Mon 26 Feb 2007
Not All Delivery Companies Are Alike
Posted at 17:30 +1100
Working from home for myself has advantages and disadvantages. One of the disadvantages is that if you are having a package delivered, you are a hostage of the delivery company, required to stay at home for half a day or more until they show up and deliver (or not). I have no receptionist (that I'm aware of) to accept packages on my behalf.
Until recently, every time I had a package delivered from Amazon — and I tend to buy multiple books at once, so using priority delivery to Australia doesn't add that much to the total and it's often still cheaper on average than purchasing in Australia — they would use UPS. The UPS website was usually very up to date about the package status, so I knew what day it would be delivered; the delivery man usually arrived about the same time each day, he waited a couple of minutes if I didn't answer immediately, etc. All in all, a tolerable experience.
Recently, though, Amazon seem to be favouring DHL a bit more for their deliveries to me. Sadly, DHL's service is not really up to the UPS level, in my experience. Their online tracking is often a bit behind the times, so it might look like my package is stil in LA or in the air between LA to Sydney, when it has, in reality, landed, cleared customs and been sent out for delivery — only to have me out of the house when it arrives. Or, as in today's case (and sadly this is not an isolated incident), I have not left the house except for a quick five minute trip to the local coffee shop at 09:30 this morning. According to DHL, they gave the package to the delivery man at 1:30 this afternoon. At 4:40, he recorded it as "delivery attempt; nobody at home." I call BS! I have not left the apartment. My intercom/video phone to let people into the building is not broken. I have not suddenly lost my hearing. And, amazingly, he didn't even leave a card to say he attempted delivery (which they're required to do). The delivery man is confused about which apartment he rang or mistaken about what "attempt delivery" means. And this is not the first time this has happened. A recent phone call to DHL on this issue received the response that "we're sorry sir, but that problem does not happen. The delivery agent will have only left when you did not answer." So I guess that settles it — I am confused about reality.
I wish Amazon had a way to let me choose the courier company. It would almost be worth paying a slight premium. Until then, I can only record my tail of woe and look forward to being trapped inside for another four or eight hours tomorrow waiting for this package to arrive.