Delivery Windows–I’ll be there when I get there

Who came up with the idea of delivery windows–those 3- or 4-hour blocks of time that service companies schedule? For example, I bought a new bed frame. The company just called and wants to schedule a time to deliver it. My options: 8 a.m. to noon, or 1 to 5 p.m. That’s it. So, I say, you expect me to leave my job and sit at my house so you can arrive any time you feel like in that window? How service-oriented is that?

If we told those very same service companies that we’d be home somewhere between 1 and 5 p.m. to let them in the house, do you think they’d wait for us? Absolutely not. Why? Because time is money, and if they wait for us they are losing money. Exactly my point! When I’m sitting at my house waiting for them to arrive–so I can pay them for their service, I might add–they are wasting my money.

There has to be a better way. When I pressed the company about that ridiculous window, I was able to get a more specific time frame for delivery. But I’m frustrated by the assumption that their time is more valuable than mine. The service companies that get my vote–and my repeat business–are the ones who respect my time and recognize it for what it’s worth.