10 ink with a $2 tip of a naked Ferret girl. I completed the card as he watched and it took me a week or so to mail it out. I honestly just wanted to wash my hands of him because the whole transaction had been borderline creepy and the guy seemed to treat women as objects  which, me being a girl, tends to rub me the wrong way.

So I sent it out, doing my ABSOLUTE BEST to write down his adress on the envelope. It was in french and absolutely full of accents and special characters. And sent it off with two other international orders.  Well I kept tabs on the other two internationals because I tend to befriend a GOOD amount of people out of country. One of which was a good friend and it took him over a month to get his cards, when they finally arrived I could breath a sigh of releif. So I assumed all had gone as planned and I completely forgot about the creepy guy.

Untill a week ago when he noted me on FA asking if I had sent out his card. Not remembering who he was, because I have done ALOT of cards between when i started and now I asked him to describe it. when he did I informed him I had indeed sent it and that if it hadn't arrived to check his local post office. I know in some international shipments that they hold things at the post for people to pick up, happens with my briton boyfriend all the time. I thought this was a reasonable thing to say as I know it happens fairly often and something may have just fallen through the cracks.

The response I got was... well.. a tad rude. (i cant say i didnt respond any better but alas it was 3am and I was in a less than accomodating mood.)

My first response when he told me he didnt receive it:



His reply:



which incited this reply from me.


I tried to remain professional, I did. But I was a little ticked off at the idea he implyed I was trying to scam him.

I havent yet gotten a reply but I'd really like to know what to do so this doesn't happen in the future.

I also have this sneaking suspicion he's trying to get something for nothing but seeing as I cant prove he didnt get the card I'm up a creek. Its only $10 but this is quite literally MONTHS after the fact I would have thought he'd have brought this up alot sooner.
EDIT: I have spoken to him and implored him to check his local post office. He's currently working in Paris and his mother is still at his old adress so hes going to ask her to check. More updates when I know more.

On another note we resolved the rudeness issue on both our parts, I apologised for my reaction to his reply and he inturn apologised for his bluntness. So I can at least account for the issue with the customer to be resolved, the shipping issue is still pending though.

Comments

[chrdoesscience.livejournal.com]

You could make it policy to use a tracking number for international (or all) orders. Alternatively, you could offer your commissioners to buy tracking numbers; and explicitly say that, if they refuse to pay for one and their order is lost, you will not refund or replace it. That will absolve you of any responsibility of lost post. (It's not really your responsibility once it leaves your hands, anyway, but post can be a lose-lose situation.)

I tend to agree that this guy was trying to get something for free, He was really jumping the gun there to accuse you of not mailing it, especially because he watched you draw it and knew for certain it was completed.

[starcharmer.livejournal.com]

When I shipped a package to Canada recently [last Saturday] I tried to put a tracking number on it and was told I couldn't do international tracking.

[ichi-black.livejournal.com]

If you shipped through USPS than no, they don't track anything outside of the US :\

[antoj.livejournal.com]

yes they can. with registered post.

[wolf-goat.livejournal.com]

You definitely can get international tracking, a bunch of my online orders shipped USPS have it. This is to UK/NL.

[antoj.livejournal.com]

ask for registered post. it costs $11.50 internationally but it adds a tracking. they *can* do it, and especially to Canada. whoever told you that didn't know their stuff or didn't want to deal with the registered postal paperwork. :\

[starcharmer.livejournal.com]

Will do that next time. The cost to ship the package was $9.66 in the first place [for first class] and I wouldn't have minded paying a couple dollars extra to have it registered/tracked.

I wasn't too impressed with the guy in the first place, though...I asked if I could use a spindle of tape to tape my envelopes closed as I couldn't find my tape at home and he told me I had to buy a $3.50 roll of box tape...I mean, if I was gonna use a TON of tape, I'd get it, but...ugh.

[antoj.livejournal.com]

yea... he could have just been doing that because he didn't wanna deal with it. so many postal workers are so crabby (but working there i can...kind of understand why sometimes. :c the crap we get from people sometimes.....ehhhh. i am still super nice to everyone i help tho, even though ive been called worthless and other such things for stuff out of my control~ lalala)

also idk if its the same for all postal units but we have to purchase our own tape...and so so SO many customers ask for a bit of tape, and whenever i hand off the tape gun they accidentally 90 feet of it in giant balls bcuz they dunno how to use it. we have a little coin bin to buy tape for people but most people that use our supplies don't put anything in it.... i still tape people's stuff for them if they request it though, without being a jerk...even though we sell tape also. XD;

[starcharmer.livejournal.com]

Yeah I was asking for scotch tape, not a tape gun. :P

[antoj.livejournal.com]

...in that case he shouldn't have said anything. I give that stuff out for free for customers...XD

[starcharmer.livejournal.com]

Don't get me wrong, I've had awesome mail people at post offices before; when I used to live in a really small town, the same mail guy was always working when I'd go there and he finally asked what I was mailing. When I told him, he commissioned me for a tattoo design and then showed me his new arm tatt the next time I went there!

This dude just really wasn't friendly and it's the only post office in town that's open on Saturday [only til noon] so I can't imagine he was thrilled or wanting to do a bunch of work, anyway. It was already 11am when I left there.

[loregryph.livejournal.com]

I don't know if you have to fill out the same paperwork for small packages/envelopes, but on larger parcels shipped through USPS you have to fill out a "Customs Declaration and Dispatch Note", which has basic tracking attached to it that is kind of like Delivery Confirmation. Online, it'll tell you if it's been delivered but more detailed info is stored offline (at least according to the little message that pops up with it when I check).

[starcharmer.livejournal.com]

I have had to fill out customs forms every time I've mailed anything internationally and I've never heard of them tracking it.

The whole reason I wanted tracking on that package was so my friend could track it on its route to him.

[loregryph.livejournal.com]

I didn't know that at least some of the Customs forms came with limited tracking until I actually asked if there was any way to track international shipments. If there's a barcode on the Customs form you fill out, there should be a number underneath it and that should be able to be plugged into the tracking system. I don't know how detailed the offline info is - I didn't need to use it, as all I needed to know was when the package arrived at its destination.

[starcharmer.livejournal.com]

Yeah I guess it does do limited tracking. There's no bar code at all but I punched in the number that's on it and got this:

Your item was processed through our OPA LOCKA, FL 33054 facility on September 11, 2011 at 10:30 pm. Information, if available, is updated periodically throughout the day. Please check again later.

It was mailed on the 10th, so...yeah.

[chrdoesscience.livejournal.com]

That is really bizarre. I live in Canada and my partner lives in the US, and we have both sent packages to each other with tracking numbers. Maybe you should try a different courier.