How was the experience bad? I never see my UPS delivery guy so I can't imagine it matters one way or the other to me how my packages "magically" show up on my front porch.
We've had packages delivered by an individual similar to survelx, and the guy clearly smokes in his car as the package stinks of smoke and it even penetrates the items inside on occasion (clothing). Issue here is that he's not bound by company policy of smoking in a company vehicle, so he's free to smoke away.
It'd be valuable for you to complain to Amazon when that happens. They probably can't get feedback on a service like this except through complaints like that.
Complaining about YODEL in the UK is like spitting in the ocean or saying "Comcast sucks" in the US. Everyone knows it, but yet it continues. Amazon UK has a permanent discussion thread titled "Yodel sucks" that is just stories about how Yodel lost/stolen/damaged/etc people's packages.
I had an issue with my local UPS operation marking packages as 'Undeliverable as Addressed' at 20:00 the day they were supposed arrive, to meet their obligation. They would then arrive the next day without issue. I ended up calling Amazon, and they got the local UPS office on the phone and asked for the exact problem with addressing. There was none, and they issue did not reoccur.
They'll probably get the idea if you start hitting them in the wallet. Any time the stuff you ordered smells of smoke, return it as having been damaged in transit (it's true!) and they should catch on pretty fast.
I don't think the package smelling like cigarette smoke qualifies as "damaged", sorry.
I hang out at coffee shops a lot and often times my bag and clothes end up smelling like coffee. Does that mean they are "damaged"? No. Especially since it's temporary (even more so in the case of the Amazon package, which is disposed of right away).
If only the packaging smells, then I agree, it's not damaged.
But they also said that sometimes the contents get smelly. That definitely qualifies as damaged.
Coffee smells come out a lot easier than cigarette smells, and you choose to go to those coffee shops, whereas the person I'm replying to does not choose to expose his brand-new clothes to cigarette smoke.
If I buy brand new clothes and they smell of cigarette smoke out of the package, damned right that means they're "damaged."
Most people are smart enough to understand the significant categorical differences between an ice cream stain and cigarette smoke.
Also, "foul" is completely subjective in this case. Guess what: I hate the plasticy/industrial smell of certain types of clothing packages. But I'm not gonna go around claiming the item is "damaged" simply because I don't like the way it smells out of the box.
What is the categorical difference between an ice cream stain and cigarette smoke? Because I honestly don't understand what distinction you're trying to make.
One is a physical stain that might very well be permanent. The other is an odor that will come out after literally one wash (or after airing it out for a while).
The ice cream stain might not be permanent, and the cigarette smell might be, all depending on the specifics, so I see no qualitative difference between the two.
Amazon won't do anything about it. [I feel] If my last experience with Amazon CS is any indication they'll read a script, and just refund your money. (Not reship.. I've had that issue as well) Also, if you're a prime member and have spent quite a bit of money on Amazon.. They still won't care.
I plan on cancelling my prime membership and seeking out alternatives.
I agree. When Amazon sends an order using one of these type of delivery services, they should send a followup email to the customer in a day or two after delivery asking for a simple rating on the delivery experience.
Amazon is a rather wealthy company, are they really cutting corners on this key part of the customer experience because of money? Because good drivers would line up if they paid properly... or just hired a real delivery company.
Unless their copy on the website is a lie, the rates they're offering for courier jobs is actually quite competitive in the Seattle area. It's probably more about being able to control their own delivery experience than it is about cutting corners.
I thought that because they were making money on the side, and therefore would be either a company, or sole trader, utilising their car that (in the UK anyways) it would fall under the banning a number of years back.
There are lots of ways a package delivery can be "bad."
For example, delivery services routinely leave packages at my garage rather than my front door, because it saves them 15 seconds of walking. This is less convenient for me but more convenient for them.
But that's not all! Once they put a package low to the ground and not out of the way, so that when I went to drive somewhere, I backed over it.
I once saw a delivery guy deliver to a neighbor. He dropped the package at their garage door, knocked on the garage door, and left. I assume they are required to knock but it doesn't say where.
And of course because they never knock or ring my doorbell, the only way I know a package has been delivered is if I sign up for electronic notifications, or I discover it on my way out.
In other instances, I've had packages simply delivered to the wrong house, I guess because numbers are hard. Once I had a package delivered to the wrong city.
Usually it works well enough, but there's plenty of room for improvement for me.
It would be really interesting to see a map of delivery service satisfaction. It clearly varies a great deal.
I'm in a fairly dense urban area, one of the next-day prime locations. Our apartment gets about 4 packages a week I'd say. Probably 90% arrive on time or ahead. I've had a couple where the driver just threw the package up the stairs to the apartment, instead of to the door. Still, considering the sheer number of packages, I've yet to have a misplaced or stolen package.
They do drop off without ringing fairly often. Personally I don't mind, but it seems like that could be standardized.
The "magic" is the stuff that happens behind the scenes, all of these companies, from the frontline employees to the backend systems have a lot of details.
Examples of why your experience would suck:
- Late packages
- Lost packages
- Stealing of your stuff
- Damage to your stuff
- Lower-tier people learning your habits
- Generally high level of fuckups.
IMO, Amazon's path here is a sign that they are in trouble. In the late 90's, ecommerce players looking to cut costs did stuff like use Airborne Express (later acquired by DHL) and the company that become Fedex Home/Ground. Both companies used contracted out delivery drivers or courier companies, and both were big fuckups.
UPS/FedEx/USPS are pretty efficient at this stuff, so the final frontier for Amazon is exploiting the workforce to cut costs. So you'll have folks driving their mom's car to deliver packages Uber-style, with inadequate insurance and insufficient income to maintain a vehicle suitable for the purpose.
Drivers from Amazon (and only Amazon) consistently flag first-attempt deliveries as "Unable to deliver package", then successfully deliver the package the second time around without any issue. And although these deliveries could be from either Amazon-Randoms or Amazon-Yodel couriers, the issue is still a recurring one.
Trying to get any sort of resolution out of Amazon is impossible, as they insulate their logistics department from any customer service complaints. All you can do is point out that it happens nearly every delivery.
Plus it's just plain weird, that some guy in joggers turns up and hands you a package. There's no way to associate the courier as a courier, and as such my first thought is usually "Why does this man have my stuff? Did I just let a random guy into my complex?"
I've ordered a few times from Prime Now and so far it's been a pretty good experience. I like how it shows real time GPS tracking of the delivery driver as well as the name of the driver.
I've put specific instructions on where to leave the package if I'm not there or to give me a call when they've arrived, and so far no problems there. It's pretty easy to associate the courier as a courier since a notification pops up saying the driver has arrived and you can see the person holding a big brown bag with an amazon label on it. Pretty straight forward imo.
So far a much better experience than OnTrac leaving shit wherever they please.
Main complaint is when the person lies about delivering it if they can't make the promised date. Then they drop it off the next day with little repercussions.
I've also had problems with companies using alternative shippers for cold-packed stuff, presumably because it was cheaper. Then it sat in someone's hot car for 12 hours and was delivered with room temp ice packs. Sure it was delivered on the right day, but not well.
