kebechet Report post Posted March 24, 2004 ... when people then email me and tell me they didn't get them. This is particularly plaguing orders I send to apartment buildings. My question is... do I now start to require signatures for delivery? And yes, I'm still behind on emails. Not enough time in the day, guys, but I'm trying my hardest. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
clephan Report post Posted March 24, 2004 (edited) I'd say yes: I'm so used to everything I order requring a signature that it wouldn't bother me in the slightest. But as not everyone would feel that same, can you allow each customer to choose individually whether a signature is required for their order, or not if they're prepared to take the risk that it might go astray? You would also then have the get-out that if someone didn't opt for signature-required, and the order went astray, you shouldn't have to resend it: it was their choice. Of course, if it goes astray and it's been signed for, you (or the customer) could then persue the postal service and find out who signed and go and shout at the them. Or something. Frankly, anything that increases the security/reliability of the shipping process will get my vote. Edited March 24, 2004 by clephan Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
eve_of_destruction Report post Posted March 24, 2004 "anything that increases the security/reliability of the shipping process will get my vote." i second that emotion. best eve living in fear, as usual.. ho-hum.. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lorajc Report post Posted March 24, 2004 Hi Beth, I just wondered about the status of US lost order reshipments. Thanks, Lora Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shriekingviolet Report post Posted March 24, 2004 third it. It can be slightly disappointing to see that I've missed a package and have to wait until the next day to pick it up, but that's so much better than having it not arrive at all and having to wait and wait to confirm that no, it's not coming after all and having it re-sent. If you post the policv and insert a link to a page that explains why people will understand. And if they don't they're assholes and you don't want their business anyway. Because assholes are often cheap and always headache inducing. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
friendthegirl Report post Posted March 24, 2004 I just wanted to clarify, if you need a signature to get your package, if you don't sign for it, does it get sent to the nearest post office? I'm just wondering, because I live in a dorm and I get in a slip in my mail box when I get a package and I have to sign for it before they give it to me, but it's not a USPS thing. I don't know. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
clephan Report post Posted March 24, 2004 I just wanted to clarify, if you need a signature to get your package, if you don't sign for it, does it get sent to the nearest post office? I'm just wondering, because I live in a dorm and I get in a slip in my mail box when I get a package and I have to sign for it before they give it to me, but it's not a USPS thing. I don't know. I guess in your situation whoever collects the post for your dorm and writes the slips for you all would sign for and hold the parcel for you as long as the signatory does not have to be your personally. But I'm going on British postal arrangements here, do the USPS require it to be signed for only by the named recipient? Anyone else help? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shriekingviolet Report post Posted March 24, 2004 When I lived in the dorms, we had a post office on campus, so for packages that weren't sent by UPS or FedEx that required a sig, they got sent there. Never bothered me much since it was an extremely small campus and the P.O. was just a hop, skip and a jump away! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
friendthegirl Report post Posted March 24, 2004 Yeah, we really don't have a post office. I mean, very small ones scattered about, so I think the whole thing that someone at my dorm signs for all the packages makes sense. I never thought of any of this. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gothabillywench Report post Posted March 24, 2004 I'm for it! Normally someone (mum or my sister) is home so the postie hand delivers parcels to them, if noone was home they should leave a note saying "you weren't in please pick up parcel from blah office" Now, lately Oz Post have been leaving parcels at the door instead if we're not in. Now I don't know if they do this 'cause we live in a safe area & out doorstep is far from the road or if it's standard procedure now. So I'm all for signing for it as, given I'm moving into an apartment block soon, I'd rather the mild inconvenience of having to pick something up from the P.O than having some theiving bugger help themself to my stuff! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cj Report post Posted March 24, 2004 i quite agree! just like i'd be more than happy to cover the cost of insuring the packages - i would be more than happy to sign for my parcels too - both sides are protected then! i don't know how it'll work for an overseas order (i'm in th uk) but i think its a good idea!!! claire xxx Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shriekingviolet Report post Posted March 24, 2004 friendthegirl, ask your desk assistant. S/he should know Gothabillywench, UPS always leaves our boxes at the door (though they ring the bell well the drop them on our porch, even though they don't wait for us to answer). Not sure if we ever signed a slip to allow them to do so. We live in a really safe neighborhood so it doesn't both us. I'm fairly sure that all of our mail-delivering personnel and neighbors (elderly folk with toy cars) are pretty honest. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
