I stopped our mail carrier to talk with him about how he delivers our packages. This time of year a lot of packages are both arriving and being sent from your house, and just how many are being delivered to your satisfaction?
Just this morning I found a box sitting about five foot inside our locked driveway gate. Sitting right there on the concrete just as pretty as you please with the corners all rounded and crunched. Thank goodness the glass scented candles inside were packaged securely by the seller, or else Cindy would have had a box of glass, wax, and wicks.
Also just a few days ago I found two envelopes containing gift cards, sitting just inside the gate sticking into the top of a Gardenia bush. The gate was not locked and was partially opened that day. With the Santa Ana Winds blowing it's a wonder that somebody over in the next county didn't find them, I did double check the name on the envelopes to make sure they were ours and didn't belong to someone up the street.
Cindy has had three different packages arrive that were left at the front door, fairly large packages that arrived very quickly after she had ordered them which was great, all except for the fact that they were sitting right against the front door. At our front door there is a carpeted step with a piece of trim at the edge. With a box sitting against the front door, it will slide into the trim when pushed with the door, basically trapping the door shut. So on three different occasions I have had to go out the back door and around the house to move the boxes, so we could open the door and bring the boxes in, that's the long way around I'd say.
These are just a few package issues we have had in the last few weeks, and every one of these problem deliveries came from the big brown truck or the little book store that sells everything from A to Z who are now making their own deliveries. As for our local mail carrier I wish that these other guys would take a few lessons from him.
If we have a package delivered from the US Postal Service our mail carrier gets out of his truck and brings that package to our front porch, he sits the box on a chair that is in a corner hidden from view of the street by hedges we have there, but in full view of our front door, but yet far enough away that we can actually open the door. He has always done this since we have lived here, a man who uses his common sense, a rarity now days.
The reason I stopped him was to say how much I appreciated him taking care of our packages, he smiled and said "It's just the right thing to do, just common sense."
You can't argue with logic like that. We did show him our appreciation inside a Christmas card.
We have had no damaged or lost products this year, but common sense tells me that if a gate is locked and you have to leave a package, drop it over at the side of the gate into the grass rather than toss it onto the concrete, and with envelopes when a gate is open, you should at least walk to the door and ring the bell, if no one is home you can leave them on the porch rather than toss them into the shrubs, and as for placing a package against a door, oh come on I don't even have to explain this one...
Have you had any package delivery disasters?
Just this morning I found a box sitting about five foot inside our locked driveway gate. Sitting right there on the concrete just as pretty as you please with the corners all rounded and crunched. Thank goodness the glass scented candles inside were packaged securely by the seller, or else Cindy would have had a box of glass, wax, and wicks.
Also just a few days ago I found two envelopes containing gift cards, sitting just inside the gate sticking into the top of a Gardenia bush. The gate was not locked and was partially opened that day. With the Santa Ana Winds blowing it's a wonder that somebody over in the next county didn't find them, I did double check the name on the envelopes to make sure they were ours and didn't belong to someone up the street.
Cindy has had three different packages arrive that were left at the front door, fairly large packages that arrived very quickly after she had ordered them which was great, all except for the fact that they were sitting right against the front door. At our front door there is a carpeted step with a piece of trim at the edge. With a box sitting against the front door, it will slide into the trim when pushed with the door, basically trapping the door shut. So on three different occasions I have had to go out the back door and around the house to move the boxes, so we could open the door and bring the boxes in, that's the long way around I'd say.
These are just a few package issues we have had in the last few weeks, and every one of these problem deliveries came from the big brown truck or the little book store that sells everything from A to Z who are now making their own deliveries. As for our local mail carrier I wish that these other guys would take a few lessons from him.
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| Photo by Pope Moysuh on Unsplash |
The reason I stopped him was to say how much I appreciated him taking care of our packages, he smiled and said "It's just the right thing to do, just common sense."
You can't argue with logic like that. We did show him our appreciation inside a Christmas card.
We have had no damaged or lost products this year, but common sense tells me that if a gate is locked and you have to leave a package, drop it over at the side of the gate into the grass rather than toss it onto the concrete, and with envelopes when a gate is open, you should at least walk to the door and ring the bell, if no one is home you can leave them on the porch rather than toss them into the shrubs, and as for placing a package against a door, oh come on I don't even have to explain this one...
