Not finding your parcel after receiving a message from the courier company that it has been delivered is scary. No wonder it’s one of the most trending discussions in the industry. It infuriates people when expecting a delivery, but there is no parcel.
One of the main reasons for this is when a driver cannot reach the customer. In most cases, there will be a message on the parcel. It will read: Attempted delivery.
The driver will typically try again the next business day. But what happens after this? A courier company is supposed to arrange a future delivery or pick-up.
Here are some shocking stories of how attempted deliveries have gone wrong.
1. Australia Post: Enraged Australian finds her parcel in the field
An Australian woman probably had the worst delivery experience of her life. The driver refused to go the extra mile for her, instead dropping Heidi’s parcel off in a random place on her farm.
The Australian woman had to search her 800-acre property and found her parcel randomly placed in a tree in the bush, reports The Daily Mail.
In a TikTok video that has since gone viral, the woman describes her infuriating experience. “’I got a message earlier to say my parcel has been delivered. Normally gets delivered to our local stores, seeing as we’re not exactly in town.”
“’I go down to the store … store doesn’t have it. I looked into the Australia Post [app], and they said they left it in a safe spot.” The safe spot was one of a thousand other trees on her large property.
Needless to say, she is not a happy customer.
2. Evri: Britain’s worst delivery experiences
Evri, formerly called Hermes, has suffered a huge blow to its reputation. In a survey it was ranked the worst parcel delivery firm in the UK. This is even after it rebranded itself to shake off the bad name.
It’s reported that Evri left parcels with neighbors without a message for the receiver. Some were even left out on the doorstep and, worse, in the bin.
One customer even reported that after receiving her parcel, it was dampened inside the box for some bizarre reason.
Someone else spotted a parcel next to the public road. The Evri driver allegedly didn’t bother to drop it off at the specific address. Darren Collins posted a photo of his horrible experience on social media.
3. FedEx: Dropping the parcel
E-commerce stores in the United States have 27 million parcels delivered each day, according to a 2022 report by UPS. FedEx alone ships around 10 million packages daily. It’s safe to assume that shoppers in the country experience their fair share of failed deliveries.
An X user posted a picture of their parcel in what looks like a forest among a bed of leaves. “So this is where @FedEx decided to leave my package. Nice Job,” the post reads.
Another user posted a Ring doorbell video that clearly shows a FedEx delivery driver throwing a parcel instead of placing it on the porch. “What the heck is this? A new customer service technique. Stand and throw? Maybe next time at least give me a jump shot?” the post reads.
The social media complaint did the trick. The same user posted a video of another delivery a few days later. It shows the courier carefully placing down the parcel by the front door.
Another scenario saw the company’s proof of delivery tool fail, as a customer received a POD picture that was completely blurred. From the image posted on X, it almost seems like the courier was driving while taking the blurry picture.
The success rate of the first delivery
Effective communication is vital to ensure successful delivery on the first attempt. If there is a clear understanding of where the parcel should be left, with whom, the address, and special instructions, all the horror stories can be avoided.
The quality of the product or service as it’s delivered is also important. If it meets or exceeds expectations, the chances of successful delivery increase significantly.
The sooner the delivery is made, the higher the success rate.
About the author
Mia is a multi-award-winning journalist. She has more than 14 years of experience in mainstream media. She's covered many historic moments that happened in Africa and internationally. She has a strong focus on human interest stories, to bring her readers and viewers closer to the topics at hand.
Marce has contributed tech to various prominent publications since 2018, offering a transparent perspective into the tech industry and its effects on its users. She now spends her time developing insightful content for industry players. You know, when she's not gaming or geeking out about the latest fad.
