Another issue I have, and it's mainly with UPS is that the driver doesnt even ATTEMPT to see if I'm home.
I've been home, watched him back into the driveway... run the parcel to the doorstep drop it, and run back to his truck. He didnt knock, ring the doorbell, or anything of the sort. His delivery doesn't "require" a signature, so he doesn't even bother. The funny thing was that this was a 40-inch LCD TV. It wasnt heavy nor even that bulky to carry... but it was enough that I wouldnt leave it on someone's front door step not knowing if they were home or not.
AND UPS drivers seem to see fit to put it wherever he/she THINKS I'll find it. I have two stories on this one:
(grab some snacks... this may take a while) :)
1.) UPS Hide-&-seek
I was once waiting for a time-sensitive parcel. when it didnt arrive on-time (a Wednesday, and I needed it by the weekend) I contacted the shipper who had sent it... they tracked it, and said it was delivered 'on time'. They gave me the tracking # (by this time after a couple of email exchanges it was now late Friday) and sure enough UPS says it was delivered Wednesday (otherwise on time) but I didnt have it. -- I called UPS and they said "maybe the driver left it with a neighbour or hid it somewhere safe, like under a deck, or behind some bushes, or in a garbage can" --- to which I replied (almost verbatim) "First of all, he has no business delivering it my neighbours. That's not the address on the delivery, and I don't live at those addresses. Second of all, I shouldn't have to play hide-and-seek with my deliveries... asking my neighbours, or looking in obscure hiding places. Lastly, a GARBAGE CAN? Good thing it wasnt garbage day, or it would be GONE." ... I did find it eventually. He stashed it in a deck-box near my backdoor. For one, I *NEVER* use the back entrance, let alone would I look in the deck-box for it. I'm glad it was 'safe' but I shouldnt have to go hunting for it.
2.) the GPS from Costco
The next time it happened, it was a $300+ GPS unit from Costco.ca (shipped UPS). Of course, I couldnt find it (or I wouldnt be telling this story), so I called them again... they told me the same thing as above (ie: neighbour, hidden, etc) and I gave them the same reply as last time. Although this time, I had already looked around the yard in the most logical locations before I called them and couldnt find it. I filed a claim with Costco who promptly sent me a replacement, next-day delivery - this time with a signature required, so I had to to pick it up at a drop-off location (a small business down the street) because I wasnt home to sign for it. Going to pick it up was a minor inconvenience, but I'll take this over the other hassles I've had to endure. I had my GPS, so I was content.
A few months later, I was clearing out much of the landscaping around my yard and found the box deeply buried behind a shrub in my back yard. It would have been impossible to have been blown there by there by accident. Besides, it was sitting straight and upright. Someone put it there intentionally (guess who? UPS, that's who).
The label was ALMOST illegible, and the carton was water-logged swollen (but dry at this point). Inside, the GPS packaging was ruined. The coloured had ran, and the the cardboard outer shell was damp and "peeled away" from the main box like a candy wrapper. However the unit inside was fine as it was all wrapped in plastic. Whatever weather it had endured didnt penetrate that deeply. Doing the right thing, I called Costco and reported that I had found the once-missing parcel and asking what should I do with it. After a few days, Costco replied and told me to keep it as the lost-parcel claim had already been settled. Plus the condition of the unit was "beyond repair". -- I then called UPS to complain about the otherwise impossible to find delivery, discovered three months later. Although they didnt seem to care (I'm guessing they see that as a success since it WAS delivered), I've never had a parcel lost like that again. Now if they leave a parcel, they leave it in plain sight, but they wrap it in a plastic bag. Easy pickings for a walk-by thief.