How to Create and Place a Sign for Delivery People
November 15, 2013 3:39 PM Subscribe
Help me figure out how to make a permanent sign asking package deliverers to leave packages inside my front door (there's a vestibule, so the outermost door's unlocked). And where to put it!
I'm figuring something like this:
<---- Please leave packages inside <----
...and put it somewhere to the right of the door.
Two questions:
1. What's the cheapest way to do this and not have it look totally crappy?
2. Where would you place it? I'm figuring low, at knee level near the step where they've previously been leaving packages. But other people say to put it at eye level right next to the door (I'm figuring those guys won't be looking there....otoh I'm not sure they're paying much attention, period!).
I'm figuring something like this:
<---- Please leave packages inside <----
...and put it somewhere to the right of the door.
Two questions:
1. What's the cheapest way to do this and not have it look totally crappy?
2. Where would you place it? I'm figuring low, at knee level near the step where they've previously been leaving packages. But other people say to put it at eye level right next to the door (I'm figuring those guys won't be looking there....otoh I'm not sure they're paying much attention, period!).
Response by poster: Thanks.
I could use suggestions re: making the sign itself. I don't want to run something off on my ink jet printer and laminate...it's got to look more grown-up than that. I'd like it to last for years.
posted by Quisp Lover at 4:09 PM on November 15, 2013
I could use suggestions re: making the sign itself. I don't want to run something off on my ink jet printer and laminate...it's got to look more grown-up than that. I'd like it to last for years.
posted by Quisp Lover at 4:09 PM on November 15, 2013
Best answer: Do the delivery companies involved have anything to offer? I have a sticker with a bar code on my door identifying me as a 'signature not required' person for one company; it was fairly straightforward to get and has never been ignored.
But, an Etsy seller who does wooden signs is probably going to be the biggest bang for the aesthetic buck for this. I'd put it near the doorbell.
If you are okay with looking less 'homey' and more like an office, places that engrave plastic signage (thinking here of name plate-sized stuff) might be worth pricing. Or: Letraset letters on nice card stock, sealed on a block of wood with many coats of a clear sealant? If it's sheltered from direct sun/rain/etc something in a picture frame could hold up for a few years.
posted by kmennie at 5:26 PM on November 15, 2013 [1 favorite]
But, an Etsy seller who does wooden signs is probably going to be the biggest bang for the aesthetic buck for this. I'd put it near the doorbell.
If you are okay with looking less 'homey' and more like an office, places that engrave plastic signage (thinking here of name plate-sized stuff) might be worth pricing. Or: Letraset letters on nice card stock, sealed on a block of wood with many coats of a clear sealant? If it's sheltered from direct sun/rain/etc something in a picture frame could hold up for a few years.
posted by kmennie at 5:26 PM on November 15, 2013 [1 favorite]
I don't know that you need to overthink this, but...
I needed such a sign. I printed out on cardstock
"DELIVERY SERVICES:
Please leave packages inside this door.
Thank you."
And tacked it to the doorframe with tacks on each corner.
If you want fancier, go to a discount store and get a nice, index-card size fake-gilded frame and put the sign in the frame.
Typically if you're not at home, they place their "attempted delivery" sticker at the center of the door at about 5'5". That's about where I stuck my sign, because I figure that's where they look.
posted by Miko at 5:47 PM on November 15, 2013
I needed such a sign. I printed out on cardstock
"DELIVERY SERVICES:
Please leave packages inside this door.
Thank you."
And tacked it to the doorframe with tacks on each corner.
If you want fancier, go to a discount store and get a nice, index-card size fake-gilded frame and put the sign in the frame.
Typically if you're not at home, they place their "attempted delivery" sticker at the center of the door at about 5'5". That's about where I stuck my sign, because I figure that's where they look.
posted by Miko at 5:47 PM on November 15, 2013
I have done variations of all of these at times, and still had attempted delivery cards stuck on the door. There is no perfect way to do this.
posted by scruss at 5:57 PM on November 15, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by scruss at 5:57 PM on November 15, 2013 [1 favorite]
I have done variations of all of these at times, and still had attempted delivery cards stuck on the door. There is no perfect way to do this.
Nope, there is not.
