Real-Life Decision Making -- Solution
You leave the package with the office next door.
They'll be able to get the cooler to the lab first thing in the morning, which will be quicker than you redelivering it tomorrow.
Happy that you have resolved the problem and that the day is done, you switch off your radio and cycle back to the office with your day's payout sheets.
But when you get to the office, the dispatcher is distressed. "Where are the medical samples?" she asks. "The laboratory has been calling."
You calmly answer that the office was closed and that they'll be delivered the next morning.
The dispatcher calls the medical laboratory and discovers that there are several branches of the Maple labs in town, and you went to the wrong one. This could spell big trouble!
"If you reach a location and there's no one there to receive the package, there's a bunch of things that can happen," says Joel Metz, a bike courier.
Often, an experienced courier can take care of the situation. But if the package seems to require extra care or is urgent, it's best to check with dispatch. "Many of these types of decisions should get made by dispatch," says Metz.