How useless are DPD?

Foster

text message to say my parcels will be delivered between 11am and 12. I won't be in, there's a link to change delivery options, smashing!

'leave in a safe place', that'll do, 'you need to pick a day next week for delivery'... The fuck?? So in order for me to let them know I won't be in and leave it somewhere safe they need to rearrange delivery for the following week?

Just had a text from them "Nobody was in so we will try delivery another day"... If you were there you could have left the sodding parcels rather than take them back with you! How is this so complicated??


Also you can't ring DPD, it's all machines with the same useless options. Rang amazon and told them what happened, he reckons he's sorted it but DPD told them that they couldn't deliver due to adverse weather conditions (my arse, it's fine round here. It's more likely the driver didn't want to get out of bed today). Also why keep texting me to say Alfonzo is on his way?


So rather than just chuck some boxes in the back garden they've got a load of faff to deal with, why?

VimFuego

while all couriers are capable of extreme incompetence, DPD seem to have cornered the market in outright lying. I won't use anyone who uses them now. 

Bridgehouse

“You have a delivery today!”

”Er, yeah, it’s 15 metric tonnes of chicken”

”We can leave it in a safe place if you’re not in”

”We are a 24 hour fast food chain. We are in”

”We have rescheduled your delivery for next week and we will leave it in your secure porch”

”FFS”

boogieman

DPD have always been one of the better couriers for us. We get a text with a one hour delivery slot and it’s always been on time, with no issues. Parcelforce though.  . Lying lazy bastards who’d rather spend a couple of minutes scrawling on a card and sticking it through the door and running off, rather than actually delivering my parcel. 

Sporky

We've had two good DPD drivers in a row - both polite and on time every time.

I gather this is not necessarily normal.

crunchman

DPD are definitely one of the better ones for us.  Maybe it depends on the individual driver, but they are good around here.

Yodel are the worst.  I've stopped buying stuff from one online shop who use them.

Foster

Parcelforce have always been good but nobody tops Royal Mail round here.

If I have a parcel delivered by RM and i'm not at home, they'll keep the parcel and deliver it to where I work (as it's only half a mile away). Failing that they'll leave it with a neighbor or leave it somewhere safe (and scribble on the 'nobody was home card' as to where they left it).

When I worked at the pub the postie would normally come in when we opened and leave any letters/parcels behind the bar. If it required a signature he'd just sign it himself.

Phil_aka_Pip

I think most couriers are useless, but they are marginally less useless when delivering to a business address. I usually have my amazon and other goods delivered to me c/o my employer's address. They deliver during office hours, someone from the office downstairs will either bring it up for me or tell me it has arrived when I go down to make a coffee.

Whereas I have had Hermes claim they have left a package at my home address "in the porch" - I don't have a porch; Royal Mail claiming to have delivered but they didn't and never left a card neither - so I contacted them with the reference number and asked them who claimed to have delivered it, which round was he on, and would they go back and retrieve it for me - one week later they left it in a suitable place AND put a card through the door.

Foster

I can't recall which company it was, but the worst and funniest was some years ago.

I waited in all day for the delivery, something important but what it actually was escapes me. No delivery... went online to track the parcel and got:

"nobody was in, here's a photo of your house to prove we ain't telling fibs"

Had a good shout down the phone at them for that.
1 - I was in all day
2 - That ain't my bloody house in the photo!

I did ask why the delivery man didn't twig on that the house he went to had a really overgrown garden and a big 'for sale' sign outside. Failing that didn't the wrong house number give him any hints?

Haych

DPD used to be one of the better couriers, they were always on time and always did what I asked re leaving in a safe place, delivering to a neighbour etc.

However, year or two ago they merged with another courier, InterStink Express I think.  Since then they have become a shower.

The very first delivery shortly after the merge was a balls up of epic proportions.  I ordered some brake carriers for my car.  As usual I got the text message with options to redirect, redeliver etc so I opted for delivery to my neighbour across the street well in advance.

The lazy sod just left a card and buggered off again and to add insult to injury send me a picture of my front door, as if that's useful.

The next day the same thing happened and I again opted for deliver to neighbour.  This time they didn't even leave a card, just sent another photo of the door and cleared off.  I was starting to get a bit annoyed so contacted customer services asking why they bother to give me the option to deliver to a neighbour (who is always home btw) if it's just ignored.

I was assured it would be delivered the next day and my instructions would be followed if I wanted it delivered to a neighbour, but guess what?  Yup, they sent another photo of my front door and buggered off.  And then, because I'd missed three deliveries they sent it to my 'local' pickup shop for me to collect.

I googled my local pickup shop, which is in Chepstow - no problem I thought, I go to Chepstow quite often, I'll bite my tongue and just go collect it.  Only, they didn't take it to Chepstow, they dropped it off at some remote corner shop in Newport, where I never go, despite Chesptow being a short drive and very convenient and Newport being a much longer drive and not at all convenient to get to for me.