allamanda Report post Posted March 24, 2004 (edited) My question is... do I now start to require signatures for delivery? Yes definitely. Each of my parcels has been left on my doorstep. Fortunately my house doesn't face the road and is sheltered, so only someone coming to my door is likely to see the parcel. As someone else suggested, just state on the website your reasons for shipping this way. Yes, it's a pain when you miss the post, but at least you know the parcel is there to be collected / redelivered when it suits you. And yes, I'm still behind on emails. Not enough time in the day, guys, but I'm trying my hardest. Is there a way that we can manage some of this on the forum by ourselves? For example noting that we have sent / received / queries regarding shipping quotations, payment and orders. This might lighten the load on the email accounts and reassure people the email hadn't gone missing. Would this be practical?? Edited for abysmal punctuation (might be slightly better ) Edited March 24, 2004 by allamanda Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AnimeKitten Report post Posted March 24, 2004 I think Elizabeth should introuduce this- it would save a lot of hassle. I think packages- over here in england, at least- can be signed for by any memember of the houshold/official houssitter, but I'm not sure. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tesseljoan Report post Posted March 24, 2004 They leave parcels at your doorstep? Sheez, I used to work for our dutch version of Royal Mail and I could've gotten sacked for that. Seriously. Knowing this, I am all for insuring and signing for orders. Just to make sure they actually get across the pond. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
quinkel Report post Posted March 24, 2004 agree! Had to sign for it anyway because the parcel did´t fit the mailbox and everything you pick at the post has to be signed and show you identity card. It´s in our own favor to sign Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ebonykawai Report post Posted March 24, 2004 (edited) My question is... do I now start to require signatures for delivery? I would say to get a signature for packages that are going to apartment buildings. With a house, it's easier. It either gets to the house or it doesn't. When I lived in an apartment several years ago, the mailman used to just dump all packages on a table in the hall. Anybody had access to them. I would think that the buyer would want such protection as signature confirmation. It's a guarantee that someone in the building is not swiping their stuff! Hate to say it, but it does happen. Edited March 24, 2004 by ebonykawai Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RosieP Report post Posted March 24, 2004 Yes, anyone in the household can sign for stuff here in the UK - I've even asked neighbours to house-sit and wait for parcels for me as postmen aren't allowed to leave 'signed-for' parcels at nieghbour's houses. Postmen here in the UK used to be REALLY bad at just leaving parcels outside the door and walking away. A couple of years ago I came home from a fortnight's holiday abroad to find a box of rotting flowers that a friend had sent as a birthday gift ozzing slime on the doorstep. Another time a little card was posted through the door saying 'I have left your parcel...' with a space for the postman to write 'with neighbour' or 'in garage'. On this occasion the helpful postie had written 'in dustbin' (trash can to US readers!) Needless to say it was bin collection day ..... Nowadays they HAVE to take the parcel back to the sorting office and you have to go there to collect it, taking the delivery slip plus proof of identity. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
