Do I Look Like a Delivery Service?

[Captain Trips]

When I was a letter carrier with USPS, it was drilled into me: with a package, ring the bell, wait a full minute, knock, wait another minute, THEN leave the slip. Any deviation from the above would result in being written up.

Any letter carrier who automatically leaves the slip without attempting to deliver a package should be reported. A co-worker of mine did just that a year ago. His carrier would never attempt to deliver the package, just left the slip. He reported her, and her supervisor ended up staking out my co-worker's house. When the letter carrier did it again, she got back to the station to an angry supervisor -- who wrote her up and threatened to bring charges against her if she did it again. (Just as it is illegal to tamper with the mail, it is illegal for a letter carrier to not deliver mail without cause. This includes packages.)

[Dreamstalker]

I contacted the delivery supervisor at my PO the other day...no reply yet. Given that someone was home at the time of the delivery, I'm starting to think it was never actually delivered even though tracking says it was.

Truly weird...I've never had problems with USPS at this address before.

[JustaCashier]

I've had the best luck with UPS.

If I'm not at home, the package is usually left with my Apt. Manager, and a sticker left on my door. Sometimes the package will just be left at my door. (Fairly secure).

FedEx, Sometimes at my door, sometimes in the Bldg Lobby (not very secure). I once was having an Inkjet Printer delivered by them, and Tracking indicated it had been delivered to my Zip Code, but not specifically to my Home Addy. After a call or two, determined it had been dropped off at a Radio Shack Store about a mile or so away.


USPS, I often have found the package just sitting in the Bldg Lobby, or at my door. On one occasion with them, I was expecting a Music CD to be delivered from Amazon. It was a few days before the latest Est. Delivery Date, when Tracking indicated it had been delivered. I normally wouldn't worry, except that it indicated it had been delivered.

I checked Amazon's Troubleshooter page, did all of their suggestions, (check with immediate neighbors, Bldg Manager, check in/around Bldg itself. When none of those worked, I e-mailed them, half expecting to be told I'd have to work with USPS on it, but, they said they'd send another CD out right away.

I received it via UPS in just a matter of days. Then, on, if I recall the latest estimated delivery date for the first one, it too, miraculously turns up at my door! I admit, I thought for a very brief moment of just keeping it, and not taking any further action, but I checked with a buddy of mine if he wanted it. He said "yes", so I called Amazon on the Land Line, and explained the situation, and stated that rather than go through the hassle of returning it, I'd like to keep it, and arrange payment.

The guy pretty much said "No problem", and just charged me for the CD alone, no shipping charges.

Now some may believe that's simply how Customer Service should work, but it was great for me that it fell into place like that when the error was apparently USPS's, or perhaps someone the original package had been mis-delivered to and it wasn't directly Amazon's fault.

Mike

[Scottya21]

Several of these companies seem to be making a regular habit of "putting things on the wrong truck", and dropping it off at my store for another driver to pick up later. I think they're secretly trying to convert us into another location for them.

[Mark Healey]

This is why I have all packages sent to work. Of course it's just the boss, me and two other employees there. It's probably not workable at large businesses. I'm wainting for some smart ass relative to make a return label that looks like a porn company.

[Kiwi]

I worked for fed ex for three weeks answering phones for mis deliveries or lost deliveries or any other god damn deliveries.... ARGH

the drives (for ground) are paid per delivery... that means they Haul ass.... knocking takes an extra 3-4 seconds.... times 50 deliveries... times 6 days a week ....times 52 days a year.

I still have to argue with the damn fed ex driver daily who delivers to my place of work that despite him THINKING he can deliver it to admissions.... he MUST go to administration up one flight of stairs.

fedex drives have to leave the package where ever the shipper has said, if they say back door, if they can find one, it goes to the back door, if it says front porch, anywhere on that porch is fair game.

