Ketan

as a receiver i do like Parcelforce and DPD best ,the tracking i can almost go and open the door and they are there..

ups every time i have a parcel incoming to be delivered today its always delayed and comes the next day

fedex seem ok

i do like Hermes as a receiver the tracking works well and the couriers are reliable. And i do use them a lot for sending items but when anything goes wrong they are impossible to contact.

Hi Ketan. DPD every time for me. We receive many parcels from DPD. They regularly deliver to us between 2 and 3PM and we always get emails and text confirming delivery slot of 1 hour period. Then if really bored you can track the van online. Great service from DPD and always have options to re arrange or specify where to leave parcel if out. Sorry little experience with Parcelforce.

Its very considerate of you to ask for forum members opinions to influence any decision you make.

Dave

Before DPD had their tracking system, I would have rated them as poor. Now the tracking system puts them ahead of the others.

The only downside for me is that the nearest depot is at least 20 miles away, so the option to pick up from there is not very convenient!

Stuart

This year has lead to me becoming well acquainted with the nations delivery firms. DPD are the best in my view.

Dom

DPD, with Parcelforce a very close second. Royail Mail are fine as well, when the package size suits.

For me;

Parcelforce; had one delivery completely go astray, admitted as lost in depot, supplier very promptly sent a replacement but then despite the previous admission of lost I had to fill in countless forms to assist the supplier in claiming for the loss! Original parcel never re-appeared. Generally they don't ring the bell and if they do don't wait more than 5 seconds before sticking a card through the door, seems almost as if the cards are pre written or the drivers are all fast writers! Our nearest collection point is 12 miles away and after 2 failed redeliveries I had to go an collect with passport, utility bill and letter from grandma.

DPD; always recieve a text, always delivered in texted time slot, never had a problem although my wife has had a couple of deliveries come damaged.

My preference on balance for the convenience of knowing when the item will arrive is DPD.

Paul.

I would go with DPD only because of the Tracking system, it does save having to stay by the door bell all day when you are expecting a delivery.

Emgee

Edited By Emgee on 28/10/2020 18:41:30

Check what happens when things go wrong.
Couple of years ago a parcel unexpectedly arrived via Yodel. A supplier had miss addressed it. No way on their website of contacting them at that time unless I wanted to set up an account to send something.
A few months ago, can't remember the courier, another supplier managed to get the address messed up with a postcode for the other end of the country. No checking. It seemed like even the delivery driver working on the postcode did not twig that the address was for a county 200 miles away.

Hermes

I can only speak as a recipient for the most part.
DPD, Parcelforce and Royal Mail in no particular order, though if I had to express a preference it would likely be for the latter as delivery times tend to be the same time on each occasion; DPD's tracing is narrower in delivery window, but it can be at any time of day.
The tracking works fine for me and estimated delivery times seem to be about right.

Yodel are a nightmare and Hermes can be.
Hermes particularly seems to depend on how seriously the local courier takes their job.
In Buxton our local Hermes courier is excellent, but I'm always concerned about their distribution network, based on past experience. (I appreciate you're not asking about Hermes, but just mentioning this for the benefit of others.)

Before you commit either way, I probably don't need to mention this to you, but again it might be of value to other readers; be very careful of parcel contents exclusions. Some of the couriers will happily carry your goods, but if you need to claim off them they will obviously need proof of cost of contents.
I've read numerous reports of one particular courier, who regularly lose parcels, and when the sender puts in a claim, they manage to interpret the description into one of their excluded items and thus refuse to pay out.

Also from your point of view, much of the perceived reliability will be down to the receiver's individual delivery courier.
Not a problem now we live in Buxton, but when we lived in Sheffield, I essentially refused to do business with any company which used Hermes or Yodel, as well as a couple of others (DPD was one, though they did improve).

I don't know how much it would inconvenience your business, but would it be possible to give customer's an alternative courier option, maybe at greater expense to be covered by the customer, if they know some of their local delivery staff are unreliable.

Bill

Edited By peak4 on 28/10/2020 21:48:01

UPS are hopeless. I live on an unsurfaced bridleway and whilst all the rest of the couriers are happy to deliver to my address UPS will not. ' I don't fancy taking my truck up there' translates to the sender as " 3:38pm
Our driver requires security access for this delivery. We are attempting to obtain the access information.
Swansea
15 Oct 2020
4:17pm
Our driver requires security access for this delivery. We are attempting to obtain the access information. / Delivery will be rescheduled.etc This information is not conveyed to the recipient , but back to the sender who assumes it's a block of flats or something. If the sender does not contact the recipient the parcel is returned. Hopeless.