I’m a delivery driver – here’s how to make sure your parcels are received without a hitch every time
A DELIVERY driver has shared his top tips on how to make sure you receive parcels without a hitch.
The supermarket worker lifted the lid on the secrets of the business, including the most ‘annoying’ things customers do.
The West Midlands-based driver advised shoppers on the dos and don’ts of ordering and how to make the whole experience easier for both them and those making the deliveries.
He told Birmingham Live: “If you don’t have a number on your house, get one.
“I’ve had rusty numbers on a brown piece of wood, brass numbers on yellow-painted walls, white numbers on grey metal garages and even numbers on doors where the door is at the side of the house.
“If you have a house name, as with house numbers, we need to be able to see it.
“My record is a customer who, when I asked where their name plaque was – when I eventually found the property – they said: ‘Oh, we haven’t had a name sign up for 43 years. Delivery drivers eventually find us.”
The driver added that a ‘pet hate’ is cars blocking access to driveways.
He asked: “How are we supposed to get passed, whether carrying the totes [crates] or using the trolley?”
During night time deliveries, he advised turning on porch or door lights to help drivers find your home and pleaded with customers to have their phones switched on.
He said: “Answer your phone. If a driver calls you, it is because they cannot find your property for example, and requires directions.
“If you don’t answer your phone, you may not get your order.”
Likewise, if you are out of the house, drivers may well skip your delivery as their tight schedule means they can’t wait around.
The source explained: “If you are not at home, it is very unlikely the driver ‘can come back later’ as we have an ergonomically-calculated route to minimise the use of fuel and time-efficient use of both.
“So, if you have an account in London and have rented a holiday cottage 200 miles away – answer your mobile, allow an extra hour to arrive, and no, we cannot ‘leave the shopping by the front door’.
“We have to see the recipient. After all, if it was pinched five minutes later you would expect a refund.”
Speaking of seeing the recipient, he added that many customers aren’t aware of the rules around who is allowed to receive an order.
He revealed that in the terms and conditions you agree to when your order, you state that the person paying is the customer.
This means at the very least that your children, if they are under 18, can’t take the order on your behalf.
He explained: “Don’t expect [that] your 17-year-old child can accept your order because you are not back from work. This has nothing to do with restricted items such as cigarettes, tobacco or alcohol, it is about what your contract with the company states.”
Another major irritation was people who live in blocks of flats telling him to use the lifts to bring their package to them.
The delivery worker fumed: “No, we don’t get into lifts to the 15th floor to deliver to you.
“You come down to us – this is not laziness, it ensures the van isn’t broken into and plundered which has happened but, thankfully, not to me.”
Finally, the driver heavily encouraged customers to leave advice and directions in the notes on the order, especially if their property is hard to find.
An example of the right sort of notes include things like: “Sat nav is out by 500 yards, look for the telephone box, Fox and Hounds pub, bus shelter, four doors down from the white cottage, barn at the end of the lane, there is no turning circle to reverse in.”
He said that these sorts of instructions are ‘extremely useful’ for drivers.