Delivery problems!

In our front garden is a black plastic box, a medium sized box, originally provided by the local council to put paper and card in for collection and recycling. Some time ago they changed their system to containers that could be more easily left on the pavement, outside the gate, when they decided that dustbin-men’s time could be used more efficiently if they did not have to enter gardens and drag bins out. Now householders do the dragging in and out bit. Cost-effective rubbish collection!!

Anyway, we still have a black plastic box in the garden, not far from the front door. In it there are containers of coarse salt and grit, for sprinkling on the path in icy weather.

This is all background information to the story coming up.

This morning I received an email about a parcel I was expecting. It told me that my parcel had been left in a safe place and had a photo of a hand putting the parcel in question - yes, you’ve guessed it - inside the black plastic box. Now, we have worked quite hard to persuade the Post Office delivery people that the black box is not exactly a secure place to leave parcels. Any passing scally could choose to “collect” the parcel. So they leave them with the next door neighbours or put a card through the door saying we can collect parcels from then Post Office in the village. It works. Apparently we need some kind of notice for other delivery services.

The other thing is that we were at home at the time the delivery was attempted. I can only assume that the delivery man ignored the doorbell, which can be heard throughout most of the house, and opted to tap the tiny little door knocker above the letter box. This door knocker is so laughably small as to be almost ornamental. What is more, you can only hear it if you happen to standing close to the door when the tap-tapping occurs! Another notice is needed, pointing out the existence of a quite effective doorbell. Or perhaps we need to add a new and noisy door knocker.

However, the parcel was safely retrieved and can now be forwarded, together with a couple of other items, to the person it was intended for.

What I really fail to understand is how a company can have the technology to send me an email letting me know my parcel is in a “safe place” and yet fail to make use of the more basic technology of the doorbell!