A Marks and Spencer customer has been left in hysterics after discovering a large parcel ‘hidden’ under her doormat.
Mother Lucy Cowell couldn’t believe her eyes when she saw the package outside her home in Stevenage, Hertfordshire.
The 2ft tall fragile parcel, which contained a bouquet of flowers from Ms Cowell’s friend, was accompanied by a note through the letterbox explaining where to locate it, just in case she missed it.
Lucy Cowell returned home to find a gift from her friend had been ‘hidden’ under her doormat outside her front door. Marks and Spencer had notified her earlier that day to say that the delivery was in a ‘safe place’
Marks and Spencer had sent a message to Ms Cowell earlier in the day to say her parcel was in a ‘safe place’ after being sent out for delivery with Yodel.
Ms Cowell said she found the delivery driver’s actions hilarious and has since shared snaps online.
‘I couldn’t believe it when I saw the photo of my doormat on top of the package,’ she said.
The delivery was first spotted by her husband, Richard, 57, who found the ‘peculiar item’ outside their home when he returned from work.
Ms Cowell, pictured with her husband Richard, said this is not the first time she has been subject to the bizarre decisions of delivery drivers
The flowers had been an apology from a friend who had spilled wine over Ms Cowell’s walls at a house party.
‘I have experienced bad deliveries in the past but nothing like this. I don’t understand why the doormat was on top of the box,’ said continued.
‘We’ve had a few laughs over it since and I’m only sharing it now to make a few more people smile.’
Other delivery customers have been eager to share their courier fails on social media, too. Pictured is a three foot wide mat attempting to disguise a five foot long box containing a PC monitor
This expensive laser printer was left outside a customer’s home with a doormat feebly used to obscure the contents
Ms Cowell, who lives in a busy neighbourhood, recalled other occasions when she had been subject to the questionable decisions of delivery drivers.
‘I have been almost hit over the head by a package that was thrown over our back gate.
‘We’ve had a bike delivered that was blocking the entrance of the door and we often have to search for our deliveries in the most bizarre places to find them.’
Another package containing Lithium Ion batteries, which are notoriously dangerous if their cells are damaged due to their habit of catching fire, was left outside, protected from the elements by a doormat
‘On the note posted through my letterbox it stated that the parcel was under my mat.
“It was so funny and even looking back at the photo now makes laugh.”
A spokesperson for Yodel said that the delivery man had placed the parcel under the doormat to prevent it from rain damage.
In the absence of a doormat, one courier decided to get creative with his delivery, looking on high for inspiration
‘We were asked to leave the bouquet in a safe location if nobody was home and our driver left the mat on top to protect the box in case it rained. We didn’t have any contact from Lucy about the delivery and hope that she enjoyed her flowers.
‘Our driver understands that the parcel could have been better camouflaged, for which we apologise, and now leaves Lucy’s deliveries in a more discrete location.’
Meanwhile, this delivery driver went for a more conventional delivery spot but struggled to correctly assess the dimensions of the mailbox
Yodel and a number of other postal companies have come up against criticism in the past over their couriers’ preference for leaving parcels in dubious places rather than returning later.
In July, dozens of people took to Imgur to share their own experiences of delivery fails in an ongoing tirade of social media mockery.