Grrrr! couriers

[Andy Burns]

Who was the last courier firm to go bust, CityLink? Can I nominate UPS to be next please?

Few weeks ago ordered some items, on the wednesday got shipping reference from the company saying they would be with me by end of thursday, email from UPS saying the same, tracking said it being collected from castleford, arriving and departing wakefield, arriving tamworth ... so I arranged my time so I was at home thursday and due at customer Friday ... thursday afternoon updated email from UPS, won't be arriving today, now will arrive friday ... which it did but not very convenient.

Last week ordered more of same item from same company, email from them yesterday saying will be with me Thursday, hmmm should I believe it this time? will it actually be friday again? watched tracking, collected castleford, arrived wakefield ... then at 20:30 it said it had departed wakefield 3 hours in the future, what! then that status got cancelled and it showed arriving preston instead (heading the wrong way, but who knows what their routing is like) and eventually arrived tamworth before midnight, and loaded out for delivery this morning ... so decided I would risk staying in for it, driver arrived at roughly same time of day as last week, furtled around in the back of the van, climbed in the side door, obviously turning everything upside down, eventually emerges and shrugs "I ain't got it"

No update on tracking, so I'll have to see if shows as out for delivery again tomorrow, and they charge £12 a pop for this shit.

[Caecilius]

Simpsons quote:

"Who knew guys in brown shirts could cause so much trouble?"

[Dave Plowman (News)]

They were absolutely useless when doing the 'free' delivery from CPC here. Would post a card without ringing the doorbell - so you had to go and collect it. No second delivery attempt. Once OK, but three times on the trot sets a pattern. CPC seem to have changed their carrier, the last few times I've used them.

I ordered up a UPVC door from Just Value Doors. Got an email saying it would be delivered Tuesday. Got a call from their office Tuesday morning saying the driver couldn't contact me by phone and got no answer at the door, which was total bullshit, as you can hear my doorbells everywhere in the house. But in any case I'd been in the kitchen at the time in question, with the bell just outside that open door. I'd have heard a knock on the door too.

It was delivered today. Driver rang the bell, as you'd expect. Sent an email to the lady in the office apologising for giving her a hard time. Hope she gave the driver one in turn.

[Nightjar]

At least it got to the right address. Last week I had somebody from the next road bring around a parcel that had been delivered there by Hermes.

[dennis]

Yesterday Hermes arrived to pick up the TV they delivered with a smashed screen(1) last week.

Trouble is they picked it up the day after last week, it was the same driver.

The new one arrived an hour later on a different hermes van.

1: I don't know who broke it, there wasn't a mark on the box and it hadn't been resealed AFAICS.

I think it was Amazons fault for the extra collection.

[Andrew Gabriel]

I find UPS to be very good. Nearly always the same very nice sikh gentleman does the delivery.

[Chris Green]

It's mostly down to local managers/franchises. UPS may be brilliant in postode AA11 and crap in ZZ99 and ParcelForce crap in AA11 and brilliant in ZZ99.

Therein lies the problem, you can't choose a company that is good everywhere.

[Andy Burns]

Strangely (compared to other peoples experience) I've never had a problem with Hermes, same woman driver here for years, I've seen her "lower" rather then "sling" something over a neighbours gate ... I think you have to assume the parcels get at least that much punishment in the rest of the delivery process.

[pamela]

While a lot of these courier firms are franchises, I thought UPS ran its own UK operation?

[Andy Burns]

Anyone got a bad word for DPD? I haven't.

[tabbypurr]

Not only is Royal mail / gpo etc the worst courier I have ever deal with, today one tried to run me over!

NT

[Chris Green]

Which is why I said managers/franchises, local manager has a huge effect too.

[Bob Eager]

Nor me.

[Dave Liquorice]

+1 and like Andrew nearly always the same driver and arrives +/- 30 mins of the same time. Many of the couriers have their own "delivery time slot".

[Bob Eager]

I think they do. But individual drivers vary.

I once had a delivery of dishwasher powder from CPC. The guy (well, two of the; I think the other was a trainee) delivered it and left it on the path while I signed for it. He got back in his van. I took it in, not noticing the trail of white powder from the box. I had unpacked it (and signed for it) before the full horror became apparent.

Driver was still outside chatting to his mate. I told him, and he said that he would have left the box even if I'd refused delivery. Surly and unhelpful. He must have known - I later found lots of white powder on the road (where his van doors would have been) and a trail to my door.

However, I get two other drivers and they are both fine.

[Andy Burns]

Yes, it's amazing how the number and spread of deliveries in their patch must even out so you get used to different times for each courier.

Also for quite a few of them, if tracking shows it reached the local depot before midnight it will be out for delivery next day, if it arrives much after midnight it'll wait until the day after.

[tony sayer]

No there're fine:)

[Brian Gaff]

Also where do they get their delivery drivers from. Twice last week a guy came to my door with a parcel for my neighbour. I said, I'm blind, but will sign for whatever it was but he would have to help me where to do it. there then ensued what I can only describe as hand waving and lots of easternEuropean words, and he went away mumbling. I mean, if you are delivering stuff, complying with simple instructions like put your pen in my hand and put my hand where you want a signature should not be rocket science, should it? I know English is sometimes complex, but really, I have no idea what these folk then do, presumably shove a card through the neighbours door and push off. So you try to be helpful and well, you fail miserably. I'm not the only blind person in the world! Brian

[Brian Gaff]

The U in UPS stands for unpredictable I think. Brian

[Brian Gaff]

When they are in a hurry and have to deliver a certain number but cannot they tend to just shove a card through and carry on to make up time They are on such a shit pay rate its a wonder they bother at all, to be honest. Brian