Why I Hate Couriers - A Rant

Actually, my mother always said I should never say hate. Call this post 'why i (really) dislike couriers (a lot)' instead.

I've been taking advantage of the high Canuck buck and ordering in some new harmonicas and a custom case from the States. Sounds simple enough.

Until they start shipping via couriers who seem set up to deal with a 9 to 5 world and little else.

I do not live in a 9 to 5 world. I leave my apartment by 1 pm and then get home sometime around 11 pm. I tried to ask that they deliver to my place before 1 pm (seems reasonable enough) and that's when the fun starts. The first call to two different companies (I made 2 seperate orders) gave me what I wanted. They both said it would be no problem to ask the driver to do this. I'm not going to say that they lied, but they did not do a good job of telling the truth.

The second call is when I find out that the driver works with an 8 hour window and I can either work with that or make a trip up to the suburbs to pick up the parcel myself. Ironically, the driver is supposed to deliver between 9 and 5. Both times he tried to deliver, he arrived well after 6. Even if I went out of my way to be available from 9 to 5, I still would not have got my package.

Thankfully, the courier gods smiled on my and the first package arrived before I left for work.

The second package? Well. . .

I do not own a car. Nor do I want to own a car. Getting to Markham from my place by transit is not an easy thing to do. All this to pick up a parcel that I paid to have delivered to my apartment? And they wonder why I don't sound happy on the phone.

So, with that in mind, I make alternate arrangements. I set it up so they will deliver to my place of work, which is manned from 0500-0150.

I did this last Thursday. And then I waited. . . And waited. . . And called the 1-800 number, which said the package was redirected. And then I waited all weekend, because couriers do not work weekends. And then I waited through Monday and called the 1-800 number again. They apparently had a supervisor on the case now.

Then I get a call a half hour ago from the local office, asking for a clarification about my home address, completely unaware of the change of address or anything that has happened since last Thursday. DHL Express? Not quite.

I am usually a fairly understanding guy. I don't get irate and I don't hang up on people. . . Until now.

Now, both the local office and the head office tell me I will get the package tomorrow, 8 days after it arrived in the GTA.

Somebody hand me a stiff drink. . .