This isn't just a failed delivery - it's and M&S failed delivery?

What's so special about an M&S failed delivery, well, it's letting your loved one down on Valentines day, on a Sunday, when it's normally too late to do anything other than rush out and get the Garage Forecourt left overs.

Many customers who booked delivery of M&S red roses to their loved ones for a special Valentines delivery were let down yesterday as they received texts and emails alerting to the fact that it just wasn't going to happen.  Most of the time customers can cope with the non-delivery of their parcels but valentines day just isn't one of them. 

As Valentines day this year fell on a Sunday, it meant up to a 50% fall in the numbers of flowers and roses sold, so M&S saw Sunday deliveries as a good way to grab an extra chunk of sales.  However, the non-deliveries will backfire, and customers can be forgiving of non-deliveries, but not red roses and not on Valentines day.

Plasma TV Sir?  It's on the back of my Quad Bike!!

Lovely story reported in Slashgear, Curry's didn't let a bit of snow delay the delivery of a customer's Plasma TV, they used an Artic Quad Trak to get the delivery through;

Boxby says it's great to see that couriers are really going the extra mile to get customers items deliverd.

Is it really cheaper to deliver it myself?

Here at boxby we sometimes hear from customers these words.  When customers have requested deliveries from one corner of the UK to the other corner, for a next day or same day delivery job. 

Here at boxby we bring customers very good courier and delivery prices, but these prices are based on flexibility, when a customer has very precise requirements for collection and delivery times, our opportunity to find a courier that has already got work scheduled in on a similar route falls fast, and the customers requirement move towards those where they need a same day dedicated courier.

Prices for same day couriers tend to vary from around £1 up to £1.80 or £2 a mile.  Just the other night, I had a customer on the phone at 10pm, asking if I could get him a courier to deliver a document from Edinburgh to London before 9am the following day.  That following day being a Saturday!  I said that I could, no problem, but he should be anticpating a minimum of £1 a mile, probably quite a lot more bearing in mind he would be calling someone out to work at 10pm on a Friday night.  To which I got the prompt response "it'd be cheaper to do it myself".

Well, the Daily Mail today shows just what the cost could be doing it yourself.  The UK's first £1000+ train ticket!!  Makes £400 for a dedicated courier seem cheap by comparison.

We love this story recently reported in the Publican; 

Last year Scottish & Newcastle UK (S&N UK) asked members of staff to come up with business ideas to help the pub trade which culminated with the launch of a new business.  After months of competition, S&N UK manager Stuart Mills successfuly pitched his idea for the website www.useyourlocal.com.  It is designed to help pubs promote themselves and to get customers through their doors.  One of the services it offers to registered pubs is enabling locals to have their parcels delivered there instead of having to pick up packages from Post Offices.  The aim is when they go to pick up the parcel they will also stay and spend money at the pub.

Mills, who is now working full time on the S&N backed venture, said: “With the Royal Mail alone making around 40 million unsuccessful first time deliveries a year, this is a very real problem and an incredible waste of time, effort and money for everyone. “Most people regard a visit to their local pub as infinitely more appealing than the prospect of joining the queue at their ‘not-so-local’ sorting office on a wet Saturday morning and hopefully the trip will help people rediscover the delights of the great British pub.”

Here at Boxby we think that this is a terriffic idea.  As any of our couriers or customers know, sometimes it's just not convenient to have to wait in for a delivery.  With the Boxby couriers, most of the couriers are independent courier companies who have the luxury of working for themselves, meaning that they are able to tell customers approximately what time delivery is likely to be.  However, if you are using a parcel network delivery then getting your parcel delivered before a specific time is something that you need to pay extra for.

Parcelforce do the "local collect" thing with the post offices, however, if you work normal office hours, then you need to leave before the post office opens, and you won't be back until after it closes, particularly in the more rural areas where the post offices are having their opening hours shortened or replaced by mobile van services.

Small and rural communities are sustained when they work well together, businesses and residents all working for the benefit of those looking to live life a little differently from the rat race.  And novel iniatives such as this are definitely the way forward.  We commend you Stuart Mills for a cracking idea, infact, can we buy you a pint?

Some 13,000 discarded rubber bands have been handed into the charity Keep Britain Tidy during their Big Tidy Up campaign.

Back in April The company was warned that their workers could face the on-the-spot £80 fine for littering by dropping the bands and told them to put them in their pockets and re-use them. They were also warned of the dangers the bands faced to dogs and other animals if they were swallowed.

The charity now plans to put them into one giant envelope and return them to Royal Mail's London Headquarters.

Found on Engrish.com;

I wonder how many failed parcel deliveries he gets.

Robert Jones, 43, has been left facing court action for driving without due care and attention after his BMW nearly plunged 100ft down a cliff in Todmorden, West Yorkshire on Sunday.

Mr Jones who works as a driver discribes the incident as a "Nightmare" after it took police and rescue workers nine hours to recover the vehichle. He says the sat nav kept insisting the path was a road despite it getting steeper and narrower and he just trusted the information he was being given.

It makes me think of the old saying "If I told you to jump of a cliff would you do it!" Perhaps drivers should pay more attention to where they are travelling as to what their newest gadget is telling what to do.

With Mothers Day on the horizon, many families are looking online to get the best present at the best price to give to Mum this Sunday.

According to Website WowVoucherCodes.com, a massive 49% of people will buy presents online for their mothers this year.

This is a welcome break for struggling online retailers who had seen business slump earlier on in the year. Consumer confidence hit an all time low when online retailers like Woolworths, Zavvi and Adams all went into recievership.

With flowers, chocolates, fragrances and spa days, to name but a few gifts, all available to buy online there are many ways of pampering mum this year. Just make sure you check the delivery times if you do buy a present via the internet to make sure your gift is despatched to arrive on time.

Hope all you couriers have a busy weekend making all those mum's very happy!