Have you had any package delivery disasters?
We have to watch out for package thieves here. They are working overtime this year. We've done okay with the packages arriving in one piece though.
ReplyDeleteHave a fabulous day. ☺
I see stories about package thieves on the news almost everyday, they are really brazen in their actions and it's a crying shame to see how hard they are working to steal the packages they do, it's almost like they are following the trucks around and picking up what they drop off.
DeleteA great day to you my friend.
We've been fortunate so far...our front door opens IN lol.
ReplyDeleteThat would solve the problem we have with the packages against the door, our door opens in also but the security door opens out and not far enough to get your hand on the boxes to move them either ha ha.
DeleteNot so much disasters as terribly wasteful packaging - mostly from Amazon.
ReplyDeleteBut it must be so busy for all the postmen this time of year.
Liz you make an excellent point on the Amazon packaging being wasteful, a whole lot of stuff we have gotten has been in a way oversized box compared to the product.
DeleteI'd hate to be a Postal worker or anyone in the package delivery business this time of year, you know they are working themselves to death right now.
In our neighborhood we have rural style boxes at the street and I've had a postal guy through a box on the ground, next to our box, that was too big to go inside. They are supposed to walk those up to the front door. I have a large basket by my front door labeled, "boxes and newspapers" but every few deliveries ever make it inside the basket. It's like they go out of their way to put them any where else but. Would it work to have rural style mailbox at your locked gate that can be opened from both outside your fence and inside?
ReplyDeleteThe rural mailbox is a good idea well worth considering but then I'd have to train the package delivery people and myself on how to use it ha ha.
DeleteWE get a lot of deliveries and have not had many problems, occasionally we get a delivery meant for someone else, and Mrs. C orders so much stuff I wonder if she forgets and a neighbor is using what we ordered, also sometimes they deliver to the garage door, but our entrance is a little confusing so...
ReplyDeleteHaving a somewhat confusing entry gives them an out, but the guys who deliver all the time should be familiar with it after a couple of deliveries.
DeleteI have an over sized mail box that will accept most packages I order. My whole family worked for the Post Office so I know that while it is supposedly "not allowed", like you, a little appreciation in a Christmas card goes a long way.
ReplyDeleteMy UPS guy is awesome. If I am not home or don't hear him, he comes in the gate, knocks on the door and leaves my package on the porch on a bench. Being an old lady with white hair has its perks.
Our mail carrier is a really good guy you can sure tell when he is off because that is the only time we have any mistakes, I hope that our Christmas card to him lets him know that we appreciate his hard work.
DeleteComing from a family of Postal workers I am sure you are happy to be the one receiving packages rather than delivering them now.
At the moment our major issue is parcels not arriving. Not getting here and being stolen, simply not arriving.
ReplyDeleteAnd sometimes the post people are brilliant and bring things to the do rather than stuffing them in the letter box. Other days? Epic fail.
How I wish common sense was common.
"How I wish common sense was common." I totally agree with you EC, so many situations would be easier if it were common.
DeleteWe finally got all of our packages. Some were quick some were late but only one was messed up due to FED EX! Yes ill spell it out again...FED EX!. I was waiting on my Nutrisysterm frozen order. It usually comes in two days, packed in a cooler with dry ice. I waited a week!!! I was tracking it and saw it was on a truck all this time in the next town over. It finally arrived and everything was melted. Luckily, Nutrisystem send me a whole new box and it was here the next day. FED EX, Came between me an a whoopie pie. I was mad.
ReplyDeleteLisa
"FED EX, Came between me an a whoopie pie." I can understand why this would upset you, anything packed in dry ice should never take a week to arrive, no wonder it was melted, it was good of Nutrisystem to replace it for you.
DeleteSo far we havwen't had any packages stolen, but I hear it's happening.
ReplyDeletePackages being stolen are getting worse everyday it seems, we have been lucky here also hopefully all of our packages have arrived.
DeleteI'm glad you told the USPS guy he's doing good. Even a modest person feels better when appreciated.
