Some are top notch (like Gardiners), most are Ok, and a few are terrible.
However, ALL of them would be more helpful if they would deliver to a third party location (such as Argos), to allow the customer to collect the goods. Argos supply such a service and it has been a help with some non-window cleaning items. I would be fine paying a bit extra for this too.
Some of us live in flats and failed delivery cards can't be dropped through doors due to access issues. Not everyone can wait in all day on the offchance of catching the courier.
Gardiner's courier (Fedex) currently offer the next best thing - pre 10 AM delivery for an extra charge. It does mean that I need to use the phone when ordering, but pre 10 AM and using the phone is still much better than potentially losing a full day's pay.
I live in a tower block and that's exactly the problem I have. The number of times the delivery person claims he couldn't get in the building, which is utter rot, is staggering. Some of them, they see a tower block and can't be bothered.
Earlier this year I wasted three days waiting for a new pump to be delivered and then had to drive about 20 miles to the depot to collect it in person.
For me, collecting from Argos is so simple and easy.
Although I'm only one floor above ground level (middle floor), often, the courier genuinely can't get in due to a timelock system. This is quite common in flats. Access through the communal door is fine up to maybe 10AM or so by pressing a "trade" button. After that it's no entry unless someone is at home. This usded to work fine to allow the newspaper delivery, milkman and postman in. The world has changed since this was set up though. Few people have milk delivered (no-one in this block as far as I know) any more and the postman can turn up at any time. The postman can usually get in because he knows of the restriction and works around it; also, it only needs one mail recipient to be in to allow him access to the others. Even then, I can go several days without post and then get loads at once if it's not the regular postie (I assume due to access issues, though can't be certain).
There are a lot more flats these days (presumably due to land prices) and a lot more one person households, so I'm surprised that there hasn't been more concentration generally on parcel holding points.
Take that time a few months ago when someone nicked the spare wheel from under my van. I went on ebay, bought a new replacement. Within two days it was delivered to Argos. Two days later, when I had time, I drove there and collected it (following their notification email). Simple!