Today, I find myself disillusioned once again by what I can only describe as one of the unholy trinity of man’s great unforgiving roles.
If you happen to know me, then you probably know that I have rated my ‘Top 3 Most Hated Group of People’, and will quite happily let you know them and tell you why.
Today, I’ll cover exactly why I have an immense dislike for delivery couriers.
Easily a contender for the top spot, let’s take a look at why I (and numerous other people) feel a deep-seeded loathing of these people.
- They have an uncanny knack for turning up to deliver something at the 2-minute interval you whizzed around the corner for a pint of milk, after waiting indoors all day
- They have a policy of ‘reasonable effort’ to make a delivery. For instance, if you haven’t answered the door after the courier has waved at you from the van while passing by, then that’s your problem. The courier has made a reasonable effort to deliver the package.
- When I pay for an AM delivery, then the delivery is sometimes bumped to the day after I expected it because they can’t deliver it by AM on the day that it is due
- If you’ve paid for a specific ‘by’ delivery time (eg. by 10am), the courier can still turn up late. This is true, a delivery for 10am turned up at 10:55. I asked why he was late, and he said the consignment has a time of 10 – and he wasn’t late!
So although I thought I was paying for a pre-10am delivery, I was actually paying for a pre – or post – 10am delivery. Bargain! - They never follow instructions left on site at the delivery address. Eg. “Please deliver to rear entrance” does not mean “Please shove a parcel under the neighbour’s caravan” or “Read this sign – ignore it and knock on the door – be surprised that no-one is here and bugger off.”
- They use archaic language where the word ‘fragile’ literally means ‘extremely bouncy ball’.
So, in a nutshell, that is why I can’t get along with couriers. The companies are quite happy to provide a poor customer service because they are banking on two things: The sender and the recipient. Because the sender is person paying for the service, they are quite happy to send out the goods knowing that the goods should be delivered on time and with care. The recipient on the otherhand, hasn’t paid the courier squat (well, not directly) and doesn’t have a leg to stand on when he or she complains.
The sad thing is that (and I gurantee this), if you ever need something on time for a specific purpose, that’s time-critical, and you pay more for that service – it’s bound to go horribly wrong.
Just remember, if you ever need to order an AM delivery – make sure you specifiy which AM!