HAVE you ever been left wondering where that parcel you ordered has got to?

With many of us looking to save off the boredom of lockdown, online shopping has provided a route into escapism.

But there’s nothing more frustrating than having to wait longer than you thought you would for your package to turn up.

Or, even worse, it being sent back to the depot.

Which is why local courier James Dawson – who has worked with Parcel Force, DHL, Yodel, APC and Hermes - has provided us with eight handy tips to ensure our parcels are delivered on time.

1. Don’t assume the delivery driver will be as knowledge as your local postman

Mr Dawson says that delivery drivers from the big companies – such as DHL, FedEx, UPS, DPD, Hermes, Parcel Force and Amazon – will not have as much knowledge as your local postman.

“Your local postman or woman has been building a knowledge of his or her round for some years,” he says.

“Not only do they know the location of every street, postcode and named house, they probably know who lives there - including the names of the dog, the cat, the lodgers and step-children.”

Which brings us on to point two…

2. The devil is in the detail

“Courier drivers can find themselves in a variety of runs and unfamiliar rounds and they rely heavily on the information provided,” he says.

So, it may seem common sense, but provide as much detail in the address as you can.

You shouldn’t assume that they will have as much local knowledge as your postie.

“Whilst the postie may well know exactly where Yew Tree Cottage is in your village, a courier will almost certainly not.

“Use the information fields in your order form to enhance the detail.

“For example: ‘Across from the Farmer’s Arms pub’, ‘Just past Home Farm on the B1234’).”

3. Can I have your number. please?

“Please do give a pone number,” Mr Dawson says.

“If a courier can’t find you and he or she is a conscientious sort, they’ll almost certainly try to call you and ask for directions.”

And as Gwent can be a tricky place to navigate – with sprawling valleys and vast rural land – this is “particularly important”, he says.

“This is particularly important if you live in a rural setting where post codes can cover many square miles.”

4. Make sure you have a sign out front

This piece of advice is “crucial”, he says.

“If you have a home with a name, rather than a street number, please put a sign at the gate or at the end of the 50-yard drive clearly advertising the name of your property.

“It’s all very well to have a neat slate name plate with one inch tall letters beside the door, but with a long driveway, it can only ever act as confirmation that we have the right place after the 20-30 minute search for the house.”

He says that couriers are often thrown into “detective mode” searching for properties.

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5. If you’re delivery to your work place, name the company

“Let’s give a shout-out to those people who order personal items to be delivered to their work address without providing the name of the company where they can be found,” he said.

6. If you’re living in a gate community, make sure couriers have access

“Gated Communities also love to play with couriers and delivery drivers.

“Gate Entry Systems that don’t work would make a saint swear.

“To make matters worse, if we can’t get past the gate entry system, we can’t leave a calling card or post through a letter box.

“If you live in one of these fortresses, do hassle the facilities managers to ensure that the gate-entry or door entry systems actually operate correctly and avoid your courier returning your parcel to the depot.”

7. Put a number on your door..

“Who’d have known that a door number was key to a successful delivery?”

Delivery drivers are often left confronting a row of houses without door numbers, he says.

“The first task is to determine whether the numbers are even on the left and odd on the right (or perhaps vice versa) or do they start on one side?

“Then we have to find a house – that is, any house that is prepared to identify itself – and from there, we count the doors to find your house.

“The challenge is re-doubled when we have 4A, 6A or even 6B and 6C.”

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8. A little helping hand, perhaps?

“The success of the delivery will be determined by what you have offered in the way of additional information at the time you placed your order.

“Give us an option, give us a clue.

“Please leave parcel in the box by the garage door”; “Please leave with Mr Smith at No.35”; “Please knock the door because the door bell is broken”; “I am disabled, please give me time to get to the door” or even “We’re in the garden.”