Have any strange delivery experiences being rural?

[tomplum]

Had kind of an odd experience today, at least my wife did. Home Depot apparently sublets their deliveries now? Anyways last week got a call on delivery day from a driver asking if she could get in and out with a tractor trailer. Nope was my reply and thought darn I should have noted that with the order as I try to do. Anyways stopped at the pro desk and he set it up for today with a straight truck.
Today the wife gets a call ahead, hears the truck or driveway alarm and the driver comes a boppin' up the driveway on his Moffit and straw hat with our order. That's a half mile down a secluded ish private road. Parked his tractor trailer on the main road. I guess he had a real good attitude about it, but said yeah we're supposed to leave it by the road but he didn't mind. Whew!

 

[repete]

Had a package left IN the BBQ. Check before you warm it up.

 

[ljjhouser]

I guess too many to mention. But I will say I have learned the following facts.
1. What seems strange has become the rule, not the exception.
2. UPS, FedEx, and Amazon are very nice and usually comply with private road instructions about where to leave packages.
3. If you would like to see your package - AT ALL- don't expect it to be delivered by USPS.
4. I cannot tell you what the USPS does here. Only what I have been told they CANNOT do. That includes, but not limited to:
Will not back up to turn around.
Will not leave a package at the mailbox.
Will not bring the package up the hill to the house.
Will not leave a package by the private road sign at the bottom of the hill.
Will not call the number posted on the private road sign to tell you where they are leaving it.
Will not tell you how to contact the driver - Because they are Contract Route Drivers and they don't know which one will be driving or if his girlfriend will be filling in for him.
And if the USPS actually does deliver your package somewhere, rest assured, when they say they do not know where it was delivered, they really mean it, They don't know. Just another lost package.

Years ago, it was a HCR route. We got packages.
Then It became a RT HCR route. We got packages
Then we got a regular address and mailbox. No more packages.

 

[Ken45101]

The local post office will try to do whatever they feel they want to do.

For years, they would not deliver anything that didn't fit in the mailbox. They told me they didn't have to. Our driveway is 2200' from the road, good, concrete driveway.

Fortunately, my current wife used to be a rural carrier and knows the rules. When they refused to deliver oversized packages to the door, she called the local PO and was told they wouldn't deliver. "Oh? When did the rules change?" She called USPS Customer Service and asked. Hmmm, rules had not changed. She tod them what was going on. 15 minutes later the local PO called back, angry. "Well, we will deliver your package this time but from now on, you can pick up all your mail at the post office! We don't have to deliver anything!" My wife: "OH? That's okay, I have customer service on speed dial..." We now get everything delivered to the mailbox, or to our door if it doesn't fit in the mailbox. It helps to know the regulations, LOL.

 

[MossRoad]

Last week my wife and I came home from an early walk. We left the back door open, just the screen door closed. We grabbed a couple beverages and went to the living room for maybe 5 minutes to look at something. Came back to the kitchen to get some chips, and my wife looks out at the back steps and said "What's that?" There's three plastic bags on the back steps that weren't there 5 minutes ago. 60 soft tortillas. 40 hard shells. 2 tubs of salsa. 1 tub of guacamole.



Someone left us a taco bar.

Knowing that we frequently get packages, people, even their own relatives meant for the folks across the street, I walked over and asked if they were expecting a food delivery. Yep. Tacos for a pool party later in the day. He said he placed the order, then he got a text thanking him for his order with a photo of their food in front of a brown door.... he doesn't have a brown door!

Anyway, that made me and the wife hungry for Mexican food, so we made burritos.

 

[newbury]

I guess too many to mention. But I will say I have learned the following facts.
1. What seems strange has become the rule, not the exception.
2. UPS, FedEx, and Amazon are very nice and usually comply with private road instructions about where to leave packages.
3. If you would like to see your package - AT ALL- don't expect it to be delivered by USPS.
4. I cannot tell you what the USPS does here. Only what I have been told they CANNOT do. That includes, but not limited to:
Will not back up to turn around.
Will not leave a package at the mailbox.
Will not bring the package up the hill to the house.
Will not leave a package by the private road sign at the bottom of the hill.
Will not call the number posted on the private road sign to tell you where they are leaving it.
Will not tell you how to contact the driver - Because they are Contract Route Drivers and they don't know which one will be driving or if his girlfriend will be filling in for him.
And if the USPS actually does deliver your package somewhere, rest assured, when they say they do not know where it was delivered, they really mean it, They don't know. Just another lost package.

Years ago, it was a HCR route. We got packages.
Then It became a RT HCR route. We got packages
Then we got a regular address and mailbox. No more packages.

Well since this Postmaster General's purpose now is to get the USPS privatized (his purpose was also to slow down the 2020 mail in ballot) good service does him no benefit.
If it's important you receive something don't use USPS if you have a choice.
That's Dejoy of the mail.

 

[Tinhack]

I live off a state highway and have a 20'+ entry (fenced but no gate). I've had tractor-trailers back into my driveway to deliver large tractor tires and equipment. Amazon will deliver to my back door which is about 1/4-mile up a dirt driveway. FedEx will just throw it behind the fence at the driveway. I had an Overnight Express envelope that FedEx delivered across the road. I had to call the Sheriff to get that one. USPS will put packages in the mailbox, if it fits. If not, they put it in a metal trash can I have chained under a tree up front. They used to deliver packages to the house but not anymore. They said something about the house has to be visible from the road (mine is not). UPS will deliver large items to the house, but small items are left in the can down front.

I try to review delivery options for things I order. If they use FedEx exclusively, I'll try to buy it somewhere else. I won't knowingly support FedEx.

 

[kenmbz]

Our USPS if the regular person is on, is the best. Just takes longer than it used to.
UPS does really well to the door.
Fedex either delivers to the door, or creates a scavenger hunt based on who they contract with.
Sometimes on the road, or drainage ditch or on top of mailboxes or at my neighbors in a snow bank, or behind my house or.....

 

[dodge man]

My general impression is USPS and UPS do the best. We have a long paved driveway and watching people with a FED Ex or UPS truck back down it can be entertaining until the make a big rut in my yard.

The quality of our USPS is based on the rural mail carrier. One time we didn’t get a package. I saw him drive up, never got out and left. It had snowed, I had plowed the driveway and shoveled the sidewalk to the front door but I suppose from 100 feet away it looked impassable, which is what it said when we looked up the tracking info. We have a new rural carrier now that is pretty good

 

[Eagle1]

I found making friends with your drivers improves performance.... Also don't let the dogs attempt to remove them, after that they'll never come again.

It always takes a few weeks/months to train a new driver but praise and gentle corrections with some treats thrown in work for me