My worst problem here has been with UPS.

Since for many years I worked away from home and lived at home alone, there was never anyone there when a delivery was attempted.

They always left a note to say that they had attempted delivery, with a phone number to call.

Unfortunately, the number was in Kansas City (about 170 miles from here) and the switchboard there shut down at 4:00 pm (16:00) so it was closed by the time I found the note.

UPS automatically attempted delivery on the following day, so the package would still be on the truck for the redelivery attempt when I called, and "could not be retrieved."

Regardless of when I contacted them, or how, the driver would attempt delivery the next day, and if noone was there would automatically place the package on a truck back to Kansas City to return it to sender. Even if the message was received, the original driver could not retrieve the package to hold it at the local UPS warehouse.

UPS REFUSED to provide a local phone number. I made several attempts at going directly to the local warehouse, but of course the "office" there closed before trucks out making deliveries for the day returned, so even by being there the package could not be retrieved.

One computer made three trips "back to Kansas City" before I managed to pick it up myself at the local warehouse. Two others were sent back to Idaho and had to be re-shipped. The original shipper agreed to mark them "hold for pickup" only after they got the bill for re-sending them. For both of those, UPS informed me that "holding for pickup" was not authorized, and that I was a "bad boy" for having stuff shipped that way.

For one smaller item, I just went to the local warehouse and refused to leave the office until the driver came back in. (They weren't happy, and threatened to call the cop shop, but I got the package.)

John