Re: Better than things used to be
I think the most important thing is that the mechanics of the delivery should be predictable: in the old days I knew I would have to make a trip to the parcel depot if I placed a telephone or online order and that was a factor in deciding whether to try to source the item locally.
I prefer to have items delivered to an Amazon locker as I don't have to be in (and there's no surcharge). My local locker is in a shopping centre that closes at 9pm. Amazon's next-day delivery, if it is in fact dispatched on time, is only guaranteed to arrive by 9pm, so the likelihood is that by the time the package is in the locker it's too late to collect it same day. Or, like the other day, Amazon logistics arrive at the shopping centre at 21.03 and claim they've "attempted delivery" when they know full well they've tried to access their own lockers when they're shut.
And that's not to mention an item recently that bounced backwards and forwards between the M4 corridor and West Yorkshire for a week before finally emerging in the right place.
There's a whole range of smaller items that are either sold by or fulfilled by Amazon (audio cables, for example) that are not deliverable to lockers: try and you get a message saying the locker is "full", even if it clearly isn't full for much larger items in your order. So you have to order those for home delivery, hoping they come by post and not on an Amazon van as they won't just put the order through your letter box.
And if you have Prime and you want to place an order but are going to be away for a couple of days, it appears the slower delivery options are not available to you, so you have to go to the inconvenience of diarising your future order for your return.
It would be a great step forward if Amazon had an option to guarantee delivery by Royal Mail - at least I know when the postman arrives each day. Everything else seems to be a lottery.