Sorry, but I disagree with your first sentence, or more accurately, I agree that this is what should happen, but the fact is it often doesn't, causing problems for the recipient or sender (usually both). It's rarely either party's fault, but that of the delivery company / person.
The bit from RM's T&Cs quoted by *vyolla* is what should happen, but things are potentially made more complicated when they fail to follow their own protocols (and, although this post is mainly about RM, the same applies when other delivery companies fail to).
A recent example from experience. I had a RM delivery that wouldn't fit through the letterbox, and couldn't be in to take it. The postie left a red & white card stating 'Left in Safe Place - recycling bin'. I had not previously designated any safe place, and would much rather have been given the option - as should have happened - to collect it or arrange redelivery. (Just as well the package had been wrapped in polythene, as it had rained by the time I retrieved it.) Such actions obviously increase the potential for theft as well as weather-related damage.
This was not the first time I'd experienced this with a RM delivery. Some (most?) posties are clearly unwilling to follow their company rules, and (in the absence of a previously-designated safe place by the recipient) to return the item to the depot for a subsequent delivery attempt / collection / redirection to a different address, instead taking it upon themselves to leave it somewhere that they deem suitable.
Sometimes, it's not even the postie's fault, but RM's systems (e.g. when I selected an alternative delivery address prior to a first delivery attempt to my home, or following a missed delivery there, only for RM to try to deliver to my home (/again). That itself happened more than once, and when I went to the sorting office to try to find out what was going on (which not everyone would be in a position to do, especially given their limited opening hours), I always got a sincere apology, but no explanation other than the rather obvious "Something went wrong".
It's clear just from reading these boards that this sort of thing happens a lot, the worst example I read about recently being a courier (I don't think it was RM) leaving an item in a wheelie bin which had been emptied by the time the recipient got home. The recipient hadn't selected the bin as a safe place (and who in their right mind would, unless they were certain that it was indeed a safe place, and that it wouldn't end up pulverized in a truck before their return?). It was a (very poor) judgement call by the courier - again, with no input from the sender or the recepient.
In the case of my delivery, I was lucky. It was a router and digital voice box in separate packaging with a single polythene bag protecting both, sent by my broadband provider (if packaged separately, both items would have fit through my letterbox). But it could just as easily have been an eBay package, in which case it's unlikely that there'd have been a polythene bag. I have no insight into the postie's thought process - maybe they thought "Well, it's in a bag, so it should be okay left outside, even if it rains, and I'm sure no one will nick it", or maybe (and more likely, in my experience) they just couldn't be bothered to take it back to the depot like they were supposed to.
The point I'm making, in a very roundabout way (sorry), is that RM and other delivery service staff very often ignore the correct procedure and take actions not pre-arranged by the recipient. In an eBay context, this increases the chances of something going wrong for the buyer, the seller, or, usually and by consequence, both.
I wish that I could agree with you, but experience says otherwise. If the recipient has selected a safe space, then yes, that puts another slant (and an added layer of complexity) on it, and they can reasonably be expected to accept the risks that go with such a choice. It's when they don't even get to exercise a choice that things can get really gnarly.
As for your remark "Next time, be at your address", surely you'd agree it's not always that simple. People are out at work, or on other necessary business. Delivery dates can be missed, even supposedly 'guaranteed' ones. Emergencies or other unexpected events occur, requiring the recipient to leave home, sometimes immediately. Delivery staff ignore a note on the door (e.g. 'Bell not working, please knock loudly'), or don't even bother knocking or ringing at all. And that's before you add in delivery staff making their own minds up about whether, and where, to leave an item on the premises. All the above is beyond the control of both sender and recipient. Okay, you could say that the recipient should ensure that their bell's working, but they could be a tenant with a bad landlord, or the bell may have only just stopped working without them knowing, or it could be awaiting repair/replacement. And as for emergencies, well, if someone received a call saying "Your mum's just had a heart attack, she's in hospital", how likely are they to say, "I'll be there as soon as I can, I just have to wait for my eBay order to arrive, as it won't fit through the letterbox" or "I'll get there just as soon as I've designated a safe place on RM's website for my package"?
I know I'm drilling down deep here (an habitual tendency), but I'm merely trying to illustrate just how many factors can come into play. Things often fail to go smoothly to plan, even with systems in place that are designed to ensure that they do (speaking mainly for myself here, so maybe I'm just unlucky). For systems to work properly, not only do the systems themselves need to be fit for purpose, but the people working within them need to be 'integated' with them, which I know sounds mechanistic and a bit '1984'-ish, but it's a fact. In this example, the postie should have followed the system and returned the package to the depot, rather than 'going rogue' and dumping it in a place of their choosing.
I truly don't mean to sound hostile or argumentative, so forgive me if you think I do. I'm both a buyer and a seller (no recent activity on either front due to finances and eBay's growing number of issues), and I'm trying to look at the matter sympathetically and objectively (not convinced that this is necessarily a contradiction in terms) from both perspectives. I just think that "Next time, be at home" is tad over-simplistic (and would sometimes require a crystal ball). I've had a large number of messed-up deliveries through no fault of my own and despite my efforts to ensure receipt (mostly non-eBay purchases, and due to my previous address which was a bit awkward to deliver anything but a letter / small package to - so sellers, please don't add me to your BBLs pre-emptively!). I've always managed to get the package in my hands in the end, but it's often involved a lot of time and effort on my part when it really shouldn't have.
Interesting thread, and I wouldn't say that anyone's posts are totally right or wrong, the subject is a many-headed beast! It's food for thought to see so many perspectives.
I'll give everyone's eyes a rest now
[As usual, I've spent so long typing and tweaking that I've missed subsequent responses, so apologies if I've repeated what others have said.]
