As online shopping continues to gain customers everyday across China, the express delivery industry is cashing in. To improve the quality of delivery services, the National Standardization Management Committee has put into place a new set of standards for those bringing online purchases to your doorstep.
If you've enjoyed the convenience that express delivery services have offered in the past, it's only likely to get better. A new set of national standards on express delivery services have been put into place starting Tuesday.
The downside is some customers might not enjoy as much privacy as before.
Cai Jiawei, a deliveryman, said, "I'll check to see if the package contains batteries. It's just a safety precaution."
One customer said, "The packages we sent were checked on site. Otherwise, if there's damage to the package, it's difficult to determine who's to blame."
Previously, these exams depended on the discretion of each individual deliveryman and their employers. But new standards give delivery service workers the obligation to refuse sending packages that have not been examined.
Wang Yongli, Deputy Director of Supervision Office of the State Post Bureau, said, "If delivery companies fail to examine packages, they will face punishments. For example, their business may be forced to shut down or their license may be revoked.
Consumers' top complaint towards the delivery industry is delays. New standards lay out specific criteria for timeliness. Any package that takes longer than 24 hours for intra-city delivery, 72 hours for inter-city delivery, or 6-9 days for international delivery, will be considered delayed, giving customers free reign to seek compensation.
Zeng Yi, researcher of National Institute of Standardization, said, "These are rather minimal requirements. We really want to encourage delivery companies to provide even better services than stipulated in the standards."
The standards even cover all the natty gritty details, like if a package is dropped, how much distance is allowed between the box and the ground. Experts say the rules for China's delivery services are as detailed as can be.
