What to put in delivery instructions for an apartment
Delivery instructions for an apartment should carry one fact, placed first, in the fewest words that still make sense. Drivers read the field while walking, often after they have already pressed a button, so a paragraph is skipped entirely. Name the entry step and nothing else. Anything about parking, doors or preferences belongs after it, if at all.
The field is genuinely useful. It is also the most over-written box on the internet, and length is what makes it stop working.
When the driver actually reads it
Not at your door. The field is usually read at the curb, sometimes at the previous stop, and occasionally not until after the first buzz has already gone unanswered.
Every app presents it differently. Some show it on the delivery card, some hide it behind a tap, and a driver working several orders reads the address and the unit.
What to write
- The entry step, in one short sentence. Example: press 412 and wait, the buzz rings our phones.
- A second fact only if it changes what they do. Example: side door on the north side of the building.
- Nothing else.
That is the whole method. The reason it works is that a driver who reads eight words will read yours, and a driver who reads forty will not.
What to leave out
| What people write | Why it fails |
|---|---|
| A description of the building | They are already outside it |
| Call me when you arrive | Assumes a driver willing to call, and a phone being answered |
| A door code | A safety problem, and often against your building rules |
| Leave at the door | Only reaches the door if they got in |
| Two paragraphs of context | Read as far as the first line, if at all |
The ceiling on what instructions can do
Instructions can tell a driver what to press. They cannot make a phone ring somewhere useful, and that is the part that usually fails.
If the panel holds one number and that phone is in a meeting, the clearest instruction in the world ends with your order on the lobby floor. Why the panel only holds one.
BuzzMeBro makes the instruction true. The apartment gets its own local number, a buzz rings up to 4 phones at once for $11.99 a month, and press 412 and wait becomes something that reliably works. Get your number.
Questions people ask
How long should delivery instructions be?
One sentence, ideally under fifteen words. The field allows far more and the extra is rarely read, so length costs you attention on the part that matters.
Should I put my phone number in there?
It does no harm and occasionally helps. Treat it as a bonus rather than the plan, because it depends on a driver choosing to call and on that phone being answered.
Do the instructions carry across apps?
No. Each app stores its own, and some attach them to the address while others attach them to the order. Set them once in each app you use.
What about a photo of the entrance?
Some apps support one and it helps in genuinely confusing buildings, like a converted house with three doors. It is no substitute for the buzz being answered.
What if the instructions are perfect and it still fails?
Then the problem is downstream of the field. The panel rings one number, and BuzzMeBro is how that becomes every phone in the apartment ringing together.