ThinkingSkull.com

If I wanted “whenever” delivery, I would have had the US Postal Service delivery it.

But no, I needed an ad poster sent over night last Sunday, so I bit the bullet and paid top price: over $20 shipping for an $18 poster print to be sent next day air. Since the place that printed only uses UPS for next day and priority, I knew a signature MIGHT be involved, but I had a week, right? What could go wrong?

My poster was in the mail before midnight Sunday, so the printer did their job wonderfully. The UPS website estimated the “overnight” delivery at one business day, so that would be April 14th. On Tuesday (being yesterday), the UPS website also said that the poster was in the city and out for delivery Tuesday morning before 8am.

At 9pm last night thirteen hours later, no package. So much for one-to-two business days.

On a whim, I called this morning (Wednesday, business day three) to verify: no signature required for delivery, right? Great! The driver can stick the cardboard paper tube in the door, right? Nope! There it was; the white and yellow sticky of “sign here and wait another day.” Oh, HELLS no.

Now I have learned that each driver can take it upon themselves to initiate a signature request without any more reason than they don’t feel that it’s safe to leave the package (again, a cardboard tube in a screen door), thus CREATING the need for the driver to come back yet again. I’m guessing that, in my case, the driver is banging someone in the neighborhood and just needs an excuse to come back two days in a row.

Whiskey. Tango. Foxtrot.