Should I Leave a Note for UPS Deliveries?

[pamperedkel]

I have had a few hosts complain about UPS just leaving their stuff outside. Worried the boxes aren't safe. My last host was really upset because he went into the backyard through a gate to leave it at the back door. She was really upset, said he was trespassing. He also left the gate open and she has a dog so he could have gotten out if they didn't notice. She called UPS to complain but hasn't heard back from them. Should I do anything???

Kelly

 

[showmehow2]

NoWhy should you? That's UPS' business and their problem. The only thing I might suggest to the host is to also complain to HO. PC is one of their large corporate customers and would carry a whole lot more weight than any one individual.

 

[Jennie4PC]

I have heard alot of people talking about how they know there UPS driver I never see mine they always leave it at the door most the time without knocking or ringing the door bell. There have been a few times that i have not been home to recieve pkgs.

 

[Chef Michelle D]

I know when I recieve stuff from UPS they don't knock and I don't understandy why they don't if they see a car in the driveway. If there is no answer then leave the stuff and go. I have been told that one of the reasons why is they dont want to be asked to bring the stuff in the house because they are not allowed to go into the house. But I am not sure if that is true but it makes since. I would tell her to call HO and you can too and maybe they can get an answer to why they went to the back of the house. That would upset me too. Good luck

 

[janel kelly]

Some of them ring my doorbell and some don't. They always leave the boxes on the porch which is fine because I live on an air force base and it is relatively safe. Some hosts are concerned about them leaving packages on the porch. I know if I'm concerned about a package being left on the porch I leave a note asking them if they will set it inside my garage.

 

[tpchefrebecca]

You can call the 800 number and talk to a rep. Tell them you want to talk to a manager. I love their HO. The managers let me vent my frustration all the time. I have always had my stuff resolved right away.

I also made sure that they tagged my home as a front only drop off and to ring the door bell. I explained to them what I do and that I do not have a choice but to use them and will make a complaint against my driver at the time.

I have had fewer problems since and they are always willing to work with me.

One problem for me is when I needed a pick up and it sat out for over a week. They looked at the history and I pointed out that I was home! The driver kept saying I wasn't. I never heard the door bell once! I had them tag the house again and told them to ring the door bell and to always leave a receipt. What do know? It was picked up asap the next day.

Quick tip! make sure you put on the package via ups so that the driver knows it is for them.

 

[Happy Mom]

UpsThis is my husband's area of expertise. In many areas it is okay if UPS leaves the packages at your door or on your porch. It is acceptable paractice in our part of the country.

However, if the sender requires a signature, and you are not home, the UPS man will leave a notice.

You could talk to a rep, but if the policy is the accepted practice in your town, I doubt that UPS would concede to a different method of delivery.
If something is damaged, Pampered Chef insures the packages. If something is missing, you can ask for a trace through the UPS website.

I hope this helps.

 

[GeorgiaPeach]

My experience with UPS drivers is that every one is different. It is pretty much a personal preference (the drivers!) as to where they leave it. Last year we lived in an apartment and EVERY day there was a different driver...one day they would leave it at the office (without stopping at the house first), one day a tag on my door. Nine times out of ten I was home! I made many calls to the local office....no success. There are many things I like about UPS (I was a UPS supervisor for 2 yrs) but I would like to see them have more uniform policies...I'd like a way to "hold" your packages like the USPS holds mail when we are out of town and I'd like them to have a way to log a customer's delivery request (front door only, side door, etc) so that all drivers for that route would be more consistent. Ha....I'd like world peace but don't think I'll get that either!

 

[ShanaSmith]

Like your customer, UPS leaves my packages in my back yard. I am always grateful that they go that extra step for me. That way I know that it will still be there when I get home. Other customers complain when UPS leaves a tag, or leaves packages on the front porch. I think they just can't get it right with everyone, everytime. As long as nothing is broken I am happy. And of course not everyone sees the UPS man quite as often as we do.

