"Two ships that pass in the night" -- a new jones

[seanachie]

One suggestion..... I have rented a mailbox at the UPS Store (previously Mailboxes Etc.) in now 3 different cities that I have lived. Sure I have to pay for it but it provides a lot of peace of mind. I had my Netflix membership suspended a few years back, when those red envelopes started disappearing, and then my wife had a special Irish crafted figurine that we purchased in Galway WITH clear instructions that signature was required for delivery left on the front steps. It was a gift for her Mom that was pretty irreplaceable. One thing to be careful with is that some of the mailbox operations are sort of fly by night so use a reputable one, or a local that you have a good degree of trust in. The UPS Store signs for my packages, sends me an email upon arrival and secures them until I pick them up. All the best...

[Squeaky McMurdo]

Couriers.....

I ordered a set of Dunbar bagpipes and the UPS driver left it out in the middle of our driveway (A shared dirt driveway that is about 500 yards long) in the snow. He was afraid of the nighbour's dog so he just tossed it out. It was in a white box so whoever would have come up the driveway would have never seen it because by the time I found it, it had a couple inches of snow on it. My dog was the one that enlightened me to the arrival of the box by making it her first sniff-stop when I let her outside.

Luckily it was in a hard leather case which was in a sealed plastic bag so the water didn't hurt it, although the letter or whatever it was (probably a list of box contents) from the place we bought it from was a soggy wet and illegible grey mess.

We have a post office box but a lot of companies won't deliver to them.

--Chelsea McMurdo--

[ronstew]

I HATE IT WHEN VENDORS DON'T SEND SHIPPING NOTICES WITH TRACKING NUMBERS!!!!!

It only takes a few minutes, and is automated with UPS and USPS (although I don't know the details). Here is such a message that I got on Friday:

This message was sent to you at the request of PINEMEADOW GOLF PRODUCTS to notify you that the electronic shipment information below has been transmitted to UPS. The physical package(s) may or may not have actually been tendered to UPS for shipment. To verify the actual transit status of your shipment, click on the tracking link below or contact PINEMEADOW GOLF PRODUCTS directly.

Important Delivery Information
Scheduled Delivery: 21-December-2009

Shipment Detail
Ship To:
Ronald Stewart
(my address)
Number of Packages 1
UPS Service: GROUND
Weight: 5.7 LBS


Tracking Number: 1Z****************** <- hot link to tracking information
Reference Number 1: 1*******.***

There is no excuse for an internet merchant to be so far out of step - and I don't care what country it is. "Keep the customer informed" ought to be the first goal of custmer service, but it frequently it is not. Such a failure cost me $350 a couple of years ago. Not acceptable then, not acceptable now.

[Kiltman]

Sorry that happened to you. I agree it's the carriers problem. Sometimes they don't hirer the most responsible persons. I know what it's like to wait. I'm still waiting for a kilt ordered on August 2, 2008.

[OC Richard]

I ordered a set of Dunbar bagpipes and the UPS driver left it out in the middle of our driveway (A shared dirt driveway that is about 500 yards long) in the snow.

Hey I play Dunbars too!

My potential tragedy was similar to yours: I ordered a half-set of uilleann pipes from a maker in Northern Ireland, of boxwood. As people might know, uilleann pipes are more slender and delicate and easy to break than Highland pipes.

So one day I come home and there's a ripped-up paper bag on my front porch. One rip was big enough to allow me to see the uilleann pipes inside.

Rather than disassembling the pipes, wrapping each section in bubble wrap, and putting everything in a sturdy box as is usually done, the maker had simply wrapped wrapping paper around the completed instrument, tied it with a bit of string, and shipped it!

Amazingly nothing was broken.

That halfset in C, in boxwood, today would cost around $3000.