# Prime Now! What you do, Perishable food delivery leaving at the door?



## FlexDriver (Dec 5, 2015)

We all have experienced this when we have food delivery (Blue w/dry ice) bags. Customer instructions on the app is "leave the item at the door" and policy says we cannot! Some times there is note also saying that too on the door to leave it there. Calling support or taking it back to WH are obvious options, lets see what other people do when it comes to this.


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## Poolepit (May 17, 2016)

I personally don't leave them. Most know they should be there during the 2 hour window so why risk deactivation over it. That said a lot of times they are there and that note is from other deliveries I have noticed. I've even delivered warehouse items to a house before that had like 8 sprouts bags just sitting on porch, looked like they had been there all day. 

You can call the customer at the start of route and explain to them they are cracking down and you can't leave perishable items, that gives them a chance to be there and you won't have to wait. I have even had support call them and explain to them someone needs to be there so ultimately it's not on you once you see the person face to face and hopefully they are there next time. To each their own though.


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## KCinSD24 (Jan 12, 2017)

I'll leave them but I always leave a note on the delivery line like "left at door per customer instruction".

Support has told me to leave them at the door before as well.

I haven't ever gotten one of those customer expectation emails about it and I do it often.


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## FlexDriver (Dec 5, 2015)

Amazon policy regarding this is not clear, but it does not supersedes when it comes to customer's instruction. Logically we shouldn't as it also has food storage issues e.g temperature and contamination etc, I did left on customers door in the "blue bag" but I do not do it often


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## Poolepit (May 17, 2016)

FlexDriver said:


> Amazon policy regarding this is not clear, but it does not supersedes when it comes to customer's instruction. Logically we shouldn't as it also has food storage issues e.g temperature and contamination etc, I did left on customers door in the "blue bag" but I do not do it often


The "blue bag" means it contains perishable items and that is the only item that can't be left unattended according to protocol.


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## UberPasco (Oct 18, 2015)

Blue bags will be gone by within a month (we lost them a week ago). They will be using a liner and gel packs in the regular paper bags. Drivers have been deactivated for leaving the blue bags. Customers will call Amazon. I have lost routes because I had to go retrieve some idiot drivers bag. WH wouldn't tell me their names. Probably a good call!


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## soupergloo (Jul 24, 2015)

If there are specific notes to leave it, I leave it. Sometimes people are home, but don't want you to wake their sleeping baby, cause their dog to bark, etc.


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## flexian (Aug 16, 2016)

call them

if they dont answer

call support


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## flexian (Aug 16, 2016)

UberPasco said:


> Blue bags will be gone by within a month (we lost them a week ago). They will be using a liner and gel packs in the regular paper bags. Drivers have been deactivated for leaving the blue bags. Customers will call Amazon. I have lost routes because I had to go retrieve some idiot drivers bag. WH wouldn't tell me their names. Probably a good call!


sometimes the customer says to leave at door, but it is a perishable......i will find a blue bag sitting on the porch.....i will just put the item in there, it works out for everyone that way


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## soupergloo (Jul 24, 2015)

maybe it's just been my experience, but Flex support is worthless to me. every time i've called them, they put me on hold to call the customer (which I already tried to do multiple times), and end up telling me to do something that I was going to do any way (bring it back to the warehouse if the customer is unresponsive); ends up being a huge waste of time.

I know they can add "notes" when you call in, but drivers have told me they've called support, support advised the driver that they're adding notes and the driver won't be reprimanded, and a week later the driver will get an email any way


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## flexian (Aug 16, 2016)

....they record every call u make to support and every call u make to the customer....we think they convert the conversations to text so wh ppl can quickly scan thru them at the end of the night

crazy thing is customer wont pick up for me but will for support....ive had that happen many times.....maybe bc the phone num is different or maybe bc support is allowed to leave a voice mail, customer realizes its about a delivery and calls back

support isnt supposed to be helpful, they are just there so u can say u were at the door and u really tried


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## Keyser Söze (Jun 25, 2015)

I leave it if customers instructions say so. Then i leave remarks stating left at door per customer instructions in the text box for "delivered to another person at customer request"... dont know exact wording of it but i think its the last choice for "delivered to" options. Ive been doing prime now since Nov 2015 and never an issue or email on this.