clephan Report post Posted March 24, 2004 Nowadays they HAVE to take the parcel back to the sorting office and you have to go there to collect it, taking the delivery slip plus proof of identity. Have any of your BPAL parcels had to go back to a sorting office / depot yet? If so, where did it go? The reason I ask is because I know some carriers take parcels back to a depot miles and miles away - a missed Business Post parcel means a 2 hour drive! However, the City Link depot is just up the road. I don't know what USPS equates to when it gets to the UK.. are there special USPS depots? Who knows! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gothabillywench Report post Posted March 24, 2004 friendthegirl, ask your desk assistant. S/he should know Gothabillywench, UPS always leaves our boxes at the door (though they ring the bell well the drop them on our porch, even though they don't wait for us to answer). Not sure if we ever signed a slip to allow them to do so. We live in a really safe neighborhood so it doesn't both us. I'm fairly sure that all of our mail-delivering personnel and neighbors (elderly folk with toy cars) are pretty honest. Hmm, sounds like what Australia post are now doing. Not so long ago if no one answered we got the little yellow slip in the letterbox to say "come & pick it up" as they'd take it back to the delivery centre. If that's still the case it's cool. But if what they are doing now is like what the USPS are doing then I'd rather sign for it as I may be moving into a block where there is a security entrance & the idea of parcels being left out for everyone in my apartment block & street to pass by doesn't thrill me. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RosieP Report post Posted March 24, 2004 Clephan, I've only ever had one bpal parcel and someone was at home when it was delivered .... I think the box was small enough (videotape size?) that the postman just shoved it through the letterbox - good job we've got a nice thick doormat for it to land on! As it came via the regular Royal Mail van I expect if it had been too large to go through the door it would have been taken back to our nearest Royal Mail sorting office (Snodland - about a twenty minute car ride away.) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
clephan Report post Posted March 24, 2004 As it came via the regular Royal Mail van I expect if it had been too large to go through the door it would have been taken back to our nearest Royal Mail sorting office (Snodland - about a twenty minute car ride away.) Aaaah. Thank you. That's fantastic news, and very happy-making. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chai_girl Report post Posted March 24, 2004 I live in a house but we have a block of mailboxes down the street. There are shoebox size boxes (you have to have a key) and two large boxes that have keys (kind of like an airport locker, only the postman can remove them once they've been inserted). If I get something that doesn't fit in the small one, He puts it in the big one and leaves the key in the box. It is always so exciting to find a key! My BPAL shipments have always fit in the regular box though...as long as I check my mail regularly. The apartments in my area either have a similar set up or the office signs for the packages and you can go to the apartment office building to collect them. We don't typically have the smaller apartment buildings in Texas that you have in the northern cities...we have the huge complexes so that may be a bit different. UPS and Fedex leave packages on my doorstep. I have a sheltered porch area and I've never had anything stolen off my porch...not the bicycle, the scooter, the skate board...I even had a tv, vcr and stereo equipment waiting for the Salvation Army on my porch for a couple of weeks and no one took them! The only thing I have to go to the post office for is for a certified letter or when I get my quarterly mail order of meds. They leave a slip in the mail box. The thing is, I can just sign the slip and they will leave it in the box the next day. I don't HAVE to go all the way to the post office (it isn't the distance, it is the hours they keep because I have to come home from work during the day). Long story short, (too late!) I'm all for anything that will make things easier for the team at the lab. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Morrighana Report post Posted March 24, 2004 Postmen here in the UK used to be REALLY bad at just leaving parcels outside the door and walking away. A couple of years ago I came home from a fortnight's holiday abroad to find a box of rotting flowers that a friend had sent as a birthday gift ozzing slime on the doorstep. Another time a little card was posted through the door saying 'I have left your parcel...' with a space for the postman to write 'with neighbour' or 'in garage'. On this occasion the helpful postie had written 'in dustbin' (trash can to US readers!) Needless to say it was bin collection day ..... Wow, that's awful! I hope you were duly compensated for that...that's totally unacceptable! I'm all for signing for packages. The suggestion to make it optional would be a good idea...that way, if we don't click *YES! I WANT TO SIGN FOR IT*, it's our own fault if it goes astray, not yours! That would rid you of a headache or two. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
any_old_actress Report post Posted March 24, 2004 i'd rather sign for the parcels too. at this point i have no idea where my order is - i'm assuming it's still stuck at canadian customs or something. it's just a signature, i'd much rather that than not have my oils at all. elizabeth: do whatever you see fit to do about this whole mail situation - i think all of us here will be happy with whatever route you choose if it means our packages get to us in better time. we love ya! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
