Anyone ever deal with Fed Ex?

[Food Lady]

This may be a sighting on my supplier also. I don't know; I just need help. I ordered a small amount of pigments (small box on April 4th. It was supposed to come via Fed Ex in 4 to 5 business days. I still have not received it. As far as I know there's been no notice for pickup. So I emailed the soap supply co. to ask if there was some sort of tracking number or something. The reply that I got was that it had been shipped and "that completes your order with us." What I get is, "We shipped it; if you didn't get it, not our problem." Nice. Does anyone have a suggestion as to what to do now? Does Fed Ex have tracking #s like UPS? Should I email the supplier again and ask for a tracking #? Should I just call Fed Ex customer service? Should I resign myself to being out 22 bucks?

[MaggieTheCat]

That's an absolute horseshit policy of the supplier. I would never again deal with a company that gave me a reply like that.

FedEx does have tracking numbers just like UPS. All orders that are shipped FedEx get a tracking number and the supplier absolutely has it. If they refuse to give it to you, I think FedEx can still find the tracking number if you have the shipper's and recipient's address. Call them up and ask, if you can't get the tracking number from the supplier. I like FedEx for the most part, I have had some issues with UPS but FedEx has been good to us so far.

Edit to add: a couple things. It's possible the order got delayed somehow; did the supplier actually tell you when they shipped it? Shipping may be 4-5 business days, but if they didn't actually ship it until, say, April 8, it could still be on it's way. Even if it did ship on the 5th or 6th, it may have just been delayed.

Also, if you payed with a credit card and the supplier refuses to help you, you can technically dispute the charges through your credit card company. I've never done this so I don't know how much of a hassle it would be, especially over $22, but it's another option if worst comes to to worst.

[Food Lady]

Thank you for replying; I was wondering ifthe supplier was really being sucky or I was oversensitive. I have another supplier who has excellent customer service, but the products cost 3 times as much. Maybe it's worth it. Anyway, we did have that huge storm with tornadoes and such, but I'm not sure if that would delay it.

[MaggieTheCat]

It might have. I used to work for a company that shipped primarily through FedEx, and sometimes when there were "natural disasters" like ice/snow storms, hurricanes, etc. stuff got delayed.

I think their customer service is crappy because at my old company, if a customer called (or emailed) asking about their order, not only would we provide a tracking number, we'd also track the package ourselves to make sure there was nothing wrong with it. If a customer didn't get an order, we'd re-ship it, no questions asked, and start a trace with FedEx ourselves, so the customer would get their product and not have to worry about it. Even if a company doesn't re-ship something right away, they absolutely should give you the tracking number with no hassle.

[MyNameIsn'tSweetie]

This may not happen: recently, my housemate ordered, twice, over $100 of product-had it shipped through FedEx, and *both* packages disappeared. The best the local office would do was "Look up who was working that route, and have them call you." Nope, no call, and no packages.

[MaggieTheCat]

NMIS: Did you try contacting the person/company who sent the packages to you? Companies typically have more clout with FedEx and can start a trace on the package. And, again, if they don't and you ordered with a credit card, you can try disputing the charges through your credit card company.

I would also call FedEx corporate instead of the local office if you have issues. Then they can contact the local office themselves to get the ball rolling.

[It's me]

Ask for a refund. Since the supplier arranged for and paid for the freight, it's their problem, not yours.

[42_42_42]

That's really sucky behavior on the part of the shipper. Every online supplier I use (I order a lot of stuff for baking and cake decorating as well as other crafts and hobbies) emails me when the order has shipped along with the tracking # and a link to track the package for UPS or FedEx. If it ships USPS, then I still get the email saying it has shipped.

Contact FedEx and they should be able to help sort this out, if the shipper actually shipped the package. Otherwise, dispute the charge w/ your credit card company. Shouldn't be too difficult. I know my hubs has had to do it before and it took like 5 minutes and the charge was removed.

Also, I would absolutely pay more for a product in order to have good customer service and reliable shipping. After all, the sale's not truly completed until you have the product.

[Kanalah]

I always ship with a tracking number for this very reason, but I wouldn't act like a doucenozzle if someone lost something.

I second the "go and talk to fedex" plan. If you have the to and from information, they should be able to help you out.

[Food Lady]

I emailed the company and got a response that told me they don't want to help. And I used a debit run as a credit. I don't believe that can be disputed. I will email them and ask specifically for a tracking #. I won't be ordering from them again.

[pitmonkey]

I would talk to your bank about this. If the money came out of the account and no product was delivered it might be treated as fraud.

[Food Lady]

I got an email today saying the package didn't go out yet, with an apology. So the other email wasn't a response to my inquiry, which makes me realize I perceived suckiness where there wasn't. Should get the package Monday. Thanks for all the advice, guys. If I run into a problem later, I'll know what to do.

[Bella_Vixen]

So the other email wasn't a response to my inquiry, which makes me realize I perceived suckiness where there wasn't.

I still see a buttload of suckiness on their part.

[surreal20]

I second Bella Vixen on that. They shouldn't have given you so much grief if it wasn't sent out in the first place. How hard is it to check and see if it was actually sent out? I doubt it's too terribly hard, they just assumed it was shipped because you thought it was and decided to deal with it in a "I really dont' care if you got the stuff or not so long as we got our money" deal.

Not. Cool.

[Food Lady]

They didn't give me any grief. That 1st email was automated and happened to arrive just after I emailed them about missing my package. I didn't email them right away, but as soon as I did they did check on it and got back to me immediately. If I had let them know earlier, they would've responded earlier. Stuff happens, but their response was fine with me. It was just the timing of the emails that led me to assume suckage.