Sorry, Women’s Web Team. I have been tardy in thanking you all for the prize I got for my entry Adjust which won first place in the Great Adjustment Story competition held last month. I duly utilized your Flipkart gift voucher, ordered books and was patiently waiting for the books to arrive to formally thank you folk. The waiting went on and on….

Due to UN-professionalism from a courier service named ‘Professional’ (what irony!!) the consignment which had reached their Trivandrum office on 6^th was delivered to me only yesterday, the 17^th and that too after someone went to their local office to inquire why they were holding on to a parcel (not meant for them) which had reached their office almost 11 days back as the tracking info online showed.

Of course as is usual, they attempted to send us on a tour of sight-seeing of their many branches in the city. We politely declined their offer of a Merry Goose Chase. Their sly suggestion that we had offered to collect it from their office was countered skillfully with repeated queries of, ‘WHO offered to??’ Not having an answer to an easy question as that, they were (probably) left twiddling their thumbs in despair. But (fortunately so), it made them spring into action and offer to deliver the books ‘before lunch-time’. Of course, they meant before their lunch-time, not the average Indian’s lunch-time. So the parcel was delivered around 4 p. m. till which time I had to spend my own time twiddling thumbs.

Since I am not one to spend too much time twiddling thumbs, I profitably utilized the in-between time to dash off a mail to those concerned at (Un)Professional Courier headquarters about this very un-professional conduct on the part of their service personnel, which we are experiencing for the nth time. The last time it happened, one of their courier boys did NOT bother to deliver a parcel, but sent a report back saying he had done so. Can professionalism get any worse?? If a courier service does not know to employ the right minions to do their work, they might as well change their name to say Unprofessional Couriers, I suggested to them, kindly.

I had a good mind to dash off a mail to flipkart.com about this fiasco too. Though it is not their fault in any way, it would do them good to opt for a better courier service.

Anyway, getting away from unprofessional courier services and back to Women’s Web and the gift voucher I won:

Here are the books I got with your gift voucher. Thank you so much Women’s Web Team.

Updated to add:

Here is the mail from flipkart.com I received just a few minutes back:

Thank you flipkart for the prompt response.