Its really not their fault. Most organisations hold their staff to either brutal efficiency targets or have them on a contract basis getting paid per parcel. I’m VERY LUCKY in that my organisations key metric is “successful deliveries/attempts without complaint” and right behind it is number of parcels delivered per hr. They like a guy who does 20 an hour and 100% success way more than a 30 an hr and 95% success. My bosses love me because I know I’m hourly and I just DO MY JOB. Last time I checked I’m at 99.9%.
It is partially the customers fault. People LOVE the idea of next day free delivery, their parcel being treated with loving care, their delivery instructions being followed to the letter and delivered by someone who takes pride in their job, it drives a lot of business… but its FREE, you think they dont cut corners? Most places hire people who will work their asses off for peanuts, which means a high turnover of people who dont really give a fuck to be able to take on those contracts and still make IF THEY ARE LUCKY $1 off each parcel.
I fully understand the issues with the logistics. I get that the delivery people are often held to unreasonable standards and forced to insane expectations of quotas.
But, when there are 3 cars in the driveway, the lights are on in the house, and it’s the middle of the afternoon, it is absolutely the delivery person’s responsibility if they don’t even knock. They don’t even need to stick around more than 5 seconds, at least actually make the attempt.
Its really not their fault. Most organisations hold their staff to either brutal efficiency targets or have them on a contract basis getting paid per parcel. I’m VERY LUCKY in that my organisations key metric is “successful deliveries/attempts without complaint” and right behind it is number of parcels delivered per hr. They like a guy who does 20 an hour and 100% success way more than a 30 an hr and 95% success. My bosses love me because I know I’m hourly and I just DO MY JOB. Last time I checked I’m at 99.9%.
It is partially the customers fault. People LOVE the idea of next day free delivery, their parcel being treated with loving care, their delivery instructions being followed to the letter and delivered by someone who takes pride in their job, it drives a lot of business… but its FREE, you think they dont cut corners? Most places hire people who will work their asses off for peanuts, which means a high turnover of people who dont really give a fuck to be able to take on those contracts and still make IF THEY ARE LUCKY $1 off each parcel.
I fully understand the issues with the logistics. I get that the delivery people are often held to unreasonable standards and forced to insane expectations of quotas.
But, when there are 3 cars in the driveway, the lights are on in the house, and it’s the middle of the afternoon, it is absolutely the delivery person’s responsibility if they don’t even knock. They don’t even need to stick around more than 5 seconds, at least actually make the attempt.