 

[Shawnna]

I have a wonderful UPS driver. I have had problems in the past. 2 times the driver left my package at a house down the block. Once that person was out of town for the winter. It was a pain trying to track it down and the driver insisted that he left the package at the last house on the street - which he didn't and the address didn't match. But over all I have had good experiences. I actually have 2 drivers. One will leave my package with me at work so I have it if I need it. If I am not at work she delivers it to my home. The other takes everything to my home. Either way is fine with me. If I am not home I am glad that my drivers leave my package on the porch. In my area, this is acceptable. I am sure there could be people who would take advantage of that, but I doubt it happens very often.

 

[BethCooks4U]

We got a new UPS driver and he started leaving the packages at the door leading into the house inside the garage instead of bringing them onto the front porch (just a few steps further for him). We feel that people coming into our garage are tresspassing and it makes us uncomfortable. I only had to say once that I preferred front door delivery and he ALWAYS delivers to the front porch now.

I also agree with the person who said that it would be nice if we could have them hold packages. Thinking about it, I think there is a way. I believe you can call the local office and they will hold things for a certain amount of time but I think then you have to pick them up yourself. Worth looking into...


All that being said, I love UPS!

 

[fruit76loop]

Wonderful!My UPS driver is wonderful! She always honks and knocks on the door. If I am planning on being out of town, I let her know and she notes it and keeps my packages until I return!

She knows my children's names and everything! I do believe it just depends on your driver!

 

[rwesterpchef]

UPS, becoming U-ncomfortable P-ain in the S-eat

However, if the sender requires a signature, and you are not home, the UPS man will leave a notice.
You could talk to a rep, but if the policy is the accepted practice in your town, I doubt that UPS would concede to a different method of delivery.
I hope this helps.

I also agree with the person who said that it would be nice if we could have them hold packages. Thinking about it, I think there is a way. I believe you can call the local office and they will hold things for a certain amount of time but I think then you have to pick them up yourself. Worth looking into...

Home office does not require a signature on ANY of the packages sent out. HOWEVER, each local UPS office uses their discretion on whether a signature is required or not (given the location/zip of the packages). If a signature is required and an individual is not home, a note is left. UPS will make 3 attempts to deliver the package that HO has provided, then it will be returned to HO. There is an 800# that the customer can call to make arrangements to pick it up from the local UPS office within a given period.
The down side to this is that we, the consultant have no idea if a signature will be required or not (until we get a ranting call from our customer). I have been faced with this a few of times. Generally, I can get another address to have it sent (after being returned to HO), or the customer is willing to pick up at the UPS station. Most recently (in process), neither of these are an option. I am having to have HO send the package to me, in Texas...and I am going to ship USPS or Fedex (whichever is cheapest) to the customer, in Georgia. Home Office will only ship via UPS.
Fortunately, this customer is willing to pay the extra shipping (even on future orders - wow!), because she thinks I'm just the greatest consultant. Shh! I'm not going to tell her any differently (tee-hee!)
Also, orders going to your house...contact your local UPS office if you need to. They can flag your address with special delivery directions (where to leave, not to leave, etc). My guy was leaving them at the end of the driveway by the mailbox. We live off the road, in the country. The roaming dogs decided to make a lunch out of one of the boxes, and the items inside it. HO had to send replacements for the gnawed on products.

 

[BethCooks4U]

If you want your packages delivered in a particular place be sure to contact the UPS office (LOL getting the phone # though) and not just the driver.

We do not want ANY packages left in our garage because 1. we consider people going into our garage as tresspassing and 2. the garage is a tight fit for our cars and we need to be concentrating on maneuvering the car not worring about something being in the way or distracting us. We had asked our driver not to deliver there and he has not since but this week we had a different driver and the garage door happened to be open. He delivered into the garage, my husband came home and was distracted by the boxes and hit the garage with his new car putting about $1000 damage on the bumper.

