Thugs Posing As UPS Delivery

[Sgt Nambu]

I forgot to mention that I have a small decorative window at the top of the door and the dining room window faces across the porch.
We NEVER answer the door without peeking! Haven't opened the door without checking for many years!

 

[Vendor Hidden]

Now that the snow is falling we're safe from thieving thugs. Nobody willingly comes up our steep and twisty gravel road this time of year.

I've had several occasions when strangers came up who were obviously casing our home. They always look a little surprised when I walk out and ask them if they're lost. I do that when I'm feeling kind. Otherwise I just let the dogs out.

One guy showed up in a nondescript white van. I was in the office and didn't hear him until he slammed his van door shut. I looked out the window and didn't recognize the vehicle, so I got Boris (120lb Black lab/Mastiff) and we hurried down the stairs. I opened the door just as the dude was approaching our porch and Boris rushed out and stood on the top step, eyeball to eyeball with the dude, whose eyes got REAL BIG and he stopped in his tracks. Boris was growling. Normally I'd call Boris off, but I decided to make a point to the guy. I says, "You lost?" while Boris continues growling. The guy pulled some story out of his butt about looking for pit bull pups, because probably all he could think of was dogs, with Boris staring him down. I told him there ain't none out here and he best be moving on.

He agreed.

Another time a strange car was coming up our 500 ft driveway. For some reason Boris didn't like the look of the car and took off. He got himself in front of the car about halfway down the driveway. The car stopped. About fifteen seconds pass with Boris all burred up and barking. Then the car slowly backs down the driveway with Boris escorting it down the whole way. Boris came back up the house all proud of himself.

It was his finest moment so far.

 

[Certaindeaf]

I've always liked the shotgun spreader at Scotty's Castle in Death Valley.

 

[CoastRange57]

had to go bail hay the rest of the summer to get by and pay the bills.

Nothing wrong with that. I did it for a bunch of summers. Builds character and work ethic.

 

[The Heretic]

Now that the snow is falling we're safe from thieving thugs. Nobody willingly comes up our steep and twisty gravel road this time of year.

I've had several occasions when strangers came up who were obviously casing our home. They always look a little surprised when I walk out and ask them if they're lost. I do that when I'm feeling kind. Otherwise I just let the dogs out.

One guy showed up in a nondescript white van. I was in the office and didn't hear him until he slammed his van door shut. I looked out the window and didn't recognize the vehicle, so I got Boris (120lb Black lab/Mastiff) and we hurried down the stairs. I opened the door just as the dude was approaching our porch and Boris rushed out and stood on the top step, eyeball to eyeball with the dude, whose eyes got REAL BIG and he stopped in his tracks. Boris was growling. Normally I'd call Boris off, but I decided to make a point to the guy. I says, "You lost?" while Boris continues growling. The guy pulled some story out of his butt about looking for pit bull pups, because probably all he could think of was dogs, with Boris staring him down. I told him there ain't none out here and he best be moving on.

He agreed.

Another time a strange car was coming up our 500 ft driveway. For some reason Boris didn't like the look of the car and took off. He got himself in front of the car about halfway down the driveway. The car stopped. About fifteen seconds pass with Boris all burred up and barking. Then the car slowly backs down the driveway with Boris escorting it down the whole way. Boris came back up the house all proud of himself.

It was his finest moment so far.

You do have to be careful about dogs and liability though - even on your own property. I hope you have your property posted with "No Trespassing" and a warning about the dog. Would not prevent someone from suing you, but it might be a defense in court.

I just came in from talking to a neighbor and witnessed his dogs tear after somebody and a dog walking by on the road, then attack the walking dog - one of the neighbors dogs got his ear torn (again) for her trouble. You would think people would learn to keep their dogs on their property - one of these days that dog is going to get in over her head.

