Lost packages anyone?

[Brian Holcombe]

Best thing IMO is to get to know your local drivers in all areas, they'll take care of you.

[Mike Holbrook]

Good idea too Brian. I try to take opportunities to talk to delivery people, talked to the mail person just a few days ago and thanked her for delivering so close to Christmas. Unfortunately UPS has been leaving my packages later and later, lately most deliveries are at dinner or after when it is dark. The other problem has been a large percentage of the packages have been left down at the main road, well out of sight of my house.

I will keep trying.

[Jacob Reverb]

UPS stinks. I needed to return a $1600 item to the vendor. The vendor wanted me to use the UPS return label. UPS wouldn't give me any kind of receipt, and their driver picked up the package at night, and didn't even drive the truck down the driveway. (I was suspicious, since the driver wasn't even wearing a UPS uniform ... though he was carrying their signature gizmo ... so I followed him down the driveway and saw the truck out there in the dark, at least.) Then I went online to make sure they logged the package pickup. Nope. Same thing the next day and the day after that. I called UPS on the first day it didn't show up online, and they "Initiated an investigation." Then, on the third day, the package miraculously "reappeared." I definitely grew some new gray hairs in that 72 hours, though!

[Joe Bradshaw]

I have good luck with UPS. My driver leaves my parcels inside my shop. I also keep water and soft drinks in the fridge if he wants is thirsty.
Joe

[DOUG ANGEL]

I live in Bulverde, Tx., that's about 20 mi. outside San Antonio, our UPS ans USPS delivery folks are OUTSTANDING. I do a lot of ordering online, mostly Amazon, as their customer service is exemplary.
Packages shipped by UPS are always delivered at front door. Our driveway is about 75' of curvy asphalt with trees and large limestone rocks lining it. The UPS drivers park and walk up the driveway for delivery. Some packages do get a bit battered during shipping, but Amazon usually packs really well so no damage to item. Amazon and UPS delivered on time every time when I ordered Christmas presents for my family. This is incredible considering where I live.

[Mike Holbrook]

Sounds like I have run off into the Bermuda Triangle of shipping. The owner, president..something of UPS is suppose to live right down the road, maybe that has created a black hole.

[Lornie McCullough]

Best thing IMO is to get to know your local drivers in all areas, they'll take care of you.

Brian has what I believe is the correct response. Delivery drivers are living breathing humans. Every one of us makes mistakes, most of them of no consequence. But a delivery drivers mistake is seen by at least 3 people.... the person at the wrong address, the person at the correct address, and the delivery boss.

If you get to know your local drivers, then they can mentally connect a package with your face/residence, and make fewer mistakes. Keep in mind that every regular driver has days off, vacation time, and sick days. Substitute delivery drivers will almost always make more mistakes than the regular driver.

Lornie (I delivered mail and packages for 30 years)

[Tom Vanzant]

As Brian said it...get to know your delivery people. My UPS man delivers packages to the front door, but not visible from the street, and rings the doorbell. If we get to the door before he drives off, we give him a loud "thank you." The USPS delivery man always rings the bell if he has a package. Exception at 0730 on Christmas Eve...he saw activity in our kitchen and several cars in the drive, so he knocked quietly. The grandkids' dog was not jarred awake so she didn't bark. Trash collectors get cold water and canned drinks in the heat of summer. Those little things go a long way in both directions.

[Mike Holbrook]

Apparently I am at the end of the line for UPS. They have delivered later and later in the day in the last year or so and I usually do not see the driver, which is weird because I see most of the other drivers regularly.

I suspect there is a specific issue with my current UPS driver. I think he is very afraid of dogs, especially large dogs. The one time I saw him in the last month he refused to get out of the truck, apparently because I had a dog with me. My dogs are never left out in the yard alone. If I am not with them they are in dog crates or fenced areas. I train dogs and their people just about every day of my life. I specialize in socializing dogs with other dogs and people. I trained the original K9 units in my city/state. My dogs are trained at a level the majority of the population has never even seen. They are very safe. Still I can't fix an avoidance problem with a person I can't talk to. None of the other UPS drivers, mail/delivery people have this phobia so they have no problem.

I wish there was some way to explain to all the people out there with dog phobias that the specific behavior they exhibit due to their phobia is instantly recognizable by dogs and increases their suspicion level several orders of magnitude. I am attempting to not get off topic and climb up on a stump here. The point I am trying to make is, I believe this delivery person is exhibiting what we dog trainers refer to as a classic avoidance issue.

[Brian Elfert]

I have had good luck with package deliveries at both my previous house and my current house. Both houses have equally long driveways to the house. Everything has always been waiting for me at the front door of my previous and at my current house they usually put the stuff at the back door. Both houses have enough trees to block the view of any packages from the street.

One USPS carrier didn't leave my package one day at my old house and I had to go pick it up which is a pain. With my current house I hope that never happens as the post office is 10 to 15 miles each way.

[Mike Holbrook]

Same situation with us Brian. We own a 35' x 900' strip of property through woods with driveway which goes to the house and business on 12 acres. It is a long walk to check packages and a little daunting at night. There is no reasonable way to monitor the area next to the main road. There is enough traffic on the road to place any package left there at immediate risk.

I just installed a large mail box with a locking mail area and one way access via a blocked chute door. There is plenty of room inside but large items can not just be shoved in the front and left hanging out. I hope this will reduce the number of packages left in the mail box. I understand it is illegal for companies other than USPS to leave packages in mail boxes, but in my experience it is often done anyway. I don't know that there is a perfect solution to this situation but I am trying every thing I can think of to reduce the chance of packages getting left in risky areas.

[Dan Duperron]

Mike, I have had issues with specific drivers from UPS over the years. Usually it's around the holidays when they have lots of temp drivers who just don't give a crap - that's when packages get left out at the road 1/4mi from my house. Several times I have had to call the 800 number and ask for a call back from the "local delivery supervisor". That's the person you want to talk to. That supervisor will call you back, and in my experience they have been very helpful. In my case I explained (nicely) that I was paying to have packages delivered to my house, not 1/4mi away, that's the way the regular drivers always did it, and I expected it to continue. The supervisor agreed the driver was supposed to deliver to the house. The next day they picked up the package from next to the mailbox and drove it to my door.

Obviously this depends on the temperament of the supervisor, but if you are polite and explain the security issue there is no reason they should not back you up. It's worth mentioning your hunch about dogs too, you may be on to something there.