Blatant lie by Australia Post

[cq_tech]

Received an email today telling me to expect delivery of an item I purchased from Melbourne last Monday so I intentionally stayed in during the afternoon, which is when the courier usually delivers parcels. Come nightfall there's still been no delivery so I checked the mailbox to see if it had been carded by the postie instead, who delivers well before midday (even though I was home anyway), but there's no card either.

So I log on to AP to check the tracking disposition and what I see is posted below. According to somebody, delivery was attempted at 14:42 yet that's a blatant lie as I was watching TV at the time and both the driveway and mailbox are in clear view while I'm doing so. I'm assuming that my item is now at my local LPO and it's a good thing they know me well because I don't have a card to present when I go there in the morning to collect my item.

There's no point complaining to them as it's not their fault, and they're really nice people anyway, but I'm still pretty savage, not so much about having to wait an extra day for my item, but the fact that they told me a bald-faced lie. I'll be waiting for the postie in the morning and asking if she had any parcels for me, although I suspect it was the contractor running late and he didn't even bother stopping at my place. Had he done so, he would have at least left a card if I'd not been there, but I was, and I know for an absolute fact that he never even made an attempt.

I've already sent a written complaint to AP and it will be interesting to see what they have to say about their appalling service, especially the fact that the driver had no problem lying on his run sheet. Really makes me want to trust him in the future. Not.

[lyndal1838]

I guess it is all down to the individual dogs....our friends are several generations away from the original dogs they imported but to my knowledge they were never barkers.

But they did have other guard dogs nearer the house that would have raised the alarm long before intruders got near the horse paddocks and thus the Maremmas.

[padi*0409]

Years ago when I was still working for Telstra I used to do a lot of work in the country, and there was a property with a few Alpacas and sheep in it along with a couple of those Maremmas, they'd sort of get used to us over a few days but were very aware of us if we got too close to the fenceline, and let us know it.

Not sure which worried me most "packie" spit or losing an arm to one of the dogs - there was no way in the world we would have jumped over that fence...................

[cq_tech]

I think the main danger for the uninitiated is that they look very much like big friendly white-coloured golden retrievers, but like any working dog they shouldn't be treated like a household pet or a member of the family.

[cq_tech]

---

@lyndal1838 wrote:

I guess it is all down to the individual dogs....our friends are several generations away from the original dogs they imported but to my knowledge they were never barkers.

But they did have other guard dogs nearer the house that would have raised the alarm long before intruders got near the horse paddocks and thus the Maremmas.

---

The Maremmas shown in the ABC doco the other night had been imported directly from Italy to Tallangatta so I'm guessing they were about as genetically pure as you could possibly get and would probably take a few generations of breeding before their barking became less of an issue. Not sure what the main predators are in Italy (wolves, perhaps?) but in Australia the biggest problem is with dingos and packs of wild dogs.

[lyndal1838]

Yes, our friends got their dogs from Italy but that was 25-30 years ago so as I said they are now several generations away from the original dogs although I don't remember any complaints about undue barking.

If there had been they would not have been able to use them in the paddocks with the mares and foals which was what they were originally wanted for.

They have recently downgraded to a smaller property so not sure how many dogs they have kept but they would not have had any problems getting rid of them to other horse properties as they were so successful.   There are noit many dog breeds that can be let loose among horses with no worries about a stampede.

And they really are a beautiful dog but not for suburbia under any circumstances.

[cq_tech]

It's the same with sheep. Maremmas are about the only dog breed that can be left to roam amongst a flock of sheep without sending them into a frenzy, which I find quite amazing really, as they certainly won't tolerate any other breed in their ranks. With the losses suffered by pastoralists from dingos and packs of feral dogs, I'm surprised that Maremmas are not more widely used in this country.

[chezzy]

---

@go-tazz wrote:

---

@lyndal1838 wrote:

I missed the whole program but like sheepie I will try to catch it later.

Just as a matter of interest Maremmas have been used by a horse stud in the Wyong NSW area for many years.   It was an experiment started probably 25-30 years ago and has been a great success.

---

They are also used to protect Penquins and a Gannet colony in the South West of Victoria:

http://www.landcareonline.com.au/?page_id=7053

---

Yes! I have visited and photographed the Gannet Colony at Point Danger, the Maremmas were present and it was great to see the colony thriving. Once the ranger had 'introduced' me to the Maremmas they made themselves scarce - probably hiding under scrubbery

[chezzy]

---

@i-love-my-sheep wrote:

Maremma's are one of the most common LGD's in the US, along with Great Pyr's (Pyrenees). They do an amazing job. I know quite a few people in the US that have them and visitors don't get that they aren't pets. They get upset when their kids can't play with the cute puppy dogs. The only downside is, they bark alot, so not suitable for town living, but on a property, who cares? That's how they keep the predators away.

Alpaca's are also excellent livestock guardians. They have become quite popular here too, especially for people living closer to town.

---

Friends have Pyrs - the noise can be deafening. They do settle down but any creak of a door, sound of footsteps etc and they are off!

[padi*0409]

cq, a small world it is, I was at a barbie yesterday at a working school farm for a birthday party that the lady I care for put on whilst she's staying there, and there was this funny looking dog there that was inside the cage at first then was allowed out once the folks were inside.

http://www.landsdale-farm-school.com.au/index.shtml

Yep, a Maremma, she looks after the property but is a bit of a sook, I still would not try to jump the fence though...............btw her owner was very cute as well................

"awaits.................................."

[closetvibes]

its actually a simple concept if you deliver parcels for Australia post - when the contractor attempts to make a delivery and fails he/she is then required to return the package to the closet post office but here is the fun part , they get paid to deliver to you  ( failed delivery is still counted as a delivery ) AND they get paid for delivering it to the post office ,,, the delivery person gets paid 2 times for not doing his/her job - here  i would get 1 out of 20 actually delivered to my door - if you complain all you are told is " they are contractors and nothing to do with Australia post " , apparently there is no " minimum performance level " in their contracts