 

[v0lcom13sn0w]

Nothing wrong with that. I did it for a bunch of summers. Builds character and work ethic.

from ages 6-14 i worked in the onion fields and bailed hay for my grandparents business. its how i learned to drive a manual transmission

 

[Vendor Hidden]

You do have to be careful about dogs and liability though - even on your own property. I hope you have your property posted with "No Trespassing" and a warning about the dog. Would not prevent someone from suing you, but it might be a defense in court.

I don't know what you're talking about.

 

[The Heretic]

from ages 6-14 i worked in the onion fields and bailed hay for my grandparents business. its how i learned to drive a manual transmission

Lake LaBish?

My parents flew with one of the farmer families there (Flying Farmers).

That is some rich soil there - literally black with humus

 

[mkwerx]

Amazon is not, IIRC using their own drivers - but contract route carriers, like how FedEx does on some routes. Some of the delivery people are using unmarked cars or vans - lot of Uber/Lyft drivers also do Amazon deliveries, because the average wage if you're fairly expedient is $15 per hour, not counting expenses. I almost signed up as one of their couriers, but then became partner in my roadside assistance business and no longer have the need, nor the time, to do Uber/Lyft or Amazon.

It's all about making sure that Prime deliveries go out on time.

 

[The Heretic]

The drivers/vans I saw are for their Amazon Prime Now service in the Portland area - order something from that service and they deliver it within 2 hours if you are in a supported area.

 

[jordanka16]

Usually I am not home when they deliver, and I don't want a box that says Midway all over it hanging out on my front porch for 4 hours

I usually have them hold it and I pick it up at the distribution center, it's only a few miles away anyway.

 

[FireArm]

Im out aways, the UPS guy leaves the package right at the door and walks away. EVEN when its my packages that require a signature! He doenst like me because a package was stolen from my pourch. Im pretty sure I know who stole it(cousin). I put up cameras after and told him, I think he took it as me saying "im watching you". I was just trying to reassure him deliveries were now on camera. As far UPS drivers theres the Old guy and who ever does his route when hes not around, which is rare. Im the first house on my street and someone else gets daily packages from Fedex and Ups. To far out for Amazon prime.
I did see an Amazon Prime ford carrier pull up to a house in Happy Valley, blocked two driveways and a street by leaving the truck in the dead middle of the street. He walked up to the house litterally dropped the package at the door and walked away playing with his phone probably marking the package delivered online. Very young hipster looking kid, it would have made a great Anti-Amazon Prime Video.

 

[v0lcom13sn0w]

Lake LaBish?

My parents flew with one of the farmer families there (Flying Farmers).

That is some rich soil there - literally black with humus

yes sir. my grandparents lived in the labish area their entire lives until the day they died. they owned sunshine onions back in the day.

 

[transittech]

Our neighbor (in portland) gets amazon deliveries all the time. Its a big white Nissan full size van with a (probably) magnetic sign on the side.

 

[The Heretic]

Our neighbor (in portland) gets amazon deliveries all the time. Its a big white Nissan full size van with a (probably) magnetic sign on the side.

They have both Nissans and Fords and maybe a few others - most of them have the Amazon logo on them, but a few I saw didn't

If I hit it just right, I see 30 or 40 of them coming out of the NW PDX Industrial area in the morning.

 

[BlackRyder]

My UPS driver commented several times at the small size & weight of deliveries...asking with a smile....more bullets?

I sold my UPS driver an AK

I'm sure that for some drivers, it warms the cockles of their brown-shorted hearts when they drop off a box that rattles a certain way and has that black and white diamond sticker on its side.

 

[Connor Murphy]

All my stuff comes by UPS, USPS or FedEx. Amazon is not going to deliver out this far. I see their convoys in the industrial district from time to time when I get to work - they drive out of their depot somewhere down there. Smallish white vans (Ford Transits mostly) one after the other, with the Amazon logo on them. Dozens of them.

Most of my stuff comes via UPS - the brown truck drivers know all of the dogs up here. There was one really old dog that would lay in the middle of the private road until they gave him a treat to get out of the way - you don't shoo away a 120 pound Rhodesian Ridgeback no matter how old he is.

As the owner (man servant?) of a Ridgeback I concur completely.