As a former courier (my relationship with my company was as an enforced independent contractor. We all were contractors. Most courier shops like to avoid liability, workman's compensation, any kind of benefits, and taxes. I'm amazed my employer didn't make the secretaries incorporate.), I hated those kind of drops. Well, residential anything (as opposed to business jobs with secretaries and mail rooms and loading docks) ticked me off. I wanted a signature, unless the instructions on the trip explicitly said so. If the job I was looking at from my company did not say "No Signature Required" or some other explicit instruction, it was coming back with me. I was not going to lose income because somebody wanted me to leave their laptop on their doorstep without them taking explicit responsibility for that.
I did not want to pay for whatever's in the box, insurance notwithstanding.
If you neglect to do that, please give the company someway to contact you. Preferably a phone number. Not an e-mail address. If you wasted five minutes of my time, I left with your package. And charged whoever was paying the bill for that five minutes. I had ninety other trips I'm dealing with. Yours was no more important than the next. Don't worry, I would come back. And did the same thing. And charged the account. Over and over. But, unless you paid dearly for it, I would not come back that day. And, no, I am not the asshole here.
I did not care about your sign saying "Please leave it here," no matter the eighty-year-old Kivalliq speaking artisan made it. I might've admired the sign, but I still held on to your package.
Make sure couriers have orders from our company to leave the package without a signature.
If, on the other hand, you're dealing with FedEx or one of the other majors, yeah, as said above, they've little stickers with barcodes. They will send them to you. Put those on your mailbox or at eye level on the door. Yes, they look like shit. Life's little burdens.
posted by converge at 3:04 AM on November 16, 2013 [1 favorite]
Nope, there is not.
As a former courier (my relationship with my company was as an enforced independent contractor. We all were contractors. Most courier shops like to avoid liability, workman's compensation, any kind of benefits, and taxes. I'm amazed my employer didn't make the secretaries incorporate.), I hated those kind of drops. Well, residential anything (as opposed to business jobs with secretaries and mail rooms and loading docks) ticked me off. I wanted a signature, unless the instructions on the trip explicitly said so. If the job I was looking at from my company did not say "No Signature Required" or some other explicit instruction, it was coming back with me. I was not going to lose income because somebody wanted me to leave their laptop on their doorstep without them taking explicit responsibility for that.
I did not want to pay for whatever's in the box, insurance notwithstanding.
If you neglect to do that, please give the company someway to contact you. Preferably a phone number. Not an e-mail address. If you wasted five minutes of my time, I left with your package. And charged whoever was paying the bill for that five minutes. I had ninety other trips I'm dealing with. Yours was no more important than the next. Don't worry, I would come back. And did the same thing. And charged the account. Over and over. But, unless you paid dearly for it, I would not come back that day. And, no, I am not the asshole here.
I did not care about your sign saying "Please leave it here," no matter the eighty-year-old Kivalliq speaking artisan made it. I might've admired the sign, but I still held on to your package.
Make sure couriers have orders from our company to leave the package without a signature.
If, on the other hand, you're dealing with FedEx or one of the other majors, yeah, as said above, they've little stickers with barcodes. They will send them to you. Put those on your mailbox or at eye level on the door. Yes, they look like shit. Life's little burdens.
posted by converge at 3:04 AM on November 16, 2013 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Also, just as a side note. Is your unlocked door, vestibule, locked door scenario actually covered by your insurance? It may be you live in the safest neighbourhood and you could theoretically leave both your doors unlocked and wide open but I'd at least check the fine print and be sure what I'm advertising, by putting a sign up, could not come to bite me because it invalidates my insurance cover. Or at least that I am aware it does and can make a conscious decision to do it anyway.
posted by koahiatamadl at 3:09 AM on November 16, 2013
posted by koahiatamadl at 3:09 AM on November 16, 2013
That's so incredibly irritating, though. I'm a working person, and most delivery companies deliver during the day, all day, meaning I am never - ever - home to accept a package. I have no choice but to ask them to leave it. This is something I've written to companies about - particularly with time-sensitive things, like when my phone died in the middle of production week and I was waiting on tenterhooks for the replacement. I can understand the concept of your having "wasted five minutes of your time," but you're going to waste more like 30 or 60 minutes when multiple delivery attempts don't work out.
Is a solution leaving a note available with your signature on/in it? If all that's needed is a signature, and you're expecting something?
Could you (as deliveryperson) just snap a photo of the sign and the package sitting there as your 'signature'?
It makes me insane that in this day and age, companies expect the lady of the house to be sitting around waiting for packages being delivered at 11:30 AM. There has to be a better solution.
posted by Miko at 6:45 AM on November 16, 2013
Is a solution leaving a note available with your signature on/in it? If all that's needed is a signature, and you're expecting something?
