The single biggest problem for courier companies is that they can't afford to pay much more than basic minimum wage for drivers. The result is that the drivers feel undervalued and won't, in general, think for themselves (there are exceptions of course) because they don't feel valued enough and/or under too much pressure to complete what they perceive as a tough round. All this adds up to a high turnover of drivers in the courier world (many people who haven't done it think "I can drive and most of it is sitting down so it should be easy" only to have their pre conceptions shattered on the first day). Courier work is damned hard, whether it be same day or overnight collection/delivery on a set round.
When I worked for my local outfit (I did 18 months with them as a driver/mechanic) I could be called in at 04.30 AM to fix vans that wouldn't start ( or on one occasion the oil light wouldn't go out, 4 litres of oil fixed it) and then have a pickup 50 miles away to be delivered to Kent or Glasgow or even on occasions locally (few and far between). Or I could be given a 10.00am start for a round trip in a 7.5 tonner to Kent on a Friday with an expected return time of around midnight.
What I'm trying to say is that courier companies have a very high turnover of drivers and each new driver has to learn his route. Places like us that are tucked away in a trading estate hidden behind another can be tricky to find if you don't know the local area and the driver simply doesn't have time to fanny around so they put it down as "nobody in, carded" "parcel refused" or whatever in the vain hope that it won't be there tomorrow.
D.
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