If no instructions and they don't answer call support and go from there. Several times I've had support get a hold of the customer and they told support person to leave at door, so imo Amazon doesn't seem to care as long as you have instructions from the customer to leave the perishables unattended.


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## FlexDriver (Dec 5, 2015)

Keyser Söze said:


> I leave it if customers instructions say so. Then i leave remarks stating left at door per customer instructions in the text box for "delivered to another person at customer request"... dont know exact wording of it but i think its the last choice for "delivered to" options. Ive been doing prime now since Nov 2015 and never an issue or email on this.
> 
> If no instructions and they don't answer call support and go from there. Several times I've had support get a hold of the customer and they told support person to leave at door, so imo Amazon doesn't seem to care as long as you have instructions from the customer to leave the perishables unattended.


Do you leave in the blue bag or just the brown bag (as per customers instruction)


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## iyengar (Oct 7, 2016)

Call the customer. if no answer. Call support. When you call support make sure they write a note down.


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## Ubercal (Jul 25, 2016)

Call the customer if I can't get a hold of them or they will not be there soon. I call support to advise them I cannot deliver the cold item. And deliver the brown bag or bags.

My exception to this is. If I'm going to be going nearby on way back thru. In that case I'll just put it off until then, my tips seem to go higher than normal when this happens.


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## Keyser Söze (Jun 25, 2015)

FlexDriver said:


> Do you leave in the blue bag or just the brown bag (as per customers instruction)


I don't leave the insulated bags.


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## chefseth (Apr 26, 2016)

If customer instructions say "Leave at the door" I leave it at the door. No questions asked, regardless of what the app says to do.

Customer is always right. In this case, the right thing to do is respect the customer's request by leaving the food at the door. There can be many reasons the customer is requesting this, and it's none of my business.

About a six months ago, I called support a couple of times and they said I should always defer to the customer's request.


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## FlexDriver (Dec 5, 2015)

chefseth said:


> If customer instructions say "Leave at the door" I leave it at the door. No questions asked, regardless of what the app says to do.
> 
> Customer is always right. In this case, the right thing to do is respect the customer's request by leaving the food at the door. There can be many reasons the customer is requesting this, and it's none of my business.
> 
> About a six months ago, I called support a couple of times and they said I should always defer to the customer's request.


Not true! Federal, State and local laws supersedes every customer request and that is perishable food has to be stored at certain temperature and away from contamination. For example you cannot leave container of Half and Half at the customers door in 70-100 degrees temp as per customers request OR would you??


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## flexian (Aug 16, 2016)

its been told 2 me that the customer instructions dont reset for every order (& this is not a bug)

so what u are looking at on the appcould be leftover from earlier Unattended & non-Prime-Now deliveries.....

& maybe "leave it behind the tree" might not apply to those cartons of milk after all


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## chefseth (Apr 26, 2016)

I thought this discussion was about restaurant food deliveries. I would never leave perishable food unattended.

Restaurant food, regardless of what type of bag or packaging, is safe for consumption up to 4 hours after preparation. If someone ordered restaurant food, I would hope they are going to pick it up within 4 hours!! 

Once again, we are not here to interpret health laws, but we are to respect customer requests. 

And I repeat, I was speaking specifically to restaurant food deliveries. If the customer requests perishable (groceries) food to be leave outside, I will return it to WH if no customer answers my phone call.


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## chefseth (Apr 26, 2016)

flexian said:


> its been told 2 me that the customer instructions dont reset for every order (& this is not a bug)


And we are supposed to be mind-readers if the customer doesn't remember to reset the message?

As a matter of fact, I have a "Leave behind red chair" note on my Prime Now account and I have had restaurant deliveries left there as well, even when I was home. I now remember to change the message each time.


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## flexian (Aug 16, 2016)

can that be right? i think restaurant would be even more sensitive to deliver.

for example if inside a highrise a customer said just leave the perishables (juices, all that) at my door bc just got out of shower whatever, 

id say alright, knowing theyd be room temp (not 70-100, more like 60) for at most a few minutes, no worse than leaving @ concierge for sure....

but restaurant stuff i dunno....and especially not at a persons house....there could be animals and insects on that stuff right away

not 2 mention there is a chance im the guy getting dinged for missing items....


