Useful and useless information

Our washing machine broke down a short while ago and we ordered a new one from Darty.  When we ordered it, they told us that they would deliver it some time this afternoon before 5PM, so we made a note in the diary to be at home during that time.

We got a phone call this morning telling us that the delivery would take place between 1PM and 3PM.  This is as it should be.  I expect that a company charged with delivery should be able to firm up on the exact delivery time as that time approaches, and it was nice of them to tell us.

I contrast this experience with the tracking service proposed by a well-known courier, for a parcel I received not long ago.  The website worked well enough, but what it told me is where my parcel was last dealt with, which information is useless to me.  When the site told me the package was in Paris, I figured it would come to me from there, so it would arrive that day or the next, but no, the next station was Nantes, and so on.

I don't care how it gets here, the only thing I want to know as a customer, is when it's going to be here.  Courier companies would do well to publish, on their website, the only information that is important to me, that is, the time window in which it is expected to be delivered.

Wouldn't it be nice to have:

Your parcel is in transit between Exeter and London.  Delivery will be made between Monday 09h00 and Thursday 12h00
Your parcel is in transit between London and Paris.    Delivery will be made between Monday 12h00 and Wednesday 12h00, and so on, until
Your parcel in in transit from our local sorting office to your address.  Delivery will be between 10h00 and 11h00 today,

with bonus points for telephoning the customer, just to confirm.   Well done to Darty for getting it right.  Image lifted from Darty website, acknowledgements to Darty.