I don't recall how but I managed to get hold of the customer services director via email and explained the situation.  To be fair, when she got involved things happened very fast.  She emailed back and asked if I would be home after 6pm that night and had the driver collect my package from the pickup shop and deliver back to me.

Apparently DPD drivers, as well as most other courier-drivers, are self employed.  They only get paid for every successful delivery.  So I guess if you're not in they want to get to the next delivery ASAP so crossing the street to knock on your neighbours door isn't worth their while.

I've had similar DPD experiences since then too.  They've gone from being one of the best to one of the worst.

Nunogilberto

Whenever DPD deliver to me, it’s usually the same driver and he’s always been as good as gold in fairness.

chillidoggy

UPS shoved an Express Envelope through the door where I work last week, presumably documents of some kind which had come from the US. Sadly, it wasn’t for me, it was addressed to some bloke about ten doors down. I did walk down there to see if I could find the place, but couldn’t, so I guess their driver did the same, gave up, and shoved it through any old letter box. Useless twat.

And what a tucking palava getting through to someone at their office on the phone to tell them about it. To be fair, they did pick it up, and I hope the poor bastard got his mail delivered.

WezV

Really good experiences with them here. I usually get it resiverted to a local shop.  The only annoyance is that they now offer less choice of shops

roundthebend

I've always thought DPD were one of the better ones too, they're tracking seems pretty accurate and up to date.
Since we're all doing our delivery anecdotes, I've got a couple.

Years ago I stayed at home for a delivery, repeatedly refreshing the webpage to see when it was coming. It switched from "on its way" to "failed to deliver - nobody home" so I called them up and said I hadn't even got a card through the door, and I was most certainly at home. 10 minutes later, a card came through the letter box. Unfortunately I was in the loo so couldn't open the door to greet the dodgy courier bloke who was clearly too lazy to try delivering my parcel.

The other one was a company where I think they employ the grumpiest people in the world. Expecting some furniture I asked them to let me know which day and time it would arrive so I could be at home. Failing that, could they call me 30 minutes before and I'd rush home. Lo and behold, I got a call from the driver asking where I was because he was at my front door. They said they'd come back tomorrow, but I had a busy day so I said I needed a time. Didn't happen. They called me again when the driver was at the door. I said I'd be home in 10 minutes, they offered to come back. The bloke dropped off a sofa bed on my door step, and just walked off without even saying anything to me. I've seen him again delivering to my neighbours and he carries himself like he's walking the Green Mile.

usedtobe

Only had good experiences with them..

terada

Hmm, all delivery companies have messed up deliveries to me in the past. 

Yesterday I was due a delivery from 2:30 to 3:30 via DPD. They missed that, and when I called them they told me it wouldn't be delivered until a later date (after the snow had gone).

It turned up later in the evening. So a mixed bag, yes for a logistics company they completely failed to inform me correctly, but also a driver did manage to get out to me in one of the snowiest days of the year. Got to give them credit for that at least.

randella

Sporky said:

We've had two good DPD drivers in a row - both polite and on time every time.

I gather this is not necessarily normal.

It’s absolutely down to the driver. No matter what firm or what your flavour of online retailer. 

DPD are magic round my way, have been for years. The worst I can say about them is that just before Christmas he was 15 minutes out of his time slot.

I followed him on the interactive map thingy and it was like one of those joke things recently on Facebook where someone takes their Strava and maps a route that looks like a rude drawing. 

Not a job I’d do. 

Headphones

I've never had a successful first delivery with DPD.  My experience is invariably of the receive text to give delivery window, then chap never shows.  Next I get an email with a photo of my front door, saying I wasn't in!  If these really are private contractors, paid on successful delivery, how come they make a living doing that?  I'd more than happily pay to use alternate couriers than DPD, but few (if any) suppliers allow such choice.
With last month's delivery debacle I contacted the vendor and asked them to contact DPD (they seem uncontactable) and they kindly refunded the P&P - but that wasn't really the point - I want the shop to know how poor they are and - ideally avoid the buggers!

Babones

My DPD guy is generally the same chap. Always arrives in the allocated hour. I won't order something if I know I won't be available the next day.

RiftAmps

The trick is to develop a good relationship with your delivery driver. My DPD guy is great and is always on time (the DPD App is great for live tracking) and the UPS guy is a god amongst men - goes out of his way to deliver great customer service.

Lestratcaster

Despite the driver we get being a bit of a miserable twat they're usually on time and there's been no mishaps with attempted deliveries. I do try to avoid ordering from companies who use them though, the previous 2 drivers I've had were very rude and used to throw the boxes to the floor in front of me and then point to the electronic thing going "sign that.." erm...no please and thank you?