One popular article I wrote for the Boles Blogs Network appeared in Celebrity Semiotic on  August 5, 2010 — Divorcing Amazon Prime Because of A-1 Courier Services Cheating — and that post is still going full-steam with comments, 315 as of this writing, with no end in stopping.  When an article like that stays on blast — it is usually fury and injustice that drives the popularity — all that, plus an excellent Google ranking for a search on “A-1 Courier” always helps.  There would be no searches without the rage, and so the hits, and the comments, keep coming against A-1.

In my replies for the article, I realized I should share my method for thwarting faked delivery attempts from FedEx and UPS and other companies.  Unfortunately, A-1 is not currently in my App cache, and I’m sure they would never want to be included because then their deceptive end game would be over.

I use Junecloud’s excellent Delivery Status on my Mac as a widget and on my iPhone and iPad as an App.  The widget and Apps all communicate with each other via the Junecloud.com website, so each device is always in sync with the latest delivery updates and my day is saved in so many ways.

Junecloud gives me updated information throughout the day on all my package deliveries. UPS and FedEx drivers wirelessly update their deliveries and attempts in 15 minute increments throughout the day, so if a driver fakes a delivery — that happened to me a week ago with an important FedEx Overnight shipment — claiming you were not home at 1:15pm, and you call at 1:30pm and tell them you were standing right by your front door at that time, there is no other excuse the customer service agent can to use except to blame the driver.

If you press your case enough hard enough, dispatch will recall the driver to your location for a re-delivery attempt.  Now I’ve had some drivers “re-deliver” two or three times in a day because they flat-out lie about each failed attempt — usually claiming, with a smile on their face when I finally get them in person, that they were “at the wrong building” — when we both they were, and still are, lying all along.

The trick to catching a faked delivery attempt is actually being home and NOT having a “missed delivery” receipt in hand.  All legitimate attempts from mainstream, reputable, companies, have a processing number attached to the door receipt as “proof of attempted delivery.”

When you call and tell the operator you were home, and that the “missed delivery” attempt ten minutes ago never happened — you have them dead to rights if they try to argue with you because all you have to do is ask them for the failed delivery attempt number the driver left behind and uploaded to the system since you don’t have one in hand. If there’s a failed delivery attempt logged in the system, then there’s also a new reference number attached to that attempt.

When there is no code number in the system — because the delivery attempt was never made — don’t argue.  You have already won the day, so be generous and ask that dispatch be contacted on your behalf to have the driver sent back for a “re-delivery” attempt, even though everyone knows there was never a first attempt.  The driver should “still be in the area,” right, since the delivery attempt only happened a few minutes ago.

Using Junecloud, you can be notified about a “missed delivery” attempt as soon as the driver uploads their delivery progress to the main servers.  It’s all done wirelessly via the electronic device you use to sign for your delivery.  Using Junecloud means updates on the status of your package are sent to you whenever the delivery system updates.  That saves you time and effort from having to constantly refresh a delivery website or make phone calls to customer service for a status advance.

Here’s the current list of Delivery Status supported services:

  • Adobe.com US and Canada only
  • Amazon Including Amazon.com, Amazon.ca, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.co.jp, Amazon.de, Amazon.at, Amazon.es, Amazon.fr, and Amazon.it, as well as Amazon Payments. When you track an Amazon order you’ll get tracking details from many of the shipping companies they use, including the US Postal Service, UPS, OnTrac, LaserShip, Ensenda, Prestige, and more.
  • Apple.com Including all international stores. The iPhoto print service is not currently supported, though you may be able to track these shipments with a different service once you receive a tracking number.
  • Aramex
  • Australia Post
  • Canada Post (Postes Canada)
  • City Link
  • DHL Including Express deliveries in most countries, US GlobalMail, UK Domestic Express, and Germany. DHL Express Germany, UK Domestic Express, and SmartMail are not currently supported.
  • DPD Germany only
  • FedEx Including most countries, as well as FedEx SmartPost. FedEx UK is not currently supported.
  • GLS Including Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, Portugal, and Spain
  • Google Checkout
  • Hermes Logistik Gruppe (HLG) Germany only
  • Hongkong Post
  • Japan Post Including EMS, Yu-Pack, Registered Mail, and Morning 10 Overnight Mail. JP Express is not currently supported.
  • La Poste (France), including Colissimo and Chronopost.
  • LaserShip
  • OnTrac
  • Parcelforce
  • Post (Austria)
  • Post Danmark
  • Poste Italiane Including Postacelere1 Plus, Paccocelere1 Plus, Paccocelere Maxi, Paccocelere3, Paccocelere Internationale , and EMS
  • Posten (Norway)
  • Posten (Sweden)
  • PostNL (formerly TNT Post Netherlands)
  • Purolator
  • Royal Mail
  • Sagawa Express
  • Swiss Post
  • TNT Includes most countries. TNT Express Australia, TNT UK, TNT France, and TNT Italia are not currently supported
  • UPS and UPS Mail Innovations UPS Freight and UPS Air Cargo are not currently supported.
  • USPS (United States Postal Service or US Post Office)
  • Yamato Transport (Kuroneko)
  • Yodel
  • Other You can manually add other packages from other services by entering a web site, delivery date, and other info.

I am crazy about Junecloud’s Delivery Status App because it makes my everyday workday more efficient and on point and I know precisely when to call and complain and when to sit quietly and wait for a delivery that’s been delayed in transit.  Information is power, and Junecloud puts all the power right in your hands where it belongs.

2 Comments

  1. David,

    Fantastic list of companies that support this protocol. I wish I had known about it the last time Barnes and Noble pretended to deliver something to my office and said that it was closed at seven in the evening — when the security guard told me that he was there until midnight!

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