Last week I sent birthday presents, late, to my nephews in Minnesota. I used the nearby UPS store, which I've used many times, generally with no problem. The option I was given was something like $120 and it gets there tomorrow or $15 and it gets there on Friday. I opted for the latter.

Thursday evening I got a message from UPS—or from iShip_Services_520@iship.com—telling me the delivery of my package may be delayed. It was an odd message. It was specific to the package but generic as to the reason for the delay. This was its main message:

Ah, got it. At least they refrained from giving me the dictionary definition of delay.

And the package was delayed. For whatever reason. For three days. 

Monday I got the message that it had been delivered. Success! It included a link to the UPS website, and there you could see a photo of the package delivered in the right place. Except, after clicking to see the photo, I realized it wasn't the right place. Or ... it looked kinda right but still wrong. My sister's family lives in a residential neighborhood in South Minneapolis, with easy access to their front door, and this wasn't their front door. It took me a moment before I realized that it was their garage. The UPS delivery person had left the package by their garage in the alleyway, where anyone walking by could just pick it up.

Thankfully my sister nabbed it for her sons. I asked her, “Did they really leave it by the garage?” Yes. “Have you ever received a package there before?” No.

This is why Amazon wins.