I get frustrated when a business says something is delivered when it isn't.

 

How many of you use Amazon and get notices that your products have been delivered when this is not so?  Well, I'm tired of these presumptive notifications from vendors, as false positives cause a lot of grief when deliveries are time-sensitive.

Years ago, I subscribed to Amazon Prime because they advertised 2-day delivery for most products.  This was very important, as Amazon was the only place where I could find a girl's locking diary that I could give to a young girl before Christmas.  Today, things are different.  On Amazon's site, they tell users to do the following:

1 - Confirm shipping address in Your Orders
2 - Look for a notice of delivery attempt
3 - Check around the delivery location
4 - Ask your household members and neighbors
5 - Wait 48 hours for the package to be delivered
6 - You can check with the carrier

You'd think that Amazon (and its carriers) could always take a photograph of the delivered object where it was delivered, and include that photo as part of an email confirming delivery.  This was helpful to RQS when her package was delivered to the building next door, and made it to her place a day later.  But false positives can cause big problems.

Quite often, I get false positives from Amazon and UPS regarding product deliveries.  The worst of these occurred a while back when UPS and I got our signals cross when I ordered a phone from Motorola.  The confusion had me going back and forth between UPS and Motorola trying to find out where the product was delivered and how to get a replacement shipped to me.  I ended up paying the first month's installment on the phone before I actually received it.  Although Amazon can be bad, but UPS can be worse because they consider a product to be delivered - even when they hand it off to the post office for last-mile delivery.  This happens quite a bit for many small items, and no notice is available on UPS's site to tell the recipient that they handed off the delivery to USPS. 

Shortly before the pandemic and during part of it, I was a customer of Freshly.  Their food was good, but their last mile delivery was terrible.  Out of 13 shipments, only 3 or 4 were delivered correctly.  My boxes were left behind entry doors where I couldn't see them, left in other doorways where no one cared about them, and in one case, left in front of a vacant apartment where the food was left to rot for a week. Although I got reimbursed for my losses, I got annoyed at the last mile delivery service they used - LaserShip.  Like many "Gig Economy" services, LaserShip bid out its deliveries to the lowest bidder, and this often meant that products were delivered incorrectly, if at all.  I'll bet that firms like this were the cause of Freshly's demise.

What in the world should we do as consumers?  For me, I'd report the products as missing as soon as they are marked as delivered and found not to be so.  Someone has to pay the cost for false deliveries and businesses have more clout than consumers to insure that their products get delivered properly.  So, make them pay the cost for the problems they created until these problems are fixed.

 

Sometimes, Amazon gets it wrong.

Today, Amazon reported the above item as being delivered to my door.  One problem.  Although I can see that it was delivered to a building in my complex by the color of the paint and the style of the floor, it was not delivered to my apartment.  Instead, it went to someone in another doorway.  Amazon's last mile delivery service screwed up again!

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One of the first things I've learned to hate lately are the "Last Mile Delivery Services", subcontractors who take products from a corporate warehouse and deliver then to the final recipient.  Unlike UPS and FedEx, Last Mile services usually bid to deliver packages on a route and do not build up the institutional knowledge needed to make complex deliveries correctly.  For example, a woman I noted as being a "Queen Bee" (not in a negative sense) lived in a place where Google Maps could not generate accurate delivery instructions.  She usually had to tell people how to find her place using an alternate address not legally associated with her house on a cul-de-sac.  My case was much simpler.  I live in a complex with 31 apartment buildings with 4 entrances each, and the last mile service delivered my perishable packages to both the wrong floor, the wrong doorway, and the wrong building.  I severed the relationship with the firm shipping my perishables, as their subcontractors could only correctly deliver things to me less than 30% of the time. A woman I know in Queens, NY has had similar problems as her goods were sometimes delivered to the wrong building in her densely populated area.

A few years ago, Amazon started to set up its network of last mile delivery subcontractors, even providing the financing for the delivery trucks needed to set up their businesses.  All of these trucks would carry the Amazon brand, and would only service one customer - Amazon. Over the past few years, it seems like there was a consolidation among these subcontractors, as a friend from the Texas meetup group (not mentioned in this blog) got a job with one of these subcontractors and has her routes strictly managed by Amazon.  I expect something similar occurs in the NYC metropolitan area.  And here lies the problem.

