It used to be that they'd only ever give you a 8 hour window - sometime Friday, for example. Then, the 2 hour window was more common, but it often didn't work out. We just had Verizon give us a 6 hour window. I think anything over half a day is unnecessary in nearly case. How could someone not know within 4 hours, how long a delivery or repair would take?

We had some Ikea stuff delivered recently. They gave us a day when we scheduled it, asked if morning or afternoon would be better. Then, they called us the day before to give us a 3 hour window. That seemed like the perfect way to do things. By the day before, they know what has been scheduled for that deliveryman or workman, so they can actually give a fair estimate, with time allowed for the unforeseen delay.

my friends and i were just talking about this. when i moved the cable company gave me the hours of "between 8 and 5". reallly? you're telling me you can't make a schedule and give someone a window of a couple hours? i think it's crazy... so i told them there was no way i was taking a day off to get cable - then they narrowed it down to 9-12.

letting them know i wasnt going to use their service if they weren't more willing to work with me made them try a little harder.

you also can ask for the delivery guys number and call him to ask that he calls and gives you a 15 minute heads up to get home if you wont be too far from home, they'll be willing to call you before hand if they arent being unreasonable... and if they are, dont use them.

i usually take the whole day anyway, knowing the likelihood that they'll be running late.

i understand that the people in the field frequently come across problems the customer underestimated or couldn't properly describe. and that no company likes idle workers. but it is a terrible imposition on customers.

i have the good fortune of being salaried with the flexibility to take a vacation day or a comp day here and there. it's not so much an inconvenience for customers who work hourly but a nasty decision to forgo a day's pay.

Funny you should mention this. I took today off to wait for a gas company person to come and replace my gas meter. They told me this needed to be done and had assigned me a day and a four hour window, but I couldn't be here then, and so I asked them to come today, which they agreed to, but then they said they couldn't narrow down the time at all. So I figured it would be nice to have a three-day weekend, and fortunately, the weather turned out to be beautiful, and the repair guy has come and gone already.

When moving from an apartment, the cable company told me "they'd be by sometime that week to pick up their equipment". my response was "It goes out on the front doorstep of my exposed to elements entry. I am moving and not responsible for your equipment after I hang up from this phone call and hand over my keys." Interestingly, "several days" became "30 minutes". I was out of sight in the apartment watching and listening.

I tend to remember companies which set up a small window and then call before they arrive to confirm or modify the time in case the repair man had a bigger job in a previous appointment. Those that can't be bothered to call first or notify me if they are running behind, get put on a different list- "I can't be bothered to call them anymore".

Sadly, more companies are not catching on to the advanced customer service and word of mouth among current and future customers in this economy.

I've had great experience with delivery from Home Depot. They give you a window (2 hours? No more than 4.) the day before and then the driver actually will CALL you 30 minutes before they are actually due to arrive. This worked out perfectly for me because I work nearby, so I could just pop over to the house when my washer and dryer showed up!

I once ordered a mattress from overstock.com and was given an 8 hour delivery window. After waiting ALL DAY LONG and not leaving the apartment even to shop for groceries for fear of missing the delivery, the mattress never arrived. I called the dispatcher and was told the mattress was on it's way and would be there in half an hour.
45 minutes passed with no word, another phone call was made and again, the mattress would be there in half an hour. 45 minutes more passed and another call was made.
Finally the mattress arrived, at nearly 10 PM, 3 hours late and after a full 11 hours of waiting...
The mattress is great but I will NEVER order large furniture from overstock again...

The best repairmen/delivery men have specifically asked for my cell so I can still go out and they'll give me a call 20-30 minutes before they arrive. But know what gets my goat even more than long delivery windows? When UPS or FedEx drops off a package without even ringing the doorbell.

the wall re-plasterer was supposed to come wednesday at 2:30. at 3:30 we called and were told he couldn't make it but that he'd be by thursday at 2:30. on thursday we called at 3:30 and were told he couldn't make it (even though we'd called at 9 am to confirm he was coming and he'd said yes). he said he'd be here friday and, 2 hours after our scheduled appointment, he showed up. he told us he'd be back saturday to finish--and even left his tools!--but saturday he was a no show and didn't answer his phone. i just spoke to his boss and his boss told me that maybe he'd be by this afternoon, but then again, maybe he won't be able to make it until tomorrow.

does this mean that we've been operating within a 6 day window? we're renters so our landlord is footing the bill. i wonder if the increase in renters (and, as such, decrease in likelihood of the service recipient being able to leverage payment directly) has anything to do with these massive "windows" (they're really gaping holes, aren't they?) we're seeing for non-delivery appointments...

Comcast is the worst. One reason I finally dumped them was their absurd service windows. It's all so easy to bully the company before you have a contract with them, but once they've got you locked in is when they get really lazy. My cable was broken for several months, and there were 2 times they were supposed to send someone, gave me an 8 hour window, and they person never showed.
Sears is a close second for me, but since they use regional contractors, I can't say if that's all Sears' fault.

WE are the consumers, THEY want to sell us something. Why are WE giving THEM the window?

I meant to say:
"Why AREN'T we giving them the window?"

My experience with regard to the cable company mirrors that of the other commenters -- they said there would be an 8 hour window. Of course, they came just before the end of the 8 hour period, but to their credit, it was snowing pretty hard outside.

A few days ago I had the Jeld-Wen door company come to do a measurement in my apartment. They gave a 2 hour window, showed up almost an hour and a half after the period had expired, and didn't even apologize.

We have asked them to call because we couldn't just take time off to sit and wait. So what do they do they don't call and leave a note on the door saying they were here but you weren't please call to reschedule. We sure did to cancel!

My husband and I ordered a bookshelf last year from a store in Brooklyn (we were Midtown Manhattan at the time). They gave us an 8 hour delivery window, so he took the day to work at home. I believe the window was 9-5, and they came around 11pm. With a floor model bookshelf! When we refused to sign for it, there was nobody to call because the store was closed. The next day, the store manager promised to send a new one out, so M spent another 8 hour day at home-- and nobody ever came. On the third day we tried to call for a refund (this is when we learned never to pay in advance for anything large, ever) and the store manager stopped answering his phone. A week later, we just ended up disputing the charge with our credit card company. Probably one of the biggest wastes of time we've ever experienced.

Yes, they're getting longer, and the tighter the company's stranglehold on consumers, the worse they are about showing up at all.

Time Warner Cable gave me a 4-hour window for equipment pickup. I told them I had to be at work. They did not care, and did not show up. I called them asking where the technician was; they refused to tell me and claimed they "couldn't" call him, even after I complained that I had to leave. I drove several miles out of my way to drop off the router at their nearest office on my way to work. Upon arriving home that NIGHT, I saw the company's van driving away. Bastards.

Compare that with four different companies, none of them large, that delivered furniture to my house. All of them called me the day before, and made my house the first stop of the day when I explained that I had to be at work by a certain time. I didn't have to wait more than two hours for any of them.

Just last week I was told I needed to be available from 8am to 630pm by the phone company. For a service that was supposed to take 15 minuts. They finally showed up at 530. ugg.

To the people who suggested getting the delivery person or technician to call when they were 15 min out, that doesn't always work. I moved from one apartment to another, 5 blocks away from each other. It would give me plenty of time if the person called 15 minutes out. Usually though, they'd call while sitting outside the new place while I'm at the old place. I'd say, I'm 5 minutes away, can you wait? The answer was usually no.

impossible for me, my husband has to take a day or a half off. sometimes he works from home in this case.

those service windows are horrible :(