To UPS and FedEX....

[Estil]

Talk about some incredibly lazy drivers!

[Polenicus]

I've had a huge mixed bag with UPS, but this one took the cake.

I shipped 7 boxes at the same time. Pre-printed labels, all picked up at the same time, with package tracking. I was shipping them to myself, so I both sent and received them.

First, for pickup, they gave me a three day window. Not a time range... they said they would be there sometime between 8am Tuesday and 5pm Thursday. Truck showed up on Wednesday... and he didn't have the space for 7 packages. Thankfully came on Thursday, as my flight was Friday.

When it came time for the packages to arrive, I was carefully watching the tracking. We had four people at home in the living room camped out by the front door, with the window open. Clearly visible... it was IMPOSSIBLE for a truck to arrive without us seeing it.

3 packages arrived normally. We didn't give the driver the chance to even reach the porch before the door was open.

3 packages suddenly changed in the online tracking to 'No answer'. The listed delivery attempt time was 15 minutes after the first 3 packages, so we were still schlepping the damn things inside. No sticker of course... the driver simply didn't want to deliver them, and so reported that there had been no answer.

1 package went missing for a week. I found out that was because it went to Calgary. Tracking said it had arrived in Edmonton, was put on a truck for delivery... then for some reason they took it off the truck at the end of the day, undelivered, and sent it to Calgary.

About half of the packages looked like someone had used them for batting practice.

I will not use UPS again, if I can help it.

[ChaoKuang]

I had a custom-built Pc shipped to me via UPS. I watched the tracking and saw "Delivered" marked and immidiately went to the front door. I looked out the window and watched the driver FLIP the box that had my PC in it end over end down the truck's stairs to the ground.
Needless to say, the PC didn't work when I unpacked it and plugged it in. I was furious, called UPS, and layed it into them. Then I had to call my friend, who had to put in a claim with UPS, who then denied the insurance claim saying it wasn't their fault.
With me reporting them to the BBB on one side and my friend ripping them a new one and threatening to lawyer up and sue on the other, the insurance claim was quickly changed to approved and paid out.

[Andara Bledin]

USPS does this just as often as the others. My last USPS delivery person was notorious for not wanting to carry any packages at all, so she would always leave a tag and never bring the package up.

Hell, we've had the business driver for our work just not stop for us, when we have to sign up online to schedule a pickup. Lazy old goat.

And two other incidents over the same week involved UPS for one and FedEx for the other. The most bizarre part is that the FedEx non-delivery was at the same exact time that the driver delivered a second package! How does that even happen? The other dozen deliveries I got over the course of that 2 weeks were just fine, however. *shrug*

Oh, I hate all of that! Countless time's I've heard the doorbell ring, run the 15 feet to the door and have seen the truck speeding-off. I can't believe they got the thing in drive that fast!

If they're really being turds, they just put the parking brake on and leave it running and ready to go.

We had a FedEx driver do that in our driveway once, and while he was in the building, his truck was stolen.

Of course, they immediately suspected someone connected to the pickup of $600k in computers they'd done a couple blocks over. After all, a FedEx pickup run is a lousy truck to steal unless you know someone earlier in the run has put something nice on it.

I can't stand UPS where I live.. I've tried to complain about my driver, to be promised his manager would be calling me, and they never called, even after I'd complained several times.

Remember: You aren't their customer. Whoever shipped the goods is their customer, so make formal complaints to your vendor, and have them complain to the parcel company.

We're a small company that only ships about 50 packages a day, and they both go to lengths to keep us happy, so I imagine someone like Amazon or the like would have a lot of clout to get complaints reduced.

Oh hell no I won't answer a honk from anybody unless we've mutually agreed that I'll be waiting for them downstairs and they need to honk for me to come out -- even that's just friends & family.

My brother has decreed that if/when he has a daughter, if she ever has a date that pulls that stunt, the guy will be banned from ever coming to the house again.

We live in a pretty ghetto community, so we have to put up with hearing that shit all the time.


^-.-^

[Green_Fairy]

i've taken issue with my usps delivery person a few times. i left a note inside my mail box saying "please do not fold envelopes if you can help it. thanks!" because i've received photos from friends with a sharp crease in them so they could fit into the mailbox. which ruins the photo. i've had documents wrinkled to all hell. i understand...i have a small mailbox. i live in an apartment complex; of course it's small. but common...roll the photos. roll the envelopes. even tho i left a friendly note, they still cram them in. and common...why are you folding the envelopes in half? they fit in perfectly lengthwise!

[Soulstealer]

Back home the UPS will leave a note without knocking or ringing a doorbell. They also don't want to leave a package without getting a signature even if you say it's okay. Case in point my dad mail orders some of his medicine but they've refused to leave the packages on occasion even if he gives them permission. He finally got around it by having them ship it to his work, there's a guy who gets the mail signs for packages for the department.

[EricKei]

He finally got around it by having them ship it to his work, there's a guy who gets the mail signs for packages for the department.

I eventually started doing that for when I order computer parts -- I have them ship it to the office, where they'll sign for anything that comes in without even looking at the name, and just call me to come get it later.

[Andara Bledin]

i left a note inside my mail box saying "please do not fold envelopes if you can help it. thanks!"

Where did you put the note? I know that the mailboxes at my complex open at the back for the USPS person, but tenants have keys for the front. It's worked like that at every place I've seen.

He finally got around it by having them ship it to his work, there's a guy who gets the mail signs for packages for the department.

Bingo!

I've been doing that for years, even when I lived in a house and the drivers would deliver stuff to my door properly.

I get it faster, I get a more professional driver (drivers who deal with companies seem to be more together, on average, than the ones that have to deal with houses), and I never have to worry about it getting stolen (especially since Nekojin is the shipping clerk ).

