What do couriers do when you are not at home? For sure, they will not wait for you. They may choose to call you, but they are not obliged to. That which they should do is up to the practices and regulations of a courier company. Most often, they leave a notice saying that there will be an attempt to deliver the package the next day or that you should collect it yourself from the parcel depot. However, this solution will be a last resort. Courier companies do everything to keep you at home.
A failed delivery attempt is a waste of time and fuel. That is why forwarding companies do their best to minimise the risk of the recipient being absent. Shipment tracking applications (“Shipment (and customer) on an electronic leash”), which are now widely used by all carriers, have proved enormously successful. The same goes for flexible rules for choosing the place and time of delivery.
DPD aims for the time slot
The Predict service provided by DPD enables the customer to change the delivery time and thus be present when the courier arrives. The customer receives an SMS or email about the planned package delivery notifying about a two hour time slot for the delivery as well as presenting three other potential delivery time slots in the following days. If you are ok. with the planned timing, you simply wait for the courier. If something’s come up, you may change the delivery timing with a few clicks.
The system is user friendly. Instead of displaying threats on your screen if you are going to be absent during the planned delivery, it gives you some suggestions for a potential successful delivery.
Who leaves packages with a neighbour?
The UPS My Choice service has been provided for similar reasons to DPD’s Predict service – it allows the minimisation of the risk of the recipient’s absence during a planned delivery. My Choice users can change the date, time and place of delivery, however, not in all cases. It is not possible when the package contains perishable goods or when the sender chooses to deliver the package only to your address or require your signature.
UPS also provides for the option of leaving the package with a neighbour. This option is disputable, as according to some interpretations, leaving the parcel with another person is not exactly the same as its successful delivery. Hence, a parcel left with a neighbour is still, formally, a parcel in transit and the courier remains responsible for it. If a neighbour decides to use, sell or consume the contents of our package, you can claim compensation from the courier.
In this case, practice prevails over theory – leaving the package with a neighbour turns out to be so convenient that it is widely used. Pickup by a neighbour option can be found for example in the DHL offer or in the InPost offer. These services are advertised as extremely flexible, streamlining deliveries and raising customer satisfaction. The electronic tracking systems allow you to know who received the package and when. It is worth emphasising that they are free of charge.
GLS is flexible
The FlexDeliveryService works similarly to the services of the two courier companies mentioned above. As soon as the ordered goods are ready to be shipped, recipients receive an email informing them about the status of their shipment, the planned delivery date and the possibility of changing the time and address of delivery. The options of personal pickup at the GLS parcel depot and even of a refusal to accept a parcel are also available.
Collection at the company’s parcel depot is offered by many couriers as, in some cases, you may collect it earlier than the planned delivery. And it is up to you, not to the courier, when you collect your parcel.
I made an appointment
The most convenient way to ensure a convenient delivery time is the day-definite and/or time-definite delivery service. Choosing this option helps almost 100% to mitigate the risk of a courier arriving when you are out.
You can choose to determine different time slots for the delivery, e.g. by noon of the next day or between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. In some companies, you can even expect delivery on Saturday (such services are provided by UPS, DPD, GLS, InPost and DHL). It is also not unusual to order a delivery for a specific time. Of course, a tolerance of up to 15-20 minutes applies.
Obviously, all these options are paid extras. In some cases, the fee may be doubled or tripled. However, setting a specific delivery date or time is convenient and allows you to more easily claim compensation for delayed delivery (“When can you claim compensation for late delivery?”).
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