Fedex also makes you pay MORE $$ for a signature, make sure when you are having something shipped through them if it is valuable... that

1. the shipper is using the CURRENT AND CORRECT shipping labels, not ones that are a year old
2. if you need a signature there are THREE different types, make sure you get the one you want
3. they will not cover you for mistakes made by the shipper

and most important

4. DO NOT yell and scream at the person on the end of the line at the customers service desk.... that person could have been me, some of my friends still work on the american contract.... and I dont freaking care if someone lost your parcel. That sucks for you... Im just counting down the minutes to my lunch break.

[Argabarga]

A guy I know from online who works on trucks (big ones, like dump trucks) ordered a set of 4 tires/rims for one, now, 4 semi truck tires stacked on thier sides and cabled down to a shipping pallet are VERY heavy and large, and somehow, UPS lost them.....

[Dreamstalker]

Lost a set of truck tires?! That's definitely a new one.

[greensinestro]

If there is any more confusion, send her a mapquest

No! Don't do that! She'll think you're going to send her an actual map in the mail, and that she'll have to go to the post office to get that, too!

[Tigress]

I don't know what the heck was wrong with one postal carrier I had servicing my route. I live in a trailer park at the end of the delivery route, so I get to contend with both the carrier wanting to just get the route done and go home and the perception that s/he can handle the packages any old way and the trailer trash living there can't do anything about it.

For about a year, I got to know my neighbors. That was because we kept getting each other's mail. I live in #8, so I could understand getting #6 and #9's mail, since some fonts make the numbers look almost identical. But when I started getting #7, #1, and #13... Yeah. Several of us made some phone calls to the post office. Now, the only reason I still talk to my neighbors is because their kids know I'll buy stuff for their school fund-raisers and Girl Scout cookies.

One family that used to live here homeschooled their children and the carrier routinely left their homeschooling supplies and textbooks on top of the row of mailboxes located two inches from the road, even if it had been raining all day. Didn't even attempt to deliver it or protect it from the elements. To make this more irritating, the family's trailer was only about 50 feet away from the boxes.

When s/he started messing with my mail, that's when things got extremely ugly. I sent in a bill payment right before going on vacation and came back a week later to still find it in the mailbox. The genius carrier didn't even look to see that there was mail in the box before putting stuff in. That little mistake cost me a lot of money in late fees and increased APRs.

After I wrote a strongly worded letter of complaint, things went smoothly until a few weeks later. I was waiting for a package of art books to come in. USPS's web site said that they had been delivered, but I didn't have them. The day after I was supposed to get them, my very kind neighbor left me a note telling me that a package was sitting on my back door. The dingbat didn't leave the package at the front door, where my car was located. S/he trekked all the way to the rear of the house to leave it. Even better, it had been raining cats and dogs all night, so my package was soaked. Luckily, the books were wrapped in shrinkwrap, so there was no damage on them.

Another letter of complaint ensued, where I played Captain Obvious and asked why the package wasn't wrapped in plastic or a little slip wasn't left in my mailbox. I think the result was that the dingbat was fired. The guy we have now is very pleasant and brings up all my oddly-sized packages. Sometimes, he'll bring up my package even if it will fit in the box.

[Jazz]

Well, our shipments require a signature which is why a notification was left for to go to the post office and sign for the darn package. We need proof of delivery from the postal service and UPS so we always ask for signature on delivery. That way we can track things better.

Woman still hasn't showed up at the post office. I called, the package is still sitting there. Most likely will be shipped back. But we don't refund shipping costs, we just refund the cost of the item. She wants all her money refunded. Sorry, but I gave you the address to sign for the package, you didn't show up, the package will most likely be sent back.... Bah.

[Kilamon]

Where I used to live, it was difficult to get anything delivered and USPS was actually the most reliable. Having since moved, the fire department, police, and ambulances can find me again. I once spent 2 hours waiting for a cab to arrive at my old place to find out that, even though I had called four or five times, and given explicit directions, the cab was cancelled because the address was "bogus."

