C W Burfle posted:Of what value is the photograph?
The value of the photo is very significant when they deliver my package to the wrong house. Sent me a photo and it wasn't even my porch. That was an easy refund! Otherwise they wanted to argue that it was delivered and stolen before I brought it inside. Ummm, NO... that's not even my porch idiots!
RickO posted:C W Burfle posted:Of what value is the photograph?
Maybe if someone steals the package, Amazon is not liable?
That is absolutely what they told me.... it was my fault I didn't get the package before it was stolen. Woulda worked except it wasn't my house.
There's a guy on the next street over with the same house number and his name is Fred, too. Want to guess how many times we've had to exchange packages? Kind of lost count.
One of the reasons AMZL is taking pictures is to prove they are delivering them. One of their contractors was actually just throwing packages out the window as they drove down a street to get rid of them, and got caught by a car camera doing it.
My letter carrier for the last fifteen years retired in Jan. of 2017 this lady was a saint and would always walk up the driveway and leave packages against the garage door which was recessed about a foot and with the overhand of the roof gave a good amount of protection from the elements. Since then I never know where I may find my packages. 9-10 months ago about 2 months after my new carrier took over I found a package leaning against my mail box post. See photo, inside that box is a MTH PRR K4. I was at the lake on Sat. when she delivered it and did not return till Sunday afternoon. Just luck it was still there. I met her at the mailbox on Monday and confronted her about this and she was quite indignant like my concern was my problem. She never leaves packages in the same place twice in a row. They can be on the walk way to my front door or in my driveway 5-10' from the street, though she has not propped any packages against my mail box since the first time. Rain or shine does not matter she has never walked the 50' up my driveway to my garage door to leave a package in a place sheltered from the elements and hidden from view of passing cars.
When Fedex and UPS start delivering the mail: she'll wish she made that 50' walk. The attitude at my local P.O. is so bad; I pay more and ship with the two alternates.
I'm actually getting a chuckle now out of these stories. Of course, they aren't about me!
On the other hand now, I have to add that I have had tons of great service. I have had the best deliveries I could ever hope for. I had drivers carry the package up and put it in place insisting that I might get hurt as it was heavier than it looked. I have had tons of successful deliveries with no damage even though the packaging was less than stellar.
I do know of some of the struggles and what drivers go thru. One of my first jobs was delivering auto parts. Try to rush an auto repair shop.
I worked my way up at that store until I was assistant manager. I saw all the drivers under me go thru struggles as well. So I try my best to make it easy for these people to do their jobs correctly. I have also fixed some stuff that others would not touch.
Ha one day I had 15 or more packages on my porch. They were addressed to me. Incorrectly from Amazon. Wife called and told them we had orders one each of 4 items. But got multiples of those 4 items. They calmly told her that she had to be mistaken because they do not make that type of error. She told them no, I have the packages in front of me. "Sorry mam there is nothing we can do for you". So we kept them.
Jim
My post office is great! I don't have those problems. They even deliver on Sundays! No kidding! Trains on a Sunday! (Priority Mail)
Anyway, they have a great new feature. Sign up on their website for free and check out Informed Delivery. They will tell you when the package is coming and when it was delivered. You can even leave delivery instructions or tell them you will pick it up.
As for your mail lady, have a conversation with your local postmaster about her.
George
carsntrains posted:Ha one day I had 15 or more packages on my porch. They were addressed to me. Incorrectly from Amazon. Wife called and told them we had orders one each of 4 items. But got multiples of those 4 items. They calmly told her that she had to be mistaken because they do not make that type of error. She told them no, I have the packages in front of me. "Sorry mam there is nothing we can do for you". So we kept them.
Jim
Amazon's local delivery service has some issues. They will work hard to fix them, but they don't have the same tools as the carriers. It took me 15 minutes to explain to them that I live in the house across the street from where they were delivering my packages. I told them, "look on Zillow, it will tell you which house is mine". They said politely, "we don't have that capability."
By the way, no delivery picture in my case. I would just look across the street to see if my neighbor had packages on his porch. He probably has surveillance video of me retrieving my packages.
George
Got a Ring Doorbell, it automatically notifies me of a package at my door. I can then have a neighbor or someone bring it in if I'm not home. The delivery people love it too as it proves they delivered it (even if only to me), they even smile into the camera when they drop it off.
Chris Sheldon
BRR, While I respect and appreciate the job description you have provided, truly, I must ask you, for conversation sake and to add a little further perspective, and for no other purpose, have you ever worked an 8hr day in a steel mill, like back in the 1960's? Next to a Blast Furnace?
Or next to the "Soaking Pits," or in a rolling mill?
I have.
FrankM
I was mightily impressed by Amazon. Placed an order for a bicycle that had been out of stock across the web at 9 am on December 23, the height of the final Christmas rush. Bicycle was delivered as promised within twelve hours, with Amazon periodically texting tracking updates, including a link to GPS tracking and my place in the sequence of stops once the bicycle was on the ground. Text alerted me when the driver was at my house. Free shipping, too! Guess no humans interfered with order fulfillment perfection that day.
