Days 69 and 70 (Turkey): Ankara (how can DPD f@#$ up so bad???)

I will leave the fancy daily km marking out today … it’s kind of annoying given that I am not pedaling any km. Day 69 is quickly told … not much going really. I am waiting for my package and am hopeful that it arrives tomorrow.

Day 70: there is some hope that things are looking better today. It’s been a few days and the projected delivery day is today. Or so I thought. Here is what a personal disaster looks like when it happens (in the grand scheme of things this is of course meaningless, but let me at least have some glimmer of hope that this may be important). I am poking around the web and get a message from Dieter. I had emailed him indicating that the tracking number search came up empty. He was going to check.

Then this message from Dieter: “Markus, the package has just been returned by DPD [a rather reputable German logistics company], no comments attached! We are speechless - are checking into things!” I can only imagine what the scene must have been like for Dieter and Dirk at the store. Speechless, wide-open yes. They had been getting things ready at a snap, had called every carrier to make sure that they chose the best option. DPD had promised to deliver things by Monday, if not by Tuesday at the latest.

What happened was that the package never left Germany at all. [UPS and DHL didn’t provider faster service and charged a much, much higher rate - say EUR 350-450; for that price I can fly to Germany myself; let me say it strikes me as unreasonable]. So, the package was back. I called DPD and tried to find out what happened. They said they didn’t know the number they had provided. Argh … this is bad stuff, major blunder as far as I am concerned. The full story follows in brackets, skip to the next paragraph if you’re pressed for time.

[So, I get a very friendly dispatcher on the phone and try to find out what went wrong. He promises to get on the case and asks that Speedzone give him a call so he can get to work. As it turns out, DPD subcontracts to companies which serve as drop-off points. Withing the world of DPD, these subcontractors don’t have the status of companies, but are slotted as private individuals. Apparently - here is what I don’t understand - private individuals can not send a package to Turkey. According to the friendly dispatcher (this is not meant ironically) the Turkish company they are partnering up with wouldn’t accept it. My point: how does the Turkish company know. It’s not like the subcontractor has a plane and flies the package to Turkey. They hand it off to DPD right there and then. And if it is indeed the case that their drop-off points are private individuals for their accounts, why doesn’t the software reflect that and flash a huge warning sign? And why do Dieter and Dirk get a positive answer from the DPD phone representative to start with?]

While Dieter and Dirk figure out the alternatives, Haluk and I hit up the local bike store scene. I take my old wheel with me (it has to go anyway) and we eventually find the good people at Delta Bisiklet. The bike store is a really good one - except that they don’t have a rim for my purposes. That’s too bad. We get the cassette of though and clip the spokes, we also saw the damaged part out of the rim. I am still fuming somewhat at this point at DPD - how can you get things so wrong? Things are better though after the visit at the bike store. Cann (pronounce Jann - J as in Janice), the store owner is extremely knowledgeable and I also meet a guy who I thought works there, but turns out to be one of the best downhill bikers in Turkey (so he says). The interesting thing is that as we take my wheel apart, he asks whether he can use the spokes and the rim tape. It’s a yes, of course, but it does show that I’m a boy used to luxury (and for that matter we all are - I haven’t seen anyone in Germany reuse rim tape). He does say that he will dedicate his next win to the parts he now has on his bike. Thanks!!!

When I get back, Dieter has spoken to DPD again - they first refused to take the package again claiming that they can’t. Eventually they find a way and promise to get it here ASAP. Keep your fingers crossed … and I am taking bets for how long it takes. So, tell me what you think!!! A massive thank you to Dieter and Dirk for going through all the hassle and to Mr. Sch. at DPD for making things work in the end (well, that thank you will fully go out when the package makes it here).

The evening winds down with a walk around the area (where I took the picture below and this will mean something to only a few, though one person should be getting back with me about it) and some good food. It’s made better by some emails I receive and some instant messaging that makes the day.