Australia Post’s online parcel system crashes
On Monday, Australia Post’s parcel service experienced mayhem after the shipping and tracking service failed.
Small business customers were met with an error message when attempting to log into the eParcel service, as the nationwide crash brought warehouse staff and small business owners to a halt.
The cause of the crash is unknown and was not resolved until 3:20 am Tuesday morning.
Retailers told MySmallBusiness that after logging into their eParcel accounts around 12:30 pm yesterday, they encountered an error message.
The system crash prevented them from sending orders via the eParcel service for the entire day.
Some online retailers were concerned about losing repeat business from customers who made express or next day post orders.
The eParcel service enables Australia Post customers to log on to the system, create a customer label and barcode and print out a shipping label.
Other services were also impacted by the system crash and the company sent a message to customers on Monday afternoon.
"We're currently experiencing technical issues that may impact customers' ability to access particular services, including Bulk Mail Lodgement, Load&Go cards, PO Boxes and Western Union money transfers. We are working to resolve this as quickly as possible and apologise for any inconvenience caused."
Customers complained on Australia Post’s Facebook page, with many saying that posting one message about the national outage was not enough communication.
Jane Browning, owner of online retailer Gifted Memories, said Australia Post need to send regular updates via email or SMS message when crashes occur.
"It really isn't good enough, and I know most business owners would agree."
Online retailer, Wes Blundy, told Sydney Morning Herald that the system crash prevented him from fulfilling half of his 200 orders yesterday. His calls to Australia Post were left unanswered.
"They (Australia Post head office) can't tell us what's happening, other than they're working on it. If it's down for us, it's definitely down for all post offices. We just recommend that customers keep trying," an Australian Post worker told Fairfax Media.
While the crash disrupted business, online retailers were still able to send items in satchels or the regular mail service.