'Despatched'?

[Steamdrivenandy]

I don't know about others, but my and Googles understanding of the word 'despatched' means something has left somewhere, to be delivered somewhere else. And this applies to 'dispatch', the US version of the word too.

Apparently this is not what it means as far as John Lewis are concerned. In their world it means that an item is wrapped and labelled, sitting in a pile in one of their warehouses, awaiting a carrier getting round to collecting it.

I ordered some items from JL on Sunday 29th Nov. and was delighted to get an email that evening saying the items had been 'despatched' by Royal Mail and delivery would be via their 48 hour service. So I expected the parcels on Tuesday or maybe Wednesday 1st or 2nd Dec. It seems I was wrong because Royal Mail didn't 't actually take possession of the package until Sunday 6th Dec. and are supposed to be delivering to today on Tuesday 8th Dec.

What aggravates me is that I bet that JL management get reports saying customer orders are 'despatched' within hours, when, in fact, they can take a week or more to leave the premises. Surely it only takes a little tweak of the software for it to read packed', along with an actual 'despatch' date. That would be a much better performance indicator.

[dattrike]

Same thing is happening on e bay, I ordered some parts for my motorbike on Saturday evening and got an e mail on Sunday morning saying they had been despatched 😳

[AndyN01]

I'll happily bet that someone, somewhere has put a "target" on the despatch time. Probably so that they can get a foot hold on the greasy pole.

As it's now a "target" and someone will get grief if it isn't met then you can be sure that by whatever ways and means possible it will be met.

This will also ensure that stuff that shouldn't be sent out 'cus it's damaged or incorrectly packaged etc. will now be on that delivery truck - whenever it arrives to collect.

Daft time pressures and targets - the two best ways to kill quality and service.

[Steamdrivenandy]

I'm not sure that time targets are always a bad thing.

I once had a new boss who queried why it took us so long to get a new customer set up and on board. It prompted me to drawer out a flow chart of our processes, allocating best and worst times to every part of the process. It had never been done before and opened our eyes to some sillinesses in the system and a number of areas where we could improve. Our reliance on a data entry department in a different directorate of the business was a major issue as they identified our work as a non-priority filler, not realising that the sooner a customer went live, the earlier we earned additional income. So agreeing a target processing time with them improved matters substantially.

[solarsailor]

It's common practice. I've often received an email to say an ordered item has been despatched and yet when I've checked the tracking info (where there is any) the carrier merely states that 'We have received your order details and your package is awaiting collection' - or words to that effect.

[SD1too]

Originally Posted by Steamdrivenandy

... my and Googles understanding of the word 'despatched' means something has left somewhere, to be delivered somewhere else. And this applies to 'dispatch', the US version of the word too.

Hi Andy,

I was interested to read your post and particularly this first paragraph as I always try to avoid contributing to the trend of the English language degenerating into American.

My Concise Oxford English Dictionary disagrees with Google. The principal entry is 'dispatch' with the addition of "Brit. also despatch"). So in Britain we can use both without being considered unpatriotic!

Simon

[AndyN01]

Originally Posted by Steamdrivenandy

I'm not sure that time targets are always a bad thing.

I once had a new boss who queried why it took us so long to get a new customer set up and on board. It prompted me to drawer out a flow chart of our processes, allocating best and worst times to every part of the process. It had never been done before.........they identified our work as a non-priority filler........So agreeing a target processing time with them improved matters substantially.

Thanks,

As I read your post the word "Why" immediately sprang to mind.

There had never been a process chart? Why? They can be a good tool for finding daft stuff or things that need revising providing that the folks doing it really know what the processes are AND what they are doing - you clearly did/do

Your work is seen as a "filler" for another Dept... Why? What are the data entry folks doing that is more important than getting new customers live on the system? I'll hazard a guess (tongue in cheek) that it's producing stats for someone's targets .

[wraymond]

I confess to having used 'despatch' only in connection with the killing of something. Dispatches meant 'mentioned in...'

[another_clean_sheet]

Originally Posted by Steamdrivenandy

Apparently this is not what it means as far as John Lewis are concerned. In their world it means that an item is wrapped and labelled, sitting in a pile in one of their warehouses, awaiting a carrier getting round to collecting it.

This is not uncommon in industry as it simplifies the process and saves cost.
Your way is that you would change the status of the order when it is packed and then again when the courier collects. It saves labour if when it is packed and waiting on the despatch dock you change the status to "despatched". Then at the end of the day you just check that the courier has collected everything.

[Steamdrivenandy]

Originally Posted by AndyN01

Thanks,

As I read your post the word "Why" immediately sprang to mind.

There had never been a process chart? Why? They can be a good tool for finding daft stuff or things that need revising providing that the folks doing it really know what the processes are AND what they are doing - you clearly did/do

Your work is seen as a "filler" for another Dept... Why? What are the data entry folks doing that is more important than getting new customers live on the system? I'll hazard a guess (tongue in cheek) that it's producing stats for someone's targets .

Someone may have drawn up a process chart, way before the process commenced, but the operational realities had never been tested and timescaled.

I was in charge of small business relationship management, which, by its nature, had a big churn of new customers. unfortunately the other two sectors, Mid Corporate and National Accounts had no real interest in fast new account acquisition, so it hardly got considered. The other Dept involved was part of 'Operations' and loaded their own data for the majority of the time. We were 'Sales and Marketing' and our work seemed to be looked upon as a nuisance.

Of course all that changed after shortly I left, when my project to give the sales force laptops for direct new account entry became a reality. That, in itself probably knocked an average of 4 days off the process. Well it would've, if the new boss hadn't insisted that all new accounts had to be run past a new risk control dept, who probably added back an extra 2 or 3 days into the system.