Have any strange delivery experiences being rural?

[mapper]

I get good service here from most all carriers. USPS comes down my driveway every day since my mailbox is up near my shop, its location is grandfathered in since our carrier years ago had us move it there after we both got tired of dealing with vandals trashing it several times a year. USPS puts packages by the garage pass door. Every one else puts stuff on the front porch.
Years ago I had a delivery from Grizzly, a new dust collector, it was delivered by a freight company in a 40 foot semi. The company called me prior to delivery for instructions. I arranged for them to call me an hour prior to delivery so I could be there to receive it, I also told them that the only safe (won't get stuck in the mud) place to turn around was in front of the shop. The day of the delivery I get a call at work from the freight company that the truck was at my place and where should they leave it?
I hurried home from work (about 45 minutes away) and there was the box where I asked them to leave it, as well as some humongous ruts in my front field! My neighbor was out working on the fence between us and told me that the semi truck had gotten stuck and had to call a tow company to get him out. I paid a $20 delivery fee, the freight company lost on that deal.

 

[Torvy]

Inside info on FedEx. My sister retired from there after 30+years. FedEx Ground is a whole different entity and was basically another brand they bought out. The old timers at FedEx don't like them because they give the company a bad name. Different drivers, different management, different culture. We have only had problems with the Ground version.

We have lived in 4 states since we were married 30+ years ago. Delivery issues, IMHO are 90% local. Some are systemic, but it is about the driver(s). Even in a bad system, a good driver can make your day. In general, truly rural carriers tend to be better because they are part of the community. Rural that is 'city- adjacent' tends to be much worse as they will put city drivers on a rural delivery and are more likely to be inconsistent with who is driving a route on a particular day.

As for the recent murder, it was a county west of us and is still shocking. Glad Texas has the DP for guys like this.

 

[dougtrr2]

I had a logging winch delivered by UPS. I got a call the day before. According to the young girl on the phone the only vehicles UPS have with lift tail gates are 18 wheelers. I pressed her on the issue, no straight trucks? She also tells me they won't be able to deliver to my house since I am at the end of a county road. I gave her quite a bit of grief about it, telling her they needed to get better drivers.

As it turned out the truck did get down to my house. He backed the semi down my road (1/4) mile right to my driveway. He was a driver I knew from when I worked receiving at a manufacturing company in Omaha. He drove for someone else then.

It makes me wonder, if UPS doesn't have straight trucks with lift gates, how do they deliver lift gate products in residential neighbor hoods.

Doug in SW IA

 

[bdhsfz6]

Inside info on FedEx. My sister retired from there after 30+years. FedEx Ground is a whole different entity and was basically another brand they bought out. The old timers at FedEx don't like them because they give the company a bad name. Different drivers, different management, different culture. We have only had problems with the Ground version.

We have lived in 4 states since we were married 30+ years ago. Delivery issues, IMHO are 90% local. Some are systemic, but it is about the driver(s). Even in a bad system, a good driver can make your day. In general, truly rural carriers tend to be better because they are part of the community. Rural that is 'city- adjacent' tends to be much worse as they will put city drivers on a rural delivery and are more likely to be inconsistent with who is driving a route on a particular day.

As for the recent murder, it was a county west of us and is still shocking. Glad Texas has the DP for guys like this.

A few months ago, we got a delivery from FedEx Ground. At first, I thought it was a joke. The guy pulls into our driveway in a 1960's vintage Volkswagen micro bus with flowers painted on it. The long haired driver had no uniform and was wearing a Hawaiian shirt that he obviously slept in. Images of an aging hippy, burned out from smoking too much weed, flashed through my head as he handed me the package. When I asked who he was, he pointed to a small FedEx bumper sticker on his van.

Well...ok, it wasn't quite that bad but close. I can see why these contractors are giving FedEx a bad name.

