Saturday, August 06, 2005
Nationalize the Parcel and Delivery Business!
There are two types of political system going on right now, and in fact for the past century or two, namely capitalism and socialism. In capitalism, private interests are allowed to dominate the distribution of resources to people, while in socialism it is done by a central governmental agency, sometimes in the name of the people. People in the United States seem hep on capitalism, saying that when the government runs things, it does terribly and that private enterprise does better. This is supposedly because in private business you either make the buck or you fail, whereas government agencies could care less about that and are more concerned about resources and whether they are enough for the task at hand; so they don't turn out as good a product. In one industry, I find, that is wrong, namely the parcel and delivery business.
In this country, parcels and certain types of mail are delivered both by the US Postal Service and by several private firms, including United Parcel Service, Fedex, and DHL. I can tell you right now that the USPS does a much better job of it. Their delivery people are friendly, they usually deliver on time, they leave a number where you can pick up your parcel if you are not home, and their offices are conveniently located.
Not so with the private firms. If it is a nominal worth package, usually the UPS and Fedex just run up to your door, drop the parcel off, and run. They don't bother to talk to you, and they seem annoyed if you try to talk to them. Sometimes these articles can be valuable anyway, and it would help if they would get someone to the door to acknowledge receipt. If there is something valuable in the goods, such as a diamond bracelet or a computer, then if you are not home, they leave a note saying they will try to deliver again the next day. But they make absolutely no effort to determine if you are home or not. I ordered a computer recently, and have not received it yet. It was going to be delivered by Fedex, so when I went online to find out where the order is, I got this message "8:48 PM Delivery Exception. Ashland, VA. Customer not available or business closed.". Huhhh??? Anne and I were here at the home last night. I didn't see any delivery truck. Most likely what happened is that they just rang the bell once, and we did not hear it. So they ran off, and they did not leave any indication this time that they had been here. I had to find that out by back door Internet means.
The last time I bought a computer, I had the same problem with UPS. They refused to deliver at any time when we could receive it and threatened to send the merchandise back to the manufacturer. We had to drive a considerable distance to pick it up.
And what happens when you have to return merchandise? They insist else Kingdom Come that you put their own special particular label on it, package it up and go to one of their own places, no matter how much it inconveniences the customer. This happened recently when I received a printer I did not order. They told me to put it in a box and take it to Kinko's. The nearest Kinko'ses are 10 miles and 15 miles away, hardly convenient. Further, by making me drive out far like this, they cause me to consume oil that the world can't afford to spend now.
I say put these varmints out of business. The government should take over the entire delivery business. Private industry can't do it in such a way other than to irritate the customer.
In this country, parcels and certain types of mail are delivered both by the US Postal Service and by several private firms, including United Parcel Service, Fedex, and DHL. I can tell you right now that the USPS does a much better job of it. Their delivery people are friendly, they usually deliver on time, they leave a number where you can pick up your parcel if you are not home, and their offices are conveniently located.
Not so with the private firms. If it is a nominal worth package, usually the UPS and Fedex just run up to your door, drop the parcel off, and run. They don't bother to talk to you, and they seem annoyed if you try to talk to them. Sometimes these articles can be valuable anyway, and it would help if they would get someone to the door to acknowledge receipt. If there is something valuable in the goods, such as a diamond bracelet or a computer, then if you are not home, they leave a note saying they will try to deliver again the next day. But they make absolutely no effort to determine if you are home or not. I ordered a computer recently, and have not received it yet. It was going to be delivered by Fedex, so when I went online to find out where the order is, I got this message "8:48 PM Delivery Exception. Ashland, VA. Customer not available or business closed.". Huhhh??? Anne and I were here at the home last night. I didn't see any delivery truck. Most likely what happened is that they just rang the bell once, and we did not hear it. So they ran off, and they did not leave any indication this time that they had been here. I had to find that out by back door Internet means.
The last time I bought a computer, I had the same problem with UPS. They refused to deliver at any time when we could receive it and threatened to send the merchandise back to the manufacturer. We had to drive a considerable distance to pick it up.
And what happens when you have to return merchandise? They insist else Kingdom Come that you put their own special particular label on it, package it up and go to one of their own places, no matter how much it inconveniences the customer. This happened recently when I received a printer I did not order. They told me to put it in a box and take it to Kinko's. The nearest Kinko'ses are 10 miles and 15 miles away, hardly convenient. Further, by making me drive out far like this, they cause me to consume oil that the world can't afford to spend now.
I say put these varmints out of business. The government should take over the entire delivery business. Private industry can't do it in such a way other than to irritate the customer.
