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Aaaaargh!

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Aaaaargh!

Postby Gillthepainter » Fri Jun 15, 2012 1:11 pm

Waiting in for the third day now for a delivery that isn't arriving.
Tracking has it on the van, and returning at the end of the day undelivered.

Yodel - whoever that is.

They must be knocking at the wrong door, as no-one's attempted to deliver my parcel, and there is no note in my mail box.

I've phoned the suppliers but they aren't hearing anything back from Yodel. How useless is that.

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Re: Aaaaargh!

Postby Joanbunting » Fri Jun 15, 2012 2:11 pm

Oh Gill

How utterly frustrating. Sounds a bit like an escapee from The Sound of Music stuck up a mountain :D

We had to wait in yesterday for a delivery for DD. As there are no names or numbers on the houses in the hameau, and there is another of the same name in the next commune it can get a bit fraught, especially if they send stuff in a giant van that can't make it round our narrow street !

However ours eventually arrived after three or four calls from the deliverer - to add insult there is no mobile signal here either. We have suggested to the marie that there is a map at each end of the hameau for deliveries or emergency services showing where everyone lives. As it is because we are usually in and plumb centre we do all the directing!

In these days of mail order shopping firms really must get deliveries sorted.

PS hope is arrives soon :crossed :crossed :crossed

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Re: Aaaaargh!

Postby Gillthepainter » Fri Jun 15, 2012 6:29 pm

The old lady next door said she'd take it in forrus. What a sweetie.
And of course, when I left to do my thing - the van pulled up immediately.

I got a text from her that he'd just been. Sorted at last, so I'm smiling again, for now.

You must tear your hair out at your circumstances.
Imagine having a house the same name so close, unless it's Rose Cottage of course. That's a terribly popular name :lol:

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Re: Aaaaargh!

Postby Happy Violas » Fri Jun 15, 2012 7:31 pm

Yodel has a REALLY bad name for delivering or rather NOT delivering! They're a nightmare to contact when you miss them and seem surprised that people don't spend all their time waiting in for them. I sometimes get stuff delivered to work when I suspect it'll be done by a courier .... luckily the mailroom are happy to sign for me but I don't like to do it too often. Glad you finally got your stuff :D

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Re: Aaaaargh!

Postby Gillthepainter » Sat Jun 16, 2012 9:39 am

Ah you've heard of them, Happy Violas. And that's interesting what you have to say about them too.
I had to go out as I have a Friday deadline/ another life.

Like you, I can get things sent to my painting partner's winebar, there's always someone there pretty much 24hrs.
And like you, I don't want to do that too often.

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Re: Aaaaargh!

Postby jeral » Sat Jun 16, 2012 12:40 pm

Glad to here your goods finally arrived. It's strange that when I'm having to wait in, I can't seem to get on with things, which is ludicrous as it only takes a minute to answer the door, yet it often feels as if I've wasted a day if a delivery doesn't arrive. *Must take up yoga*

Amazon deliveries go the other way as whenever tracking quotes a particular day the item almost invariably comes a day earlier. I'm not complaining though! That's Citylink IIRC.

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Re: Aaaaargh!

Postby Gillthepainter » Sun Jun 17, 2012 9:10 am

I think Amazon are great. Not necessarily getting it right all the time, but when it goes wrong, they have an excellent customer care service.

And you're right about not being able to settle whilst awaiting a delivery at home.
Rather like not being able to make a phone call, when someone says they will call you back - all of a sudden you need to call someone, anyone, but cannot.

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Re: Aaaaargh!

