The Kicksled Saga Continues ...

They did not deliver my sled today.  Now they say they will deliver it tomorrow.  I will believe it when I see it.  The last one I bought came directly from Finland ... with no trouble at all!

There are now two delivery services I will avoid:  UPS and DICOM.

OTTAWA, ON, CA	03/02/2010	10:36	THE PACKAGE WAS LEFT IN A UPS FACILITY / DELIVERY RESCHEDULED
	03/02/2010	6:49	A CORRECT STREET NUMBER IS NEEDED FOR DELIVERY. UPS IS ATTEMPTING TO OBTAIN THIS INFORMATION / THE ADDRESS HAS BEEN CORRECTED. THE DELIVERY HAS BEEN RESCHEDULED
OTTAWA, ON, CA	02/02/2010	9:08	A DELIVERY CHANGE REQUEST FOR THIS PACKAGE WILL BE PROCESSED / DELIVERY TO AN ALTERNATE ADDRESS WAS REQUESTED
OTTAWA, ON, CA	01/02/2010	17:51	A CORRECT STREET NUMBER IS NEEDED FOR DELIVERY. UPS IS ATTEMPTING TO OBTAIN THIS INFORMATION / NO ONE ANSWERED THE PHONE WHEN UPS CALLED
OTTAWA, ON, CA	29/01/2010	18:15	A CORRECT COMPANY OR RECEIVER NAME IS NEEDED FOR DELIVERY. UPS IS ATTEMPTING TO OBTAIN THIS INFORMATION / DELIVERY RESCHEDULED
	29/01/2010	10:49	DRIVER NEEDS SECURITY ACCESS WHICH MUST BE OBTAINED FROM RESIDENT/CONSIGNEE IN ORDER TO ENTER BUILDING
OTTAWA, ON, CA	28/01/2010	10:49	THE PACKAGE WAS LEFT IN A UPS FACILITY / DELIVERY RESCHEDULED
	28/01/2010	6:30	OUT FOR DELIVERY
	28/01/2010	4:50	ARRIVAL SCAN
LACHINE, QC, CA	28/01/2010	2:50	DEPARTURE SCAN
LACHINE, QC, CA	27/01/2010	23:33	ARRIVAL SCAN
OTTAWA, ON, CA	27/01/2010	20:30	DEPARTURE SCAN
	27/01/2010	15:54	EMERGENCY CONDITIONS BEYOND UPS' CONTROL
	27/01/2010	5:30	ARRIVAL SCAN
LACHINE, QC, CA	27/01/2010	3:03	DEPARTURE SCAN
LACHINE, QC, CA	26/01/2010	20:25	ARRIVAL SCAN
BLAINVILLE, QC, CA	26/01/2010	20:00	DEPARTURE SCAN

Tracking results provided by UPS:  03/02/2010 10:51  ET

Mrs. Doubtfire and the Sled

The Sled Saga Continues

Today I spoke with Oky.  He was the third UPS spokesperson I had contacted.  Last week I had a few conversations with Tracey from DICOM and with Ron and his son from Kicksled Canada.  An unexpected benefit of all this is that I seem to have overcome my phone phobia.

Oky tells me that UPS drivers do not carry cell phones.  That is why this driver could not contact me as requested. In a previous post I mentioned that they do not seem to have snow tires or experience driving in Canadian winters either.  I am certain that deliveries here in the Gatineau Hills require both the tires and the ability to drive in snow, and I am not sure how one can be an efficient delivery person, especially outside urban areas, without a cell phone.

Oky read through the delivery notes and started muttering about denied access.  Like the last person I spoke to at UPS, he thought I must live in an apartment with an access code.  I explained that this was not the case.

Oky asked whether it was a building site with an unsecured building and no access.  I explained that it is a fully finished house.

I told Oky I thought that the driver had had trouble with access because of my road, and described the road with all its freshly plowed surface and freshly sprinkled sand.

