China’s courier industry is said to be the most convenient in the world, and Alibaba’s Taobao online shopping platform was once the apple of Chinese consumers’ eye. However, in the past year, Alibaba’s Cainiao post stations have sparked growing anger across China and people have accused their service of being intolerably poor.
Cainiao Network’s rival, Fengchao Box, announced in May 2020 that express deliveries left in Fengchao express cabinets for more than 18 hours would be charged 0.5 yuan for every 12 hours after the timeout, capped at 3 yuan, sparking discontent in China. Around the same time, Alibaba’s Cainiao Network began its frenzied expansion in China. These post stations are often also small supermarkets, milk stores, or fruit stores, where owners solicit customers by receiving and dispatching deliveries for free, in contrast to the Fengchao express cabinets, which charge couriers between 0.3 yuan and 0.5 yuan per piece for hosting.
However, despite the popularity of the Cainiao stations among couriers, Cainiao Network has never been able to win the hearts of Chinese consumers. Compared with Fengchao express cabinets, Cainiao post stations bring more trouble than convenience to Chinese e-commerce buyers.
First of all, a Fengchao express cabinet is installed in almost every neighborhood in Chinese cities, while one Cainiao post station is shared by several neighborhoods, which means that many people have to walk a long way to pick up their deliveries from the stations, rather than the express cabinets downstairs. Secondly, compared with the cell phone code-scanning pickup of Fengchao express cabinets, the pickup at Cainiao stations requires buyers to provide a pickup code, and then the salesman will look for the buyer’s package from a pile of parcels. Last but not least, according to many Chinese Internet users, the bosses of Cainiao post stations (mostly women) are usually rude.
No matter which way you look at it, the outdated pickup method of Cainiao post stations is out of step with China’s developed express delivery industry, yet it has managed to gain a foothold in all Chinese cities because of Alibaba’s support and the huge traffic from Taobao.com.
The word “Cainiao” was originally a Chinese internet slang term for someone with low ability in a certain field, similar to “newbie” or “rookie” in English, but more insulting. The name of the company, Cainiao Network, was given by Jack Ma, otherwise it would be hard to imagine it as the name of any company, and ironically, given all the inconveniences caused by Cainiao post stations, the word has become the perfect interpretation of the company. “Cainiao” is therefore no longer just a word of ridicule, but has become the hate of countless Chinese people.
Cainiao post stations have been criticized from the first day of their existence in China, yet in the past year or so, its problems never seem to have caught the attention of Alibaba or Cainiao Network, or maybe they’re simply ignored. Nowadays, almost all the goods purchased from Taobao.com flow to these Cainiao stations, forcing more and more Chinese consumers to turn to Taobao’s biggest competitor, JD. The latter has its own delivery network, which is usually much faster and more buyer-friendly than other courier companies in China, and more importantly, they never drop any deliveries at Cainiao post stations.
And for Alibaba, its losses from Cainiao post stations are far from just the loss of users, but also the growing anger and resentment in Chinese society, which means a collapse of its brand image. Dissatisfaction and accusations against Cainiao stations can be found on almost all Chinese social media platforms, and these negative comments are often accompanied by helplessness.
It has been reported that despite the option of “Do not drop off at Cainiao” on the mobile page of Cainiao Network, couriers often ignore it. Even if consumers complain to Cainiao, they are often not dealt with actively. Instead, they may incur retaliation from the courier.
For example, Ms. Cai from Wuhan recently received a phone call from the courier, notifying her to pick up her package at a Cainiao post station, and refused to put the courier in any express cabinets. Ms. Cai said that she would report the courier if he doesn’t put her package in a cabinet. This sentence completely pissed off the courier, and a violent argument broke out between the two on the phone, and eventually, the courier threatened her personal safety. A Chinese media outlet has commented that the customer was squandering the power of “God” at will. Such comments are clearly adding fuel to the fire of anger of Chinese consumers.
Recently Cainiao finally tried to make some changes with its statement that it’s offering free home delivery of parcels in Beijing, Shanghai and Hangzhou, and consumers can choose home delivery or pick up at its stations on a cell phone, both services do not incur any costs. However, after making some tests, a reporter found that even in these three cities, it’s difficult to realize “home delivery”.
Alibaba’s “bullying of customers”, accompanied by the rapid decline in Jack Ma’s reputation in China over the last two years because of his endorsement of the “996” work culture and other incidents, seems to signal that this Chinese Internet giant no longer stands at the forefront of the times.