UPS at my old place was a JOKE. They were the worst. If anything was delivered to me by UPS, I would not get the package or a note or anything. They'd send me a card through the USPS that said I had a package waiting. Bwah? Stupid. At least when FedEx delivered, I always knew. They wouldn't park in the driveway, which was the only way to get off the 4 lane (2 north, 2 south) main road outside my door. They'd stop in the road and I'd hear all the cars honking.

The worst part of this is that Mapquest knew EXACTLY where I lived.

[HYHYBT]

Mom had a UPS package go missing a while back. They had it recorded as "left on porch." Her house does not have a porch! They sent someone over to look and sure enough, no porch. They paid. And even with all the eBaying she does, no problem before or since with any of them.

For me, with both FedEx and UPS, they used to leave stuff on the bench on the porch if no one answered the bell. An arrangement I liked very well, since I was generally either asleep or not home, that area isn't very visible from the road, and no one ever bothered anything. Then they started delivering my stuff, with my address on it, to Dad's office because there was always someone there during business hours who would sign for a package. Now they've taken to hiding them in the well-filled garage. I mean that. It might be leaning against the door to the kitchen, wonderful. Or it might be on the trunk of the car. Or over with the pile of other boxes that've been there for years, or on the shelf thing or the workbench, all places full of other stuff already. (the nice thing about having such a garage is I have ample hiding places for my spare key. No leaving it under the mat or anything obvious!)

[LewisLegion]

I hate UPS and FedEx around here. If I'm getting a delivery through them I almost frickin' guarantee you they're going to screw it up.

I remember one particular screwup with FedEx that had me seeing red. I was expecting a particularly important package. Upon ordering it under the delivery options it had a place you could check if you wanted a signature, the package delivered to a rental office, or left on the doorstep. I selected to have them leave it on the step.

Now, my apartment is recessed and has a private entrance. You cannot see that entrance unless you work to go to it. The only people that regularly pass my door and can see anything left on my stoop is the elderly couple that lives right upstairs from me. There is next to no chance a package will get stolen arbitrarily from my stoop. Now, I work five days a week...Tuesday through Saturday. As packages don't get delivered Sundays and I have to run errands and stuff on Mondays its almost guaranteed I will NOT be home for ANY package delivery. I also keep work hours that conflict with my apartment offices, so any package delivered there I will not get until the following Monday.

So I requested them leave it on my stoop.

Come home on the delivery day and there's a tag on my door saying they had delivered my package to the office. I was a bit miffed but it was Friday so I only had a couple of days to wait for the package. Okay, whatever.

Next day come home from work and there's another tag on my door. Wtf? I thought it was at the office?? This time the tag said they'd tried to deliver to my office but it was closed, and they'd make one more delivery attempt.

So I called them. They said that if I fill out and sign the tag giving my permission to leave the box on the stoop, and tape it to my door, the delivery man would leave the box (like I'd asked them in the first place). So I did so.

Come home from errands on Monday to find ANOTHER attempt to deliver tag NEXT to my permission to leave tag that was STILL taped to the door. I was furious. I called and they said the package was going to be shipped back because they had attempted to deliver it three times without success. I told them bollocks they would, and went and picked it up from their shop. I feel bad about it but I cursed them out. I mean, really, how moronic does that driver have to be?

UPS once left a computer monitor on my front door...which was fine and how I'd requested it. What was funny was they had tried to disguise it from would-be thieves by putting my doormat on top of it.

Picture that a moment. A huge three foot box with a door mat draped over it to camoflauge it.

Yeah, no thief will notice THAT clever disguise.

I LOVE USPS. We have locked boxes beside our mailbox. They just lock the parcel up and drop the key in my mailbox. Instant package, no fuss no muss.

[Dark Psion]

I have come to the conclusion that DHL is staffed by Ninja delivery drivers because I have never actually seen the truck or the driver, but have found my packages on the porch.