Grrrr... don't mention Royal Mail (spit!) Just colour me purple with anger right now. Specifically, it's because of their ability to be so economical with the truth.
I too ordered an item from Amazon - a gift for hubby's up and coming birthday. I'm a "Prime" customer, and this item happened to qualify for next-day delivery. The vendor dispatched it in super-quick time, and using the Royal Mail tracking facility, I could follow the progress of the package, up to the point when it reached our local DO (delivery office...)
Apparently, the parcel was loaded onto the van at 7:36:30 AM... but, just 2 seconds later, at 7:36:40 AM.... the tracking info stated that "delivery attempted" and went on to explain, "...could not be delivered ... the address was inaccessible."
Whaaa...? Don't get me wrong, yes, we've had snow here, but by then, (23rd) the roads were looking pretty clear.... and guess what..? Yes, a Royal Mail van actually passed our door at 11:30-ish, made a delivery to a neighbouring house, then passed back again about 5 minutes later!
I also checked Amazon's tracking facility, which made similar reading, but, with a slight difference. This time, at 7:36:40 AM the "Carrier unable to locate customer's address..." double whaaa...?? We've only lived here for a mere 40 years (well, just one year short of that, if we're being pedantic..) and posties (plus other delivery people) have been able to find us pretty easily - and regularly - over that time.
So - you'd think that a telephone call to the local DO might sort things out... wouldn't you..? Er no. It wouldn't. The guy at the office mumbled and bumbled about - didn't even have the common sense to ask for the tracking number and instead kept telling us that Amazon "might have used a different carrier... " and telling us that we couldn't be certain it was sent via Royal Mail.
Aaaarrrgh! Taking a deep breath, he was told that how we KNEW the parcel was at his office, was because we were staring at their website on a computer screen, which stated that the blooming parcel "...is being held at our DO pending collection/redelivery instructions from the addressee." Now would he like to take down the tracking number and please check...?
Could almost hear the light bulb switching on in the man's head! Sorry, being rude, but - really??
It was obviously a bit much for his braincells to cope with, because we then heard a woman's voice on the line - she was supposed to be some sort of supervisor. Hah! Another joke. She too haggled and twisted, telling us all about the snow and great backlog of mail.... (how come it was so great? It's not a holiday or anything?) Finally, she promised that it would be sent out the next day (yesterday) or, maybe the day after......
Still no sign of the confounded parcel!
But to add insult to injury, the blasted postie visited yesterday, with another item (dispatched a day later than the original item, and NOT a qualifying "Prime" so a bit unexpected.) I would have nobbled him to ask what had happened to the other one, but his delivery coincided with a visit from someone else at exactly the same time, so the chance was missed.
Meanwhile, Amazon are asking me to rate the item we've yet to receive.........DOH!
Coupled with which... RM website is currently down for maintenance! Sheesh!
