I recently read in an online forum about a lady who had had 30 boxes of nappies delivered by a courier service and they had left them at her gate.
To make matters worse, the gate opened outwards and the boxes were stacked so she couldn’t open the gate, which meant that she had to climb over the gate to get to the nappies, move them, open the gate and then bring them in… needless to say she wasn’t very happy. At the time it was snowing and all this was done in the snow, at low temperature.
Firstly, couriers deliver kerbside to kerbside. Which means they are without obligation to lugg it up your driveway and put it in your hallway. Often the courier companies drivers will do it out of kindness. It’s nice to thank them at this point 
Also it should be remembered that should a courier chose to help the customer by delivering right to the front door and through the gate, they are probably not insured. They have been instructed by their company to deliver just to the kerbside, and they know if they slip on the customer’s pathway they could be out of work whilst they recover. They may have to claim against the householder for loss of earnings if it could be proved that it was their fault that the courier slipped on the pathway.
What a nightmare! For companies that want to provide that extra bit of customer service, do they risk the customers wrath or their employees wrath? It is a rock and a hard place scenario. You understand why your postman is not delivering in the snow and the ice, but people rarely cut slack for the couriers that they are expecting.
Think back to your job, are there certain procedures that must be followed in order for you to do it? What do you have to do to prove you work in a safe manner? The chances are you know all about assessing for risks in your business, and you understand why a courier service will also assess the risks, and sometimes they will have no choice but to deliver to the exact guidelines they are issued with.
It’s not being a stupid delivery driver thats failing to understand your needs, it’s a conscientious employee doing their job correctly.
When booking your courier service we feel it’s important to have couriers that think, and understand what is going on and what the risks are. If you do too, then we’d like to hear from you.
Sarah
PS 
