Amazon delivery gone awry...

[KB]

We have a lot of package theft in the county where I live. So I track all my packages and watch for them. I have a lot of gotten plants on my from t porch and made a nice gap between some next to the door. The packages are always placed in that gap, which is out of sight. No thievery at my house...

Some ring the bell and some do not. So I check each order to see if it has been delivered ....Then hunt them down. Some in the mailbox and some on the porch.

 

[W2R]

We have a lot of package theft in the county where I live. So I track all my packages and watch for them. I have a lot of gotten plants on my from t porch and made a nice gap between some next to the door. The packages are always placed in that gap, which is out of sight. No thievery at my house...

Some ring the bell and some do not. So I check each order to see if it has been delivered ....Then hunt them down. Some in the mailbox and some on the porch.

I read about a lot of package theft around here, but none in my immediate neighborhood. Maybe that is because mostly older retired people live here (visualize the crabby old lady peeking from behind her lace curtains, and calling the cops on anyone suspicious).

Still, when I know a package is coming, I will make a point of not being away for more than a couple of hours if possible. If I am home, either they knock or else I can usually hear the package THUMP when it hits the porch. So far, so good.

 

[Curmudgeon]

If UPS or Fedex delivers the package, it always gets placed nicely on the porch and the doorbell rung. This time of year Amazon is using "Amazon flex" (which I think means anyone with a drivers license), and the quality of that delivery is much lower. We live in the country, maybe 3/4 of a mile off a county Rd. Generally if it is a flex delivery we will get a call from Amazon or the driver saying they are lost, and asking for directions (even though our address is accurately mapped on Google or Mapquest). Once they gave up, and left a package by the side of the county road. It was only through happy accident that we saw the box, checked and discovered it was for us (and not just someone's discarded trash), and got it before anyone else did. A neighbor reported a similar incident - box just left on the side of the road, nowhere near the house.

 

[tinlizzy]

Never sure if you all like my comments on shipping but here goes anyway...

So the Mrs pulls the garbage can out of the garage and puts it on the grass near the house. I’ll pull it to the curb when I give the old gal the last walk of the night. So last night I grab the old pooch and flashlight and head out. I get to the can and nearly step on a package on the grass. Im thinking something fell out of the can. I pick it and it’s too heavy... bring it in to Mrs and it is an expected amazon package.

We go to the video tape ..sure enough white van pulls in driveway and driver throws my package out the window like a kid delivering a newspaper. Yeah the Mrs complained to amazon...

I’m a bit peeved...

USPS and FedEx cut Amazon off last Friday. UPS then takes on whatever Amazon ships the week before Christmas. This was the first year however that UPS implemented a surcharge for holiday deliveries, ouch, so I bet Amazon hired anyone with a car to out and deliver and they were probably overwhelmed.

Post office does the same around my neighborhood. But they usually honk first and if no one comes out to their car/van then they just heave it out the window. At least with Amazon you can complain. With the USPS here, they won't answer the phone.

Casual postal workers.

Lot of temporary work right now?

Bingo!

Most of my packages are delivered on the porch, but a few have simply been dropped on the yard, or tossed toward the porch. Luckily nothing breakable. Neighbors have also complained about porch pirates simply taking packages and driving away. So far they haven't hit me. I'm thinking some kind of locking box may be needed. The Amazon lockers near me are always full, so never available.

Get a plastic garden storage bench or tall garden shed. Weigh it down with sand bags or ice melt and put a padlock in the bottom. Delivery driver puts your package in the receptacle then padlocks it. You unlock it and get your package when you get home.

If it is an issue the UPS store or other private mail box services will rent you a box at around $15 per month and accept parcels from UPS, USPS and FedEx. I did this when I lived in Houston, the only issue is will the seller accept a ship to address other than the billing address. Typically you get a notice in your mail box, present it at the counter, and sign and pick up the package.

You can have your package held for free at UPS or sent to a locker or an access point.

All my many Amazon packages have been delivered to my front door (on the porch), except for one which was delivered to the side door. Perhaps this is because my lot is small, so the driver only has to walk about 20-30 feet from the curb to drop a package on my porch.

My Amazon delivery torment comes in other forms. For example, "Out for Delivery" for 2-3 days before the package is actually delivered. In my imagination, I visualize the package falling into an obscure corner of the delivery truck, where it is overlooked by the exhausted driver.

The side door was probably UPS - out of sight.

This happened to me and it was the Costco/Fedex delivery mentioned earlier. Status was "label printed" from 12/12 to 12/19, with delivery date of 12/19. Fine print said that was the "everything on time" date. Didn't happen. At 9 that evening I got an e-mail saying it would be 12/21.

