delivery blues and a question?

You know what its like, you order something over the internet and wait for the delivery, well todays little saga just about beats everything as far as I am concerned.

Just got off the phone to a lady in the complaints section of a large courier companyXXX. I terminated the phone call eventually telling them I will be in touch with the seller of the goods. Below is the message I have sent the seller via there contact section on another large companies website.

Good afternoon, Just thought I would send you a message about the gloves order which has just been delivered to me but that delivery is what you need to know about.

Your product namely the gloves are good I have bought them before but not sure where from. But your delivery service XXX, well where do we start.

I waited in all day on Friday 27th. I am self employed and spent the time worrying about not earning, looking at my emails in the evening I see that a delivery attempt has been made at about 4pm or so it says. What! I went off like a thing thats gone off, no one came anywhere near the house or knocked on the door or rang the bell so fuming I filled in a complaint form on the XXX website, needless to say they havn't got back to me.

Today Monday 30th I get an email saying delivery attempt today I wait in again cancelling work and fretting, both me and my lady were at home today, surprise surprise an email about 4 pm no one at home when we tried to deliver. I wont swear but yet again no one came anywhere near today.

I phoned XXX complaints section and spoke to a lady, we confirmed the address for delivery, I will speak to the driver and phone you back. I told her my thoughts that he had tried to deliver to  XXXXX rather than XXXXX because no cards have been left if they still do that. When she called it was you were right he thought he knew where the address was and then says can I meet the driver about 5 miles away in a neighbouring village, speechless and thinking who is the delivery driver and who is the customer I said no. Well he will have to come back to you she says but he hasnt got much time.

The conversation was interesting, apparently not all drivers have sat navs and if they hadnt managed to deliver another time the package would have gone back to the depot where someone would have called me before it was returned to the seller, just as well it wasnt something important. I eventually told the lady I was hanging up after wasting two days hanging about for something that was worth about a fiver and had to be signed for. I dont know what else we can do except apologise I am told. I am not happy and will be in touch with the seller I said which I am now doing.

I know I have ranted on and on but I would suggest you take this up with XXX as I have to wonder how many other folk are having these problems.

I kept my cool I didnt swear but did tell the lady it was a struggle to keep calm and not get angry.
So to the question: Should I have been pushier or should I just accept that life can be like this?

Packaging chunter

So here we go then on a mild bemused rant about yes packaging, something I think we all have a go at now and then especially in connection with online orders.

Yes I admit it I order stuff from that site you know the brazilian river one. Recently ordered two items for my car or my van if you listen to some of my clients.

One piece arrived like this.

Its a bumper protector made of plastic it was in a plastic bag and is about 4 foot long, I know i'm old enough to use imperial,  it was wrapped in corrugated paper without any rigidity in it all.

You see that box its laying on well inside that was the other item I ordered, some air deflectors for the front windows. Made of thicker plastic and in a carboard box themselves they were sent in that box above with some scrunched up brown paper to stop the box in which they were in if you follow me from moving.

For scale I will tell you that is an A4 clipboard I have put in the cardboard box which I think I could have fitted half a dozen air deflector boxes in, true the box within a box wasnt damaged but blimey was it really necessary to put it in something quite so big!

I suppose the worrying thing is which was correctly wrapped for delivery the bumper protector or the air deflectors, what do you think?

Two remarkable things seen today and you will not like one of them

One doesnt go round with ones eyes closed normally, its dangerous especially while driving.

Today has excelled itself for two remarkable things seen.

The first and most amazing indeed as was only talking about it needing doing for ages is, tadah, they have finally replaced the worn out white lines etc on the A14/Milton roundabout, big cheers and much hooting and hollering, where did you find the money to pull that off County Council but thanks for redoing it, using it was getting a bit like russian roulette would you come out the other side intact.

The second I couldnt believe and I am still in a state of shock and disbelief over. We were driving slowly down Histon Road around midday today and had just gone past the little row of shops, there was a small white french make van wanting to turn right onto Histon Road. I was looking at it because I couldnt work out why I was seeing two head shapes in the drivers side window. I stopped to let it out and then I realised what I was looking at and as my passenger pointed out it was disbelief that stopped us both from noting the registration number and reporting it. Why, well would you drive a vehicle with a sixish month old baby on your lap held only be your left arm which also has to change gear etc. He was.

Back to normal then with a bin

Need to get back to normal after stories all over the place so this morning felt the need to get rooted well almost.

Cut the lawn, higher cut of course as its autumn now and then emptied and mixed up the contents of my lawn cuttings and shredded paper compost bin, mixing in the clippings from this morning of course.

Its looking some good stuff given it was only started this summer, worms are working well bless em, and hopefully todays green stuff will give them a bit of heat to keep going.

This lot is bound for my perrennial beds when it does get finally turned out in the spring.

stories for all

Just spent four days telling stories to children and adults all over a nearby town.

I wont say where cos they might still be embarrassed at me telling there at all. But I enjoyed it and I hope some of the folk listening did too, I know some of the adults who I suspect have never heard let along enjoyed stories before got some enjoyment from a mixed set of Canterbury Tales, Arthurian and Robin Hood I did. I even heard a whisper or two from a few children as well following my little attempts at entertaining them.

Did I say I was in costume for the whole thing, fancy having to put up with stories from a bloke wearing that lot.

Many thanks to Stuart and Maureen for help with the costume. Then I also need to mention Elaine for putting up with my gadding about this last week, coming home last night after a couple of nights in a bearable B and B was very welcome and calming.

Those little midgy flies that get in your face

I know I have speculated on this before, flies, the little midgy things that get in your face if you turn a light on when its dark, you know them!

I do a couple of bat surveys every year around this time both for a certain species called Daubenton's. I have surveyed at two sites over ten years at each each  and at both the number of bats seen every year has dropped and dropped. Why well I dont really know but I have my suspicions.

Whenever I detect a Daubentons I turn on a torch to see they hunting for insects just above the surface of a waterboby os some sort. In years gone by whenever the torch went on I was bombarded by those little midgy flies, but not any more the numbers are well down if they are there at all. The number of flies is definitely down or it appears that way to me.

Fine you might think, but what if the dropping number of flies means less bats and also less fly eating birds and other insects.

Granted lower fly numbers might not be the cause of less bats, perhaps there roost sites have been developed or improved but I cant help thinking no food no bats.

Does it matter, I think it does.

Overheard in the post office yesterday and shirts

So there I was in the post office returning a shirt I had bought over the internet as you do. Strange thing bought a few shirts all the same size but one was just too small, why if they are all the same size and made by the same company.

Anyway in front of me is a young person getting some bits and pieces sorted for a european holiday.

They have completed everything and then say, can we still use an E111 form in Europe now that we have left.

The look on the face of the member of counter staff was priceless and they said so politely, we are still in Europe so yes you can.

So I am left there wondering; Why is one shirt smaller than others of the same size. Have some people not been listening to news since the vote. Did those same people not listen to anything before the vote. Even more worrying how many other people think the same!