Could you (as deliveryperson) just snap a photo of the sign and the package sitting there as your 'signature'?
It makes me insane that in this day and age, companies expect the lady of the house to be sitting around waiting for packages being delivered at 11:30 AM. There has to be a better solution.
posted by Miko at 6:45 AM on November 16, 2013
Response by poster: My fault for not being super clear. They leave packages. No problem. But they leave them outside the exterior door, on the step. Where they get wet. And where they sit on display showing everyone I'm not home.
So I'm not trying to persuade them to leave the packages....I'm trying to get them to leave them in the right place!
I like the Etsy idea.
And the insurance issue is a bit over-cautious, but it's another reason to leave the sign lower, where it's less visible from the street.
posted by Quisp Lover at 6:51 AM on November 16, 2013
So I'm not trying to persuade them to leave the packages....I'm trying to get them to leave them in the right place!
I like the Etsy idea.
And the insurance issue is a bit over-cautious, but it's another reason to leave the sign lower, where it's less visible from the street.
posted by Quisp Lover at 6:51 AM on November 16, 2013
Best answer: As a delivery person I wish more people thought about signs like this so they don't get angry like Miko when we don't leave packages due to everyone's security. It's best to explicitly take responsibility for where you want something left than for me to guess the safest place to leave a package - and if it's even a guess, I'll just card it. I don't want to be blamed if someone takes your brand new whatever because they saw me hide it somewhere on your porch.
For people concerned about never being home for deliveries the best solution I have encountered is to have things delivered to your place of work. Many people do this and it makes so much sense! Also many couriers will offer some form of "hold for pick up" where you get a call that your package is waiting at a storefront or outlet of some kind. Since I am out driving around all day I can't have things delivered to my place of work which is how I found out about "hold for pick up" as I was getting frustrated at the run around involved with never being home at the right time. Getting a post office box for deliveries would serve the same purpose as parcels are kept on site and you can pick things up at your convenience.
As far as the sign aesthetics and placement - an engraved plaque placed directly above the doorbell or where one would expect to find a doorbell would be ideal. (ie shoulder heightish and close to where a delivery person would be knocking to see if you are home). I've even seen notes right in the middle of the door - can't miss that!
posted by smartypantz at 5:07 PM on November 16, 2013
For people concerned about never being home for deliveries the best solution I have encountered is to have things delivered to your place of work. Many people do this and it makes so much sense! Also many couriers will offer some form of "hold for pick up" where you get a call that your package is waiting at a storefront or outlet of some kind. Since I am out driving around all day I can't have things delivered to my place of work which is how I found out about "hold for pick up" as I was getting frustrated at the run around involved with never being home at the right time. Getting a post office box for deliveries would serve the same purpose as parcels are kept on site and you can pick things up at your convenience.
As far as the sign aesthetics and placement - an engraved plaque placed directly above the doorbell or where one would expect to find a doorbell would be ideal. (ie shoulder heightish and close to where a delivery person would be knocking to see if you are home). I've even seen notes right in the middle of the door - can't miss that!
posted by smartypantz at 5:07 PM on November 16, 2013
so they don't get angry like Miko when we don't leave packages due to everyone's security.
Just to be clear, they do leave them now that I have a sign. I would be angry if they refused to leave them now, as converge seemed to be suggesting was reasonable.
have things delivered to your place of work.
A nice idea but this is not a good situation for some of us, either. It does not make sense, for instance, for me. Our mailroom situation is not favorable to it, I am doing offsite work many days anyway, and it would take longer to reach me through the multiple-building delivery system.
many couriers will offer some form of "hold for pick up" where you get a call that your package is waiting at a storefront or outlet of some kind
I've done that too. Ended up having to take off work early to drive to a UPS outlet in a bumfuck industrial park that closed at 6:00. It would be a good solution if it offered evening hours and was convenient enough to where you are going to be, but I haven't found many options where that was the case. Home delivery is really maximum convenience.
Getting a post office box for deliveries would serve the same purpose as parcels are kept on site and you can pick things up at your convenience
Again, this is if "your convenience" is between 9 and 5 on weekdays and, in some towns, 9 AM and noon on Saturdays. Also, additional fee.
