This is not news, just an interesting experience.
I was sitting at my kitchen table, reading, when I got a text. The text was from Amazon, and it told me that they had delivered a package and that the package was sitting on my front porch. I was sitting 20 feet away from my porch and did not hear the truck pull up, did not hear the package drop.
Amazing to me that the chain of communication has become so sophisticated that an unseen entity, probably a thousand miles away, knew more about that drop than I did, when I was infinitely closer to the event.
Cool story, bro.
lol
The usual for me is something like this, only the message says I wasn’t home. 🙂
did your loot require a signature? it’s not unheard of for the driver to “sign” for the packages that can be left w/o signature before he leaves the truck. the UPS guy in my hood parks at the end of the street and walks the block.
sometimes I get the delivery note 20 minutes before the actual delivery.
pro tip – one you get your tracking number, you can have fedex or ups route it to one of their stores (UPS charges $5).. since the Kinko’s are open 24/7, it’s more convenient, and more secure then leaving a package on my stoop. its usually much faster too (esp around the holidays). UPS guy shows up on my block as late as 8PM these days, but if my package has been sent to a store, they deliver in the AM because they also have to pick stuff shipped from those stores.
see below – you don’t have to be home.
I was waiting for the delivery of a $6k+ MacPro in February. Tracked as it got to my city. Had to go to work that day, so inquired about holding it at the FedEx office for me to pick it up. “Oh, no sir, we are required to attempt a delivery and get a signature.” Got a text @ 11am that it had been delivered. Only I knew there was no one home. Took an early lunch and went home to check on it. There it was, sitting out in open on my front steps! Not impressed. Took a picture.
Was amazed at something similar the other day: Got a push notification from ‘Dark Sky’ that it is raining at my place.
Chain of events:
Some local radar fed the weather info > to a central database which detected the event > sent a push notification to Apple > delivered to my phone via my carrier.
I was also sitting couple of feet away from the patio and I did not detect a thing.
Given the way shipping companies now track packages, the fact they had such accuracy in terms of when you got the package is unsurprising.
Now, the fact you didn’t notice a truck pull up and someone put a package on your front porch, and especially that the lazy doof didn’t even knock is far more interesting.
This has happened to me. Turns out that many times, they don’t even ring the doorbell if they are no cars in the driveway.
No, they just say they attempted delivery but I wasn’t home. I’m sitting in the front room watching the driveway.
I had almost the same experience with Amazon / UPS about a month ago.. The package delivery showed up on the web site as ‘will be delivered’ no more than 10 minutes away from the time it actually showed… Logistics automation between these two entities is scary..
you weren’t actually “infinitely” closer…just sayin.
I remember when we used to have doorbells. Oh, wait.
When it works—when every service provider in that delivery chain observes the details—it’s great.
For me it’s the dog downstairs that indicates the package delivery: she hates the mailman and other deliverers, seeing them as violators of her assigned territory.