This week I attended a high profile event at which the former mayor of New York City, Michael Bloomberg, and several well known UAE businesspeople discussed how Dubai can prosper as an “anchor” for the global growth economy. The right systems and regulations, they said, must continue to be put in place to facilitate smooth business operations and hassle-free living. One spokesperson even said Dubai has “moved beyond the superlatives” to a new preference for quality over quantity – it wants to be the best at everything, not just the biggest.
So it was ironic that, the same day, I found myself coming up against one national system that emphatically isn’t the best – far from it in fact – and that’s the postal service.
As a newcomer to Dubai, I had prepared myself for many frustrations related to the thrills of setting up a new life abroad, wherever you are. But my postal experience has definitely been near the top in terms of potential for elevating my blood pressure to unhealthy limits.
Having just moved here two months ago, there were inevitably various belongings that had been forgotten and needed to be mailed out to me. But almost a month after being posted from the UK my parcel was a no-show. I had made sure I gave the accurate PO box number of the hotel I’m staying in, and figured that as it was a hotel, with 24-hour concierge and so on, the parcel should arrive on time and with no hiccups.
But I was wrong. When I deduced something must have gone amiss I got the reference number from the parcel delivery company and rang up Emirates Post, which informed me my parcel had been delivered almost two weeks ago to their sorting office near the Creek. The infuriating thing is that I had received no emails or texts informing me the parcel had arrived. At least in the UK, Royal Mail couriers leave a slip of paper at the delivery address informing you they tried to deliver but you weren’t in, and telling you where to go to collect it.
So far, frustrating, but not the end of the world. It was when I finally arrived at Dubai Central Post Office in Al Karama that the farce began. It had taken a long time to locate the building – none of the taxi drivers seemed to know where it was, there was heavy traffic and the nearest Metro station was more than a reasonable, and safe, walk from it.
Due to poor signage on the front of the building I ended up queueing in the wrong place and was eventually told I needed to walk round to the back of the building. I then got a ticket, sat for another 30 minutes or so and eventually handed over my reference number. But I was told there was a specific desk for collections and would have to take a new ticket and queue some more. A new ticket was printed, stating what I presumed was the same parcel reference number I had handed the assistant, and waited.
It later transpired that in printing me out a new ticket the assistant had keyed in the wrong parcel reference number, as I was informed by the next official I saw that the parcel had been “successfully delivered to my company in Abu Dhabi”. I do not have such a thing as I work in Dubai Media City and live close by. I was quite upset by then as imagined I would have to travel out of Dubai at not insignificant expense to collect my belongings and convince people who I was. It was only when I suggested to the official that his colleague might have made a mistake that he checked the number and confirmed the mix-up. Until then he was getting more and more impatient with me and wanted me to just leave for Abu Dhabi. There was then a longwinded identity re-confirmation process before I was able to walk out of the building with the right parcel.
I wondered if I’d just been unlucky, but colleagues and friends tell me my experience is sadly not uncommon, and often packages simply never turn up. Of course, any system that involves the level of paperwork, security and bureaucracy as the post is bound to be a pain for citizens to navigate, but I feel Dubai could do a few things to smooth the process and make sure this system does not damage international perceptions of the country’s efficiency.
1 – Do away with the antiquated PO box system and deliver at least small parcels to letter trays in the lobbies of residential buildings.
2 – Inform residents by text, email or a slip left with concierge that their parcel is at a sorting office and what they must do next.
3 – Improve post office customer service so there is less potential for time-consuming errors.
4 – Build new sorting offices/PO box stations at a wider range of locations across Dubai, so residents do not have to travel so far to collect their post.
5 – Overcome the problem of vague Dubai addresses by creating a publicly accessible map/information resource on Dubai geography so couriers know where they are going.
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