Really screwed by an airlineHowdy, Well there is nothing any of you can do for me, but I AM FRUSTRATED AND NEED TO VENT! I am going into business for my self. I do not enjoy my current field (IT-computers) and I am becoming an importer doing the actual sourcing overseas. I have experience on the technical side of importing (freight forwarding and US Customs). I am keeping my job while I setup the business. This is something I really want to do! I have about $ 20,000.00 in the bank for travel expenses. On July 21, 2007, I took my first sourcing trip to Belgium and Senegal. I flew on US Airways from Boston to Brussels via Philadelphia. I got to Philadelphia to connect to the Brussels flight. The flight was cancelled at 2:30 AM on July 22. We were told by US Airways that there were no hotel rooms available in the city but were give the airline's hotline for assistance. They told us the same thing. I found a hotel room at the airport Marriott for $ 331.00. I also lost one night (hotel expense) in Brussels that I prepaid in advance. I went to baggage to get my luggage. It did not show up. JUST GREAT! I filed a claim and made a new reservation to Brussels for the next day. I got to the hotel at 6 AM! My luggage arrived in Brussels the next day, thank God! Product sourcing in Belgium and Senegal went well. I had lots of samples and on August 2, 2007, went to the airport in Dakar, Senegal for my flight home which was at 2:05 AM in the morning. I flew on TAP airlines to Lisbon and connected to a US Airways flight to Philadelphia. When I got to Philadelphia, guess what did not arrive? All of my luggage was gone. I filed a claim in Boston Thursday night at 8:30 PM. All of my samples and clothes (three bags weighing about 80 kilos) are gone (for the second time on this trip!). I did not insure my baggage because the value of my goods did not warrant it. It is now Sunday evening and US Airways has no clue where my bags are. I spent $ 6,000.00 on the air fare, hotel reservations, and samples. I have to hold off for 45 days before US Airways refunds the value of my luggage and contents. While I will get $1600.00 for the value of the luggage and contents, which is acceptable, not great, but I can deal with this, the real loss is the cost of a new ticket to Senegal and hotel reservations. When traveling internationally, the coverage is $ 20.00 per kilo. Product sourcing is cheap. The real expense is traveling. It is going to cost me $ 4000.00 for air and hotel reservations alone (I am only going back to Senegal) to go back and I need these samples by the end of the month. I am still going to have to go back again once my samples are tested. I have no clue how I am going to get the time off to go back. I have vacation time available (LOTS!) and I am required by the company I work for to use 18 days in the next four months or I lose it; but it is going to be difficult requesting a week off the end of August just a week after I got back from my two week trip. Obviously my employer does not know what I am doing. I had trip cancellation insurance but this does nothing for me in this case. I do not think there is insurance to protect me in a situation like this, but I am going to have to check this out. Shipping merchandise from Senegal to the US is complicated because of a lack of logistics. Also, since 9/11, you cannot show up at an airline and request that the contents be shipped as freight. You must contact a forwarder. This is because the US government requires that cargo be sent from known shippers and be inspected. Shipping samples is more cost effective paying 120 euros a bag as luggage and you save on customs brokerage charges not to mention the cost of air freight. If my luggage does not show up in about a week, I have to go back. This is going to cost me a fortune! I am so frustrated because I cannot go after US Airways for this except for the value of the luggage. And do you want to know what US Airways offered me as compensation for the flight cancellation and luggage lost twice? $ 350.00!!!! Unfortunately, the European Unions’ rules for flight cancellation does not apply to lost luggage. Wonderful start to my new career! ...[Message truncated]
Ok, some of this is the cost of doing the type of business you want to do. If you're not cut out for these sorts of hassles, now is the time to find out. You have to expect that you are going to have airline delays and screw ups every time you go. Some the airline's fault, some mother nature's fault, some just because. You have to build a cushion into your budget to account for that. I don't understand why you have to go back to Senegal to replace these samples. Why can't someone there mail them to you? I understand the restrictions, etc. but if you're going to be importing products, you're going to have to get them here somehow. If you can't even get a sample mailed to you, that's not boding well. If you have to use a forwarder to get them, do it. If you need to hire someone there to go pick them up and put them in the mail, then do that. I ship internationally all the time, as long as what you're shipping falls within the guidelines and you fill out the right forms, what's the problem? Even if it costs you a few hundred bucks to organize, that's a lot less than a trip there. And even if you do make the trip there, there's no guarantee you won't have the same or a similar problem again. There's a DHL office in Dakar (you can look that up on dhl.com) so there has to be a way for the company to arrange to drop the samples there to ship to you or for you to hire someone to pick them up and take them there. A huge part of the future success of your business depends on your ability to roll with the punches and think outside the box. This won't be the last time you'll need to get creative about how to get what you need done in the most cost effective manner.
Tess To: Tmsmalley, Hi, You are definately right about rolling with the punches. It is just so frustrating the frist time. But I learned a lot. I was planning on going back in about two months anyway. The goal of the first trip was to make lots of contacts and work on my negotiating skills. It is so, so important when importing that you know the vendor. I actually achieved what I hoped to do on the second trip. So it did go well. I am working with very small companies (not really companies). I have about ten people who are carvers and artists that I am interested in buying what they make. It is not like calling the Brussels office of Godiva Chocolate and having a sample sent. Only one person has email address and none speak English. Most speak Walu and French. Fortunately I speak French. The goal was to bring back the samples and start see what interest exists. I know I made some mistakes in what I bought and expected to. I also learned a lot. What stinks is some of the goods I good are truly beautful and it is too bad I lost them. This is all a work in progress for me. I am also following my father's footsteps as he was a buyer and traveled around the world. The good news is that when I got back I received an email from the president of my company warning me that I had to use 18 days of vacation between now and the end of the year or I would lose it. I can only move five days to next year. This was a great email to get. The goal of the next trip is to further develop contacts with vendors and to find a freight forwarder I can work with to inspect my goods and ship them to Boston. Since 9/11 you cannot just show up at Air France (or DHL) and ship goods unless you are a known shipper, and in Senegal I am not. I will continue to focus on Senegal but will also do some sourcing in Mali and Ghana and eventually Kenya. Thanks. I needed a kick in the butt. A couple of friends gave me the same lecture. I am just pissed off with US Airways losing my luggage twice (the second time looks permanent) and cancelling a flight and fourcing me to spend $ 331.00 in Philadelphia and losing a deposit 125 euros in Brussels. Bill | |
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