On Thursday 12 January, we ordered an Asimo*. Because we’re fussy, we didn’t want the off-the-shelf Asimo, but a bespoke one in a colour that matches our decor**. So we couldn’t go into the Asimo shop, but instead ordered online.
Four days later, our tailor-made, colour-coordinated Asimo was ready, and on its way around the world to our door. It arrived on Thursday 19 January at 4.19pm.
This is, quite frankly, amazing, at least to someone who grew up in the days when ‘please allow 28 days for delivery’ was pretty standard mail-order small print. One week from order to door.
What is less amazing was UPS’s response when they forgot to deliver our Asimo at any time between 9am and 7pm on Wednesday. There was no “We are so sorry we forgot, let us deliver your Asimo first thing tomorrow” or even “We are so sorry we forgot, let us deliver your Asimo in this three hour window tomorrow” but instead “We really don’t care that we missed it, let us muck you around and make you clear another 10 hour window for us to try again”.
But then, we are not their customer. We are the Asimo shop’s customer, and the Asimo shop is UPS’s customer. And as we are unlikely to not buy another Asimo from the Asimo shop because UPS mucked up the delivery, and the Asimo shop just looks to see that 99/100 deliveries went without a hitch, there is no comeback and no incentive for UPS to make their delivery window smaller and to write a little post-it note to put on their van door to say “Have you picked up all the parcels? Are you sure? Why don’t you walk around the van one more time to check that there isn’t a small box sitting forlornly in the corner of the warehouse?”
But if you’re reading this, and you happen to work for a courier company, then please, I beg you, invest in a post-it note or two. Because rearranging two whole days to sit around waiting for a delivery, even of an Asimo, is not something that will make your customers-once-removed rave about your service. And who knows, some of them may one day have to decide whether your firm gets a delivery contract.
*This is a lie. We did order something, but alas, not this.
**It’s very hard to find things to match clutter, dust and general tattiness.
abradypus 
I thought an Asimo, is what you get if you upset Mr Farah.
Might be worth a read of this?
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/shopping/delivery-rights
what a nightmare!!
That Asimo should be able to deal with the clutter, dust and general tattiness! 😉
Oh my goodness you have a little robot!! What does it do? How does it work? Can I come and play with it??
I wish! They are not yet available to buy, and the first ones are expected to go on sale at about $1,000,000!