Every time, without fail.

[Dougster]

Yet another Parcel Farce moan.

I waited in ALL DAY, until 4.40 when I had to pop to the bank to sort something before it closed.

I live in a terrace of house, with alleyways between them. I left out the note, please leave the parcel in the alleyway.

Parcelforce delivery man left a note back saying:

Where is alleyway. (Note absence of question mark to prove my point).

Is it me or do they do this on purpose?

I'm both seething as the guy sent it to me especially to arrive today as I'm working tomorrow, and stunned at the stupidity of people.

 

[Robbi]

it's not just them mate, i have this type of thing every day at work................

ask plumber if he had any man hole lifters to lift the man hole lid and check the drains...............no

plumber says no more.

half an hour later, ask plumber if he has a crowbar and a couple of big screw drivers to lift the man hole to check the drains.............yes.

:aargh4:

 

[Barn Owl]

Then again, what you describe we call a 'close' up here.

 

[beachlover]

Some years ago I had a night out with a woman who was separated from her husband. They are now back together and he is my postman.
Today -
Him, "You're in then Kev.."
Me, "Yeah, had to go out for a few minutes yesterday, but picked the stuff up from the sorting office this morning Hugh."
Him, "Yeah, saw you go out."

Can't beat that really.

 

[wingstoo]

If you ask for a screw driver you get a few choice answers, what type, flat, Phillips or pozi,

If you ask for a man hole lifter you get a man hole lifter, not a screw driver.

If you ask for a crowbar you get a crow bar, not a man hole lifter.

I was once instructed to fit a sink in a bathroom... Would you like a left hand or right hand drainer on your sink sir?

A sink goes in the kitchen (usually) or maybe in the utility or laundry, in a bathroom you usually have a Basin...

Our postman used to leave parcels in the enclosed porch, now he has changed jobs so we have to go to the sorting office to fetch any package that doesn't fit through the letter box, even though the door is left unlocked.

We even had a postman decide to use the metal post container that is on the path nowhere near the front door...Now that was really bright, post was going in the box and we missed a few appointments...

 

[Robbi]

you're right of course, it was too much to expect the plumber to use his noodle and say something like............i don't have man hole lifters but will a crowbar and screw driver do ?

but then again, i should ask the correct question........do you have anything that will lift a man hole ?

as with the OP, although there are alley ways either side of his house, he should have been more specific..eg:.........please leave the package for me in the alley to the left of the house.

so, the lesson here is you have to ask exactly the right question to get the answer you need and leave explicit step by step instructions as to what you want.

But.........

isn't it a crying shame that people can't do joined up thinking for themselves.

 

[wingstoo]

If you ask the wrong question how do expect to get the right answer...

Sometimes it is very important to think before acting... Somethings are rarer than hens teeth, common sense seems to be heading that way.

So if I put two shovels against the wall and asked you to take your pick...

 

[Harvestman]

If sense was common there would be more of it around.

 

[wingstoo]

By the way, if I used your bushcraft knife to prise open a tin of paint or one of your axes to dig a hole would that be OK?

A screw driver is not a pry bar, it is a tool designed for a specific job.

As for the alley ways was it indicated which one the parcel should be left in? especially if there is one to each side of the terraced property, if it was left in the wrong one and it went missing what would be the result.

 

[Robbi]

i trust that you are playing devils advocat tonight or do you work in Health and Safety

 

[wingstoo]

i trust that you are playing devils advocat tonight or do you work in Health and Safety

Not elf and safety...But I am a City and Guilds Advanced plumber for over 30 years who spends a good amount on tools to do specific jobs...Not to be used for inappropriate tasks.

 

[Robbi]

fair play, the plumbers on my sites, when confronted with a man hole that hasn't been lifted for years and is well and truely stuck in the hole use a couple of screw drivers and a hammer to free it up, unless they crack / break the seal of age old grunge, no amount of straining on proper manhole lifters will move it, out of interest how would / do you do it ?

 

[Barn Owl]

fair play, the plumbers on my sites, when confronted with a man hole that hasn't been lifted for years and is well and truely stuck in the hole use a couple of screw drivers and a hammer to free it up, unless they crack / break the seal of age old grunge, no amount of straining on proper manhole lifters will move it, out of interest how would / do you do it ?

But isn't a plumbers screwdriver what we call a hammer?

 

[abominable_scouse_monster]

I have a great relationship with my regular postie, he has been doing the round my house sits on for 10+ years. I learned his name a bottle of Scotch at Christmas (decent stuff too) and a Morning Barry when I see him goes miles to getting my stuff delivered I have gave him permission to leave any parcels at my address in the shed at the side of the house and without fail they get left there.

And I am on decent terms with one of the parcel force guys (winter 2010 he slipped on ice on the top of my neighbors path, and I helped him up brought him inside gave him a cuppa while he was waiting for the ambulance because of the nasty sprain he had) he leaves stuff in the same place and on the rare occasions I am at home we have a good natter for a few moments etc, the other two guy's are pathetic and can't tell **** from elbow, or a clear written instruction "If not in please leave in the green shead at side of house, OR at Number 55 / 52" with my name signed on the letter. I have also had parcels I have labeled FRAGILE handled by what I can only assume is the British Olympic Gorilla Rugby team one antique pen I sent to a friend via them was smashed to bits inside a tin that was wrapped in bubble wrap

The only two delivery companies I have any real time for on a regular basis are DPD, and UPS.

 

[wingstoo]

I'd get a labourer to do it with his shovel and pick...

But seriously...

I have a proper man-hole lifter looks something like one of these.

 

[Robbi]

well i never ! i've never seen those before and thats after 30 + years on sites ! going to have to investigate these now.

( got a link to a supplier ? )

 

[wingstoo]

well i never ! i've never seen those before and thats after 30 + years on sites ! going to have to investigate these now.

( got a link to a supplier ? )

http://www.drain-tools.com/acatalog/manhole_cover_lifting.htm

http://www.proteusequipment.com/products/man-hole-cover-lifters

But my personal lifter looks more like one of these on Ebay

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mustang-Spreader-Bar-for-Hydraulic-Manhole-Cover-Lifter-/260752010714

I got mine from the back of a scrapped BT van about 4 years ago, they use them for lifting covers on cable ducts.

 

[Robbi]

Thanks for the links.............but.....


holy shamoly !!! have you seen the prices !!!

my plumbers can stick to screw drivers, hammers and crowbars !!

 

[wingstoo]

Aye, they are a tad expensive, but compared to a damaged back and laid up for a few weeks for using the wrong equipment to do a job then it is cheap as chips.

So back to the post...

 

[Dougster]

I have a great regular postie, I almost worship our UPS guy and the City Link bloke is helpful.

It's just Parcelfarce, it's always bl00dy parcelfarce that make the problems.