Company news
Digitec Galaxus has moved its order deadline back to 9 p.m.
by Tobias Heller
Here’s why we’re continuing to work with Planzer – despite strong opinions from some customers
13.3.2024
Translation: Eva Francis
Choosing the right shipping partners is essential for an online shop. Yes, partners, plural. We’re continuing to work with Planzer, despite harsh criticism from some customers.
When we announced we’d be working with transport company Planzer, some customers already voiced criticism. Ever since, we’ve been seeing a lot of angry comments from customers, with delivery delays and careless handling criticised most often. Customers report Planzer depositing parcels on their doorstep without ringing the doorbell or even leaving them out in the rain.
Here’s just one example of an angry customer comment:
Although I was at home and waiting for my parcel, Planzer didn’t ring the doorbell. The parcel was just deposited on the letterboxes right next to the main road. I got the delivery confirmation e-mail 15 minutes later. By then, the parcel had already disappeared.
You’ll find more comments and complaints in the forum discussions.
Choosing Swiss Post as your preferred shipping service
Of course we want our customers to be happy – and reliable delivery times as well as quality is a large part of that.
Shipping problems are bad for Digitec Galaxus and our customers. That’s why we’re offering our customers the option to choose Swiss Post as their preferred shipping service if they like.
However, «preferred» doesn’t mean orders will be delivered exclusively by Swiss Post. For marketplace orders, direct deliveries, in some special cases and in the event of a short-term cancellation or supplier capacity limits, Planzer or another supplier might still have to step in. On top, choosing Swiss Post as your preferred shipping service may lead to a higher chance of delivery delays, as we have fewer optimisation options. However, this new option should, as a rule, mean customers’ preferences and delivery deadlines are met.
Source: Screenshot Galaxus
We’re continuing to work with Planzer
On average, between 10 and 25 per cent of all our orders are shipped by Planzer. In addition, Planzer handles orders placed between 7 and 9 p.m.
The company delivers bulky goods such as TVs, screens and furniture. This has allowed us to move our order deadline back by two hours. Clear advantages for our customers and reasons for us to keep working with Planzer.
Customers are more forgiving with Swiss Post
What’s interesting is that customer satisfaction for parcel deliveries is 91 per cent for Swiss Post and 87 per cent for Planzer. In other words, there’s no large difference in the numbers. When it comes to delivery date adherence, there’s not much difference between the two shipping companies either, with 97% for Swiss Post and 96% for Planzer.
Nevertheless, many customers are much more vocal in their criticism of Planzer. Planzer deliveries are subject to some complaints that aren’t made when Swiss Post makes the same mistake. That’s reality, but it’s not fair.
Several shipping partners are better than one
It should be obvious that it’s better for us as an online shop, as well as for the economy as a whole, if there are several providers instead of a monopoly. Competition stimulates the market and leads to more innovations and ultimately to better prices. A monopoly, however, for example one held by Swiss Post, would probably result in higher prices for customers.
Therefore, we’d like to see Planzer given a fair chance. The company’s managed to achieve good service quality in a very short space of time and is constantly improving.
This is particularly remarkable, because it takes courage to tackle the parcel delivery business – especially given the market situation. After all, Swiss Post has benefited from the regulatory advantages of the letter delivery monopoly as well as from exceptions to night-time driving bans. For any company to establish itself in this market is an impressive achievement.
As I can confirm from our conversations, Planzer is using the negative criticism as an opportunity to continuously develop and improve the quality of its own services. We’re convinced that we can provide an equally high quality of delivery with both service providers.
The traditional company Planzer has secured jobs
The takeover of Quickpac and Quickmail at the beginning of February (link in German) also shows that Planzer deserves a fair chance. The acquisition saved 3,600 jobs. The Competition Commission (COMCO) prohibited Swiss Post from taking over Quickpac and Quickmail – an indication that COMCO, and therefore Switzerland, also has a legitimate interest in promoting healthy competition in the parcel delivery market.
Planzer is a traditional Swiss company that was founded in 1936, is still in full ownership of the Planzer family and employs over 5,600 people. Of these, 350 are apprentices i.e. young people working on building a career for themselves.
Planzer is improving and deserves a chance
Digitec Galaxus understands the frustration of some customers and takes it seriously. However, we’d like to see more constructive criticism and fairer treatment of Planzer. According to our satisfaction survey, the quality of their service is already at a similar level to Swiss Post and is steadily improving. We’re in close collaboration with Planzer and working on continuously improving the processes.
Header image: Planzer
Oliver Herren
Chief Innovation Officer
Oliver.Herren@digitecgalaxus.chCool: Creating interfaces between the real world and the world of pure information. Not cool: Driving by car to the mall to shop. My life happens online, the information age is where I feel at home.
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