It’s a sad reality. There are some malicious delivery people who on whatever whim will abuse packages or work in dbad faith, and there are some delivery people/package handlers who take their role very seriously and with the utmost respect and professionalism. The truth is most people handling your packages are just doing a job. There’s no “sacred oath” to them and no hate- they’re paid widely from very well to criminally low depending on the circumstances and company, and the most common systems either set often ambitious or unrealistic expectations for productivity or are highly incentivized on speed.
Even big carriers often contract out some work or use “gig workers” so I can’t say universally that any particular method or company is immune to such issues.
I’m not excusing the behavior- but if a handler touches 100 or 1,000 packages or more in a day and 99% arrive without issue on their part, their only real concern is speed. Keeping your job or making your fair salary often requires putting speed and efficiency first, and with contractors the stakes can be even higher and metrics for time etc. much harsher with far fewer protections. So it is just a reality of how the current “high volume” model works in most consumer shipping. The best thing you can do is to protect your packages very well. Use an outer box with enough room that the contents can survive some moderate crushing. Pack the inner contents well and in a way that prevents them from sliding or rattling around in the package. Using tape to reinforce your package is a smart step. Taping down all flaps, covering corners and edges where rips are likely to happen or bursting from crush damage. Make sure that nothing protrudes, the package is “smooth” and doesn’t have holes or…
.. peeling. Anywhere there is a “seam” such as where flaps close, joints exist, flaps on envelopes etc, should be taped over so it is nice and smooth. When packages are traveling over conveyor or being dragged to load or unload etc, anything that can catch runs the risk of.. catching. Your box can become damaged or compromised and that can lead to more damage as it travels. Always make sure that on amy shipment of value you understand the insurance policies available to you. It isn’t enough to say “they said it’s insured to $100!” Or whatever- you need to know that the policy will cover any costs you incur but also if there are exceptions or what you have to do in order to use the policy. It’s a good idea that when receiving a package, if you see any signs of damage and it is delivered by carrier you should have them note the damage on the shipment. Be insistent.
Even if they are adamant they don’t have such a system- if they aren’t lying or you don’t know enough about the shipper to refute it- at the least take photos and write the damage on your copy of the shipping paperwork and get as much identifying information about the person making the deliver as possible to note as well, then have them sign and initial.
It is also good to understand the policy of the seller of your item. If worse comes to worse and you fear a damaged shipment, you can reject the shipment of the seller allows it. It adds considerable often times, but it is one way to protect yourself.
The best way to protect yourself in a damage claim is to avoid damage in the first place- so pack things you shop well. Assume that even if every person that touches it treats it like a priceless relic, it may pass through any number of sorting machines or be subjected to rough roads, turbulence, any number of random conditions that could harm a package.
At the end of the day the person who has the most impact on wether a package reaches its destination safely isn’t any random delivery person so much as it is the shipper. It would be nice if we could rely only on the shipping company, but the realities of modern shipping mean that often times it just isn’t practical to expect they can guarantee any specific package even a “fragile” one or one shipped through a “special” method within a mass freight system. That level of surety requires essentially “bespoke” shipping. So pack your shipment well.
Even big carriers often contract out some work or use “gig workers” so I can’t say universally that any particular method or company is immune to such issues.
It is also good to understand the policy of the seller of your item. If worse comes to worse and you fear a damaged shipment, you can reject the shipment of the seller allows it. It adds considerable often times, but it is one way to protect yourself.
The best way to protect yourself in a damage claim is to avoid damage in the first place- so pack things you shop well. Assume that even if every person that touches it treats it like a priceless relic, it may pass through any number of sorting machines or be subjected to rough roads, turbulence, any number of random conditions that could harm a package.