The recent horrific killing in Texas tops the list though. I can't believe a judge would grant bail even at 1.5 mil! Who knows, if FedEx is desperate enough for drivers, they might just bail him out!

If they do, he would have zero reason to hang around since there is a 100% chance Texas will off him. He'd literally be running for his life.

 

[duffer]

Our Fedex regular guy drives a rented Enterprise truck. They won't buy him another one. But when something comes from the "other" Fedex, we always get a call asking where our address is, even though it's on all of the map GPS apps now. Got a call yesterday requesting the same thing. Never did get the package.

 

[thepumpguysc]

When I had my 60gallon compressor delivered, I got a call the day before telling me the driver has a 40ft trailer w a lift gate and it looked like I live at the end of the “no outlet” road.??
I said yes, but if he parks at the beginning of the road, I’d come down w a trailer to get it..
He parked at the beginning and called to let me know he was there.
I went down the 1/2 mile road to receive my new compressor..
The driver helped me walk it onto my trailer, THEN offered to go to the house(shop) to help me unload it.!!!
He did just that.!! He left his truck on the side of the road, idling no less.. and jumped into my truck..WE unloaded it, moved it to where it was gonna live and I brought him back to his truck..(+ 20.00)
I never did see what outfit he was driving for..

 

[kenmbz]

I had a logging winch delivered by UPS. I got a call the day before. According to the young girl on the phone the only vehicles UPS have with lift tail gates are 18 wheelers. I pressed her on the issue, no straight trucks? She also tells me they won't be able to deliver to my house since I am at the end of a county road. I gave her quite a bit of grief about it, telling her they needed to get better drivers.

As it turned out the truck did get down to my house. He backed the semi down my road (1/4) mile right to my driveway. He was a driver I knew from when I worked receiving at a manufacturing company in Omaha. He drove for someone else then.

It makes me wonder, if UPS doesn't have straight trucks with lift gates, how do they deliver lift gate products in residential neighbor hoods.

Doug in SW IA

In my old neighborhood, anything heavy that would fit in the standard UPS truck was loaded.
The poor driver had to try and finagle it out of the truck.
Most of them would just push it out of the back, ensuing in plenty of damage.

I knew the driver pretty well, and he told me they really gave him no other way to deal with these large packages and did not want to send the larger trucks out with less than a full load.

I had a toilet delivered that way once, watched the driver push it off the truck, heard the crash and watched him try to roll it up the driveway.
I then helped him roll it back up into the truck, hearing the pieces of former toilet rolling around in the box.

Here UPS guy would ring and wait for me to help him unload, different rules out in the sticks.

 

[orezok]

WOW! I’m out here in the middle of the Mojave and UPS, FEDEX and USPS deliver packaged to my front door. In 20 years i’Ve only had one missing package that I know was delivered to the wrong address.

I guess I just jinked my luck! LOL

 

[George2615]

For us, UPS, FedEx, and USPS have been great for many years. Always gave a Xmas card with cash to regular drivers. Larger packages are left on front porch or by garage door. Being retired I usually meet the drivers outside to get my packages when I see the truck pull up.
I think my regular USPS carrier may have retired and the PO is shorthanded. Regular carrier always delivered between noon and 2PM. Now we have a different driver 3 times a week and deliveries are between 11AM to as late as 7:30PM and many times we get neighbors mail or they get ours. I think the remaining carriers are driving double routes and / or working a lot of OT. Or they don't have enough subs to fill in.

My father retired from the PO after 33 years as a carrier and had a great pension and insurance plan. All that has changed over the years.
He learned early never to take vacation in Dec. as the sub who filled in would keep all the Xmas bonuses his customers would leave in the box for him. I hauled mail for a subcontractor from PO to PO for many years. We had a tight schedule and if we were 5 minutes late they were calling to find out where we were.

 

[thepumpguysc]

I just received a UPS delivery.. ON A SATURDAY.!!!
Lady said they have them working weekends until after Christmas.. she wasn’t happy.!!