I do a fair amount of ordering from online companies. Most of them use a certain major parcel delivery service whose company name is three letters long.
That company refuses to permit recipients to request that a package be held for pickup.... until a delivery attempt has already been made. And it's the driver's discretion whether to leave it or not, even if the recipient hangs a note on the front door requesting "hold for pickup".
However, the company DOES permit the sending company (but not the lowly recipient) to specify "hold-for-delivery" at send time, or to request it while the parcel is in transit.
At the same time, a lot of the big mail-order places have no provision for a purchaser to request "hold-for-delivery" at order time, and will not make the change if requested to after the order (or will dither about it for so long that the point becomes moot).
The result is that packages worth hundreds of dollars may, by default, be left sitting unattended on peoples' front steps (including mine) across the land.
I've been fortunate in this regard, but my sister has had any number of packages and mail items disappear from her front step.
I find it a bit annoying that the mail order companies, and certain delivery services, don't implement a very simple method for controlling this RISK.
If the parcel services want to charge extra for "hold-for-delivery", that can be stated up-front when the merchandise is ordered. If the purchaser ticks that checkbox, a few extra $$ are added to the purchase total.
Alternatively, if the recipient wants to request "hold-for-delivery" via the parcel service's website, it can be stipulated that they need to pay the extra $$ when they pick up the package, specifying exact change if needed (which is what one delivery service already requires for cash payments at its stations).
I'm sure my sister isn't the only one who's lost packages in this way. I have no desire to have a $900 laptop, or my passport in a parcel envelope, to be left sitting on my front step.
I find it more than a little disappointing (if not downright weaselly) that certain parcel services and major mail-order companies aren't willing to engage with this issue, or acknowledge it, more actively.
That company refuses to permit recipients to request that a package be held for pickup.... until a delivery attempt has already been made. And it's the driver's discretion whether to leave it or not, even if the recipient hangs a note on the front door requesting "hold for pickup".
However, the company DOES permit the sending company (but not the lowly recipient) to specify "hold-for-delivery" at send time, or to request it while the parcel is in transit.
At the same time, a lot of the big mail-order places have no provision for a purchaser to request "hold-for-delivery" at order time, and will not make the change if requested to after the order (or will dither about it for so long that the point becomes moot).
The result is that packages worth hundreds of dollars may, by default, be left sitting unattended on peoples' front steps (including mine) across the land.
I've been fortunate in this regard, but my sister has had any number of packages and mail items disappear from her front step.
I find it a bit annoying that the mail order companies, and certain delivery services, don't implement a very simple method for controlling this RISK.
If the parcel services want to charge extra for "hold-for-delivery", that can be stated up-front when the merchandise is ordered. If the purchaser ticks that checkbox, a few extra $$ are added to the purchase total.
Alternatively, if the recipient wants to request "hold-for-delivery" via the parcel service's website, it can be stipulated that they need to pay the extra $$ when they pick up the package, specifying exact change if needed (which is what one delivery service already requires for cash payments at its stations).
I'm sure my sister isn't the only one who's lost packages in this way. I have no desire to have a $900 laptop, or my passport in a parcel envelope, to be left sitting on my front step.
I find it more than a little disappointing (if not downright weaselly) that certain parcel services and major mail-order companies aren't willing to engage with this issue, or acknowledge it, more actively.
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