Purchased my last battery from GoOutdoors about 4 years ago, I take it off the caravan while it’s in storage and use a battery conditioner bought from Halfords’s to keep it fully charged
Well it seems I found someone who does their job properly! Ordered another battery, from Alpha Batteries this time, and they use DX Delivery Service as their courier, and all is well.
In fact better than well, exceptionally good service all round. Ordered battery late Sunday afternoon, got automated email acknowledgement of order near immediately. Monday morning got confirmation of order, later got courier message informing due to receive package from Alpha, then later message that delivery due Tuesday. Tuesday morning 7.20am the courier (very cheery chap) is on my doorstep! Update message giving me delivery time slot arrived minutes after courier! And I didn't pay the extra charge for next day delivery either, and it wouldn't have been quicker if I had!
But all credit to Alpha for their packaging, firstly the outer carton had hand hold 'handles' on the carton ends which encourages couriers to carry it the right way up, unlike Tayna who used just a plain carton, plenty of very obvious 'this way up arrows' as well. Inside carton, battery was protected by fitted HD 'bubble wrap' type box, and encased in a sealed HD plastic bag to contain any leakage should it occurs. A pair of disposable gloves and comprehensive instructions on how to open inner packing with minimal risks lying on top of the bag.
Packaging may be slight overkill, but Alpha seemed determined to get the battery to the purchaser in first class condition. On their web site they even have quite comprehensive info on checking the package before accepting delivery from the courier, and encouraging if not satisfied to reject the delivery. Think that all points to Alpha having had problems with couriers in the past! - They have done everything reasonably possible to counter careless couriers!
Grey871, GoOutdoors have stopped doing batteries in store, they are now only online order and courier delivery!
I look after supply chain logistics for medicinal products in the pharmaceutical industry.
Depending on the type of products involved, some of the logistic services providers would include a DBS check as part of the recruitment selection process.
The successful recruits would need to go through an extensive training programme before they can go out and about making collections and deliveries.
Bad practices such as walking away with the van unlocked, leaving deliveries at the doorstep unattended without a proof of delivery etc. are strictly forbidden.
I would like to believe the delivery drivers working in the pharma industry care about what they do, and any mishap could lead to someone somewhere not having his/her medication when he/she needs it, and that person could be their relatives.
That's what I preached when I was delivering training on Good Manufacturing and Distribution Practices.
DK
------------- Apple The Campervan - A Van For Work, Rest & Play!
- 2027: ? NL+DE+FR
- 2026: FR+DE
- 2025: 17/77
'24: 10/49; '23: 9/47;'22: 8/46; '21: 9/34
* Ex-tenter
* Treat life events like a dog: if you can't eat it, play with it or hump it, p1$$ on it and walk away!
I'm coming at this from both sides. You may notice my username gives a bit of a clue on previous employment
At Royal Mail, I did everything from collection and delivery, through to a stint in management.
When handling packets and parcels, I always took the utmost care and actually read any warnings. Unfortunately when you have people sorting hundreds of items, damage can be inevitable. Instead of getting a new piece of equipment (trolley) some preferred to simply shove everything down to make more room. It is up to a well managed facility to keep the equipment easy to use and accessible.
The items folk took extra care of included Live Crickets (lessons learned from a Mail centre sounding like a movie scene set in the deep south) and of particular care taken were pathological samples nicknamed "S*** Kits" as if they burst, well
On delivery, I took care that if the item could not be passed to a person, that it was hidden in a protected place and that the card clearly showed where. Under bbqs was OK, in recycling bins was not. Even if we could not leave in a safe place, a brief description (sml blue poly or med brown box) was added to the Sorry we missed you card. That made collection from the office easier for staff and faster for recipients.
As a consumer, my experience varies massively. Royal Mail are still pretty good. Their tracking and delivery updates are a bit rubbish compared to others.
Evri is by far the worst. Their tracking is ok
------------- J3 TUL if you see it on a site come and say hi
I'm coming at this from both sides. You may notice my username gives a bit of a clue on previous employment
At Royal Mail, I did everything from collection and delivery, through to a stint in management.
When handling packets and parcels, I always took the utmost care and actually read any warnings. Unfortunately when you have people sorting hundreds of items, damage can be inevitable. Instead of getting a new piece of equipment (trolley) some preferred to simply shove everything down to make more room. It is up to a well managed facility to keep the equipment easy to use and accessible.
