The Nice People Thread, No.16: A Universe of Niceness.

GDB2222

michaels wrote: »

And breathe

Hermes deliver a parcel, we got a card through the door, it is behind the garden gate - we don't have a garden gate.

So we found the parcel, it was a large box about 20kg and had been thrown over the 6'6 side fence at the back of the house by walking right down the neighbours drive. Of course it was impossible to see what was on the other side of the fence, which was the outside tap mounted on the side wall of our house...or should I say previously mounted because of course the box dropped from that height was plenty heavy enough to knock it off the wall bending the pipe.

Fortunately the pipe did not burst (at least visibly outside the wall but now do we leave it hanging or reattach it by bending the pipe back and risking it fracturing and of course the rawl plugs have pulled so it will never be firmly attached again.

Initially on not finding the parcel we had rung the company and as I was going back to work the driver turned up to tell us where it was. I explained what happened - his response was he was only short so how could he have known what was on the other side of the fence. He then tried to insist we sign for the parcel, I refused and he asked me of trying to commit fraud at his expense and refused to move his van that was blocking us from leaving our drive.

Long story short we rang the company and the dispatcher told him to leave and then I got an email saying 'Hermes has successfully delivered your parcel' :mad:

I'm sorry for you, but on the plus side you can dine out on that for months.

I'd turn off the mains and see if the pipe will bend back okay. You didn't say what it's made out of - plastic or copper. If not, get a plumber to fix it and get Hermes to pay. Deeper holes and longer screws will solve the wall plug issue.

chris_m

Pyxis wrote: »

My thoughts on that were, how did he know that by throwing it over the fence, it wouldn't break what was inside? :mad:

He didn't - and probably didn't care.

I once ordered something, can't remember what, and the delivery schedule was a couple of weeks, which was ok as I was going away for a week.
When I came back, well before the two weeks, there was a card. The parcel had been delivered early, and had been thrown over the side gate and had lain there, in the rain, for a few days.
Luckily it wasn't breakable, and wasn't hurt by the rain, but I wasn't pleased. The courier wouldn't have known it wasn't breakable.

See above.

The problem is the way that many of these courier companies work, only paying the people on the vans for deliveries made or NMW, whichever works out the lower.

This means that not all the delivery people are particularly conscientious. It's not exactly an inspiring job and, if you're being paid peanuts, it takes a fairly special sort of person to actually care about getting the deliveries right all (or even some of) the time, far from all of them are such people. It's unfortunate, but inevitable.

To some extent it is due to customers not wanting to pay more for delivery than is absolutely necessary. Many will look at the price of an item including delivery and go for the cheapest combination, which means that the suppliers will go for the cheapest delivery options - which means that the couriers are paid peanuts, etc., etc.

GDB2222

One of the companies became notorious, because they didn't pay the driver any more if an item had to be redelivered. So, the second or third delivery attempt would be unpaid. Naturally, the drivers didn't want to come back again and threw packages over walls etc.

Pyxis

GDB2222 wrote: »

One of the companies became notorious, because they didn't pay the driver any more if an item had to be redelivered. So, the second or third delivery attempt would be unpaid. Naturally, the drivers didn't want to come back again and threw packages over walls etc.

I didn't know that; that's disgusting!

I also didn't know that some drivers only get paid for actual deliveries. No wonder signatures get forged.

What's the matter with the way people are employed these days? :mad:
I've been watching re-runs of "When the Boat Comes In" and it's like we've gone back to the interwar period, regarding employment.

GDB2222

Pyxis wrote: »

I didn't know that; that's disgusting!

I also didn't know that some drivers only get paid for actual deliveries. No wonder signatures get forged.

What's the matter with the way people are employed these days? :mad:
I've been watching re-runs of "When the Boat Comes In" and it's like we've gone back to the interwar period, regarding employment.

There's a balance to be drawn in the pay structure. If they paid full whack for redeliveries, there'd be no incentive to get items delivered first time round.

But paying nothing for redeliveries at all is clearly wrong, too.

vivatifosi

GDB2222 wrote: »

One of the companies became notorious, because they didn't pay the driver any more if an item had to be redelivered. So, the second or third delivery attempt would be unpaid. Naturally, the drivers didn't want to come back again and threw packages over walls etc.

Was it the one that sounds vaguely Austrian?

GDB2222

vivatifosi wrote: »

Was it the one that sounds vaguely Austrian?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQhqikWnQCU

SingleSue

James' determination has paid off, been offered a graduate level role today after a drawn out and complicated application process which has taken over 2 months! He's not been sitting on his bum doing nothing in the meantime though, been doing full time hours at his old summer job.

silvercar

SingleSue wrote: »

James' determination has paid off, been offered a graduate level role today after a drawn out and complicated application process which has taken over 2 months! He's not been sitting on his bum doing nothing in the meantime though, been doing full time hours at his old summer job.

Well done James:T

PasturesNew

Wild storm here.

I get the flapping from the air vents in the downstairs loo and upstairs bathroom, where air is forced in from outside, so it makes the unit flap in some way inside the house.

The letterbox is lifting/shutting itself...

Then I got the ominous sound of "something fell over" from the garden - so dashed out there in the lashing rain and fierce winds to move an assortment of things about hopefully so they don't fall over again ... and one very large, mostly empty, plastic planting tub (nearly 1m diameter I think) has blown the length of the house....

I hate the wind ... and the fear the gate will end up opening and flapping and there's nothing I can do to secure it. A flapping gate, in a storm, is always my biggest fear; it's not happened ever, yet.