A frustrated Australian business owner claims dozens of her products have disappeared or been delivered to the wrong address by Australia Post.
Hero Packaging co-founder Anaita Sarkar, 37, said she has encountered the problem at least several times and claims the Postal Service is failing to take responsibility for the problem.
Ms Sarkar claimed that she has had periods where she has been contacted once every two days – and sometimes even once a day – by disgruntled customers complaining that they have not received their products even though she has already shipped them.
“The problem is that their job is to deliver from point A to point B and if things aren’t delivered or if something goes wrong, they have to say that’s their responsibility,” she said. Yahoo News.
Ms Sarkar said the issue is costly because her company, which sells waste-free packaging products, ships up to 200 orders to customers a day.
“Our mailers are quite bulky, so if it costs us $40 to ship to a customer, that’s both the cost of the mailers and the shipping costs,” she explained.
The business owner, who is from Sydney, said the impact of the logistics problem is more than offset by the perception it creates about her business when her orders don’t arrive.
“More than the cost to the business, it is the cost to brand reputation,” Ms. Sarkar said.
Hero Packaging co-founder Anaita Sarkar (pictured) claims Australia Post takes no responsibility when packages go missing or are delivered to the wrong address
Ms Sarkar said the company is suffering financially as it tries to regain customer trust, which the company has worked hard to cultivate.
She acknowledged that while it is expected that some parcels and parcels may be lost, it is unfair that small businesses are entirely blamed for the problem.
She wants some kind of ownership of Australia Post.
Ms Sarkar said she has been using the company to supply her company’s products to customers for the past six years.
Ms Sarkar, who is also the founder of popular marketing company Sell Anything Online, has called for companies to be compensated if the problem arises.
Another business owner Brittany Forrest, the founder of Cloth Bums, also said lost packages are leaving businesses, including hers, reeling.
Ms Sarkar acknowledged that parcels and parcels can get lost, but she said it is unfair for small businesses to be entirely blamed for the problem (Photo of Australia Post workers sorting mail)
Ms Forrest said her company, which sells reusable cloth nappies and other baby products, claims she is losing up to $5,000 a year because of problems with Australia Post.
An Australia Post spokeswoman told Daily Mail Australia the majority of parcels and parcels they process are delivered safely to their intended recipient.
“Australia Post delivers an average of 9.5 million parcels per week and the vast majority reach their destination safely,” the spokeswoman said.
‘We take our responsibility to small businesses very seriously.
In the small number of cases where packages are lost or damaged, Australia Post will reimburse postage costs and offer compensation in some of those cases.
“Small businesses are also encouraged to purchase Transit Cover.”
An Australia Post spokeswoman told Daily Mail Australia that the majority of parcels and parcels they process are delivered safely to their intended recipient (pictured an Australia Post employee delivering parcels)
The spokeswoman also said deliveries using Australia Post’s own packaging will allow employees to process parcels more efficiently.
She said the packages will be more easily detected and processed by their electronic scanners and other equipment.
Daily Mail Australia understands Ms Sarkar has been compensated.