My UPS/USPS/FedEx drivers are quite nice about leaving boxes next to my front door, not visible from the street as the front walkway has shrubs along the outside. If it's rainy and the walkway is wet, they're even pretty good about leaving boxes in the dry spot! 
Mitch
Moonson posted:BRR, While I respect and appreciate the job description you have provided, truly, I must ask you, for conversation sake and to add a little further perspective, and for no other purpose, have you ever worked an 8hr day in a steel mill, like back in the 1960's? Next to a Blast Furnace?
Or next to the "Soaking Pits," or in a rolling mill?
I have.
FrankM
I have to ask. What does this have to do with deliveries? If it's pointing out hard work environments, I'll bet a few of us here have some stories, but they are irrelevant to the topic.
Just asking.
Thanks
Moonson, No,I have never worked one of those jobs. There are probably a 1000 jobs worst than being a delivery driver. This topic turned into "look what my delivery person does", so I commented what it is like from their perspective. I believe I even mentioned that I enjoyed doing it, even with it's trials. Had the topic of this thread been about working in a steel mill, I wouldn't have posted to it as I have no experience in that line of work. I've worked other jobs that I liked less than being a delivery driver, but they aren't relevant to this conversation.
Every delivery company has different parameters the driver has to follow. In my case, we were required to take the package to the threshold of the door. No more, no less. Were exceptions made? Absolutely. There were customers that treated us very well, had disabilities, etc, and it was no problem going the extra mile for them. There were also other types of customers. If we were "confronted" in a belligerent manner, the bare minimum was done. Notice I use the plural us and we. We, as drivers, ran into our peers from other companies all the time, and usually became friends, even meeting to eat lunch together. If someone is having a problem with all their deliveries, a little self-examination may be order.
Times have changed since I did the job. I notice now you can give special instructions on-line. I'm guessing extra time is allowed for in these situations. You can also choose to pick up your package from the distribution center, all right there from your computer. Perhaps using some of these features would benefit some who have posted. Your driver probably doesn't know your on vacation, gone for the weekend, whatever. On the other hand, you probably knew when you ordered the item...
I'm sorry if my posts aren't welcome, are offensive, or simply isn't what you want to hear. I'm really not trying to get anyone's dander up, but there have been a lot of one-sided posts on this thread, and there is another side to the story. Maybe the old saying "treat others as you would like to be treated" comes into play.
I've been here awhile. I read topics about poor hobby shop, retail, restaurant, construction, handyman, delivery, cable, and internet service, just to name a few. If a person is having multiple problems with the service industry, it might, maybe, possibly, be the person, not the service.
Again, I really enjoyed my job delivering freight 90% of the time. I meant some great people that I consider friends even now, 20 years later. I once got to see an incredible postwar Lionel collection in a customers basement. I was able to help someone in medical distress who may not have made it if things hadn't have happened the way they did. I have a thimble given to me by a customer for helping her out with some packages she was unprepared for, for a couple weeks. I keep the thimble on my desk. Perhaps it reminds me to do the right thing.
brr posted:I've been here awhile. I read topics about poor hobby shop, retail, restaurant, construction, handyman, delivery, cable, and internet service, just to name a few. If a person is having multiple problems with the service industry, it might, maybe, possibly, be the person, not the service.
While many complaints regardless of the business are usually warranted, what is stated above is very relevant. It's not always the business. But most good ones will still try to make a chronic bad customer happy.
Back to the topic at hand, I have been using my work as the point of delivery as even with "special instructions" to put them on the back porch, my packages were left on the front porch in plain view. I imagine the picture taking is a direct attempt to move liability.
I don't use Amazon much but anything delivered by the Post Office, FedEx or UPS has the option to be picked up and not delivered to the house. They all offer an account where you can sign up and manage where your packages get delivered.
I do this for any expensive order. Just stop on my way home from work.
I have been fortunate that both the FedEx people and the PO guy drive all the way up my fairly long driveway and leave packages either at the door or propped up on the garage door, both places being protected from the weather. We are far enough from the street that "porch bandits" cannot see if there is a package outside. One delivery service left a package next to the rural mailbox down on the street, but that only happened once, and it was still there hours later. No bandits came by that day.
MATTR and BRR, I am not going to launch into a defensive tome. However, I will pay you, and myself, the respect of offering my reason for mentioning work in a steel mill in a thread dedicated to complaining about or lauding delivery of packages.
Actually, BRR, it was your post of narrative explanation of the woes and particulars about package delivery that instigated my reply mentioning steel mills, which for some of us is a perspective, relevant to us, about needing to do work carefully.
Both jobs required, at least, the skill of being attentive to details and decision-making. In the one job, poor decisions or inaccurate accomplishments could result in lost limbs or abilities, at the very least.
