Shippers just don't get it.

All right so it is bitching time again. I work for a living and write a blog for fun, so guess what location I am not at during the day basically ever? You know the one place on the planet that UPS, Fedex and DHL are willing to transact packages? That's right my house. I am not home during the Mon-Friday delivery window. Ever. So UPS et all in there infinite wisdom decide to deliver packages to that location during the day. Technically I can have it delivered to work but the receiving dept gets a little touchy if you push it too often. Also, for somethings I cannot have them shipped to my work as they are prizes or the shipping has to match the address on a credit card.

I realize that this is what they always have done, but when I have them hold the package at the shipping station that is closest to my house (in that god forsaken strip of earth know as Redmond) it is actually not even remotely kind of convenient for me to get there. Believe it or not the Down Town center is closer and far, far more convenient. I would save them a lot of gas and me a lot of headache if they would let me redirect all packages to the Down Town UPS facility for pickup.

I want all shipped mail to have to have a destination telephone # and then they can call me for my desired outcome. Never put it on the truck, nothing I order or receive can be dropped at the door. Everything has to have a sig, which is sort of the point of us using your service. I don't want a freaking xbox sitting on my doorstep from 3pm to 6pm or later when I get home normally.


I don't have a specific suggestion as to the best way to remedy this situation, but I cannot be the only one in the world that finds this annoying. I think my suggestion would be something akin to have the shipper hold the package select an intercept location for delivery, the ability to select the facility that is most convenient would improve my outlook on these companies a great deal. I don't think that they should ever try to deliver to most homes, it doesn't make sense. I know very few people (of my generation that is) that have a stay at home wife to get the frigging packages.

The business model is outmodded, but your damn business has scaled so massively that I cannot imagine a new comer knocking you out. I am asking you to publish your numbers. What percentage of packages are delivered the first try? What percentage are not delivered in the retry attempts, and have to be picked up after you tried 2 or 3 times? If this percentage exceeds 15% I imagine that the money saved on gas alone would be worth the effort to try and develop a method to let customers tell you that they are never going to be at their home so don't bother trying to deliver. Let them tell you the closest store/facility and let them pick it up. I promise that your customers are not as dumb as you think, and though there are some who are there are many that would make this a money saving venture. I will tell you what, first company that steps up and does something anything to make my life easier, I will make sure to insist on your service. I will insist on your service even if I have to pay more for it.

People will Pay for convenience!!!!!