Which Courier Option suits you best?
Which Courier Option suits you best?

Poll: Which Courier Option suits you best?

Total Members Polled: 64

Delivered to workplace: 41%
Collection from local holding centre: 9%
Delivered home then local holding centre: 20%
Delivered home then redelivered if out: 9%
Left with neighbour if out: 20%
Author
Discussion

Chrisgr31

Original Poster:

14,280 posts

285 months

Thursday 31st December 2009
quotequote all
There is a thread complaining about delivery of goods ordered on the internet which got me thinking. Having had an attempted delivery before Christmas which was taken away by the Courier and the only option was to ask for them to try again between 7am and 9pm the next day I though there must be a better option.

I can't help but feel the that Royal Mail isa far better option. They attempt to deliver it to home (excluding those cases where they stick a card through the door saying you were out when you weren't) and then take it back to a local delivery office (usually in your town and a mere couple of miles from home) from where you can either collect it or have it redelivered. Now this option seems great to me, if they were open from say 7am to 9pm I could drop in on my way to or from work and collect parcels.

For other Courier companies I eother have to drive for miles (at least 30 minute round trip and often an hour) or seek redelivery and stay in all day.

Delivering to work works ok, although it does mean carrying goods home on the train. For us delivering to neighbours works as we know them all and trust them.

But whats your preferred option?

Scott330ci

18,294 posts

231 months

Thursday 31st December 2009
quotequote all
Go to the shops.

Hand shop keeper money.

Receieve Goods.

Never had any problems.

HTH

soad

34,666 posts

206 months

Thursday 31st December 2009
quotequote all
I'm not a big fan of couriers. You just never know what time they're going to turn up.

Parcelforce can be a pain too - some drivers do not bother to leave any "sorry, we misssed you" cards for attempted deliveries.

Royal Mail works for me fine.

gib6933

5,278 posts

261 months

Thursday 31st December 2009
quotequote all
I have been very lucky over the past 4 weeks, everything arrived without a problem.

The best was UPS knock at the door " Hello i tried to deliver this this morning but no one was in, I was back in the area so i thought i would try again".

The_Burg

4,853 posts

244 months

Thursday 31st December 2009
quotequote all
You missed an option 'deliver in the evening when people are actually at home'

Must be a huge waste of time delivering during normal working hours. How many people do you know that are at home 9-5?
Same goes for meter readers.

sparkythecat

8,098 posts

285 months

Thursday 31st December 2009
quotequote all
I made an arangement with the shopkeeper to have all my parcels delivered to, or collected from my local grocery shop.

There is someone there all day to sign for stuff. The delivery drivers invariably buy something whilst they are there and I treat the shopkeeper every now and again.

This arrangement has saved me countless hours of waiting in at home, or travelling to parcel depots.

Everyone's a winner !

onomatopoeia

3,526 posts

247 months

Thursday 31st December 2009
quotequote all
Scott330ci said:
Go to the shops.

Hand shop keeper money.

Receieve Goods.

Never had any problems.

HTH
I've had quite a lot of problems with this. Mainly being that the item is not available at a shop within 50 miles, or is 30% more expensive, or I can only get to them on a Saturday when the whole rest of the world has also gone shopping and parking is impossible.

I use "order on the internet, deliver to work" whether delivery is by courier or Royal Mail. That way I don't have to go into shops any more than absolutely necessary.

Stevenj214

4,941 posts

258 months

Thursday 31st December 2009
quotequote all
Most of my family and I get things delivered to my Gran's. Guaranteed to be in for 80% of the day!

miniman

30,077 posts

292 months

Thursday 31st December 2009
quotequote all
Really frustrating when you order something online and they refuse to deliver to anything other than the registered credit card address. They often say "you have to register your work address with the card company first" - I've tried this and the card companies will put another address on file but say it has nothing to do with whether things can be delivered there or not.

space1999

436 posts

219 months

Thursday 31st December 2009
quotequote all
As a seller I prefer people who do it cheap yet provide service. I have found ANC very good Parcel force are crap and part of royal mail and half your stuff is nicked or not delivered. For overseas Pharos (on behalf of UPS) is brilliant but has to be packaged well. Well to be perfectly honest everything has to be packaged well. But at least if you do other couriers instead of Royal mail at least you can track it and you know it will get there!

MitchT

17,134 posts

239 months

Thursday 31st December 2009
quotequote all
If I order from someone who uses Royal Mail I have it sent to my home as the sorting office is very near if it can't be delivered. If I order from someone who uses a courier I have it sent to my work as I don't know of any courier company that has its depot anywhere near where I live.

At some point someone might wake the f**k up and realise that there's a massive gap in the market for a courier company that delivers to people's homes on EVENINGS and WEEKENDS and doesn't charge the earth for doing so... and before I'm told that it costs more because people are more reluctant to work unsociable hours, I'm sure plenty of the current 2.5 million unemployed would be happy to work evenings and weekends for the normal daytime rate sooner than remain unemployed.

sneijder

5,231 posts

264 months

Thursday 31st December 2009
quotequote all
Try the Norwegian postal service. Our chap walks past my door to the postbox and posts an attempted delivery slip in and walks off.

The slip has a number of options on, he has to cross the box that says 'attempted delivery'. Do you want the best bit ? The cross in the 'attempted delivery' check box is PREPRINTED along with the address.

Luckily for his teeth the post office is round the corner.

When it comes to couriers I find DHL the best, as whilst they also have a staff of lobotomised wastes of skin who'd be better used as hatstands, they are so incompetent they always neglect to collect any tax.

coolcatmaz

3,521 posts

232 months

Thursday 31st December 2009
quotequote all
At least with Royal Mail / Parcel Force if you're out when they deliver they usually leave it with the nearest sorting office or local Post Office. Thankfully we have a small Post Office in the village where I live so it does make life quite easy if I've missed them.

Other couriers are pretty much as bad / good as one another. I have a parcel that I need for this Saturday for a big family party and lord knows where it is and by the looks of it I wont be getting it in time for Saturday, especially as tomorrow is New Years Day curse

sneijder

5,231 posts

264 months

Thursday 31st December 2009
quotequote all
Scott330ci said:
Go to the shops.

Hand shop keeper money.

Receieve Goods.

Never had any problems.

HTH
Or, Drive car and sometimes pay to park outside the shop at a time dictated by said store.

Hand shop keeper money that also pays for his high street rent, and his cut after he bought it from his supplier

Receieve or even receive goods from a very limited choice of alternatives.

Drive home.

Why not do something you want to do in that time instead, and just order the thing in 5 minutes flat on your laptop whilst you have your morning ablutions ?