Postby kavey » Sun Jul 08, 2012 11:47 am

Yodel are just as crap with their new name as they were when called Home Delivery Network.
They delivered something last week and left it in our wheelie bin!!! On collection day, though the binmen had already been. But as far as I am concerned, inside a (dirty) bin is not what I'd consider "a safe place" as they ticked on the delivery note card. Their twitter customer service rep apologised and agreed but of course, this is not at all an isolated incident. When I tweeted, a friend said they'd had similar but before binmen collected so they never got their parcel. Also stories of delivery men throwing fragile parcels over alley gates and the like. In the past, I've let retailers know I'm no longer using their services because they use HDN/ Yodel for delivery (and one did look into it and changed) but Amazon has switched to them now, and I'm loathe to stop using them as I do find them convenient (regardless of the tax issues which have been raised lately).

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Re: Aaaaargh!

Postby Sakkarin » Sun Jul 08, 2012 12:40 pm

I have a feeling that wheelie bin thing is the reason I've lost a few packages, given that my bins are right outside my front door, and when I'm on the night shift I don't get up till the afternoon :-(

There's a book I ordered from the US that's gone missing at the moment (and it was a signed copy from the author...) but fortunately they have agreed to send another.

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Re: Aaaaargh!

Postby Dena » Mon Jul 09, 2012 12:48 am

I have always been happy with Amazon but am a little worried now I have read these posts. I have three deliveries coming, one from Amazon. :crossed :crossed :crossed

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Re: Aaaaargh!

Postby Joanbunting » Thu Jul 26, 2012 10:44 am

Yesterday we experienced the most ridiculous performance in our long history of deliveries - from Amazon!!

We weren't expecting anything but unbeknown to me the family have sent me ab early birthday present - a new TV so we can watch the games in "luxury"

The delivery man phoned no fewer than 13 times asking directionseven when he was in sight of the house with M standing waving :roll: :roll: .

He then misjudged the width of the road - having been warned twice and knocked a chunk out of a neighbours garden wall. He and his assistant got out and looked worried - but refused to leave their details (we got them anyway) and then spent the next 15 minutes or so trying to get directions to their next delivery despite it being in the next hameau and visible from where they were standing. They didn't seem to know left from right and straight on threw them into a panic. M and I ended up mildly hysterical.

I used to teach what were then called remedial teenagers. These two would have made my ex pupils look like PhDs!

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Re: Aaaaargh!

Postby Stokey Sue » Thu Jul 26, 2012 11:34 am

I thnk a lot is down to the individual delivery person

we get 3 different regular Yodel drivers - one wonderful, one pretty good, one hopeless; same depot/manager

I get notes saying "it's on Mohammed's fridge" or soft parcels carefully introduced through the cat flap leaving room for her to get through (from drivers 1 and 2) - if it is driver number 3 though he leaves parcels on the step barricading the cat flap, and she gets very distressed.

I have also had parcels left by other services on hte steps in the pouring rain and my neighbour has kindly retreived them

I shoudl point out that my steps and door are inside an enclosed yard, and there is often someone (safe) sitting on the steps in summer

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Re: Aaaaargh!

Postby Joanbunting » Sat Jul 28, 2012 2:06 pm

Yesterday while our phones were down we were expecting a delivery for DD. Because we have no mobile signal in the house of course the delivery people couldn't contact us so it did not arrive.

When business returned to whatever passes for normal M had a very rude email from the company saying we must contact them to rearrange delivery and would have to pay €25.00 excess delivery charge because we weren't in.

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Re: Aaaaargh!

Postby jeral » Sun Jul 29, 2012 10:06 pm

Some companies do make a redelivery charge if you've made an appointed time and are not in, although the last one I came across was about 5 years back and was £6.

The only thing I can think of is that as you seem to be difficult to find, can you email when ordering a "We are here" arrowed on a Google map or similar?

Another setup which some companies use is roughly as follows: A collection point is set up, like a block of changing room lockers for which you'd need a key, but therefore so does the company in order to insert a parcel. I wonder if you have an easily findable, manned civic centre who could take deliveries in and thus operate your own post restante for your hameau? It sounds optimistic as I don't know how close knit people are that they'd participate so mentioning it on the offchance.

