Deliver Now … or not

Whatever suits your schedule.

One of my pet peeves (and I truly don’t have many) is delivery systems: the local postal system although one of the best in the world has sadly gone the way of many for-profit companies and if I have a two-week period where there isn’t a misplaced letter or paper in my post office box, it’s a good period.  After faithfully scanning all the mis-delivered letters and objects I actually got a written letter with their excuses – and enjoyed a whole three weeks without error before going back to same old, same old.

But delivery companies are even worse – I can’t think of one or even one time when they got it right the first time. I have chased UPS trucks around the neighborhood, made innumerable trips across town to pick up packages at the main centers of both UPS and DHL and in general had to put myself out to obtain a package sent to my address (note the nuance, these packages are rarely even for me, but one or the other of the inhabitants at number 15).

OK usually the gate is closed meaning that they need to ring the outside bell – and if someone is in the cellar or the attic that bell is often unheard, but even if noticed by the time one gets to the gate, the delivery truck and driver are long gone.

Since there is no mailbox – or rather the letter part of the mailbox is sealed leaving the “milk box” part available – they will stick the notice on the front of the box thus notifying the whole world that there is potentially no one at home.

As there has always been someone, the notice is seen within 24 hours – often illegible as fallen and dirty and or wet, but we at least know which company to contact to try and retrieve the package.

Today the gate was open (due to my being at home and the amount of persons to-ing and fro-ing currently in my life, it is simpler) leaving them only the necessity of ringing the door bell. I was here – they obviously just pushed it a half a second once. How they managed to miss my being in the kitchen and the two visitors around the same time I’ll never know, but yet again I had to go online to request another delivery date.  Monday.

The only advantage: I was able to transmit my cell phone number and hope that if they don’t get an immediate reply at the door that they will call.

Not to mention names but DHL has chosen nothing better in a country where English is not one of the national languages (we only have four!) of “dhl-delivernow”. Glad that I am not awaiting medication or anything horribly important, but was obligated to tell them to leave it on the bench outside (they allow “neighbor”, “front door” or “other” – at no point can one say “call me when you’re here”).  Now that I think of it… the slip was in French, but the website that popped up was in English. Surely I could have also had French, or German or Italian or Romansch?

So deliver it now if that’s your motto!

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