You'll note that in the picture above, the Amazon subcontractor has taken a picture of the door to show that the package has been delivered.  Yet, I can determine by the doormat that the item I ordered was delivered to the wrong doorway, as my doormat is patterned differently.  Sadly, Amazon does not make it easy to tell them exactly what went wrong, as this would be useful information to hold the last mile delivery service to account.  

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Will I buy things through Amazon again?  Yes.  We have few choices, now that the department stores are dying off.  Most things I want to buy do not sell in a high enough volume to be carried by a local store.  But they do sell enough for Amazon to warehouse in regional centers, then delivered to the customer by Amazon's complex logistics network.  Hopefully, next time, Amazon will get it right.

 

 

PS: The UPS Deliveries were delivered the next day via USPS, and the mis-delivered Amazon package made it to my door as well.  Now, I have to return the extra package....

UPS fouled up, and now I will soon have 2 Dresses

 

A couple of days ago, I reported a delivery screw up regarding the above dress.  UPS and Lane Bryant reported this dress as being delivered.  However, it was not in my apartment's entryway, nor was it in front of my door. So I promptly called Lane Bryant to rectify the situation, and they sent me another dress without charge.  Yesterday, I received the above dress, and it looks better on me than it looks like in the picture.

Very early this morning, 1:30 am, as I've started writing this post, I receive a message from Lane Bryant - I will be getting a package delivered later today.  What could this be?  

Well....

I checked the timing of all my communications with Lane Bryant, UPS and the Post Office, and I think I know what happened:

1. Lane Bryant ships the package to me via UPS.
2. Two days ago, UPS and Lane Bryant say that the package was delivered to my door.
   (Lane Bryant is using UPS's tracking system to be notified of delivery, then sends me a message as well.)
3. I call Lane Bryant, and they issue a refund for the original shipment.  At this time, I place another order for the same dress at the same price as when I placed my original order.
4. Yesterday, a dress arrives at my door while I'm cleaning up the apartment.  (Dress #1)
   
5. After doing some shopping, I try on the dress and take the above photo.
6. The clock strikes midnight, and I get up to write my blog entry for the day.
7. At approximately 1:30, I see a message in my email from Lane Bryant - my package will arrive tomorrow.  (Dress #2)

From what I can tell, UPS decided to use the post office for last mile delivery.  Dress #1 was the dress that was reported as being delivered by both Lane Bryant and by UPS.  UPS reported delivery as complete when it wasn't.  Additionally, UPS reported the dress as having been left in the vestibule of my apartment.  So I had legitimate reason to believe that the package was not delivered to the right location.  The notification I just received probably refers to Dress #2.  This time, UPS does not look like it is involved with the delivery - the post office is handling the dress from first to last mile. 

At least, I can return one of the two dresses....

Amazon Delivery. It can suck big time!

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....

 

Amazon Prime and Whole Foods

Many people will soon be looking for ways to avoid going to the grocery store during the next wave of the pandemic.  I can't blame them.  Some people have taken to going to lesser known and lesser frequented stores to get their vegetables and meats.  Others have taken to ordering pre-made meals online from places like Freshly, and letting others do all the prep work.  Today was the first time I was with someone when the weekly "Whole Paycheck" (a.k.a. Whole Foods Market) delivery came.

As much as I don't like having expensive items left in front of my door due to a potential opportunity for loss, I like having things of little to moderate value left in front of my door.  Food is one of these things.  In the past, I would have a box of 6 meals from Freshly dropped off in front of my door (if the delivery service bothered to read the delivery instructions).  But I haven't bothered with Freshly in a while due to their "last mile" delivery services.  So, when I saw my friend get a delivery from Whole Foods, I figured that if things get bad, that I might just use their delivery service.

I was impressed with one of the things they do when packing items that needed to stay cold - they used dry ice.  Unlike Freshly, which uses reusable cold packs, the Whole Foods delivery leaves minimal product to dispose of.  Only the bags the refrigerated/frozen food comes in need the dry ice, and it evaporates quickly after the bag is opened for transferring goods into the refrigerator/freezer.

Given that Amazon controls the last mile delivery, I may just use this service in the future.  Hopefully, it won't get bad enough that I will need to do so to avoid a visit to the store down the hill from me.