Do parcel delivery drivers get a fair hearing?
AS A Hermes delivery driver, I get annoyed at the constant criticism of the work we do. I carry a length of string with me so if a customer is out, and gates are locked, I can carefully lower the parcel over their high wall so as to leave it for that customer, safe out of sight. If only people would state their delivery requirements in the event of them not being in. Stating ‘neighbour (any)’ is not much help, as many people have dozens of neighbours and time doesn’t allow for going door to door. Furthermore, neighbours get annoyed at constantly taking in parcels. One other factor never mentioned is the dishonesty of a very few customers — they only have to say the parcel was missing, and they get it for nothing. Please help your delivery driver give you a good service. JIM YORKE, Wellingborough, Northants. AS a relative of a Hermes courier and with personal experience of delivering parcels when he has to take time off, I suggest that the people complaining (Mail) should take more responsibility. People order parcels but have no intention of being at home yet they still expect delivery. They should leave clear instructions for couriers and provide an easily accessible, safe place. If they can’t do this they should stop ordering online and stop complaining. Marion WRIGHT, Livingston,
West Lothian. A WEEK before my daughter’s wedding, a dress my wife had ordered was left in the dustbin outside our house by a courier and is now presumably in landfill somewhere. Luckily, my wife was given a replacement. S. broad, Sawston, Cambs. I MOVED house and ordered a lot of things from John Lewis. Some smaller items were sent by courier DPD. The chap literally ran back and forth from his van up a path past other houses with about ten parcels, putting them in a heap in front of my house. At the time, I felt sorry for his being so pressured, and signed for them rapidly. Only when I unpacked them did I find the wine glasses all broken — although this, of course, could have happened at the depot or somewhere. I tried twice to get John Lewis to replace them to no avail.
Name supplied, Emsworth, hants.