Have I told the story of how UPS delivered my former roomie's humongous TV and stereo setup via a Sarah Michelle Gellar-sized deliverywoman the week after I threw my back out in '94? I mean, 75+ lbs. wouldn't have been that much trouble for me normally, but just bending over to lift it was agony, and she clearly arrived with no plan for moving the stuff if someone less able than she answered the door.

Oh dear.

Checked Amazon -- my dvds arrived in Dekalb in the wee hours this morning.

Hmmm, call in sick? Big, giant sign?

You don't look well, sumi.

Sumi, you need to go home and lie down. Put your feet up, lower your blood pressure a little.

Best Bad-Delivery-Service story for me was when Airborne Express left a small package worth $650 on the front step of my apartment building without buzzing my apartment, leaving a note, or anything--just propped it up on the door, within about four feet of the sidewalk for anyone to take. Lucky for me, I was running late for work and went out that door to my car, and saw it before it had been out there too long.

UPS is much better that the USPS for me. UPS almost always delivers without a signature and the UPS person puts the packages in the carport, where they're out of the rain and can't really be seen from the street. The postal service just abandons them anywhere on the front walk, without even making an effort to put them under the eaves, even when it's raining. The number of steps to the carport and the front door are about the same.

This is my favorite USPS story, though: Some years ago, I had ordered a new part for some equipment at my job. When it didn't arrive, I called the company and it sent another part. About a year later, the first part arrived. The package was stamped--yes, they had actually had a rubber stamp made up--"Found in postal equipment thought to be empty."

Weird. Does the postal service have a policy of deciding something is too light and saying "Well, we won't bother to finish delivering this."?

DH worked for a while in a plant that had a Fed contract to repair USPS equipment: canvas carts, tall metal cage carts, canvas bags, trays. He was astonished at the stuff that just never got delivered. Some carrier hit the wall before the end of his route, or something. CDs, Netflix, Amazon shipments, actual first class letters, computer parts. Just left in the bag or the cart, no attempt made to deliver it.

Then there were the things that had parted from their labels, both "to" and "from", so there was no way to deliver or return them. Now I always label twice, once writing on the actual container, just in case the label comes adrift.

The UPS has delivered hard drives and other computer parts to my house and left them on my front steps.

My front steps are just ten feet in from the sidewalk.

Often when this happens, a removed "signature required" sticker is evident.

I much prefer the post office (Canada Post). If no-one is home for the package, they leave a notice saying which post office it has been left at. There are four post office branches within a ten minute walk from my apartment and the closest one (where my packages are always stored) is less than two blocks away.

UPS on the other hand seems to get very muddled with its tracking. For my last delivery they did delivery attempt 1 fine. Then (the next day, on which I arranged to be home) they claimed a second delivery attempt, which they called the third. Then they (I believe) actually tried a second time. They called this the first attempt. Then (and only then) would they agree to leave it put, so I could get a drive way way out to the industrial park so I could pick up the @%*$# DVDs. I was unimpressed.