There's just a fairly frustrating problem here. It's difficult for people whose workdays are full and don't allow for errands, and more difficult still for people who commute. When you are away from not just your house, but also your town, from 7-7 every weekday you aren't going to be able to drop by the PO or the pickup site unless it's in something like a big box store. This system is designed to work for businesses, who of course form the vast bulk of shipping customers, but it works extraordinarily poorly for private indiviuals ordering personal things. I get the sense that doesn't really matter to anyone because we are a small slice of the marketplace.
posted by Miko at 7:17 PM on November 16, 2013
Just to be clear, they do leave them now that I have a sign. I would be angry if they refused to leave them now, as converge seemed to be suggesting was reasonable.
have things delivered to your place of work.
A nice idea but this is not a good situation for some of us, either. It does not make sense, for instance, for me. Our mailroom situation is not favorable to it, I am doing offsite work many days anyway, and it would take longer to reach me through the multiple-building delivery system.
many couriers will offer some form of "hold for pick up" where you get a call that your package is waiting at a storefront or outlet of some kind
I've done that too. Ended up having to take off work early to drive to a UPS outlet in a bumfuck industrial park that closed at 6:00. It would be a good solution if it offered evening hours and was convenient enough to where you are going to be, but I haven't found many options where that was the case. Home delivery is really maximum convenience.
Getting a post office box for deliveries would serve the same purpose as parcels are kept on site and you can pick things up at your convenience
Again, this is if "your convenience" is between 9 and 5 on weekdays and, in some towns, 9 AM and noon on Saturdays. Also, additional fee.
There's just a fairly frustrating problem here. It's difficult for people whose workdays are full and don't allow for errands, and more difficult still for people who commute. When you are away from not just your house, but also your town, from 7-7 every weekday you aren't going to be able to drop by the PO or the pickup site unless it's in something like a big box store. This system is designed to work for businesses, who of course form the vast bulk of shipping customers, but it works extraordinarily poorly for private indiviuals ordering personal things. I get the sense that doesn't really matter to anyone because we are a small slice of the marketplace.
posted by Miko at 7:17 PM on November 16, 2013
I get your frustration, Miko. Just saying, when I was on the delivery side, I felt it as well. You don't seem to understand that protecting your package (and myself from liability) is not just a completely reasonable, but, conscionable, action.
If I were to just leave your package without your explicit consent, that would place me in a legally and professionally actionable position, costing me income in more than just the obvious ways. And, no, neither the handwritten note nor my photograph thereof work. What's effective, and just as easy, is just to include the instructions in the job order. That protects both of us.
As you alluded, there can (because it would lose money) be no shipping system designed for residential (as opposed to "individual") users that works any better than the mail. But even government mail services make you travel to pick up oversize packages and registered mail (requiring a signature).
If we define the problem as one of liability, there seem to be only two solutions:
1. The recipient agrees to delivery without a signature (newspaper boy style). Ever left a couple of cases of Krug on somebody's doorstep? I have.
2. The recipient agrees to pick it up. As I said above, if yours is a FedEX or UPS problem, please refer above. The little stickers thing. And they will have little problem leaving it where you tell them.
I get the sense that doesn't really matter to anyone because we are a small slice of the marketplace.
Courier companies, like any business, will take any work that they can actually accomplish. Even to the point of their contractors losing money. They are not expecting "the lady of the house to be sitting around" (frankly, that comment was incredibly condescending, as with the 12 hour day thing. Try 17 on a regular basis.), they just want a way to do their jobs without getting sued for it. Give them a thoughtful way to do that.
posted by converge at 1:52 AM on November 17, 2013
If I were to just leave your package without your explicit consent, that would place me in a legally and professionally actionable position, costing me income in more than just the obvious ways. And, no, neither the handwritten note nor my photograph thereof work. What's effective, and just as easy, is just to include the instructions in the job order. That protects both of us.
As you alluded, there can (because it would lose money) be no shipping system designed for residential (as opposed to "individual") users that works any better than the mail. But even government mail services make you travel to pick up oversize packages and registered mail (requiring a signature).
If we define the problem as one of liability, there seem to be only two solutions:
1. The recipient agrees to delivery without a signature (newspaper boy style). Ever left a couple of cases of Krug on somebody's doorstep? I have.
2. The recipient agrees to pick it up. As I said above, if yours is a FedEX or UPS problem, please refer above. The little stickers thing. And they will have little problem leaving it where you tell them.
I get the sense that doesn't really matter to anyone because we are a small slice of the marketplace.
