Arlo and Janis by Jimmy Johnson for August 17, 2024

Watch the mailbox.

Before tracking or should we go farther back before FedEx or UPS? That’s when we just had to rely on the Postal Service. I’m sure there were others but I don’t know.

Pray?

Ah, but when it’s MIS-delivered is when you run into all kinds of fun. {:-p

Amazon used to show exactly where the truck was and how many stops away. A couple of times I teased a driver for stopping at McDonald’s down the street. They were embarrassed. I guess that’s why they don’t share that info any more!

Arlo, why so angry? It’s a feature, not a bug.

you went downtown and shopped locally

geez that last panel…they need a trip to the beach or a grilling conference or something

And they send pictures of your front door, saving the need to go outside to see what it looks like. ;-)

In my neighborhood before tracking you waited impatiently for weeks then forgot anything was coming and then they delivered it to the front door you never use and the neighborhood dogs shredded it.

At least with tracking you can vicariously enjoy the vacation tour your package takes instead of a seemly more direct route to your home.

Ok, I’ll admit, don’t understand why Janis looks so annoyed in the last panel?? At second glance, so does Arlo. The only think I can think of is that they’ve gotten notice the package has been delivered and they haven’t received it? Maybe they are a victim of porch pirates??

Admit it Arlo, it’s entertaining to watch your package start at a location 400 miles east of you, travel to a location 600 miles west of you, then 200 miles south of you, then 300 miles north of you, before FINALLY, and more by happenstance than intent, arriving on your doorstep.

Ah, tracking came in handy when my wife’s credit card got skimmed at a gas station. The thief purchased an expensive boat stereo system, and it was being shipped to our home. We knew when it would show up, we also have an in-home office so we were home when it was delivered. We got the text of the delivery date, it was delivered, we received the text it was delivered and then went to the porch to fetch the package, at that moment a sketchy automobile (we live on a dead end with only 4 houses beyond us) did a very slow drive by the house, my wife waved as she brought the package inside. The vehicle had to come back by, and they slowed again passing. We contacted the credit card company that received the package and the credit card company took care of getting the seller to send for a pickup of the package and issuing us a refund. I guess the thief just thought they’d “porch pirate” the package and be on their way.

Got an email, package delivered. No package. Find a photo they take. Realize it is the neighbor’s house!! I have my number on 3 places, one is 8" high on the garage door. I guess literacy is not a necessary for delivery people. I couldn’t go get it as I would look like a porch pirate. So I waited till neighbor brought it over. The best is one day when I got neighbors’ and they got mine on the same delivery!!

we waited patiently

So hopefully you will beat the porch pirates to your package

We haven’t had very many problems with any package deliveries, but one thing that is annoying is that most of the time the delivery drivers don’t bother to knock or ring the doorbell when they are dropping something off.

Maybe you should go get the package, Arlo.

A recent order of hair product arrived early but it was the wrong product. The vendor says it was never delivered and the delivery date was “running late”. The vendor could not replace the order with the correct product because “it was never delivered”. A week later, called the vendor again. They couldn’t issue a return label because “it was never delivered”. So they gave me a refund and then I ordered the correct product from another vendor. Now I have three extra hair sprays that I can’t use. Digital systems can fail miserably.

My wife just got some new glasses. They went from “Waiting for pickup” to “Delivered” in the same day. They were “Waiting for pickup” for two weeks.

Let me preface this by saying that I’m a retired Detective Sergeant from our local police department. Some years ago, the big brown delivery service delivered one of my packages to the wrong address, 1 block away. I got a delivery text which included a picture. I recognized the 4th of July decorations on the front porch of the folks who own that house. I called the local office customer service number, explained what the issue was and that I was leery of going and getting the package (containing medication) myself so that I wouldn’t be accused of stealing it. I was told not to worry and just to simply go get the package and that she wouldn’t be able to send a driver out to get the package

I decided against my better instincts to go get the package, as I am acquainted with the people who live at the house. I picked up the package, held up the label to their security camera and explained what and why I picked up the package. As I got to my home, a marked patrol car pulled up into my driveway and I was demanded to drop the package and raise my hands. Naturally I complied without argument. Neither officer pulled a weapon.

Fortunately for me, one of the officers was one whom I had trained years before. After he told the rookie that I wasn’t John Dillinger. I showed them the package with my name on it, that it contained medication and related the story about calling the customer service number and what I was told to do, etc.

I went in and called the customer service number again, listened to the recording telling me the call was being recorded and spoke with the same manager as I had previously. I told her what had happened and I stated matter of factly, (I was professional about it) that my being stopped in my driveway by the police was simply not acceptable and promised to file a lawsuit should it happen again. I requested she train the drivers to distinguish between 3308 and 3208. I also emailed the company for all the good it did.

In my neighbourhood we all get together and exchange gifts…the ones miss-delivered.

We waited.

And went on with our lives until it arrived.

3 times in the last month, Amazon said my package was out for delivery, 10 stops away, then delivery has unavoidably been delayed and won’t be delivered for 1 or 2 days!

Twiddled our thumbs and waited.

We checked our mailboxes daily. Just like every day, expecting a package or not.

I remember when I had to sign for expensive deliveries, like the computer I’m typing on. Now, not even that matters, just throw it on the porch, and take a picture.

It’s like the build up to Christmas, one month until Christmas, now a week to go, then tomorrow is the day, finally Christmas arrives and I tear into the package. However, I ordered the package Friday and it arrives Monday, not quite instance gratification. Christmas took so much more patience — from a kid no less.

check the front porch and/or mail every 5 minutes?

And you’re angry that we have it now, why?

You waited and hoped.

Our swales hold water for a really long time. I’m happy when my package has a tracker so I can meet the truck. My son and I are both pretty housebound. So we don’t want the delivery people wading through all that water and spending the rest of the day in wet shoes.We depend on our delivery people and want then to stay healthy.

We allowed three weeks before delivery.

Janis " You want a list?"

What really rankles my buttocks is the e-mail from the vendor that says “Your package has shipped” – and then shipper’s tracking says “Label created. Shipment not yet picked up.”

Creating a label is not shipping!!! Tell me it’s shipped when it’s on the shipper’s freakin’ truck!!!!!!

Wait 4 to 6 weeks for that propeller beanie you got for a cereal box top and a quater.

We still practiced patients and knew how to live without instant gratification.

There is something pleasant (even thrilling) about anticipation. I’m afraid the current delivery services have robbed us of that delight.

Not talk about the tracking history of your pkg.

We just kept checking the front porch every half hour.

We have home delivery from Walmart. The last few times we have had missing items. The first time, half of the order was missing. The next time, we got part of someone else’s order. Then the next time, part of our order was missing again.

When watching tapes, if you have to adjust the tracking then it probably doesn’t help anyway. What were we talking about?

Usually, by the time the package arrived, we had forgotten that we ordered something. “Please allow 4 – 6 weeks for delivery.”

For me, I’ve been messaged that my item was delivered when it had not been. It happens frequently, really. They tell me that the it was handed to me. LOL

All of these problems is why we don’t order anything to be delivered unless there is NO other way to get an item and we ABSOLUTELY need it.