Funny thing was I was LOOKING for the driver - I knew he was bringing packages and I had a gift for him. I had a note on the door that he delivers to and I was keeping an eye out for him. They never ring the bell or knock - I wish he had because then I would have gone to that door and all this would have been avoided.

Thanks for letting me vent!

 

[chefjill]

Before submitting a show, I always tell my hosts that the product is being delivered via UPS, and that they will most likely just drop & go. If that's a problem, we choose an alternate delivery address. I've never had anyone complain about where the products were left.
Our UPS drivers (we have 2 in our neighborhood) are awesome. I've had the driver offer to bring heavy packages into the house for me, just inside the front door. I don't know if its policy for them not to , but I know I really appreciate it.


Jill Wright
Director, Benicia, CA
[email protected]

 

[emiley]

Try a work addressI have had several hosts ask me to deliver it to their work address. They are at work around 5 days a week, and there during UPS business hours, so it works out. Plus, many of their orders were from co-workers, so their orders were right there for them to take home, making less work for the host. Obviously, this doesn't work for folks who stay home. May I point out that our website has a UPS tracking feature? If you know how many days it takes to get deliveries from Chicago to your area, track the shipment and you can tell your host with near perfect accuracy when it will arrive. Believe me, they will appreciate that you've stayed on top of this for them! And, it's your job! Good luck!

 

[kimmers]

UPS complaint

This is my husband's area of expertise. In many areas it is okay if UPS leaves the packages at your door or on your porch. It is acceptable paractice in our part of the country.

However, if the sender requires a signature, and you are not home, the UPS man will leave a notice.

You could talk to a rep, but if the policy is the accepted practice in your town, I doubt that UPS would concede to a different method of delivery.
If something is damaged, Pampered Chef insures the packages. If something is missing, you can ask for a trace through the UPS website.

I hope this helps.

We use UPS where I work (I also do the shipping & receiving), so I am pretty familiar with the way the system works. The UPS website doesn't always accurately reflect the progress. I have been waiting on something (was supposed to be a Christmas gift) since the 15th of this month. Was originally scheduled to be delivered on the 16th. On the 13th, 4 packages shipped from HO. 2 were delivered on the 15th, and 1 was delivered on the 16th. On the 19th, I call UPS to put a tracer, because it showed that it had arrived at the hub. I was told that I could not put a tracer on it because I was not the shipper. (It ended up in California, and I still have not received it). I called home office, and they sent another package out. WELL, the same thing has happened. It shipped out the same day, and should have been delivered by the 23rd. UPS online shows that it has been sitting in the hub since the 20th, but shows a reschedule date of 1/3/06. I know things are the pits for the drivers during the holidays, but it is just plain weird that the same thing has happened to the same item on two different shipments.

I have had a lot of things arrive broken though. Thankfully the HO is real good about returns and replacements.

Sorry this is so long. Just kind of frustrated, thanks for letting me vent.

Kim

 

[emiley]

This holiday season was an especially bad one for UPS. There were many misdirected shipments and "lost" ones. In our area, their computer system was down for awhile so they had to rely on relayed text messages from the drivers. I had one newly recruited host who'd been waiting for a package for three days because they couldn't find her house, even after she called and gave them directions. She was finally told she'd have to make a 30 mile drive to the office to pick it up. When she got there, after waiting in line 30 minutes, she was told the "good news" was that her package had been delivered to her house at 11:30 a.m., 20 minutes after she'd left to come to the office. Needless to say she was very frustrated! Judging from the situations of the other customers there, it was a frustrating season for UPS, too! It just comes with the territory.

 

[DebbieSAChef]

Ups NoteI always leave a note when I know the UPS man is coming. For my hosts I do the same thing. I tell them to leave it at the front door and it specifies where to leave the package. I like my packages over the fence. I make sure I have something there for his convenience of putting the box over the fence, like a table or another box to stack it on. It does depend on the driver for special things like holding packages for you when you are out of town or not home for that specific time.
There is always the option to pick up the item if you don't want them to leave it on your porch.
Debbie