8 Ways You Can Ensure
Your Christmas Parcels
are Delivered Faster
by Ja66erwock
Most people don’t think about the complicated logistics involved in delivering a package from its point of origin to your door. When you click buy and place in your shopping cart on cyber Monday or any day, what happens next??
Each package truck – UPS, Fedex, USPS, they can have at least 140 and as many as 280 boxes or stops depending on their size, with USPS mainly letters and circulars, magazines. The boxes are sorted and the trucks are loaded and they depart the sorting facility. In the morning, airmail and business deliveries are made first. Residential deliveries occur in the afternoon or in November December well into the dinner hour and evening. Here are some tips to help ensure you receive your package
1. If you have ordered something like medicine, books or wine that needs to be signed for, plan to be home, or designate a time you will be home so multiple delivery attempts don’t delay the successful delivery of your package. You don’t want to have to drive somewhere.
2. If you have ordered something online that is being shipped by U.S. Postal Service, FedEx, or UPS, turn your home’s outside lights on after it gets dark during the days after the purchase. If you do not routinely leave them, turned them on to provide proper lighting. Do it when you plug in Christmas lights. This will make your address stand out when dusk occurs at 4:30 p.m. Package trucks will find your homes faster and get home faster, saving gas, time and money, which ultimately saves you money.
3. Be sure your street address is plainly visible on the home, mailbox, mailbox post, door or curb especially on dark residential roads without streetlights, also on the package. It is sometimes difficult or impossible to spot street addresses from the inside of a package truck. UPS delivers up until 8 p.m. or beyond during heavy shopping seasons.
4. Tips to enhance street address visibility
· Avoid dark numbers on dark surfaces. Some gold reflective letters don’t reflect unless shines on perfectly. Some addresses are posted too low or covered by foliage. Keep in mind, dark numbers on dark backgrounds blend into dark evenings.
· White numbers on black mailboxes, or black on white mailboxes, stand out most clearly.
· The larger the numbers the more easily they can be seen.
· Chrome lettering reflects in package truck headlamps well. Gilded lettering looks nice, but is harder to see. House numbers set back in dark shadows on an unlit porch are nearly invisible from the street, especially if the house is tucked back from the road.
· Street numbers on the mailbox posts should be up high enough to be seen and not obscured by plantings or shrubs.
· A colored or white mailbox with no numbering has to be guessed based on neighboring addresses. Clearly number your mailboxes or front doors to avoid misdelivered packages. UPS or FedEx could pass by your home on the first delivery attempt and have to come back around, which wastes time, effort and gas and ultimately increases delivery costs, not to mention it gets your package there more slowly.
· When a number blows off, is damaged or worn away, replace it quickly and clearly.
5. Holiday decorations. We like your lights and blinkers and the air blown canvas statues of Jesus, Santa and Penguins, but if you put a wreath on your door over your number or wrap on your mailbox, we cant see your address.
6. Be sure yard and tree debris are cleared from walkpaths and that Christmas light cords crossing walkpaths are taped down with gaffer tape. They represent tripping hazards and impediments to getting the packages (and you) safely to your door. No one wants a package delivery person injured on your property.
7. Keep your dogs inside if you are expecting a package. YOU may know your dog is a nice puppy and not a biter, but dogs defend their territory and always bark at delivery trucks. Drivers are trained to avoid interactions with dogs, especially those they are not familiar with. If you have a dog loose in the front yard when the package truck arrives, the delivery person will not attempt to pass by or confront the dog and will likely place the package further from your door.
8. Provide drivers with a preferred, sheltered and safe location for packages to be placed when you are not at home. Sheltered front and side porches, carports and garages are typical locations where packages can be placed so they are not visible from the street. This avoids claims, broken packages and returns and again, ultimately saves everyone time and money.