Montreal man fed up with delivery companies ignoring instructions to meet mobility needs
Herman Jacobs depends on online ordering and home delivery for everything from groceries to medical supplies.
He uses a wheelchair and lives in an adapted apartment in Montreal’s Pointe-St-Charles neighbourhood.
“The internet is a real lifesaver,” said Jacobs, 73, who has ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.
But his reduced mobility makes it difficult for him to pick up packages from his building’s lobby.
To make it easier, he adds special delivery instructions when he orders from online retailers such as Amazon and asks for his packages to be brought directly to his apartment door.
But over and over again, Jacobs says his packages are dropped off in the lobby, which is not secure and is several floors below him. Sometimes the delivery driver doesn’t even ring his apartment to alert Jacobs that his order is there, which has resulted in a few stolen packages.
Although he received refunds, Jacobs said it’s a major inconvenience.
His worst experience is with one of Amazon’s delivery partners, Intelcom, followed by Amazon’s own delivery service.
“Every time, I am assured that this delivery was an anomaly and it won’t happen again,” said Jacobs. “Yet it does, order after order.”
If Jacobs has to fetch the packages himself, it can take at least 10 minutes to wheel down to the lobby and back.
“It’s very exhausting and long,” said Jacobs.
Complaining also isn’t as simple as just picking up the phone.
Due to his ALS, Jacobs’s speech is hard to understand, so he relies on email, online messaging or a computer program, called IP Relay, to communicate.
It’s time-consuming and Jacobs isn’t convinced the companies take his feedback seriously because it keeps happening.
“They should listen and take responsibility,” said Jacobs.
Featured VideoHerman Jacobs says he often needs to make an “exhausting” 10-minute trip in his wheelchair to retrieve his parcels, when they are supposed to be dropped off at his door.
Lack of accommodation ‘discriminatory’
Steven Laperrière, general manager of the Regroupement des activistes pour l’inclusion au Québec (RAPLIQ), a group that advocates for people with disabilities, says the situation is unacceptable.
“It’s a huge problem,” said Laperrière, who has heard similar complaints. “People who give special instructions, it’s not to be difficult, it’s a need.”
He thinks the Quebec government should consider legislation that would require companies to comply with special accommodation requests.
Barring that, Laperrière says people can complain to the Quebec Human Rights Commission.
Carelessness around delivery requests isn’t just discriminatory, said Laperrière, but in his view, can contribute to a loss of dignity.
Many of the products disabled people need delivered are intensely personal, so it can be humiliating to have packages left in full view of anyone who enters the building.
During the pandemic, more and more people got used to the ease of online shopping. But in their rush to deliver as many packages as possible, Laperrière says companies are taking shortcuts.
“If nobody complains, it won’t stop,” said Laperrière.
Pledge to do better
In an email, Amazon told CBC Montreal the vast majority of deliveries successfully make it to customers.
Amazon customers can provide delivery instructions at the time of their order. Although the company tries to follow them, it says on its web site it can’t guarantee their carriers can meet those requests.
“We pride ourselves on a great customer experience and apologize for any inconvenience this has caused our customer,” said Barbara Agrait, an Amazon spokesperson. “We’re closely working with the third-party carrier who handled these deliveries to ensure customer delivery instructions are followed.”
Amazon also apologized to Jacobs by email.
Since many of Jacobs’s issues are linked to Intelcom, Amazon said it would try to prioritize different couriers in the future. If Intelcom is chosen for Jacobs’s deliveries again, Amazon said it will remind them to follow the special handling instructions.
For its part, Intelcom said there are times when the company’s independent delivery contractors can’t bring a parcel to a customer’s door.
“We have also been made aware in the past that special instructions given by consumers did not reach delivery drivers,” Intelcom’s media team wrote in an email.
The company said it plans to update its system so personalized instructions from customers are more easily shared with the delivery driver.
Jacobs hopes it will help but is concerned the drivers are independent contractors rather than actual employees.
“Which may explain the problem as contractors make money on quantity, not quality,” said Jacobs.
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