ReplyDeleteWhen I send something in the mail, I always think What is the worst that could happen, and then I pack it to avoid that :) (I put the address on the inside item as well as on the outside, I wrap it in an airtight/watertight bag before wrapping in the exterior brown paper, I cushion it generously and I put the address and return address on both sides! I keep thinking I would've been an excellent boy scout)
Jenny your packing skills are amazing, regardless of how your packages are handled the contents are going to be safe.
DeletePeople around here who delivary package does a great job. Just recieve a box and was left on our porch this evening and it was in great shape.
ReplyDeleteCoffee is on
Very nice Dora, you really appreciate it when your stuff arrives undamaged, it's good to have people who care about their jobs delivering your packages.
DeleteI've been lucky, my mailman does tick me off where he'll lay a package on paper mail on the deck or my wife's car. It's not going to fly out way in the mailbox.
ReplyDeleteAdam I'd have a problem with any package being left on my car also, our mailman will leave the mail underneath a package but it is up on the porch in a hidden corner from the wind and view of the street.
DeleteI recently had a soft cover book delivered that had the cover and several pages bent backwards, dog ear style, by the person shoving it carelessly into the padded bag before sending it. It's a well known company that I buy from often, so I was quite disappointed.
ReplyDeleteApart from that no genuine disasters. I have seen TV images of parcel carriers pulling up and tossing packages from the van right over fences without even walking in close, some with smaller packages don't even get out of the vans, just hurl them from the front seat. I saw one carrier carry a box to a locked gate, lift it up and just drop it over and we heard the sound of breaking glass when it hit the ground.
Then there's the TV images caught on home video cameras of people rushing in or just walking in like they live there, and walking away with whatever parcel they see on the front porch.
At any time of year I never order anything that can't fit in my mailbox.
I have received books that were damaged when they were packed also, this really ticks me off, I have always contacted the company in situations like this and they always make it right whether it's be replacing the book or refunding the cost.
DeleteThose videos of the packages being tossed is unbelievable, I know those guys have a lot of packages to deliver but destroying someones stuff while delivering it is uncalled for. And those thieves are so brazen it's actually scary.
I am still recovering from last year's bison wallet incident. I'm a procrastinating Christmas shopper, so this year's headache is just starting.
ReplyDeletehttp://unbaggingthecats.blogspot.com/2016/12/like-honey-badger-fedex-dont-care.html
I went back and read your bison wallet incident, I can't believe that Fed Ex denied your claim...well I guess I can, they were definitely in CYA mode and this was not going to be their fault no matter what you said...unreal.
DeleteI haven't had any mishaps on deliveries, but I do have appreciation for our UPS driver. I recently had some work computer woes; one broke, they sent a replacement that was also not working, so in the course of several days I had UPS either delivering a new computer or picking up one that needed to be sent back to my company. The first day the UPS driver delivered the new computer that ended up not working, he had 241 deliveries compared to his usual 143. The next night when he came to pick up my computer to be sent back (at 9 p.m. mind you) he still had 40 more deliveries to make of the 348 he had for the day). He was still as cheerful at that time of night as he had been earlier the previous day. I don't think I could have been like that. I'm fortunate in that I work at home so if we do get a delivery, I can get it almost immediately after it is delivered, no matter how it is delivered.
ReplyDeletebetty
Your UPS driver sounds like a real stand up guy, they should use him to train some of the other drivers. You have to be a people person in a job like that, and as for long days and large numbers of deliveries should really be split with an additional driver, but like any other company they are going to get the most out of their employees even if it is too much.
DeleteWe live in quite a remote spot so we don't tend to have parcels stolen, but what I've noticed recently is how tatty and crushed all the parcels that do arrive are. It's amazing that the things inside are okay but also frustrating because really I want to use the box to wrap up the parcel especially when it's something like a bike pump, and when the boxes arrive crushed and ripped you can't. Also I like to reuse my boxes so the packaging is almost as important to me as the object inside!
ReplyDeleteI have noticed that also Joey, a lot of the boxes are in such bad shape that they simply can't be reused, I also like to reuse the boxes rather than buy new ones, especially when it is for something with an odd shape like the bicycle pump, that is definitely not a normal shaped box.
DeleteI can see where the packaging itself is important to you, I'm not sure if that would fall into the damaged goods category but it would be a good question to run by the company.
Bicycle pumps fit in those tubes you can buy at the post offices, they're also handy for rolling up a big poster that you may want to send someone without folding it, a rolled poster arrives uncreased.
