How long...

[gnawsome]

from ring the bell to walk away?
I'm a bit old
A lot deaf
Not nimble.
To cater for these deficits I have installed a 6" fire alarm bell with a timer that runs for 18 secs.
It is ordinary to get to the door before the bell stops ringing - only to see the caller some distance away.
That suggests the caller has waited a bit less than 18 secs, hence my Q how long is reasonable to await a response from ringing

[didds]

Not quite what the OP was meaning here Im sure, but today there was a knock at the door.

the dog barked.

I stood up from my desk straight away, and walked to the front door - not quickly but not slowly. It's eleven paces.

I opened the door.

An amazon parcel was waiting for me in the porch.

there was no sign of any delivery driver, van or car.

Our driveway is twenty paces to the road. The driveway is large stones and makes a scrunching noise when driven on - there was no scrunching noise.


didds

[Dod101]

from ring the bell to walk away?
I'm a bit old
A lot deaf
Not nimble.
To cater for these deficits I have installed a 6" fire alarm bell with a timer that runs for 18 secs.
It is ordinary to get to the door before the bell stops ringing - only to see the caller some distance away.
That suggests the caller has waited a bit less than 18 secs, hence my Q how long is reasonable to await a response from ringing

I can sympathise. 18 seconds does not seem long to give someone to come to the door. OTOH, I guess it cannot be very important or they would have waited longer. With my landline, if the phone goes I usually leave it. If it is important they can leave me a message on the answering machine. Makes for a quiet life and avoids the usual sales pitch or scam which most of my landline calls are. I do not think I would worry if I were you.

Dod

[Dod101]

Bit quite what the OP was meaning here Im sure but today there was a knock at the door.

the dog barked.

I stood up from my desk straight away, and walked to the front door - not quickly but not slowly. It's eleven paces.

I opened the door.

An amazon parcel was waiting for me in the porch.

there was no sign of any delivery driver, van or car.

Our driveway is twenty paces to the road.


didds

Delivery by drone?

Dod

[EverybodyKnows]

I have found that many drivers / delivery people use the doorbell to alert you that a package is there (not to meet you). I am quite happy with this arrangement especially during covid times.

[XFool]

Not quite what the OP was meaning here Im sure, but today there was a knock at the door.

the dog barked.

I stood up from my desk straight away, and walked to the front door - not quickly but not slowly. It's eleven paces.

I opened the door.

An amazon parcel was waiting for me in the porch.

there was no sign of any delivery driver, van or car.

Our driveway is twenty paces to the road. The driveway is large stones and makes a scrunching noise when driven on - there was no scrunching noise.

I received a delivery of a new mattress today - with collection of the old one. The delivery was 40 minutes before earliest advertised time. The seller said I should inspect delivery before signing and, if damaged sign saying "Damaged". It seems OK and I was happy to sign but the guy simply scooted off with the old mattress. "Do you want me to sign anything?" I said to his disappearing back. "No, it's OK" he replied over his shoulder. Website of logistics company says: Signed By "XFool".

My thinking is that nowadays all these kinds of guys, and people like dustmen, are likely under such pressure from their managers with delivery/collection times that they simply have no time beyond a very few seconds to bother with anything else.

I can't account for your lack of scrunching. Hoverboard?
(Though assume they stopped van in road)

[didds]

Delivery by drone?

Dod

Interesting call actually Dod but we live in central Wiltshire and I an not aware of drones used here. But - hey, maybe.

if so the package was very carefully placed to the side of the porch on top of the log stack by the front door - clever drone

The drone was also doubly clever because it knocked the door knocker

didds

[didds]

I can't account for your lack of scrunching. Hoverboard?
(Though assume they stopped van in road)

yeah - thats what i emat really - no tyres scrumching etc.

but it also meant they dropped it off, knocked, got the 20 paces back to the van, got in and drove off, before i did eleven paces and opened the door

didds

[Dod101]

Delivery by drone?

Dod

Interesting call actually Dod but we live in central Wiltshire and I an not aware of drones used here. But - hey, maybe.

if so the package was very carefully placed to the side of the porch on top of the log stack by the front door - clever drone

The drone was also doubly clever because it knocked the door knocker

didds

I suspect that EverybodyKnows has the more probable answer. Get out of vehicle, find the parcel, drop it in the porch, ring the bell and disappear off to his cab and away. He is not trying to be difficult; just the way things are done in post Covid UK.

Dod

[Mike4]

I get exactly this too, but more extreme. I sit here at my desk which is seven paces from my front door (I just checked).

