Australia Post apologise to customer after worker's 'lazy' delivery excuse
A 'miscommunication' is to blame for a woman failing to have her package delivered despite being home and just metres away from the AusPost rider.
Australia Post has apologised to a customer for a "misunderstanding" that meant the woman’s package was not delivered to her home, despite her waiting just metres away as the worker rode past.
Young Queensland woman Aimee was at home when she got a notification that a parcel was unable to be delivered by her postie because of a “safety hazard”. Sharing her experience on social media, the "disgruntled" AusPost customer pointed out there was no such hazard between the road and her home.
“AusPost, it is 11.06 am I just got a notification that you tried to deliver my parcel at 11 am and you couldn't because there’s a safety hazard?” the perplexed woman said in a video.
“This is where I live, here’s my seven stairs to get to my house, there’s the driveway and there’s the bins," she said as she panned the camera to her front yard.
"Did you want to tell me what the safety hazard is? Because I’m home, I’m literally in my pyjamas. I have been home all morning. Maybe we just had a bit of a lazy delivery driver do we think? Can you stop doing that?"
Australia Post apologise for ‘misunderstanding’
Responding to the woman’s accusation, an Australia Post spokesperson told Yahoo News Australia a “misunderstanding” was to blame for the package not being delivered – and the company has now apologised to the woman.
“We’ve spoken to our delivery team in the area to remind them of delivery protocols, including the correct wording for notifications,” the spokesperson said.
It’s understood that the ‘hazard’ in question was the rider not wanting to leave his bike unattended on the road. But for Aimee, “the issue is communication” – adding that she was concerned there was a real hazard and it may impact future deliveries.
Despite the simple resolution, she was inundated with other Aussies sharing their experiences of deliveries gone wrong.
“Got told the gate was locked… I don’t have a gate,” said one viewer.
Another said it happens “all the time” to them yet the local AusPost store is only open 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday. “When am I supposed to get my parcels as someone who works full time?” they complained.
“From the amount of comments, it’s evident that there are lots of problems with parcel deliveries,” said Aimee.
What does Australia Post consider a hazard?
According to Australia Post, posties across the country have logged over 81,000 hazards in the past 12 months – that's more than 200 per day. The top five logged hazards encountered in the last year include:
Unrestrained or aggressive dogs
Low hanging branches, obstructive trees/shrubs
Dangerous surface conditions such as cracked footpaths and uneven surfaces
Letterbox conditions including sharp, jagged or rusted edges
Blind driveways and obstructive cars
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