Is DHL Reliable? (All You Need To Know)

Whether you’re shipping or receiving something, you want to know that your item is in good hands. After all, how else can you ensure that your package will arrive quickly and safely? 

However, knowing which company you can trust can be tricky. That’s why this article will help you figure out how reliable DHL is. So, continue reading the article below!

Is DHL Reliable In [currentyear]?

Overall, DHL is a reliable shipping company in [currentyear]. That’s especially true when it comes to international orders as DHL is known for its fast delivery speeds and secure package handling. However, while the company has a decent reputation overall, it’s true that DHL has been caught throwing and misdelivering packages giving it many negative reviews. 

To find out whether or not you should trust DHL with your next shipment, make sure you keep reading!

Is DHL A Good Shipping Company?

One of the first things you should think about when deciding if a shipping company is reliable is whether or not it performs its services well. 

Furthermore, amongst the three shipping giants—DHL, UPS, and FedEx—DHL has the broadest global presence and is the most vocal about its environmental commitments.

Aside from that, DHL Express is the fastest global shipping option on the market.

With all of that in mind, it’s safe to say that DHL is a good shipping company. 

Is DHL Reliable For International Shipping? 

As a mainly global carrier, DHL has a good reputation when it comes to international shipping, however, DHL wasn’t happy to rest on its laurels. 

In fact, DHL hired a consulting company to test out its reliability. 

To do so, the consulting company created a global business infrastructure made up of 107 offices worldwide, each of which had accounts set up with couriers.

Furthermore, these offices made 60,000 global express shipments with DHL Express and its key competitors. 

After collecting data on the speed of these deliveries, the company was able to conclude that DHL Express is one of the most reliable carriers in the world. 

That’s especially true for shipments originating in Asia. 

Is DHL UK Reliable?

DHL is a massive company, therefore, it can be difficult to determine how reliable it is on the whole. 

So, looking a country-specific data gives a clearer picture of how the company performs on a smaller scale. 

In the United Kingdom, for example, DHL is considered very reliable when it comes to cheap, next-day delivery.

Furthermore, this is reflected in the scores given by DHL UK customers. Overall, the company scored 8.6 out of 10. 

Here are some more specific scores:

• Parcel delivery time: 8.9/10 
• Condition of parcel: 9.2/10
• Delivery instructions followed: 8.5/10
• Ease of use of parcel tracking facilities: 8.6/10
• Clear communication: 8.8/10  

Why Is DHL More Reliable Than FedEx? 

Some customers are convinced that DHL is more reliable than FedEx because DHL shipments get cleared through customs and delivered more quickly than FedEx’s. 

Whether that’s true on a larger scale remains to be seen, but it’s worth asking what DHL does to move packages more efficiently. 

One explanation (and perhaps the simplest one) is that DHL is one of the biggest logistics companies in the world. 

Therefore, its focus is on international deliveries. 

Furthermore, while FedEx certainly does its share of international deliveries, these are not the company’s main focus. 

Additionally, another reason is that DHL doesn’t outsource freight. That means DHL uses its own planes, trucks, and employees to move packages around. 

Conversely, FedEx routinely sells off its routes to local couriers, and while some couriers are skilled and efficient, others do the bare minimum. 

Is It Safe To Use DHL?

Another factor that goes into reliability is safety. In other words, can you trust DHL to keep your packages safe in transit?

Indeed, DHL puts a lot of effort into keeping packages safe during the transportation process. 

What’s more, DHL controls access to trucks and warehouses, and It also uses video monitoring to ensure packages are protected. 

That said, the company does have a reputation for being careless when handling packages. 

Therefore, let’s see some customer experiences to better understand. 

In the first example, a woman captured a DHL driver throwing a package from his truck at her door on camera.  

Another example showed a DHL driver throwing a customer’s package over a fence into the customer’s driveway. 

Luckily, neither of these packages contained breakable items, but there are plenty of cases where careless handling by DHL has led to broken items.

Given the mixed responses to this question, it’s safe to say that most of the time, DHL handles packages with care however, there are plenty of cases where that’s not true. 

Can DHL Lose A Package?

On a related note, you may be wondering if DHL ever loses packages.

This is an important question to ask, especially when deciding whether a company is reliable. 

Furthermore, DHL does its best to ensure that shipments are delivered safely, however, the company acknowledges that shipments do get lost from time to time.  

Though, it’s important to note that it’s very rare for a shipment to get lost completely, instead, it’s far more common for a shipment to get missorted or misrouted. 

When this happens, however, DHL deploys its security team to look for the package at different locations. 

Usually, they are able to find the package and dispatch it to the correct location. 

What Reviews Does DHL Get? 

A great way to assess a company’s reliability is by reading reviews from past customers. Let’s see how well DHL performs. 

DHL scored 1.38 stars on one website, and this score was based on 471 customer reviews. 

Furthermore, most complained about poor customer service, slow delivery times, and problems with packages getting delivered to the wrong address. 

Another website had more than 10,000 customer reviews, and of these responses, 91% of them gave DHL a one-star review. 

Although these reviews make it seem as though DHL is a terrible company, it’s important to recognize that the reviews are probably negatively skewed. 

In other words, people who have had a bad experience with the company are more likely to leave a review than those who have had a positive experience. 

Still, such low rankings do suggest that a lot of DHL’s customers are unhappy with the company’s service.

To know more, you can also read our posts on whether DHL provides boxes, why DHL says delivered but no package, and DHL package not moving.

Conclusion 

In general, you can feel secure knowing that DHL is a safe, trustworthy, and reliable company even though it may have some mixed online reviews. 

However, it’s important to understand that DHL is not without its faults, so sometimes packages may get damaged, and other times they may get lost.