Hellobee Boards

How hard is it to order presents more than a few days in advance?

Meh. They should refund the consumers and call it a day.

It's really unfortunate that UPS had trouble delivering packages by Christmas Eve-- but seriously... why would people want the drivers to be punished by being forced to work on Christmas Day?

Weather happens... delays happen. It's not like they can control something like this. The drivers themselves are not the ones who screwed up, why should they be denied Christmas with their families?

I agree, they should refund the difference between what you paid for and what you ended up getting (or the store that guaranteed you the delivery should refund)

I know people are going to think "Well, gee, your baby is barely conscious of Christmas, what do you know?" but here's the thing... as a kid, I would have probably believed anything my parents told me about Santa when I was still a believer... so if they said "You know what? Santa called this morning and said he's really sorry that you didn't get XYZ present, there was a big storm over the North Pole and a couple presents got delayed/fell off the sleigh/got lost over the Pacific Ocean... but he said don't worry, he's sending Rudolph to bring it right away along with a couple extra candy canes" I wouldn't have freaked out. People need to have a little imagination with their kids...

Santa is in fact something we embellish in the first place, so a little more embellishment in a situation like that isn't going to hurt-- and it could help kids learn that sometimes, things don't go as planned, you don't get everything you want all the time and sometimes, you have to wait a little bit.

@Mrs. Lemon-Lime: personally, I think they should be closed- Christmas is celebrated by plenty of people who do not identify themselves as Christians (my SIL and her family are atheist)-- so I don't really think that part makes much difference (FWIW, I do think that businesses should make more of an effort to accommodate people being off for other religions holidays like Hanukkah as well-- at least one day of their choosing, since all 8 would probably be difficult to coordinate)

ETA: they could do volunteers for Holiday Pay, but I'm sure that would turn into a situation where UPS would just start charging more for package delivery around the holidays to account for that, just in case packages are late and they have to resort to that sort of thing... most major companies are all about that dollar!

I have had to work on Christmases before-- ALL DAY-- and it sucks- I would not want to wish that on anyone. This is the first Christmas in 5 years I've had at home because I happen to be on maternity leave.

"Back in the Day" businesses used to be closed on Sundays and Holidays-- it's only been since businesses decided their bottom line was more important that they've been open. Even a few years ago malls were mostly closed Thanksgiving-- until they realized they could make more money. I think it sucks and is kind of greedy.

I think that even if someone doesn't celebrate, having the day off to spend time with your family sure is nice- especially during one of the most stressful times of the year for anyone working in retail or delivery!

@ninja: I agree!

@Mrs. Jump Rope: I agree with you. DH ordered a gift for me which was guaranteed to be delivered by Christmas Eve, still haven't received it.