DeleteI can honestly say I have no complaints about delivery men, but I did at one time. New security measures seem to have replaced shoddy methods. If a parcel is left I invariably get an email with a photograph of where the package was left. Proof of delivery! Parcels are so well wrapped I sometimes have trouble opening them. Am I one of the lucky ones?
ReplyDeleteValerie you are indeed one of the lucky ones, I have never gotten an email with a picture of where a package was left, that is really a nice perk you have with your delivery men. I know there are inexpensive tools made especially for opening packages, you may have to look into one of those if your packages remain hard to open.
DeleteI've seen those videos of delivery folks throwing packages over gates. Crazy! My only complaint is that they often leave packages by the garage door, so unless I go somewhere that day, I don't see it.
ReplyDeleteBijoux I literally cringe every time I see one of those videos, you just know that the contents of those boxes are destroyed, especially the TVs that are tossed like a football.
DeleteMy dad has the same issue as you with the packages being left at the garage door, he rarely goes anywhere and sometimes a package can sit there for days.
I'd like to know why our mailmen or delivery persons can't (or just DON'T) ring our bell or knock on the door when they've delivered something? We've never, that we know of, had a package stolen, but sometimes they can sit there for quite a while!!
ReplyDeleteI would also prefer if the delivery person would ring the doorbell, we are home 99% of the time and it is amazing how many packages appear at the front door without us knowing they have arrived.
DeleteI live at the end of a country road that only I and my neighbor use. UPS puts packages over my locked gate and no one has ever taken any. Fedex sometimes puts the package in a plastic bag and ties the bag to the gate. This I don't consider safe at all. The mailman does not come down our road, but delivers to my locked mailbox at the larger road that goes through the canyon. There has been a lot of mailtheft around, but since I bought a large box with a lock, I haven't had any problems. Unless very large packages, Amazon sends mine via the post office, I get a notice if they don't fit in my box, and have to drive to the post office to pick up. Well, this was probably more information than you needed.
ReplyDeleteOne good thing is that you are in a low traffic area but I would still not like my packages hanging on the gate in a plastic bag, going to the post office to pick up a package really wouldn't be a problem for me, at least that is a safe place for them to be.
DeleteI just saw on the news about a woman dressed up as a postal person who was actually picking up packages rather than delivering them! What in the heck? Like you, I'm a package and mail person because one of my hobbies is getting freebies in the mail, or from contests I enter. As an AF Veteran, my medical supplies are often mailed to me. In most instances, the things I'm supposed to have are right outside my door, and I can think of only one occasion where a small package was left at the mailbox which is about 50 feet away, rather than at my house. I agree with you. When something is supposed to be delivered, everyone should take care to ensure it gets there unscathed and with no drama. Again, I thank you for the great post! Hugs...RO
ReplyDeleteI can't believe the lengths people will go to in an attempt to steal from others, like the woman dressed as a postal worker picking up packages, if they put that much effort into a real job I'd think that they could afford to buy stuff like we are trying to do.
DeleteI get a lot of my meds shipped to me also and can't complain about the care that those packages are given.
Good to see you RO
i am agreed they should learn how to deliver packages safely from your mail career .
ReplyDeletewe have shop in the corner of street and many time our light and gas bills are dropped there and as hubby don't visit that shop often unlike other neighbours we often get late to receive our bills at time which cause quite fine fee when hubby asked man why he can't take few more step and drop it to our gate he said sir i thought you live here can can pick up as it is common here as we do this way everywhere ,what to say about such nonsense
Baili it sounds like your mail carrier needs to learn that your mail should not be left anywhere other than your home, hopefully with your husband talking to him that he will begin doing this, I agree that him leaving your mail at the corner shop is nonsense.
DeleteWe haven't had any issues with packages. Years ago (I'm talking like 25 years ago), my family sent a package of goodies from Germany for Christmas. It arrived at my house with two books that my family had not sent. Somewhere in a customs office, someone had taken two books from someone else's package and put them into mine. Maybe the customs officer had too much eggnog that day?
ReplyDeleteWow that is wild to have books that were not shipped from your family in Germany to have shown up in your package, definitely a mix up in customs I'd say.
Delete