^-.-^

[Lady Legira]

I live in a flat with a balcony and we order off amazon a fair amount. Now on the stairway you can open a window onto the balcony... Can you see where this is heading?

Royal Mail deliver package but don't put a note through the door saying it has been thrown on the balcony. We don't find it for three days but then hubby looks on the balcony and what do know package. Unfortunately for the postie my hubby works for Royal Mail sorting and can walk up to the delivery manager and tell him so.

Lately we get a note through the door telling us of attempted delivery and it's back at the office. I wonder why? Though we are in most times (back bedroom, sleep til 12, working evenings) It's as easy for hubby to pick up from there since he works in the same building and one of the girls in there puts them aside for him.

I always order super saver delivery because it's free (and I'm cheap) and it's still delivered by the same people. I'd go further but I suspect I'd be Fratching.

[It shouldn't]

I have all my UPS stuff delivered here at work, too.

Our driver at home used to just leave the package sitting on the uncovered back porch.

I'd come home to a rain soaked box, that had been sprayed on by the barn cats and chewed on by the racoons.

[Kogarashi]

When we first moved here, the UPS and USPS people would just leave packages on our porch in full view of the parking lot. We live about two blocks from the start of the "bad" part of town, and have had cars broken into, bikes stolen, etc. Not fun.

Thankfully, that ended about six months after we moved here, and our current delivery people are awesome. UPS never leaves anything unless it can be left with one of the neighbors or the actual recipient is there. The USPS deliveryman has a key to the rear stairwell of each apartment, which is where he leaves packages rather than ringing the doorbell and disturbing students (probably due to repeated requests by tenants). The UPS guy can be pretty speedy with the dropoff, but still waits a reasonable length of time before heading off at least. The only time I've missed him was due to nursing a baby and being unable to get decent in time to answer the door.

[radiocerk]

In defense of the shipping industry... (long, I apologize)

I worked for UPS for six and a half years, so I learned a few things about the system. So, some of their behavior makes sense to me, even if it is pathetically stupid.

- Handle with care is not understood by conveyor belts, of which the average box at UPS covers several miles. A sturdy box and more than one strip of tape will do more for the survival of your package than any number of fragile stickers.

- Whether drivers can just leave packages at the door largely depends on the neighborhood you live in. If someone near you has claimed a stolen package, then everyone needs a signature.

- Sometimes it also depends on the company who's shipping things. Medications, certain expensive items, alcohol, weapons, all these things can require a signature, specifically from someone over 18

- UPS drivers get paid by the hour, but management is always on them to eliminate overtime, and they shove somewhere between 150 to 300 stops (not packages, but addresses) on each of those trucks. And that number close to doubles at the holidays.

- Some UPS drivers have a serious fear of dogs. Just like the rest of the population. I've met a few who've been bitten by otherwise reasonable dogs. Company policy was not to endanger yourself or your safety.

- Usually packages will be put behind plants, under the mat, or an attempt will be made to put them somewhere not easily visible to someone passing on the street. Most of the drivers I worked with would also attempt to keep them out of the weather, as long as they expect it.

- I know many people who have stuff delivered to work, or, if that is not feasible, you can call UPS and have them hold it at the center for pickup, which is occasionally useful if you definitely need something by a deadline.

- Substitute drivers, as a general rule, just suck. A lot of them either aren't fast enough to get their own routes, or have no interest in dealing in the same people every day and getting to know the quirks of their route.

- And as far as the notes go, the usual procedure I witnessed from a lot of drivers was ring the doorbell, or knock, fill out the note, stick it to the door and leave. Usually the ones I was with would listen for noise inside, but yeah, the whole procedure takes about two minutes. And they don't walk anywhere. There's a reason you don't find many fat delivery drivers.

But some of them are just shitheads, I've met several. Your best bet when needing to complain is to call the specific building your drivers come out of, sometime after about 9 am but before 5 or so, and talk straight to the supervisors. Most of them care, if only because corporate says so.

[Wenchie]

Oh.... I have a bone to pick with USPS right now. I live in an apartment. There are the 8 mailboxes on the wall (standard apartment mailboxes) and an open section below them for ads/bulk mail. The bulk mail section is cleaned out weekly by the apartment complex since it gets too full otherwise.

So guess where they've been sticking my Netflix DVDs? You know, the ones that state they they're first class prepaid on the front of the envelope? If you said "the bulk mail section" you would be correct! What this means is that if I'm out of town, there's a chance the DVDs might actually get THROWN out. So a couple of us in the building are now taking the time to sort through the Bulk Bin every day and pull out the real mail that gets put in there: DVDs, Magazine that people actually pay for, sometimes I'll find letters in there that were sent with Forever stamps so you know they're not bulk mail...

It's gotten SLIGHTLY better recently because they just switched drivers on us because enough people contacted the post office to complain. But guess what I found in the Bulk Bin today?



Netflix DVD.

Please please tell me that it's not USPS Policy to put First Class mail in a Bulk Bin?

[EricKei]

Fair enough ^_^ My only qualm is, I've called the local UPS center about holding stuff for me -- they refuse to do so until a delivery attempt has already been made an dthe truck has come back (yes, even if I call BEFORE they get the package)...Thus, I can't even go to check until after about 5:30 -- and being out of doors in or near nighttime in the area where they're located is a very unwise thing to do.

[Cat]

So far....I've had great luck with FedEx and UPS (my stuff usually gets to my place before they estimate it will)

Ad for USPS, usually great as well for packages, but my normal mail carrier for regulat old mail need to retire....I've had mail get lost, not get picked up, placed in neighbor's boxes....nothing serious yet, 'cept for a replaced credit card.

Of course, I am awaiting 4 packages, so I have just cursed myself