19th February 2026
Medium.com link
https://medium.com/@nanjappashruthi72/tale-of-two-courier-companies-ee823564382e
Course Relevance
This reflective case-based blog is relevant for the following BBA / B.Com courses:
• Organizational Behaviour (OB):
Examines service orientation, emotional labour, and employee behaviour at customer touchpoints.
• Human Resource Management (HRM):
Explores frontline employee engagement, ownership, and service recovery practices.
• Leadership & Emotional Intelligence:
Highlights empathy, responsiveness, and how emotional intelligence shapes customer experience.
• Business Ethics & Values:
Encourages accountability, transparency, and respect for customer trust.
• Managerial Psychology / Applied Psychology:
Focuses on perception, customer emotions, and the psychological impact of responsiveness versus neglect.
Background
Like most people today, I shop online frequently. For over a decade, deliveries had been seamless—sometimes early, rarely delayed.
But in the last two months, I experienced service failures with two different courier companies—Blue Dart and DTDC. What stayed with me was not the delay, but the radically different ways the two companies handled the same problem: a missing parcel.
The First Experience – Blue Dart: When Service Recovery Builds Trust
I ordered bedsheets from Haus and Kinder, Ahmedabad. A message informed me that the parcel was delivered. When I reached home, it was nowhere to be found.
I sent a simple email to Blue Dart’s customer support.
The very next day:
- I received a detailed response.
- Two customer care executives called me personally.
- They assured me that the package would be traced and delivered.
The parcel had been delivered to the wrong address and took a week to recover. But every single day, without fail, one executive called me in the morning and another in the evening asking if I had received it.
Only after I confirmed the delivery did the calls stop.
The mistake was theirs.
But the responsibility, empathy, and ownership were unmistakably theirs too.
The Second Experience – DTDC: When Silence Erodes Confidence
In December, I ordered a saree from Rajamundry, shipped via DTDC with an expected delivery date of 1st January 2026.
By 4th January, there was no sign of the parcel. The tracking page still showed:
“In transit – Expected delivery: 1st January.”
On 6th January, I raised a complaint online. I received a generic apology email and a ticket number—no call, no personal response.
The seller managed to get the Domlur DTDC centre’s phone number. It was perpetually engaged. My son and I tried repeatedly—no answer.
By 7th January, both the seller and I had raised multiple complaints. That evening, the seller informed me that the parcel was “out for delivery.” But when I reached home—nothing.
The tracking page still insisted that delivery was due on 1st January.
Finally, on 8th January, after calling the toll-free helpline, I was told that the parcel had been shifted to the Ejipura centre and would be delivered that evening.
At 5:15 pm, my son messaged—the saree had arrived.
No apology call.
No update.
No acknowledgement.
Core Questions Raised
This contrast led me to reflect:
- Is service quality defined by systems—or by people?
- How does silence after failure shape customer trust?
- What emotional message does responsiveness send to customers?
- Can organizations afford to ignore the human side of service?
Insight: The Psychology of Customer Experience
Both companies failed operationally.
But only one succeeded emotionally.
- Blue Dart acknowledged my anxiety.
- DTDC left me invisible.
This is not about logistics.
This is about validation—the feeling that your concern matters.
Epilogue: Lessons from the Little Things
This experience teaches us that:
- Customers forgive mistakes, but not neglect.
- Proactive communication builds trust faster than perfect systems.
- Silence amplifies frustration.
- Frontline empathy shapes brand image more than advertising.
- Word-of-mouth is born from how problems are handled—not from how services are promised.
The Rajamundry seller has stopped using DTDC.
I now recommend Blue Dart.
Often, it is not the delivery of a parcel—but the delivery of care—that defines loyalty.
Top of Form
TEACHING NOTES
Case Title
Tale of Two Courier Companies – Little Things in Life
Course Linkages
| Course | Concepts Covered |
| Organizational Behaviour | Service orientation, emotional labour, employee behaviour |
| Human Resource Management | Frontline employee empowerment, accountability |
| Customer Relationship Management (CRM) | Service recovery, customer engagement |
| Marketing Management | Customer satisfaction, brand image, word-of-mouth |
| Business Ethics & Values | Responsibility, transparency, professional conduct |
Case Synopsis
The case contrasts two courier companies—Blue Dart and DTDC—handling similar delivery failures.
Blue Dart responded with empathy, daily follow-ups, and proactive communication.
DTDC showed delayed response, inaccurate tracking updates, and minimal customer engagement.
The case highlights how service recovery behaviour directly impacts customer perception, loyalty and brand advocacy.
Learning Objectives
After discussing the case, students should be able to:
- Understand the role of service recovery in customer retention.
- Analyse how employee behaviour affects organizational image.
- Recognize the importance of proactive communication in service industries.
- Appreciate how “little things” build or destroy customer trust.
- Apply CRM principles to real-life service failures.
Key Issues in the Case
- Failure is unavoidable in services; recovery is not.
- Emotional intelligence of employees shapes customer experience.
- Silence after error is more damaging than the error itself.
- Customer engagement is not technology-driven; it is people-driven.
CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
Activity 1: Service Recovery Mapping
Time: 15 minutes
Method: Group work
Task:
Divide students into two groups.
| Group A – Blue Dart | Group B – DTDC |
| List all steps taken after the error | List all actions & inactions after the error |
| Identify emotional signals sent to the customer | Identify emotional signals sent to the customer |
Outcome:
Students visually compare proactive vs negligent service recovery.
Activity 2: Role Play – “The Follow-Up Call”
Time: 20 minutes
Roles:
- Customer
- Blue Dart executive
- DTDC executive
Students enact how each company communicated.
Class observes tone, empathy, accountability and professionalism.
Activity 3: Think–Pair–Share
Time: 10 minutes
Prompt:
“If both companies committed the same mistake, why did one gain loyalty and the other lose it?”
Students think individually, discuss in pairs, then share with the class.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Knowledge & Understanding
- What was the common problem faced by both courier companies?
- What steps did Blue Dart take after the complaint?
- What were DTDC’s responses after the complaints were raised?
Application & Analysis
- Why is service recovery more important than error prevention in service industries?
- How did lack of communication affect the customer’s emotions in the DTDC case?
- Identify the CRM failures in DTDC’s handling of the issue.
Evaluation & Critical Thinking
- Should frontline employees be empowered to take responsibility for errors? Why?
- How does customer engagement influence long-term profitability?
- If you were DTDC’s operations manager, what corrective actions would you introduce?
Reflection
- Have you ever experienced a similar situation?
How did it change your perception of the brand?
TAKE-AWAY FOR STUDENTS
In service organizations, customers do not remember what went wrong —
they remember how they were treated after it went wrong.
It is not technology, speed or systems alone that build loyalty —
it is empathy, ownership and consistent communication that truly define excellence.
