Trials of getting a parcel by courier

 Do you regularly receive any parcels by courier ?  If so, you will agree with what I am going to say, more if you are an avid reader like me, who orders books from many websites and waits eagerly for them to be delivered, but the courier company does not know about my eagerness or simply does not care.

There are many courier companies vying for our attention, but sadly most fail to make their mark. Gone are the days when the courier used to reach us the very next day. Only Amazon today delivers the day that it promises.

Every courier company today worth its salt has a tracking mechanism where we put the AWB tracking number on the site and see where your parcel is at the present. That itself is an ordeal in itself, a stress giver… ☹ Many a times the book site enthusiastically and proudly gives me an AWB, but the courier site says that the number does not exist. This is because they have not entered the number in their system yet. And then after a day of two finally, your parcel will start moving slowly. When I say slowly, it is really slowly, at a snail’s pace. At times, I wonder whether the air, rail services are on strike and my parcel is coming by bullock cart !

Last week, a parcel left from a small town in MP and sat in a vehicle, the message flashed on the website next morning “the vehicle is delayed”, and horror of horrors, the same message remained on the site for almost three days !  I was left visualising a truck which had broken down and lot of mechanics scratching their head and wondering how to put it right ! 😊

There are cases when the parcel moves from state to state endlessly and I wonder why it cannot come directly to Mumbai. Imagine it moving from Delhi to Rajasthan to Gujarat to Maharashtra, yes, even this happens !!! And when it reaches Mumbai, it moves from location to location within Mumbai atleast for a day or two till I get frustrated…

Then when I find that the parcel is finally “out for delivery”, I wait for it eagerly and the hours go on till evening... and the parcel doesn’t turn up. God save you, if next day is a Sunday. A delivery boy once insolently told me that their courier company don’t do delivery on Sunday !

Very recently an unscrupulous delivery boy (from a well-known courier company which I will not name) without visiting my place, posted the message on their site “residence/establishment is closed.” This is a way by which he avoids delivering parcels in the late evening and can merrily go home to his family. Next day, I complained about this fraudulent behaviour to the booksite which hauled up the courier company on the next day. Their senior connected me to the delivery boy who still lied through his teeth; “Main aaya tha, aapka darwaaza bandh tha.”, which I vehemently denied saying that I was at home all day. The senior from the courier company apologised to me and rushed another man immediately to my residence with the parcel, for which I could not thank him enough.

Most delivery guys are honest and decent, one of this breed just came up the steps huffing and puffing and delivered a parcel to me ! I am very happy and the world seems a better place today. Ha ha ha… All said and done, most of them are doing a commendable job in these trying covid days and I definitely appreciate it.

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