Delivery reports on text messages

For a text (SMS) message "delivered" shows that receipt of the message has been acknowledged by the network and the phone concerned. It cannot show that the message has been opened by the owner of the phone.

Lack of a delivered flag does not mean the message has not been delivered, some networks/handsets default to "do not acknowledge receipt" and users often don't alter that (some can't). In this case you should see a "sent" response but nothing else.

If you/they use a more complex messaging services such as IMessage rather than SMS then depending how it has been set up it "delivered" may be no guarantee that the message has been received on a specific device, it could have been delivered to other devices on the same account.

They are not "iffy". They are simply not reliable in the signals sense. Like email.

Not that it stops the intellectually challenged from relying on them as gospel.

Many years ago we used a system called Cognito which *was* reliable to communicate with field engineers. It provided delivery and read receipts.

I assume he has been employed for less than 2 years in which case the simplest and least risky approach is simply to tell him it?is not working and you?re not going to continue their employment. No reason is needed (and discussion about the matter should be avoided).

They should be paid for any contractual notice period.

I might give the opportunity for the apprentice to pull his socks up first!

If words have already said to him then I see no reason why he shouldn't be asked to leave, or sacked.

Sent a relatively important SMS to my SIL (so she had the address etc in writing). When she didn't reply, phoned her up on the same phone. And she'd not got it - despite mine saying it had. Didn't get it until the next day - despite powering the phone on and off to see if that would kick things into life.