In November, the Christmas period started for parcel deliverers – regardless of which postal service they work for – and therefore an even more stressful time than the rest of the year. Up to 250 packages must be delivered in one shift, about 30 more than normal.
This is intense and means that packages are left on the street, we wait at home for our package and no one rings the doorbell, or that we search for miles for a notification slip.
We spoke to a parcel deliverer who has been delivering parcels for DHL two to three times a week for more than two years. He told us what is allowed, what is not and what parcel deliverers find even worse than our 30 Zalando and Amazon packages per week.
“It is a rule to ring everyone’s doorbell. If we had more time, everyone could stick to it.
That is why opinions on the subject vary and it is also discussed critically within the working population. There is one side that says – and I understand it too: ‘I’m getting quite a large volume of shipments and I’m trying to complete my work within my working hours.’ If you do everything according to the instructions with these quantities, it will be difficult. These are the parcel carriers whose principle is that as long as the customer does not have to walk to the branch, everything is fine. The logic behind it is: ‘I won’t take it with me anymore, it will be delivered and people can pick up their package at their home.’
Furthermore: Imagine a prefabricated building with six floors. If you have to walk up and down six floors for each package, then you will obviously need longer per package. It is easier and more time-saving to leave everything with someone on the ground floor who is always at home.
The alternative is to say: ‘I’ll knock on everyone’s door, take more time and accept that I won’t get all the work done.’ I can understand both points of view.”
“But we often have to deliver to houses with an indoor mailbox. Unlike postal workers, we do not have a house key. We have to try to ring the doorbell, otherwise we won’t get into the stairwell. Of course, this does not always work and that is why we cannot always insert the reporting card.
If that is the case, we must send the notification card by post in the evening, which will then be delivered the next day. This is the normal procedure we have to follow. But some clearly don’t.
What we are also not allowed to do: stick the registration card with all the customer details on the outside of the front door, so that everyone can see it. We are regularly informed about this through internal training.”
“Amazon, Zalando or home shopping orders account for approximately 30 to 40 percent of all parcel deliveries, depending on the district. That’s a lot, but it’s not annoying. Much worse are large, heavy orders for, for example, carpets, bags of cat litter or kilos of dog food.”
“Unless it is someone who is physically unable to do so. There should simply be much clearer boundaries drawn as to what can be transported by normal mail and when a forwarding company is needed.”
“Most customers’ order morale is worse than Amazon and large, heavy parts.”
“If someone files a complaint, the shipment can be closely tracked. This makes it possible to see which delivery person was where that day.”
“This has never happened to me, but I can definitely say that something like this will not be tolerated in silence. Of course I can only speak about my direct superiors.”
Source: Watson
I am Dawid Malan, a news reporter for 24 Instant News. I specialize in celebrity and entertainment news, writing stories that capture the attention of readers from all walks of life. My work has been featured in some of the world’s leading publications and I am passionate about delivering quality content to my readers.
