When it absolutely, positively has to be there in a week or so

I love Israel. I love the land, the food, the people, and almost everything else about Israel. One of the few things I don’t love is that, sometimes, the customer service provided by companies and government agencies is reminiscent of the old Soviet Union. That doesn’t mean that we haven’t had lots of great customer service here. In fact, lots of people have been very courteous and helpful. It’s just that, every now and then, we’re surprised by the horrible customer service we receive. Here’s one example which starts while we’re still home in Colorado packing up.

Late January: I realize a few days before we are set to leave on our trip that my Schwab Bank debit card is going to expire at the end of March. I call up Schwab and the customer representative tells me not to worry. All I have to do is mail Schwab a letter with my address in Israel. I write the letter and get it out right away.

Early February: No debit card or word from Schwab so I send an e-mail. A few days later I hear back that the bank has no record of my letter. I call Schwab from Israel and get a helpful customer representative. She urges me to fax my letter to her. I can’t imagine where I’ll find a fax machine so I mail a new copy of the letter directly to her.

Late February: The letter still hasn’t shown up at Schwab even though packages I mailed much later have already arrived. I decide to go the fax route. I ask an Israeli friend to fax it from work and he lets me know that he can.

Thursday, March 3rd: My Israeli friend sends out the fax. My new friend at Schwab calls me several times on my cell phone to let me know she got the fax and she’s taking care of the situation. Within a few days she sends out the new debit cards to me via FedEx. She also lets me know that my letter mailed from Israel finally showed up a few weeks after I mailed it.

Tuesday, March 8th: My Schwab rep sends me an e-mail with my FedEx tracking number. Estimated delivery is on March 10th. It’s not clear to me how FedEx is actually going to deliver the package to my house. Our neighborhood here isn’t like the US, where there are named streets laid out in a grid and houses are clearly marked with numbers. Instead, our neighborhood consists of alleys and a few unnamed lanes for cars to gain access. I don’t ask about this, though. I figure FedEx must know what it’s doing.

Thursday, March 10th: I check the status of my shipment on the FedEx web site. It’s on the truck for delivery. I tape a note to the door asking the delivery person to leave the package at the door (see picture below). By late that afternoon, no delivery is in sight. I don’t even get a door tag telling me that a delivery was attempted. I get on FedEx’s web site and send an e-mail message asking for help in arranging for delivery. Lynn and I talk to the neighbors. They tell us that in order to get a FedEx delivery, you have to get on the phone with the driver and explain how to find your house.



Sunday, March 13th: I had to wait for Shabbat to be over for the FedEx tracking web site to be updated. It tells me that my package wasn’t delivered because “Customer not available or business closed.” No response to my email, so I get on the phone to FedEx. After talking to several customer representatives I get transferred to FedEx International. The representative tells me not to worry, takes my Israeli cell phone number, and tells me that the FedEx Israel folks will give me a call. I wait. Still, there’s no delivery, door tag, or phone call. Today’s excuse: “Incorrect address.” How could I have not been home yesterday at an address that doesn’t exist today? I’m concerned that the FedEx driver isn’t even attempting to deliver the package, and is just filing arbitrary exception reports. I expect that tomorrow the same thing will happen, and then, FedEx will send my package back to the US. The gulf between the customer service FedEx is famous for in the US, and what it provides here, is mind boggling.

Monday, March 14th: In the morning, I call FedEx International again. Again, the representative tells me that my package is on the truck for delivery. She’s quite apologetic. She takes both my phone number and e-mail address and tells me I will hear from someone. By the end of the day, no delivery, no door tag, no phone call, and no e-mail. The reason for today’s non-delivery: “Customer not available or business closed.” Apparently, I’m out of delivery attempts. I finally get a response to my e-mail message to FedEx from four days ago. It’s an automated message telling me that FedEx US can’t help and advises me to send an e-mail message to FedEx Israel. I do. I get a prompt reply! It reads: “Maximum hop count exceeded. Message probably in a routing loop. Maximum hop count exceeded. Message probably in a routing loop.”

Tuesday, March 15th: I go through my usual morning routine. First I check the FedEx tracking web site. Although I thought I was out of delivery attempts, my package has been loaded on the truck for delivery yet again. The e-mail from FedEx yesterday also included a phone number for FedEx Israel. I call it. I get a guy who tells me that the driver couldn’t deliver the package because he couldn’t find my house. I ask why he didn’t call my cell phone and the guy on the phone tells me he couldn’t because he didn’t have my cell phone number. I don’t mention how many times I have given my cell phone number to FedEx International. I give my cell phone number yet again. The customer rep says that the driver will call between 12 and 3 today. I have my doubts, but I’m cautiously optimistic.

At about 1:30, when I am hiking with Lynn and Nicholas in the Makhtesh Ramon (more on this in another blog), my cell phone rings. It’s the FedEx driver. I try explaining to him how to get to our house, but it’s not working (See below for the picture of me talking on my cell phone to the driver). Between the sketchy cell phone connection and his limited English skills, it’s too hard. At Lynn’s urging, I ask him if he knows where the bike shop is. He does. I tell him to deliver the package there. He happily agrees. I call Asaf, the owner of the bike shop. He tells me that he already has the package.




On the way home from our hike, we stop off at the bike shop. Asaf hands me the envelope (pictured below). Hurray! After a month-and-a-half, and a lot of aggravation, I now better understand how to get things done in Israel.