Hi all, first time making a thread, sorry if I type messy or too long, typing on my phone, sorry if I miss things. I’m 42, a small online seller in Phuket, sell clothes and random little stuff. I’ve been delivering my own parcels for almost five years. Lately I have someone help pack and sometimes send because after COVID customers increased and I can’t handle everything alone. But what happened still has me shocked T_T

I’ll tell it straight. I don’t have a big company, just a storage room in a building near the airport. Sometimes I use a parcel pickup service run by a group of small businesses in the same area. They have a LINE group admin who schedules pickups and posts the rates. At first it was fine, saved time. But in the last two months problems started. I sent parcels Friday afternoon, around after 8pm I called to notify, the admin replied they’d come pick up the next morning. But morning came and they didn’t show. I messaged many times, they read and didn’t reply. In the end I had the building cleaner bring it to the pickup point myself and I paid a little extra taxi fare.

What shocked me was the next day that same admin posted in the LINE group (about 40 members: both sellers and drivers) saying “Someone sent their stuff late and messed up the schedule, caused others to wait,” and tagged me directly, naming it as “management of shop X” without asking for the facts first. The tone was sarcastic and used a defeated line like “if it’s inconvenient don’t leave your stuff and make others suffer.” The group went super quiet right away, like I’d committed a huge crime.

My head went blank. I wondered what I’d done wrong. I had paid the pickup fee in advance and gave the pickup time. Some people commented and sided with the admin, saying “not the first time this shop,” and others wrote short things like “next time sort it yourself,” but nobody asked me for my side. I wanted to explain but was scared it would turn into an argument in the group and ruin my shop’s credibility more, so I messaged the admin privately asking to talk. He replied bluntly “busy, will talk later,” but never messaged again.

After that post, many people in the group started avoiding me, not chatting like before. Orders from neighbor sellers who usually sent via me went quiet. I saw the same people still posting items for sale as usual, but when I asked about stock or asking to send for them, they didn’t reply. I feel like my reputation was destroyed by a middleman without giving me a chance to explain. I’m also worried it’ll affect sales because some customers screenshotted it and asked “Is OP being scolded?” which made me really uncomfortable.

I kept thinking and analyzing — maybe I really did mess up the timing or communication. But I also feel like the admin should’ve messaged me privately before posting in the group. Why didn’t they ask and discuss first? Sometimes the problem is the driver who accepted the job and then forgot the schedule or had an emergency. Being judged publicly hurts more than their words. Still, a small voice in my head wonders if I’m overreacting or too sensitive, I don’t know.

Someone suggested I leave the group, but that’s not a real solution because this pickup service is the main way I cut shipping costs. I don’t want to make enemies with local traders in the area, but I also don’t want anyone slamming me publicly like that again. I messaged two friends in the group who I thought were genuinely friendly, they comforted me and one said “just start your own group,” sob, can I really do that? I just want to make a living, no drama. I don’t want this to blow up, but I also don’t want to stay quiet and let people assume things.

What do you all think I should do? Sorry if this is long or too dramatic. I’m just stunned and want perspectives from people who’ve been through this. Has any small seller in the area been publicly pointed at like this? Or should I make a rule in the group that people should message privately first, and only post to the group if there’s no reply? My feelings are mixed between angry and sad, so confused 5555.

OP waiting for advice, thank you so much in advance. P.S. If anyone can suggest wording or a message to talk to the admin politely but clearly, please help — I’d be really grateful.