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## chefseth (Apr 26, 2016)

All restaurant orders are 1-hr window.

WTF do you think there are people who order from a restaurant on Amazon Prime, give instructions to leave it outside, and then they leave it at their door all day? C'mon use your head on this one. 

It is not my business why someone wants their dinner left outside. They know there are bugs or animals around. Not my business.

I've delivered for Amazon since May and never had issues regarding this situation.


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## flexian (Aug 16, 2016)

chefseth said:


> And we are supposed to be mind-readers if the customer doesn't remember to reset the message?


well for unattended i guess so, but its just unattended they can find it days later if they have to, in a safe location


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## FlexDriver (Dec 5, 2015)

chefseth said:


> I've delivered for Amazon since May and never had issues regarding this situation.


I am delivering way before you since Dec 2015 but I am still confused 1-2 customers out of 10 have some kind of instruction regarding perishable food leaving at the door. So far never got in trouble for that but.................. the purpose of this thread to check what other folks do in this situation.

You are focusing on Restaurants which is not the main focus here but it can be included in this scenario as well for other people to follow!


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## flexian (Aug 16, 2016)

chefseth said:


> WTF do you think there are people who order from a restaurant on Amazon Prime, give instructions to leave it outside, and then they leave it at their door all day?


u could say the same about refrigerated items, alcohol items, or heck Attended deliveries in general

and yes customers forget they order stuff all the time, or they have stuff sent to their house/kids from somewhere else....

and no i wont go further trying to account for the behavior of customers bc i am a customer myself....all ill say is that out-thinking the design flaws of the app & site is not the customers job nor the delivery drivers


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## FlexDriver (Dec 5, 2015)

flexian said:


> and no i wont go further trying to account for the behavior of customers bc i am a customer myself....all ill say is that out-thinking the design flaws of the app & site is not the customers job nor the delivery drivers


But the driver will be only and one who is going to suffer, either with nasty email or deactivation in extreme case.


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## SomeChick82 (Aug 27, 2015)

I follow the customers instructions. If there is a note such as "ring bell, leave at the door" or "leave on receptionists desk", I do just that. If the notes are blank, then it's a normal attended delivery. Ring bell twice > call customer > call support > return to warehouse

Was told to always follow the customers instructions by a dispatcher. So far, I've never had a problem. :knock on wood:


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## FlexDriver (Dec 5, 2015)

SomeChick82 said:


> I follow the customers instructions. ....................Was told to always follow the customers instructions by a dispatcher. So far, I've never had a problem. :knock on wood:


So you do leave perishable stuff at the door "as per customers request"??


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## SomeChick82 (Aug 27, 2015)

FlexDriver said:


> So you do leave perishable stuff at the door "as per customers request"??


I mark it as if the person was there. So select the person's name and hit delivered. I've never had one come back on me in the 14 months I've been doing this gig


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## UberPasco (Oct 18, 2015)

my last three one hr attended deliveries weren"t."Leave on porch we get the notice",


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## flexian (Aug 16, 2016)

UberPasco said:


> my last three one hr attended deliveries weren"t."Leave on porch we get the notice",


if they said "we know there are perishables and were ok with that & we accept the risk"

that would make the decision a lot easier tbh



SomeChick82 said:


> I mark it as if the person was there. So select the person's name and hit delivered. I've never had one come back on me in the 14 months I've been doing this gig


thats pretty smart it becomes ur word vs theirs, amazon doesnt want to ask drivers anything about conflicts like that

theyd rather just refund the customers money if it comes to that.....if they were more tightfisted itd be a different story

ive done that before too for Attended when i know the customer is inside peering out or i hear rumbling around back there i just hit delivered to their name


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## SomeChick82 (Aug 27, 2015)

flexian said:


> if they said "we know there are perishables and were ok with that & we accept the risk"
> 
> that would make the decision a lot easier tbh
> 
> ...


I only do this if the instructions say to leave it. If someone is obviously inside but they are hiding, I'll knock, call, call support... all as if they aren't home. If they want me to leave it, put it in the notes. If they just don't want to answer the door, and the package comes up "missing", I wouldn't have anything to back me up.


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