Courier companies, like any business, will take any work that they can actually accomplish. Even to the point of their contractors losing money. They are not expecting "the lady of the house to be sitting around" (frankly, that comment was incredibly condescending, as with the 12 hour day thing. Try 17 on a regular basis.), they just want a way to do their jobs without getting sued for it. Give them a thoughtful way to do that.
posted by converge at 1:52 AM on November 17, 2013
You don't seem to understand that protecting your package (and myself from liability) is not just a completely reasonable, but, conscionable, action.
I understand it. What I am pointing out is that despite the best of intentions, this is structurally unworkable for today's actual people.
What's effective, and just as easy, is just to include the instructions in the job order.
Can you verify that ordering something from Amazon, say, or Overstock.com, the customer is presented with the option to do this?
(frankly, that comment was incredibly condescending
Why? This isn't aimed at you - it's a fundamental assumption of the business. It is a structural issue. The idea that a signature is required as a default, and yet only a small fraction of American households have someone at home in them during the day, is a clear structural challenge.
as with the 12 hour day thing. Try 17 on a regular basis
I'm not complaining about the length of a workday and I'm sure you have experienced very long days, as do people in my field and other fields. Instead, I'm noting that many people are simply not at their home addresses for 12 hours out of a workday. It would be great if the delivery services typically offered an option reflective of a 17 hour day, but they don't. I haven't had the option presented to me to have something delivered after 8 PM, say, when I am likely to be home.
This isn't an attack on you. If this is as chronic a problem as you say, and if the risk of liability is as high as you say, it is reasonable to expect those who have the power to set the parameters within this industry works would find a way to better address these customer issues. Right now, the burden of inconvenience is placed on the customer who doesn't get something within the shipping window they paid for. I don't expect delivery drivers to have control over this, but managers and strategic planners do.
posted by Miko at 5:33 AM on November 17, 2013
I understand it. What I am pointing out is that despite the best of intentions, this is structurally unworkable for today's actual people.
What's effective, and just as easy, is just to include the instructions in the job order.
Can you verify that ordering something from Amazon, say, or Overstock.com, the customer is presented with the option to do this?
(frankly, that comment was incredibly condescending
Why? This isn't aimed at you - it's a fundamental assumption of the business. It is a structural issue. The idea that a signature is required as a default, and yet only a small fraction of American households have someone at home in them during the day, is a clear structural challenge.
as with the 12 hour day thing. Try 17 on a regular basis
I'm not complaining about the length of a workday and I'm sure you have experienced very long days, as do people in my field and other fields. Instead, I'm noting that many people are simply not at their home addresses for 12 hours out of a workday. It would be great if the delivery services typically offered an option reflective of a 17 hour day, but they don't. I haven't had the option presented to me to have something delivered after 8 PM, say, when I am likely to be home.
This isn't an attack on you. If this is as chronic a problem as you say, and if the risk of liability is as high as you say, it is reasonable to expect those who have the power to set the parameters within this industry works would find a way to better address these customer issues. Right now, the burden of inconvenience is placed on the customer who doesn't get something within the shipping window they paid for. I don't expect delivery drivers to have control over this, but managers and strategic planners do.
posted by Miko at 5:33 AM on November 17, 2013
I didn't think it was an attack. I was responding to:
Just to be clear, they do leave them now that I have a sign. I would be angry if they refused to leave them now, as converge seemed to be suggesting was reasonable.
Nonetheless, this should be of interest to you.
posted by converge at 3:54 AM on November 18, 2013
Just to be clear, they do leave them now that I have a sign. I would be angry if they refused to leave them now, as converge seemed to be suggesting was reasonable.
Nonetheless, this should be of interest to you.
posted by converge at 3:54 AM on November 18, 2013
Oops. Sorry about that.
This should work. On the viability of same day delivery.
posted by converge at 12:29 AM on November 19, 2013
This should work. On the viability of same day delivery.
posted by converge at 12:29 AM on November 19, 2013
This thread is closed to new comments.
Alternatively, I believe it costs $3.75 to get a single page laminated at FedEx.
It doesn't really matter what you write on it or where you hang it, though. 9 times out of 10 it's going to be ignored anyway. I know this from personal experience. Sorry. THE MOST effective way to get them to do what you want is to camp out and speak to your delivery guy in person. (This only works, though, if you have the same guy doing your route every day.)
posted by phunniemee at 4:05 PM on November 15, 2013 [1 favorite]