Fastway - Price Changes 9th December

[Dalby]

I have had good tracking experience with AusPost recently.
GrahamK

Straight after reading that I got an email from AusPost about a small parcel posted this morning in Darwin. Expected date of delivery: Wednesday 18th. 8 days from Darwin to Sydney? I get parcels from Amazon US quicker than that (usually no more than 5 days from ordering).

[GrahamK]

AusPost and other Aussie couriers have a long way to go.

I have had good tracking experience with AusPost recently. They texted on the delivery day for parcels that need signing and you can reply with whether you are going (2) to be home or not (3), so they don't waste your time or theirs.

Presume it all depends on your locality and the local crew etc.

GrahamK

[Caffeinator]

AusPost and other Aussie couriers have a long way to go.

Agreed in general. The problem is that people demand A1 service and yet are only prepared to pay- as little as humanly possible...

https://youtu.be/T5spEd4nzh4 offers some food for thought....

[Dalby]

.... Improving their communication would keep me happy.

GrahamK

Tracking by USPS, FedEx, DHL etc is fantastic. You can see follow every step of the way. AusPost and other Aussie couriers have a long way to go.

[GrahamK]

Must admit, I just had a delivery issue with Fastway myself. A parcel eventually turned up a day or so after I queried it with them directly following a no show 3 days after their original provided date. I don't mind delays so much, especially this time of year, but when you are required to sign, it would be good if they just let you know, otherwise you end up not going out anywhere for days "in case" it turns up. Improving their communication would keep me happy.

GrahamK

[herzog]

Fastway has been for me very hit and miss, mostly miss.

I’m not sure the franchise model works for a national courier service.

[Caffeinator]

FWIW, I reckon it comes down to your local bloke and how good/motivated/busy he might be- regardless of whose brand he works under. My CP guy- totally useless. Fastway is great as are TNT and Hunter. Elsewhere, the exact opposite might well be the case.

All too easy to forget that the local franchisee (or employed driver) is usually a lowly paid slave working for a big brand and doing a job most Aussies are not prepared to do.

[Dalby]

Ouch. A bit harsh and a big generalisation to paint a whole company with the same tar brush.
...and finding people on Whingepool whinging really isn't that difficult.

I'm definitely not alone in my opinion and it's not just Whirlpool

https://www.productreview.com.au/listings/fastway

The company's new name is Aramex which sounds a bit like a med you hate taking every morning.

[Lukemc]

The Ballarat crew are from what I can gather owned and operated by the Geelong team.

As they don’t pickup in my “rural” location I’ve been given access to their warehouse to drop off parcels whenever suits me and They scan them in when they are in next.

Can’t complain too much about their service for the price they charge.

[Dimal]

Our local (Toowoomba) Fastway ownership changed hands recently and the new guy is still finding his way around the traps.
Has been nothing but helpful when we've had a need to contact him...

Mal.

[Andy]

The worst, most unreliable courier company in Australia in my experience and that of Amazon customers on WhirlPool. No wonder they're changing their name.

Ouch. A bit harsh and a big generalisation to paint a whole company with the same tar brush.
...and finding people on Whingepool whinging really isn't that difficult.

It doesn't appear that you have ever had a bad Fastway delivery from us, and besides, you get other freight options at the checkout so if you don't like them you can select a different method.

I'm sure there are cases, however, where there are more reliable people running the operation at each end.

Sure are, I got a phone call Saturday from our local guy who says "are you are work today? I've got something for you" -- he doesn't work Saturdays but had to go in the warehouse and noticed a parcel for us. He was willing to cross town to drop it off.

If you get to know the local driver and he's a franchise owner (not an employee) you would be amazed at how good they can be. Try and get a mobile phone number from your local postie or post office!

Our local guy has even put us on the end of his run (as the very last pickup) so that CS'rs in Perth have more of a chance of late (timezone) orders moving a day earlier than they should.

...and at $20 for 17.5kg to Perth is amazing value for the long haul.

Fastway have their place, around 35% of CS freight is done through them and for the most part they do what they say they will.

Although, this time of year every freight company is groaning under the online-shopping load and a lot of items are taking a few days longer to arrive than they should.

[Barry O'Speedwagon]

The worst, most unreliable courier company in Australia in my experience and that of Amazon customers on WhirlPool. No wonder they're changing their name.

Yup, largely due to the integrity of the local franchisee at either end of the job. About 5 years ago I purchased a media player from a firm in Sydney who used Fastway because they reckon that they could get full insurance on the deliveries. I had not one, but two, media players go 'missing' between being put on the van in the Canberra depot and reaching my house. I even spoke on the phone to one driver who assured me that 'it is definitely in my van, I am touching it now'. Then.....disappears. On the third attempt I received the goods ordered, but only after explaining to the franchisee that I would contact the police if another one went west in the same circumstances. I'm sure there are cases, however, where there are more reliable people running the operation at each end.

[Dalby]

The worst, most unreliable courier company in Australia in my experience and that of Amazon customers on WhirlPool. No wonder they're changing their name.

[Andy]

Fastway have just changed their pricing, the email I received said:

As a result of market pressures on our operational costs, we have now taken the step to increase pricing on our labels and satchels, effective from 9th December 2019. We understand the impact this has on your business and have endeavoured to distribute the increase across our range of products.

Gotta love that corporate spin that's meant to make us all feel better because they understand!



Satchels have gone up cents...

A4 Satchel +$0.20
A3 Satchel +$0.30
A2 Satchel +$0.15

The most common stickers have gone up a little more...

Blue +$0.75
Yellow +$2.00
Pink +$2.55
Lime +$0.20

Other stickers have actually dropped in price (odd but I guess it's correct!)

Red -$2.20
Orange -$2.45
Green -$4.00
White -$8.30
Grey -$21.65

Excess labels (one per each 5kg) have gone down on red, orange, green, white and grey cartons.

Excess -$0.50


Flat Rate cartons have gone up ten cents

Medium Flat Rate +$0.10
Large Flat Rate +$0.10

All these prices increases are ex-GST so expect 10% more at the checkout.

As you can see from the above changes, no human could ever know "how much to ship to postcode 1234?", luckily BeanBay calculates live freight prices in the checkout to your area, freight companies are a moving target so always worth checking your usual selection to see who's the best value / speed trade-off at the time of ordering.

Oh, and yes, we understand your pain.