In contrast, I just thought that caring for the delivery of somebody else's property also required a certain diligence when making decisions and when taking action, though far less "critical."
Mentioning the trials and travails of package delivery inspired me to suggest a job that was , also, difficult, just perhaps , mentioned to add a bit of perspective.
If that rankled you, either of you, that is unfortunate, so I will not make any further point comparing difficult jobs to offer a perspective on how much it might actually require to perform one of them. You want to keep the thread pure, so I will not fatigue it with further side-conversation. Heaven forbid. Let's keep the conversation pure - not particularly welcoming, perhaps, to some spontaneous thoughts - but at least on the original poster's intention.
FrankM
P.S. My UPS and USPS delivery people have been flawless, for decades, now. Flawless. I don't have a single complaint. In fact, my UPS gentleman, I brought into the basement, on one occasion, to see the layout, to add a perspective on what the constant deliveries were usually for. He enjoyed the visit, as did I. ...........Ooops, there I go again, drifting off a pure topic. Time to shut my mouth.
Moonson posted:MATTR and BRR, I am not going to launch into a defensive tome. However, I will pay you, and myself, the respect of offering my reason for mentioning work in a steel mill in a thread dedicated to complaining about or lauding delivery of packages.
Actually, BRR, it was your post of narrative explanation of the woes and particulars about package delivery that instigated my reply mentioning steel mills, which for some of us is a perspective, relevant to us, about needing to do work carefully.
Both jobs required, at least, the skill of being attentive to details and decision-making. In the one job, poor decisions or inaccurate accomplishments could result in lost limbs or abilities, at the very least.
In contrast, I just thought that caring for the delivery of somebody else's property also required a certain diligence when making decisions and when taking action, though far less "critical."
Mentioning the trials and travails of package delivery inspired me to suggest a job that was , also, difficult, just perhaps , mentioned to add a bit of perspective.
If that rankled you, either of you, that is unfortunate, so I will not make any further point comparing difficult jobs to offer a perspective on how much it might actually require to perform one of them. You want to keep the thread pure, so I will not fatigue it with further side-conversation. Heaven forbid. Let's keep the conversation pure - not particularly welcoming, perhaps, to some spontaneous thoughts - but at least on the original poster's intention.
FrankM
P.S. My UPS and USPS delivery people have been flawless, for decades, now. Flawless. I don't have a single complaint. In fact, my UPS gentleman, I brought into the basement, on one occasion, to see the layout, to add a perspective on what the constant deliveries were usually for. He enjoyed the visit, as did I. ...........Ooops, there I go again, drifting off a pure topic. Time to shut my mouth.
I didn't say it "rankled" me. I just asked it's relevance.
Thanks
One reason to check for delivered packages or be at home on the day of delivery (I am retired): had a package delivered by UPS and placed in my open garage behind the rear tire of my truck --- not a good place since I can enter my garage from the front of the truck. Since then, I make sure I am home on delivery day.
hi my wife ordered a package some years ago around Christmas for a company using FedEx guess what she paid extra money to get the product fast as possible!!! well guess what they had the correct address but since they were very busy around Christmas time they used SUB FedEx drivers well they shipped to my local hospital which is not even on the same road as my house 1 so when we called the hospital they said there room where the packages were would be locked until Monday so took them a week to get it to us even thought we paid extra money to get it in 2 days took a week and guess what we did not get a refund either for the supposedly faster 2 day shipping!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
never dealt with FedEx again until recently sent a engine to the person purchasing the engine guess what they damaged the engine even though they specially wrapped the box and made a extra box over the original box and broke parts of the engine and Styrofoam !
Alan
I don't think anyone was out to knock delivery people, I think the point simply is that with so much being delivered these days, thanks to places like Amazon and so forth, that there are going to be more opportunities for problems to arise, simply volume does it. Most of the time when I get stuff delivered they do a great job of getting it to me, I have had a tiny handful of cases where, for example, a delivery driver claimed to have attempted delivery and there was no notice of it at my house,but they are rare.
I am not blaming the drivers, my point is simply that with so much being delivered and with things like theft on the rise, there are going to be issues around it, who is liable. If a package gets delivered and stolen, who is responsible? Technically once it is delivered unless it specified being signed for, it is no longer the shipper's problem, but will the shipping firm have to make good? Or will it be basically "you ordered it, it got stolen, no different than if an item at your home got stolen"....which may be legally correct, but will people then turn around and basically go elsewhere to buy things? This is what happens when things shift and it is going to raise questions. Yes, you can go online now and specify where a package should be left or held, but having done that with my recent USPS package it wasn't so easy, the id they gave in the e-mail wasn't the package number, and since the postal person didn't leave a slip with the shipping id, it was a royal pain. I think the onus is going to be on places like Amazon to make it easier, for example, when you order something, allow the person buying stuff to specify where it should be left, or if a signature should be required, or arrange for a date.
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