Rant on the courier systems, post and delivery of goods in Belgium

 

The world today produces more and more. We all are aware of the tons of stuff that are  being produced every single day all over the world. Whether they are clothes, appliances, hardware, household goods, the supply of goods is ever increasing and in your face. You scroll for five seconds on your mobile phone and you have an ad pop up showing you a sparkling new product that you can buy. The crazy thing is that often what used to cost us maybe 100 Euro years ago costs a fraction of that cost. Yes, it's nice for a simple consumer to be happy about this but the flip side is that everything related to quality is seeing a downgrade. From the product itself to even the delivery of these products.

Ever since COVID, the online industry has seen a massive rise in consumers opting for the convenient method of scrolling and clicking their products. The companies promise super rapid delivery and yes within 24 hours very often you have the product in your hands. I, as a conscious shopper, avoid using these methods to shop. But for those who do, it's worthwhile to look at the faults in a system that allows for cheap products, reduction in delivery timings and its ironic consequences.

In the last few years, despite not buying anything online myself, I have noticed that because our products are cheaper and our delivery timings are reduced, a large number of products ordered by consumers are not reaching them.

In the apartment building in which I live, there are hundreds of residents. The delivery people for various services including the Post, either don't have the time or the inclination to wait for the person who the package is destined for to reach the hallway. They ring the call bell of the owner, gain access into the apartment building and then usually just dump the package in the lobby without waiting for the rightful owner to pick it up. As a result anyone can pick up and steal the package before the bonafide recipient arrives and this is what happens more often than not. I have at least 2 stories of my own where this has happened and I'm aware that this happens in other residential areas too. 

Yesterday was yet another story! The flowers that my older daughter had ordered for her sister were not delivered despite the fact that I was at home. The delivery driver probably did come to the building, he simply left a note saying " sorry, we missed you" on the online app that my daughter used to order the flowers. There was no ringing of the bell or anything to indicate he even came to the building. Now those flowers will have to be picked up one day later from a shop where all these goods land up when the courier person cannot or will not actually reach the person they were destined for.

On any special occasion be it Xmas, New Year and the like, this problem is multiplied maybe a thousand times and products are either not delivered, stolen by neighbours and outsiders or sitting to be picked up the day after in one of the many 'next-to-home' shops.

What is the point really of having this convenience? Creating a world in which products are so cheap that we don't even need them to reach the consumer? When a postman doesn't even have the time to deliver a registered post and just leaves a paper that says go pick the letter from the local office? Who is this benefitting? What sort of world are we going to see in the coming decades? 

Have you experienced something similar? Do share your experience in the comment box below.