My guess is that Fedex had only so many packages they could load into the truck at the pickup point so mine got left behind for awhile. Still, annoying that my initial e- mail said "Your order has been shipped" days before it was actually in transit.

That's the difference between logistical info and actual info. Most of the year they align exactly but not this time of the year or when the package has been halted for some reason. Actual info is slightly delayed so if shippers and shipping companies used actual info vs. logistical info, your package would arrive before you were alerted.

Here are some fun facts. FedEx delivered 400 million packages this peak season. UPS delivered 750 million. UPS spent 2 million dollars per day on rental trucks - 50 million total for 5 weeks. They also rent planes.

 

[REWahoo]

Never sure if you all like my comments on shipping...

Fact-based information is always appreciated.

 

[MRG]

Never sure if you all like my comments on shipping but here goes anyway...



USPS and FedEx cut Amazon off last Friday. UPS then takes on whatever Amazon ships the week before Christmas. This was the first year however that UPS implemented a surcharge for holiday deliveries, ouch, so I bet Amazon hired anyone with a car to out and deliver and they were probably overwhelmed.

Casual postal workers.

Bingo!



Get a plastic garden storage bench or tall garden shed. Weigh it down with sand bags or ice melt and put a padlock in the bottom. Delivery driver puts your package in the receptacle then padlocks it. You unlock it and get your package when you get home.



You can have your package held for free at UPS or sent to a locker or an access point.



The side door was probably UPS - out of sight.



That's the difference between logistical info and actual info. Most of the year they align exactly but not this time of the year or when the package has been halted for some reason. Actual info is slightly delayed so if shippers and shipping companies used actual info vs. logistical info, your package would arrive before you were alerted.

Here are some fun facts. FedEx delivered 400 million packages this peak season. UPS delivered 750 million. UPS spent 2 million dollars per day on rental trucks - 50 million total for 5 weeks. They also rent planes.

I love real experiences of people who understand what happens. It's really appreciated.

 

[jazz4cash]

Hey, Ray. You GOTTA put the video on YouTube!

We never have any problems. They leave packages on the porch or inside garage if the door happens to be open. USPS is best of alll. They ring the bell and wait for someone to answer. Can't recall what they do if no one is home

I just ordered a pair of windshield wiper refills and a pair of headlight bulbs for the Chevy. Three desperate deliveries! Each wiper blade was in a huge box big enough for a dozen blades. The shipping seems very inefficient and wasteful to me.

UPS advertises for seasonal driver's helpers. They'll pick you up at your home.

 

[Sunset]

Never sure if you all like my comments on shipping but here goes anyway...
.....

Get a plastic garden storage bench or tall garden shed. Weigh it down with sand bags or ice melt and put a padlock in the bottom. Delivery driver puts your package in the receptacle then padlocks it. You unlock it and get your package when you get home.
.

I like most folks comments, either confirms my opinion or gives me something to consider.

I was also thinking some sort of bench on the porch, even if it had an open top but looked like a bench from the side and front would be enough to hide packages as people drive by.

My package delivery folks would probably not lock a bench, nor even lift a lid, they drop it on the stoop and are gone in a flash, time is money.

 

[Tadpole]

The use of extra inexperienced personnel might explain what happened to us a couple of days ago. I received two emails that appeared to be from USPS. Both said that an item I ordered to be delivered to my home was undeliverable. It said that they tried to deliver them and could not. I was to follow the instructions on the messages left by the delivery truck. Both packages were on my porch and there were no messages. So I checked at the Amazon website. Sure enough the status of the orders was undeliverable and may remain in that status forever since they cannot deliver what I have already received.

 

[tinlizzy]

I like most folks comments, either confirms my opinion or gives me something to consider.

I was also thinking some sort of bench on the porch, even if it had an open top but looked like a bench from the side and front would be enough to hide packages as people drive by.

My package delivery folks would probably not lock a bench, nor even lift a lid, they drop it on the stoop and are gone in a flash, time is money.

Out of sight is good enough generally but for someone tenacious enough to actually follow a delivery vehicle, they will take the package.

The use of extra inexperienced personnel might explain what happened to us a couple of days ago. I received two emails that appeared to be from USPS. Both said that an item I ordered to be delivered to my home was undeliverable. It said that they tried to deliver them and could not. I was to follow the instructions on the messages left by the delivery truck. Both packages were on my porch and there were no messages. So I checked at the Amazon website. Sure enough the status of the orders was undeliverable and may remain in

that status forever since they cannot deliver what I have already received.

I worked as a driver for 4 hrs a day this peak season but I also did my regular 8 hrs as a damage/exception clerk. Some packages had so many status/exception entries on them i had no idea what the temp driver had actually done or what the real status of the package was. I think they are given a hand held computer and they just push buttons until the hand held exits the delivery screen!