How UPS deliveries actually work

[Jeroen3]

UPS does this indeed, they have one distribution location in the entire country iirc, and they only deliver between 9 and 16. Those are the hours I'm at work.
Luckily they drop it off at a local bookstore in the neighbouring town that same day.

DHL does this very differently, they'll tell you on delivery day, we'll be there x time. Then you'll have to call them to reschedule. And the closest pick-up point is in the next major town, an hour away in total.

Yet, for business we often order stuff from a large electronics wharehouse. And they were so full of the shipping companies they started bringing the stuff to the customer themself.
Recently they made track&trace available on the website, and this is suspiciously accurate. For example, today is delivery day, and you lookup the deliver time in the morning at 9. It says 13:43.
At PRECISELY 13:43 the truck reverses to the loading door, not once, every time 

[FireFlower]

UPS does this indeed, they have one distribution location in the entire country iirc, and they only deliver between 9 and 16. Those are the hours I'm at work.
Luckily they drop it off at a local bookstore in the neighbouring town that same day.

DHL does this very differently, they'll tell you on delivery day, we'll be there x time. Then you'll have to call them to reschedule. And the closest pick-up point is in the next major town, an hour away in total.

Yet, for business we often order stuff from a large electronics wharehouse. And they were so full of the shipping companies they started bringing the stuff to the customer themself.
Recently they made track&trace available on the website, and this is suspiciously accurate. For example, today is delivery day, and you lookup the deliver time in the morning at 9. It says 13:43.
At PRECISELY 13:43 the truck reverses to the loading door, not once, every time 

There is Il Duce at DHL?

[eugenenine]

A few years back when UPS was advertising how they will deliver anywhere in the world I found that they won't deliver to my parents home in WV.  I spent quite a bit of time on the phone with their customer (dis)service for that one.

[Brumby]

Why?

Is it on an island or on top of a mountain peak?


I would have thought West Virginia was about as American as apple pie...

[helius]

It has some of the most isolated communities in the country, with many small valleys served by dirt roads only.

[TerraHertz]

I'd like to put in a good word for TNT. I've had dozens of items sent from USA (via a reshipper in CA) via TNT, and there's never been a problem. Very fast, their tracking system is updated often and seems to be actual scans not guestimates, and the delivery guys make an effort to find someone here. If it's the usual guy he'll actually walk around to the back (down a large block) to find me. Carrying the box, if it's light enough to carry.

Oh, and they seem to handle boxes carefully. I've even had things turn up via TNT that *should* have been broken, but had been coddled. (A logical analyzer with the plastic carry handle actually sticking out of the carton. Typical 'packed by a lunatic' thing.)

Fedex on the other had... grrr. Never using them again.

[eugenenine]

Why?

Is it on an island or on top of a mountain peak?


I would have thought West Virginia was about as American as apple pie...

Its 7 miles from their house to the nearest town and another 8 miles to a town big enough to have a stop light.

though at the time UPS' (false) advertising was that they would deliver anywhere in the world and the ads would show a UPS delivery o a bicycle or mule packing up a mountain.

[GreyWoolfe]

SWMBO's first husband was Coast Guard and one posting was in San Perlita, Texas.  About 200 lived there and there were no street names.  They had rented a house and in order to get UPS deliveries there, she was told that she had to make up a street name and number so it could be recorded and the package properly delivered.  She never had an issue getting packages.

She said that they were really in the boonies.  Her daughters had to walk through a corn field to get to the school bus and the closest real grocery store was over an hour away.