Today, I came home to a pile of packages in front of my doorway's indoor mailboxes. One problem. ALL of these packages were delivered to the wrong place. ALL of these packages should have been delivered to the next doorway. Amazon's captive last mile delivery service screwed up big time!
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Sadly, almost every business requiring home delivery uses last mile delivery services. UPS, FedEx, and USPS all tend to give decent service. (I have my issues with UPS, due to a screwed up delivery they made several years ago involving a new cell phone.) However, when firms use contractors such as LaserShip and CDL Last Mile, that's when quality goes to hell. And that's what has happened with Amazon and its captive last mile shipping companies.
Years ago, I used to get delivery of precooked meals from Freshly. Once each week, I would expect to receive an insulated package containing 6 meals, which I would then eat during the week. However, Freshly lost money having me for a customer, as they had to give me refunds for improperly delivered packages. Out of 13 deliveries, only 4 of them were close to being delivered according to the shipping instructions on the package. Half of these packages were delivered to the wrong doorway, and placed in front of the wrong apartment. So, I dropped Freshly, and started looking for pre-made meals at the local supermarket. I preferred Freshly's quality. Yet, if I couldn't count on acceptable deliveries, it wasn't worth my time to call in for refunds on what seemed like a weekly basis.
A couple of weeks ago, a neighbor's insulin shipment was delivered to my door. The person making the delivery didn't care which group of 6 apartments he dropped the box at. Instead, he made the package drop, and said "to hell with it." Luckily, I spotted the problem, and a neighbor took care of delivering the box to its intended recipient (with an apology for accidental opening). What would have happened if this box was left in front of an apartment that was vacant (which happened to one of my Freshly shipments)? This woman would have been without an essential medication. This is inexcusable!
When I tried to contact Amazon, I reached a chatbot - which couldn't understand that I was complaining about someone else's products being delivered to me. Unfortunately, I didn't have the time to have Amazon call me. This is just as well, as I want to get this fellow fired. He doesn't deserve a job if he can't get a simple delivery straight.
PS: A lot of people are having problems due to last mile delivery services. I'd rather pay for shipping and know I'm going to get my goods delivered correctly. Too bad that I'm in the minority in this country....