The items folk took extra care of included Live Crickets (lessons learned from a Mail centre sounding like a movie scene set in the deep south) and of particular care taken were pathological samples nicknamed "S*** Kits" as if they burst, well
On delivery, I took care that if the item could not be passed to a person, that it was hidden in a protected place and that the card clearly showed where. Under bbqs was OK, in recycling bins was not. Even if we could not leave in a safe place, a brief description (sml blue poly or med brown box) was added to the Sorry we missed you card. That made collection from the office easier for staff and faster for recipients.
As a consumer, my experience varies massively. Royal Mail are still pretty good. Their tracking and delivery updates are a bit rubbish compared to others.
Evri is by far the worst. Their tracking is ok
------------- J3 TUL if you see it on a site come and say hi
I'm sorry, I had not finished my long ramble above....
Evri has a bad habit of "helpfully" delivering items to our shed but not telling us this. I imagine it breaks protocol, so writing it down anywhere might get them into trouble.
I found myself recently in the job market again, so looked at job adverts. Evri and others rely almost solely on owner drivers. A standard week is very long, probably not helped by the constant turn over of drivers. Paye driver adverts are paying barely minimum wage
I can't recall who I got my van batteries from but they were similarly well packaged as Monty described. I even kept the cardboard box as it was so robust.
I got roof racks delivered and left beside my gate. I would never have accepted the delivery if I had been home. Two bars were poking out couple of feet from the cardboard. They were as scratched as I would expect from trying to drive into a multi storey. Still usable and after checking, all parts were still present. I took lots of photos then complained to the supplier. My point being that they were new and expected new condition. They refunded part of my payment which I was happy about. I hope they also took on board how important packaging is.
------------- J3 TUL if you see it on a site come and say hi
Evri's reliance on owner drivers is probably the reason that their service seem to vary enormously from one area to another. In this area our local driver is brilliant. He is very reliable and takes great care with anything he delivers, and as for timing you can track him to the minute. I'd say he is probably by far the best in the area.
However, I have heard some horror stories of Evri drivers in other areas not very far away, so there can be great variation.
Some parcel delivery companies often use agency drivers, and that can lead to all sorts of problems. I know, I did it for a short while several years back. The companies expect the agency drivers to do the same amount as their regular drivers, even though they may have come from miles away and not really know the area. That happened to me a few times which is why I didn't do it for long!
Here we are 3 weeks or so on, and still no refund from Tayna, and that was promised without any arguments on the day I refused to take the delivery!
Apparently waiting for Yodal to return the battery to them! If Tayna to be believed, then Yodal are as incompetent as they can be! Yodal have acknowledge delivery was refused, and it was their duty to return to sender, so why the delay? My fear is now, the longer Yodal sit on it, the greater the chance it just gets lost - then what?
If you paid by credit card you can pass the problem on to the card company. It's also possible but not as easy to do it through your bank if you paid by debit card.
As well is two words!
How does a sage know everything about everything? or does he? or does he just think he does?
Remember, if you buy something you bought it, not brought it.
We have a local "**azon" driver who sneaks up to the door, leaves it on the step and swears black is blue he has knocked on the door when asked. He seems to knock without making any noise or actually touching the door. The last delivery we only found when the Postie knocked on the door and there was this box there...... for one of our neighbours!
Our local postie and the Parcelforce man manage to knock so loudly it almost makes your fillings vibrate, so no complaints with them.
Quote: Originally posted by colinlob on 27/4/2025
Our local postie and the Parcelforce man manage to knock so loudly it almost makes your fillings vibrate, so no complaints with them.
I learned to ring the bell and knock. I maybe don't have the strongest hand shake but to this day, my knock on doors certainly gets attention!
The other thing I learned was the postie kick, which is opening (and closing) doors while hands are full. Handy life hack
------------- J3 TUL if you see it on a site come and say hi
A day of all things motorhome and campervan. The show is held both in the main indoor arena and across the grounds. Catering, hot drinks and food options are available. Easy access to the site and free parking included. Win one of five pairs of day tickets
Topic: Can ANYBODY do their job right!
via mobile 08/4/2025 at 12:56pm
And I didn't pay the extra charge for next day delivery either, and it wouldn't have been quicker if I had!
