THE RANT
• Yes, it is wonderful that the home accessories & furniture that we purchased from Pottery Barn & L.L.Bean arrived on time or 4 days early. And that all items were packed PERFECTLY… allowing for the inexplicable delivery incompetence that followed.
• Yes, it is wonderful to know that $800.00 worth of merchandise can sit in our driveway in front of our garage door ALL NIGHT IN THE POURING RAIN without anyone or anything in our neighborhood stealing or destroying it.
• But NO!, it is not wonderful to find out that UPS thought it was acceptable to leave said merchandise in our driveway without telling us that it was there.
THE EXPLANATION
In what is yet another example of the subtle irony that infuses my life, confuses my mind and exasperates my soul, Zen-Den got home from work some time before 6:00 p.m. last night. [Rather unusual, but he knew that I was making scallops + orzo for dinner– and that boy is a nut for scallops.] If he had come home later, as is his wont, then he would have stumbled over the boxes in front of the garage. But, of course, that is not what happened.
I’ve had merchandise left in the driveway before, but in those situations the delivery person: 1) rang the bell; 2) knocked on the door; &/or 3) left a post-it note attached to the sidelights around the front door so that it would be noticed from inside the house. NONE of those things happened last night.
Instead, here’s what happened. UPS delivered the merchandise some time after Z-D got home. We know not when. Both of us can testify that no one came to the door to alert us to the fact that our stuff was here. Plus, being the reasonably prudent people that we are, we even opened the front door before going to bed to make sure that our new stuff wasn’t sitting on our front stoop or that there was a note stuck to our front door.
THE CONCLUSION
We were lucky that when we found the water-drenched corrugated cardboard boxes this morning at 7:00 a.m., they had held tight so that our two lamps + lamp shades AND three side tables DIDN’T suffer any irreparable damage. However, I’m NOT HAPPY that my stuff was left out in the rain all night. Would you be?
All of which brings me to the point of this rant. UPS CAN DO BETTER.
And that, my friends, is all I have to say. Thank you for listening.
###
[Photo on the left from Pottery Barn: Sutter Adjustable Lever Lamp + Linen Tapered Drum Lamp Shade]
[Photo on the right from L.L.Bean: Black Painted Cottage 2 Shelf Side Table]
[Well hello there FTC! Very long time no see. I haven’t been specific in my posts of late so there’s been no need for me to add this sort of disclaimer. But today’s post is different, so let me assure you that I was in no way compensated for my opinions about the above items & situation. We good? Take care then. See you later, no doubt.]
THE SPECTACLED BEAN 
I’ve had some UPS boxes left on the porch – probably after 5PM – one of which the raccoons got into, and I’ve been blaming Dad for not answering the door. Our UPS guy knows us but now I wonder. Glad your stuff wasn’t damaged.
LikeLike
Zazzy, I understand that UPS has its woes, but put the stuff in a dry place please. No harm done exactly, but still this shouldn’t of happened.
LikeLike
FYI: I just got a call from Z-D who this morning after getting to work sent an email to L.L.Bean regarding our delivery. Bean has already responded back to him & apologized for the inconvenience. Isn’t that encouraging? We ❤ L.L.Bean.
LikeLike
I have a friend who had the corner of her roof knocked off by a reversing UPS truck a few years ago (they live in a large bungalow with the drive running up a slight slope along the side of the house). He denied it and said it had been like that when he had arrived. She pursued it and it turned out that he’d done the same thing at other properties and got away with it. This time was just once too many. She was eventually compensated. I’ve no idea what happened to the driver.
LikeLike
Polly, that’s fascinating. What a stupid thing for a driver to deny. His truck would of shown some signs of distress after hitting the roof… let alone the immorality of lying.
So far this discussion about UPS has included individuals in three countries. I wonder how many more people in how many more countries will have something to say.
LikeLike
I’ve had my issues with UPS, too. I get really irritated when drivers leave packages in our driveway, when we have a covered front porch if they could just be bothered to walk the 20 feet up the path to leave stuff at the front door. Most of them do, and even ring the doorbell when they leave stuff. But every once in a while we find stuff soggy in the driveway. I feel your pain.
LikeLike
alejna, our house is about the same as yours [except with a semi-covered stoop instead of a porch]. Most of the drivers are good, but this time what happened was wrong. Like I said on Twitter, I’m not a whiner by nature, but this is just too weird not to talk about it.
LikeLike
How frustrating, glad your things were not damaged. You did file a complaint with USP, too, didn’t you?
LikeLike
la p, Zen-Den, ESQ, is doing all of the formal complaining from his office. He is much better at getting things rectified than I am.
LikeLike
FYI: UPS has sent me a tweet telling me where to send my delivery info. This is encouraging, is it not? Won’t go so far as to say that I ❤ them like Bean, but it's a start.
LikeLike
Glad your lamps and tables suffered no damage from the delivery fiasco. I am surprised this happened with UPS. I have had nothing but good results and praise for this company. (No I don’t own any UPS stock). Have a good day!
LikeLike
Betty, I’ve never had much difficulty with having anything delivered here. That’s always been one of the great things about this suburb. Hoping that this experience was an aberration– and not a glimpse into my future.
LikeLike
That seems irresponsible! It’s not even Christmas, when you KNOW they would be in a rush to away ASAP. I hope you get some satisfaction out of this, which may just be an apology. Seems to be all I get when someone screws up.
LikeLike
Margaret, you made me laugh with your quip about Christmas. And yes, we’ve gotten an apology from UPS. That is really all that I expected from them– and they came through, so all’s well that ends well.
LikeLike
I remember when UPS and the post office used to actually knock and WAIT for you to answer the door when delivering any package. Now the only time they wait is if they have to, to get a signature. It’s very annoying. That totally sucks that your stuff got left out in the rain all night. I hope you got on the phone to register a complaint.
LikeLike
Melisa, I remember those days, too. And complain we did– each in our own way: Z-D via email & me via my blog + Twitter. Such a dumb thing to happen really.
LikeLike
Hey, hey! It just occurred to me that Pottery Barn never contacted me via Twitter or this blog re: the poor delivery. Hmmm. Don’t quite know what to make of that.
LikeLike
I never realised until this post that Pottery Barn is an actual place. I thought it was somewhere made up for Friends – you know the one where Rachel buys all that stuff from Pottery Barn but lies about where it came from because Phoebe can’t stand Pottery Barn. Lives and learns.
LikeLike
Oh yes, Pottery Barn is a very popular chain of retail stores here in the USA. They sell furniture + home accessories. I get a new catalogue in the mail about every 2 to 3 weeks. It’s based out of San Francisco, I think.
Unlike Phobe, I like Pottery Barn mdse because it blends with the antiques that we have already & because their items are often on a smaller scale that fits into our house. Plus I think their stuff is well-made for the price you pay.
LikeLike