I've had a few items to be delivered by Parcelforce recently, each time it goes through exactly the same sequence of them not delivering as we're out at work, so they take it about 30 miles away, which I'm not going to go to collect for something that was sitting on my doorstep! I then phone and say please leave with a neighbour, as per basically any parcel ever, so they say sure, no probs!
So the guy comes again today, neighbour is in, both cars are there, but he can't be bothered to walk a few steps to drop it off there so he takes it all the way back again! They won't leave it in case it gets nicked, which never happens here, it's all on CCTV anyway. Do they get paid for each attempt or something as the driver seems quite happy to keep driving my parcels around all day!
So the guy comes again today, neighbour is in, both cars are there, but he can't be bothered to walk a few steps to drop it off there so he takes it all the way back again! They won't leave it in case it gets nicked, which never happens here, it's all on CCTV anyway. Do they get paid for each attempt or something as the driver seems quite happy to keep driving my parcels around all day!
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sorted byDammed if they do, dammed if they don’t. You’d be the first to moan if it got wet or stolen ‘which never happens around here’.
I suppose you’ve registered on the Parcelforce app so you can divert and arrange redelivery at your leisure and even set pre determined neighbours to use or even to avoid and also set a safe place or add instruction like ‘chuck over gate’ or such like??
I'm not moaning if it gets wet or stolen, I told them I'd accept 100% responsibility for it. I've got loads of things outside, ladders etc, they're not getting stolen.
Thanks for the tip about the app, you'd think that having spoken to parcelforce many times they'd have mentioned that, but alas not. They did say that leaving in a safe place wasn't an option any more though.
They also won't take a note written for them as anyone could have written it and left them instructions, I can understand that but I did try it as the seller told me to do it.
Does the Parcel Force tracking page allow you to leave with a neighbour or a local pick up point?
Problem is too many deliveries to do in a day and people taking too long to get to door.
Then when they get there no key!
Knocking on neighbours door takes time and they might be out so drivers don't bother.
Knock once. No answer in 10 seconds on to next delivery. No time to run around houses trying to catch a neighbour at home.
Specify one house. One door to knock.
I know it don't seem right but if you got say 30 parcels an hour to deliver time is a problem. It's not a job where you get job satisfaction or are motivated to do a good job, so don't be surprised if very little effort is put in by all the delivery companies.
And how do you know "he can't be bothered", that's an unfounded assumption, and an uncharitable one at that - I don't understand the rationale of people who blame individual employees for the way a company is run by a board of executives, it's so naive.
More likely his managers dump an impossible workload on him and he cannot work overtime or won't because he's treated poorly. Courier services are like any industry, you can have quality or quantity, you cannot have both. I think it's unfair and unreasonable to condescend, make assumptions and imply people are lazy without any actual basis. Often you simply don't have the time to go knocking on all sorts of doors, of people who will take ages to answer or are likely to be out at work anyway
It's an industry that is engaged in a race to the bottom, pressuring employees who become despondent & stressed, bullying and harassment is rife, workloads are often impossible to complete in time & you're expected to leave your kids standing outside school to deliver someone's musical LED toilet seat? - naa, nobody is going to prioritise some junk over their personal commitments, lets be honest with ourselves shall we?
I never understand these people who order stuff day in day out, but make no arrangements, not even so much as a note to help the delivery person get their parcel to them. Get a parcel delivery box, leave a note, arrange for your item to be left at a shop or other collection point, use a courier that meets your needs - there are many things you can do to make our jobs easier and be more likely to actually get your stuff. So many people knowingly lock a perfectly good porch when they know a package is coming, then throw toys out the pram and go accusing people who work very, very hard of being lazy... It's such nonsense.
If you make our lives difficult, we're not going to go out of our way for you, simple as that. (edited)
It's not the customers fault either that the poor postie has an unrealistic workload. They shouldn't have to bend over backwards to receive their parcel. It's rare these days to have a courier wait for you to come to the door (i've timed it many a time - Amazon/RM/parcelforce mostly) - and I mean even when you're at the door within 5 seconds. They drop the parcel, knock and leave. I almost always get to my door within 5 seconds - 10 on a bad day. Never see the courier there.
I will say that Evri, DPD and Yodel are exceptions - they will stand there until I open the door - they never let the parcel leave their hands until it is handed into mine - good or bad I don't know and I don't know why they are different to Amazon/RM/Parcelforce.