Much as I like Apple I'm not sure they handle the situation described better than any competitor:

> "A courier claims they called at your house and got no answer, even though you were in and they didn't. You call customer services, but they have no way at all to contact the courier and tell them to go back and try again. Even if they're only two minutes down the road. The system deliberately puts a firewall between the reps and the delivery infrastructure, because any kind of ad-hoc action to resolve customer issues interferes with the logistics planning for the day's deliveries."

If UPS claims they knocked and you didn't answer there's nothing more Apple can do than to tell you to wait for tomorrow.

Their customer service is genuinely great - but the firewall definitely exists between the shipper and the deliverer.

I think any large company works and coordinates with another large company if it's advantageous to them. Amazon works closely with USPS to drop items as close and convenient for USPS. Netflix famously worked with USPS on their DVD envelope design and I believe they even upgraded many USPS sorting machines because it was in their business interest.

I would believe Apple does the same (there's a sibling thread where UPS said they'd swing back by their house in 15m after missing a delivery of an Apple product--may be a coincidence, though).