Having conscientious delivery drivers and mail carriers is a real joy and when they are not, it's a real pain. I watch my USPS Informed Delivery when I'm expecting a package.

Today, I was waiting by the mailbox when the carrier arrived because I needed the contents of a package for tomorrow. Guess what? He handed me my mail minus the package. I mentioned to him that I thought I had a bigger box arriving that wouldn't fit in my mail box which is why I was waiting for him. Lo, and behold, he was able to find it on his truck. If I hadn't been there, I imagine it wouldn't have been delivered until tomorrow or Saturday. He's a nice enough fellow, just not that conscientious.

On the other hand, my UPS driver is amazing. I almost always receive my packages the day before they are scheduled. I hate it when he's on vacation.

The worst offender was the OnTrac driver. He would leave packages by the garage door in full view of the street when it only requires about three more steps to leave it inside the courtyard. Anthropologie uses OnTrac. I complained to them several times and mentioned that I was going to stop shopping there because of the delivery snafus. I was shocked when OnTrac improved and started delivering to my front door. I don't know if the change was the result of my complaints or was coincidental.

Where I work in a small town, we have only one delivery service which our work has to use to get equipment etc delivered from the city. The driver is a jerk who is rude to the receptionists and very disobliging, just dumping deliveries on the step and leaving the ladies to organise getting it into the building.

I have had deliveries from him that were delayed by weeks, looked like they were thrown onto the truck from halfway across the warehouse, had the boxes torn up and once even flattened with a tyre print across it. I complain to head office but they never do anything about it. It has gotten so bad that I often do a 200km round trip to the city to collect items we have ordered, or get my husband who works in the city to pick them up on his way home.

My FedEx drivers are good, always leave packages on the back porch. UPS usually does. I once happened to meet one of the UPS drivers coming around to the back. Had a chat w/her about my nephew who drives for an Amazon contractor in Austin TX area, and to thank her for bringing the package around back instead of on the front porch that faces a busy road.

USPS always leaves packages at the front.

In reference to bad packaging ... an Amazon delivery (via USPS) couple days ago had a 10lb bucket of a powdered product together in a box with eight other individual items, several of which are electronic and/or fragile, with NO peanuts or foam pads or any type of cushioning. Nothing, fortunately, was damaged.

Terilyn, I'm sorry you've had bad experiences with your deliveries. Ours - Fed Ex, UPS, USPS have mostly been gems but they deliver somewhat late in the day here and DH often runs out to meet them, save them from even having to get out of their trucks. If I'm expecting something heavy he's ready with his handcart (we have two) so they don't have to take out their own. He asks about their families, makes friends, often offers cold bottled water or has even asked with the late hour if they need a fast snack for the road.

All of them know he has two sisters with homes nearby and that he drives over and puts their mail in (they both travel extensively) . There have been times they've left the sisters packages here rather than have them in view from the street. Or they will at least tell him they've left packages at his sisters so he'll go right away.

All of those carriers used to be considered good jobs. I'm not so sure now. We've had USPS deliver our mail after 7:30 PM more than once - and we are within city limits. I know one of those women who used to deliver mail here lived a half hour commute at the beach and had small children. She was not at home to have dinner with them, or could be encountering nasty stormy or slick weather on her drive. She has since quit the PO and opened a pet grooming and sitting business. She doesn't have the benefits but she's home and says doing fine financially. We still get a Christmas card from her! We didn't know her or know anyone who knew her before she'd begun delivering our mail. I don't even have a pet to board with her.

I have issues with my USPS carrier. She delivers the wrong mail often. Whenever I tried to do a vacation stop, she would never obide.

Once I got a box filled with someone else’s vacation stop.

The sad part is that all these mistakes are addresses that belong to people on the other side of town!

I even brought proof to the postmaster. He just apologized. Nothing can be done. We are stuck.

I posted a while ago about how awful On Trac is, but the post is gone. I couldn't figure out why, but finally thought that perhaps the name of the company involved is a TP company that sells bamboo toilet paper and the name of the company is "Who Gives a Cr@p" It's a GREAT company with a great product, but apparently someone's sensibilities were offended? OMG. It posted so I don't think it was filters, and not sure that word would be filtered out anyway. Someone must have flagged it. lol.

Maybe your post is in review and it will shop up later, @Olychick. I've had that happen a few times.

I have a question I'd like to hear responses to but so as not to sidetrack this discussion, I'll start a different thread.

I once asked a company when my order would be delivered, because I knew it had shipped days before. They said it had been delivered. I said no, it’s not on my front porch, or by the garage, or under the mat, I don’t see it anywhere. They checked with UPS: it was a slim package and the fellow had put it on the chair on the front porch. I said, it’s not there. They said, check again? I flipped the cushions and sure enough, it was between the back cushion and the chair back, and the grey-brown cardboard matched the weathered wood so well it was camouflaged! He was very conscientious,

So weird, I can see my first post when I look at the thread from my phone but not on my laptop. Not a big deal but I've never known this to happen before.

My postal carrier, UPS, and FedEx deliverers are all wonderful. Our 90-pound lab mix who always barks at them from his seat on a chair in front of the windows doesn't even bother them. I feel very lucky.