Most mornings one delivery or another arrives with a know at the door. I rise from my chair and walk smartly to the front door and find the same. A package on the step and no sign of a driver anywhere, and my front path is 14 paces long to the road (I just checked that too!)

Often I can hear a van engine running which then drives off, meaning they must have deliberately parked just out of sight of my door AND run back up the path to avoid any interaction with me at the door. I reckon they must creep up the path to avoid detection, quietly put the package down, photograph it on my doorstep, then knock and run like buggery back to the van and scoot off to the next drop.

Fair enough really. There is no upside for a driver engaging with the deliveree, only questions and delays.

[didds]

I suspect that EverybodyKnows has the more probable answer. Get out of vehicle, find the parcel, drop it in the porch, ring the bell and disappear off to his cab and away. He is not trying to be difficult; just the way things are done in post Covid UK.

Dod

Yes indeed. My point is not that nobody waited - this has been the case since 1st lockdown began of course. More the speed at which the entire operation was carried out I normally at least see them getting into their vehicle but this deliverer must have been sprinting! (and yes time is money blah blah blah - i have a son that used to deliver for Hermes. Pile of sh1t that job was too. Was glad when he got out. Working effectively for a fiver a day some days was pointless. But thats another story for another day, and Ive probably expanded on it here way back in the past)

didds

[kempiejon]

I have been in the front room and heard and seen the delivery fella run up my drive to post something through my letter box. When I investigated a few minutes later it was a you were not in re-deliver card.
2nd time it happened I chased him down the drive to get the parcel from the backof the van.

[XFool]

I have been in the front room and heard and seen the delivery fella run up my drive to post something through my letter box. When I investigated a few minutes later it was a you were not in re-deliver card.
2nd time it happened I chased him down the drive to get the parcel from the backof the van.

In a case like that one would need to come up with a theory or explanation.

Going with the thinking in my previous post, my surmise would be that he was behind with his strict delivery schedule* and was trying to catch up by missing out a group of deliveries. Of course he couldn't just miss them, or he'd be in trouble for that, so the next best thing was not to try delivering the package, just the "You were out when we called..." notice.

* They can be monitored in real time now - the logistics company who delivered my mattress gave me a html link to a real time map showing where I was and where the delivery van was. My delivery was earlier than expected (and he didn't stop...). Perhaps he was trying to build up some leeway?

[DrFfybes]

Not quite what the OP was meaning here Im sure, but today there was a knock at the door.

the dog barked.

I stood up from my desk straight away, and walked to the front door - not quickly but not slowly. It's eleven paces.

I opened the door.

An amazon parcel was waiting for me in the porch.

there was no sign of any delivery driver, van or car.

Our driveway is twenty paces to the road. The driveway is large stones and makes a scrunching noise when driven on - there was no scrunching noise.


didds

You may have noticed that chap hasn't been in the Milk Tray adverts for a while?

Well he has to make a lving somehow.

Paul

[Bminusrob]

Delivery by drone?
Dod

There are lots of videos online of how this works, and not a drone in sight. I think the Amazon delivery driver's employment suitability test involves throwing a parcel at a target. They only get the job if they get it within six inches of the target.

[Dod101]

Delivery by drone?
Dod

There are lots of videos online of how this works, and not a drone in sight. I think the Amazon delivery driver's employment suitability test involves throwing a parcel at a target. They only get the job if they get it within six inches of the target.

But Dodds said there was a knock at the door.

Dod

[Bminusrob]

Delivery by drone?
Dod

There are lots of videos online of how this works, and not a drone in sight. I think the Amazon delivery driver's employment suitability test involves throwing a parcel at a target. They only get the job if they get it within six inches of the target.

But Dodds said there was a knock at the door.

Dod

Probably just the parcel hitting the door as it was thrown.

[didds]

But Dodds said there was a knock at the door.

Dod

Didds said that too

(I suspect that's some sort of auto text correction given your own TLF handle )

And I confirm there was indeed a knock at the door (door knocker). the dog heard it too.

didds

[Dod101]

But Dodds said there was a knock at the door.

Dod

Didds said that too

(I suspect that's some sort of auto text correction given your own TLF handle )

And I confirm there was indeed a knock at the door (door knocker). the dog heard it too.

didds

Apologies. It would be a pretty accurate throw for the parcel to exactly hit the door knocker, so I suspect your delivery man was simply fleet of foot.

Dod

[jfgw]

Delivery by drone?

Dod

Interesting call actually Dod but we live in central Wiltshire and I an not aware of drones used here. But - hey, maybe...

If it was Wiltshire, it would be a UFO. Was there a crop circle (or the stone equivalent) on the drive?


Julian F. G. W.