I suggested that perhaps the driver had got lost, that he had ended up somewhere else.  After all if he was unprepared to call me for directions, it was a distinct possibility. 

Even without a phone, he could have managed to find me.  He could have asked at any house on the lake, and he'd have been given directions to my place.  Hell, someone would have hopped in his truck and directed him.  They'd likely have offered to drive, for pity sakes.

It is not that difficult to find me or to deliver a package.

So who do they hire at UPS?

At DICOM they hire people who break sleds but who know how to find addresses and then drive to them.  The second DICOM driver (not the one who broke the sled on its way to Ottawa) was a woman. 

At the risk of sounding sexist, I wonder if that might account for the difference.  A woman  might have been more willing to ask how to get here.

Update on Mrs. Doubtfire

On a totally different subject, I feel great.  It has been years since I have experienced a surge of energy that has lasted more than an hour or two.  I have been cleaning and painting walls and installing shelves that I painted ... and I still energy to spare.

I have also noticed that Mrs. Doubtfire's belly rolls seem to be receding. 

Isn't all this supposed to happen in the spring when one feels impelled to spring clean ... or just before childbirth, when one feels a need to scrub floors and feather a nest?

Well, it ain't spring, and I ain't no spring chicken about to pop out babies.   But I no longer feel as if  I am wearing Mrs' Doubtfire's body suit.

The Ongoing Viking Saga

Last night UPS called to tell me that they were unable to deliver the kicksled because my road was icy.  I told the woman that the road was sanded and plowed and that my old Toyota front wheel drive managed it fine ... and so did the municipal garbage and recycling trucks.  What vehicle were they using?

She told me they would try again.

"Tomorrow?" I asked hopefully.

"Oh no, not till Monday."

"I thought your had 24/7 service," I replied.

I was wrong.  But why would that surprise me?  The first delivery service (Dicom) took five days and then delivered a broken sled. By the time I got the phone call I had been waiting five days for the UPS shipment.  And it was now two weeks since I bought the spark.

Of course, I suppose it was silly of me to expect that any delivery service would have drivers and vehicles that could handle snow in the Gatineau Hills AND know enough to load their truck so that light things were on top of heavy ones.

The two sections of this road are 10 and 12 feet wide (I know because I measured them for another trucking service).  They are scraped right down to the gravel bed and the icy spots have been spread with sand and salt.  I know all this because I hire and supervise the man who keeps the road clear, and I just provided $350 worth of sand for him to use.  I walk or drive that road every day at least once.  This is the third year I have lived here full time and it is the first year that everything has gone perfectly ... partly because Leonard and I are more experienced but largely because this has been a very easy winter.

You have to understand, I am probably the worst winter driver up here in these hills.  I hate winter driving and the best vehicles to use up here are ones with 4WD.  I can't afford to trade in my trusty little 1998 Corolla for a Honda CRV,   I would like to, but the old Toyota manages just fine.  This suggests to me that UPS is not using snow tires or hiring competent drivers.

There!  Rant over.

This One is for Irish Girl

Hi Irish Girl,

A kicksled or spark as they are called in Norway is a set of skiis to which are attached the following:

foot pads to stand on

a wooden seat with a handle at chair height

a foot rest for a passenger to which can be attached a dog harness

It is propelled by pushing it while holding the handle (walking between the skiis), or by pushing with one foot as you would propel a scooter, by being pulled by a large dog, or on its own power descending a hill while you ride on the footpads.

Its braking system is equally simple.  You plant your feet between the skiis and hope that you stop.

It can be used as a walker on ice, as a toy for sliding, as a wheelchair, as a cart for groceries, or as a place to sit while ice fishing or eating lunch.

It is a remarkable and versatile pleasure used by everyone from tiny children to old lame grandmothers in Norway where they do not sand or salt the roads.

I will post a photo when I get my new one.

Cheers,

Barbara