Heck the FXO in my area closes at 2100. This would cut down on re-atts and odds are they will get their package if they knew it was already sitting there in their neighborhood FXO
Here's where thinking as just a Courier and NOT a recipient of a package leads to a faulty conclusion....
If I'm getting a high value shipment which I don't want to have left sitting outside my house, I have a few current options as a customer. I can try to have someone home when I expect the package to be delivered, I can get the package redirected to a center such as FXO (assuming it is a FedEx shipment), or I can even have it delivered to my place of employment and have the 'mail room' accept it and get it to me. I'll show why each of these options aren't viable (for most recipients) in reverse order of my listing them.
First, getting personal packages delivered to place of employment is being restricted more and more by employers. This is for two primary reasons: it ties up the efforts of company mail personnel in handling volume which has no value to the company, the employee that would receive a package at the place of employment during the day more often than not will open it and 'play around' with the contents, wasting time which should be spent doing company work and not engaging in personal business or entertainment. This is a real problem in many companies, leading to the prohibition of personnel from receiving personal shipments at company locations.
Many companies have a method for executive personnel to receive shipments (of potential personal use) which may be work related at the place of work -by utilizing an unique address which doesn't go through the normal company mail room. As Couriers, you may have noticed this by having separate delivery locations for volume which appears to you intended for the same company. The volume going to the mail room or 'receiving' is strictly general company use material - it is screened by those in receiving. No tablets or I-gadgets are let through...
Volume being delivered to a receptionist in a different location of the same company is more often than not going to senior personnel. This volume is only screened by name listed on the package (package not opened), and is brought to the senior employees office. If there is a need to have security screening (federal buildings, some higher level corporations), the personnel at the alternate receiving location will be specially trained to screen the packages for any 'bad stuff' which may be enclosed. This has a real cost associated with it, and personal shipments are HIGHLY discouraged from being routed through these situations.
You'd notice this if you are delivering to "ACME Widget Repair", and the large majority of your volume to this company is tendered the receiving area, while a smaller volume has a listing of "Security Office", or "Ste 100 Reception", in the delivery address. The general receiving personnel will refuse to accept packages with this 'code' as part of the address and direct the carrier to take the pieces to the alternate location. This is all part of attempting to eliminate non senior personnel from having shipments delivered to their place of employment.
Second, having the package routed to a FXO location... While this solves many of the problems that may be associated with attempting to have a package delivered to place of employment -it presents the recipient with an additional burden. They have to make arrangements to stop at the FXO location on their way home from work. It may not seem to be much of a burden, but spending another 30-45 minutes fighting traffic at the end of the day when all I want to do is get home is a pain in the butt. Then if the package is of any size or weight, the recipient has to get it into their vehicle, then get it out again and inside after spending that time diverting to FXO at the end of the day. To you as a Courier, this doesn't seem to be a problem, but I can assure you, if I'm receiving something that is bulky or heavy, I'd really want someone to get it to my front door without my helping them - I'd get it the rest of the way in with no complaints.
Lastly, having someone home all day to get a package inside the moment it is delivered isn't an option. If it is something valuable or personal - I don't wanted it going to my neighbors. Then if it were to go to my neighbors - I'd be left trying to catch them when they are at home, to get my package. My neighbor isn't my mailroom, and neither I am his....
This brings up the evening delivery option. Initially (before seeing the price break down), I was highly skeptical about this (from a consumer point of view). I assumed (ahem...) that FedEx would charge one of their outrageous surcharges for this (was thinking $15 for this). When I saw the $5 charge listed - I KNEW this was a game changer and the real implications of the service. Residential recipients are going to 'eat this up' due to the $5 charge. At $15, it would've been a lead balloon to most recipients, at $5 it is a viable option.
If I have an expensive piece of electronics or other high value shipment coming to me, I (me personally), have NO PROBLEM in getting on FedEx's web page, paying $5 with my ccard, then having the package delivered when I KNOW someone will be home (either myself, my wife or my eldest child). This saves me the requirement of spending that extra 30-45 minutes at the end of the day to 'fetch' my package (even not being charged to obtain it at FXO). Paying $5 extra bucks for that level of service isn't an issue for me (and I'm going to presume for most people that utilize an air cargo option for high value personal shipments).
This is why this is going to be a POTENTIAL game changer for the Express Couriers. I do see a not insubstantial amount of residential volume being diverted to this evening delivery option. This isn't going to be like an FO route taking out a handful of pieces and spending maybe 90 minutes on road before getting back to the station. It will (if this pricing level is held), result in quite a few pieces pulled off the regular delivery routes, then placed onto routes which will have a 3 hour window to get off the volume. You can put a fair amount of volume onto a route with this kind of window (THINK ABOUT WHAT HAPPENS ON SATURDAYS). The overwhelming majority of Saturday volume is delivered in a de facto 3 hour window (9 AM to 12 Noon).
I hope you see the implications for this as an Express Courier. This move will require the establishment of additional evening delivery routes (just as Saturday has its 'specialized' delivery routes) which will play HAVOC with traditional Courier scheduling. Express will need to do either one of two things: hire additional part-timer Couriers to run these routes, or have the full-time Couriers which see volume pulled off their 'normal' daytime routes do a significant split shift and then do evening deliveries. I see the later, since Express KNOWS they are losing volume to customers choosing cheaper shipping options on their own, AND the eventual ending of XS service (I'm convinced this is all tied together, they are just unrolling it incrementally). In addition, hiring additional personnel for just this has the cost of benefits associated with it (making it cost ineffective). If current full-timers (who will find themselves with only putting in 6.5-7 hour days resulting from volume being pulled off of their routes to be delivered in the evening) are looking to get minimums, they can be compelled to do that split shift then go out in the evening for a few hours delivering all over again.
Express is putting the screws to its management and (once the buyouts are accomplished) the remaining salaried staff in Memphis. No reason to suspect that the Couriers are going to be left alone in this reorganization of Express.
What in the hell are you waiting for????