Or maybe a map mounted at the entry points, like those identifying retail outlet locations in shopping centres.

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Re: Aaaaargh!

Postby Joanbunting » Mon Jul 30, 2012 10:33 am

Morning Jeral

The main problem is, I think that you can't actually "book" a time with most French delivery firms they just call you on the day and say they will be delivering - between x & y.

This is all done from a central depot so it is useless giving specific directions because they are not passed on. The only time we have managed this was when our washing machine was delivered from a store in Avignon. We chosen it in the store and when we arranged delivery we were asked to draw a map for the driver, who duly arrived without help and on time.

Matters are compounded by the fact that our hameau is not on GPS or even Google map - why none of us knows :roll:

We have suggested to the marie that a plan at either at both of the two ways in might be helpful but there is a problem there too because it would have to be large enough for drivers to see from their vehicle (they couldn't get out of course) and because we are in both the regional park and one of the most beautiful villages in France there is a strict limit to the size of signing. To give the mayor her due she is looking into possible solutions.

Nothing can help some delivery drivers though - the last one we had didn't even know if he was going north or south
and apparently couldn't read road signs.

Just as an aside. If we have a replacement post person any mail addressed to anyone with a vaguely foreign name gets put in our box.

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Re: Aaaaargh!

Postby cherrytree » Sun Aug 05, 2012 9:21 pm

We have had constant problems with Yodel and DHL. (Are they connected in some way?) My husband is a senior examiner and often has piles of exam scripts that need to be returned to the boards. I have lost count of the times he has arranged for a collection of parcels of scripts and I have waited in all day and nobody has arrived.

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Re: Aaaaargh!

Postby Joanbunting » Tue Aug 07, 2012 2:06 pm

We have just had the best yet :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
A white van man arrived outside our cellar door, the phone rang and a French voice yelled at M "I have something to deliver, i need directions immediately I am in a hurry." M asked exactly where he was "In your Hameau but I can't read the names on the doors" "I think you are outside right now, I'll come out" Yells continue - "where the ****** are you?" At which point M taps on the windscreen and says "Hello, are you having a problem??"

It was a real French farce :clap :clap :clap

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Re: Aaaaargh!

Postby Stokey Sue » Tue Aug 07, 2012 2:24 pm

Joanbunting wrote:We have just had the best yet :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
A white van man arrived outside our cellar door, the phone rang and a French voice yelled at M "I have something to deliver, i need directions immediately I am in a hurry." M asked exactly where he was "In your Hameau but I can't read the names on the doors" "I think you are outside right now, I'll come out" Yells continue - "where the ****** are you?" At which point M taps on the windscreen and says "Hello, are you having a problem??"

It was a real French farce :clap :clap :clap



i get quite a lot of that

They follow Sat nav and I get a phone call that says "i can't find you" - at which point I stroll onto the balcony and peer out and say
"Are you the yellow van in front of the coffee shop?"
"Yes"
"Brown door to your righ, opposite side of the road"
"ohhhhhhhh"

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Re: Aaaaargh!

Postby Joanbunting » Tue Aug 07, 2012 3:53 pm

Hi Sue

Now this is getting silly. Another phone call announcing a delivery. M recognised the driver's voice and pointed out that he had already been here once today - he still couldn't do it in one! When he arrived we asked why he didn't deliver the two parcels together, had he gone back to the depot?? No he hadn't. He had one for morning and one for afternoon :roll: :roll:

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Re: Aaaaargh!

Postby Stokey Sue » Tue Aug 07, 2012 4:53 pm

Joanbunting wrote:When he arrived we asked why he didn't deliver the two parcels together, had he gone back to the depot?? No he hadn't. He had one for morning and one for afternoon


:lol: :lol: :lol:

That's bad software as well as stupidity, the computer should batch the deliveries by address as well as clock time (possibly easier with UK post codes to be fair) - my friend from Yodel woudl have worked that one out & delivered both at once

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