to complain about the delivery driver's incessent banging?

[WazFlimFlam]

I have just complained to both the company I bought the goods from, and Parcelforce about the behaviour of one of their delivery drivers.

I am working from home today, and was in the middle of an important phone call when the bell was rung, in that kind of BUZZZzzzz buzzz buzz BUZZZZ kind of a way.

I thought 'oh bum I can't take that delivery right now and will have to rearrange, how annoying!', hoping the person on the other end of the phone didn't hear the bell.

I carried on my call and seconds later there was another BUZZZ buzz (etc....) and then some banging on the panes of glass on the front door. I think 'oh fucking hell', and still try to ignore it.

Then it comes a third time 'BUZZZ BUZZZZ BUZZZ' and more hammering on the door.

I'm now thinking 'oh chuffing heck, someone is trying to tell me the house is on fire/someone has collapsed on the street outside and they are panicking and need someone to help'

So I reluctantly paused my telephone conversation and went downstairs to find a furious delivery driver with his face pressed up against the window, all this time the bell's BUZZZ BUZZ buzzing and he's hammering on the glass with his fists. He then just wordlessly passes me the parcel and sods off.

Was he being a dick, or AIBU complaining about a poorly paid member of the gig economy who was just at the end of his tether?

[bustraintram]

You were being selfish, they only get paid when they deliver the parcel a lot of the time, don't arrange deliveries for a time if you can't accept them at that time

[RhiannonOHara]

Was he being a dick, or AIBU complaining about a poorly paid member of the gig economy who was just at the end of his tether?

He was probably being a dick because he's a poorly paid member of the gig economy who was just at the end of his tether and gets paid/penalised for his delivery rate.

I don't know what the best or right thing is to do; it's not great behaviour from him, but on the other hand for the above reasons I
couldn't really blame him and probably wouldn't complain.

[RhiannonOHara]

don't arrange deliveries for a time if you can't accept them at that time

That's not a sensible or fair thing to say. You're generally not given a specific (or often any) delivery window when ordering things, unless you're willing to pay through the nose.

Also, the OP's phone calls aren't necessarily scheduled in advance.

[Ttbb]

YANBU. Having an unpleasant job isn't an excuse to be rude.

[WazFlimFlam]

'don't arrange deliveries for a time if you can't accept them at that time'

I hadn't arranged the delivery at all (it wasn't named day or time), nor the time of the phone call I had.

What would you have done if you were on the loo/otherwise indisposed?

[JediStoleMyBike]

Is there a chance that the delivery driver heard you on the phone / chatting and thought you were ignoring him despite his banging and ringing? It might be that this irritated him as he has to get a certain amount of deliveries done per period of time to get paid or whatever - I'm not sure.
I wouldn't have complained, life is too short and I'm not sure he was at fault particularly.

[WazFlimFlam]

Jedi, it's highly unlikely. The am in a flat in a large detached house on the first floor. I am sat at the back of the house and up a flight of stairs relative to where the front door is.

[19lottie82]

I don't get why you originally though you couldn't continue with your phone call and go silently take the parcel from the delivery man?

[Santasbigredbobblehat]

I suppose you were from home is like you’re out, in so much as you can’t answer the door at some points. Could he see you? I don’t appreciate really banging on the door myself, I told an amazon person to not bang so loudly yesterday after he actually scared the children! He also gave me 2 seconds before banging again.

I wouldn’t complain. Maybe get a delivery box by the front door.

[JediStoleMyBike]

Ah. Maybe he's had a morning of it and hasn't been getting answers / won't get paid? As I said I wouldn't have complained but I would have muttered to myself indignantly after I had answered the door and accepted the delivery 😂

[Santasbigredbobblehat]

*were working

[Sirzy]

Delivery drivers can’t do right for doing wrong sometimes. I wonder how many people ckmplain “I didn’t hear them” or “they didn’t wait long enough”

[WazFlimFlam]

19lottie I was taking the phonecall down in shorthand. I needed to concentrate and be at a desk.

[RhiannonOHara]

What a bitch.

I beg your pardon?

19, speaking as someone else who works at home, I'd imagine the OP was caught on the hop, flustered and conscious that she was on an important call. It's not necessarily that easy, if you're focusing, to break concentration and go to do something entirely different, especially if you don't want the caller to pick up on your attention being slightly divided.

[ijustwannadance]

If able to pause call as you did, then you should've just answered the bloody door in the first place.

[RhiannonOHara]

x-post, OP!

[Iforgotmynameimdrunk]

op I'm with you. I absolutely hate this and due to me being involved in domestic violence and harassment it is scary.
they obviously don't mean it but don't think of people's situations

[thewisestoldelf]

Could you not have muted the call if you were on a conference call?

Or buzzed him up and answered the door on the phone and he'd know that you probably weren't up for a discussion?

Or asked the person on the other end of the line to hold for 30 seconds?

[JediStoleMyBike]

Not sure if this is naff or not but could you make a little sign to shove on the door before calls just to explain that you may not answer and to leave parcels somewhere or whatever you'd want doing? Presumably you didn't need to sign for this one so he could have left it I guess?

[WazFlimFlam]

I answered the door in the end as I genuinely thought the only reason someone would be hammering on the door like that would be in an emergency. Ie trying to tell me the house was on fire or there had been an accident.

The call was with someone I haven't spoken to before, and quite frankly stopping a call to accept a package is pretty unprofessional and I didn't know how they were going to take it. Luckily they weren't bothered, but I have encountered problematic views from men in the past about people working from home and didn't really want to risk it.

[19lottie82]

OK, that makes sense OP, thanks for the update.

[Allwashedup]

YANBU

[RhiannonOHara]

I have encountered problematic views from men in the past about people working from home and didn't really want to risk it.

This is something very much worth taking up with management/HR.

[Viviennemary]

You were being a pain. Their job is to deliver your goods. And that is just as important to them as your phonecall. Why didn't you just answer the door.