To UPS and FedEX....

[bean]

The only time I've had anything delivered by DHL was about a year ago (shortly before they ceased US operations). And I knew it was coming, but not what day, it was a promo shirt from a vendor at work.

I wasn't happy when I opened my front door and promptly tripped and did a faceplant due to the package being shoved... under my doormat. Before you ask why I didn't see it, I was carrying a large box when I opened the door and didn't think "hey someone may have left a large object in front of my door!" when I walked out. The box also went over the stair railing and smashed to the ground.

The last time I had something shipped via UPS, I kept waiting, and waiting, on the day of delivery. I finally checked the status and it showed it was delivered at 9am (I'd been awake since 8am, and it was pushing 5pm). Opened the door, nothing on the door. Called UPS, they swore up and down it was signed for by "A. Office". WTF? Called the landlord's office, turns out it had been dropped off there, in front of the doors, before the office even opened.

Last time I had something shipped via USPS it was actually about the same thing. Except there's SIXTEEN large, locking boxes around the mail center, that can only be locked by the mailman, and they always leave the key in your mailbox. For some reason this was too much trouble and again, they just dropped it in the leasing office with no notice. It sat there for about a week before the leasing office left a note on my door saying "Hey there's a package here, we're shipping it back if you don't pick it up". My mailman also wears a t-shirt, shorts, and a baseball cap, along with an mp3 player, on his entire route (no uniform at all) and regularly mis-delivers mail. It took 3 tries to get a new debit card from Chase a few months ago, and 4 tries to get the PIN (none of them showed up, I finally went into a branch to get a PIN). My magazine subscriptions also are regularly delivered to neighbors or even the next street (I live on Elm Dr, the next street is Elm Ct).

[Andara Bledin]

Bean, I'd suggest you report your mailman (if you haven't already), but we've been reporting ours to both the local postmaster and the state head for the last 10 years, and they've done jack squat about our sucky post office. I think there are only 2 people in the building that really do any work, and the rest of them just slack off (or jack off) all day long.

As it is, you might consider just getting a PO box somewhere convenient in another city, or just having stuff mailed elsewhere, since your mailman is a waste of oxygen.

^-.-^

[Ironclad Alibi]

Bean, I'd suggest you report your mailman (if you haven't already), but we've been reporting ours to both the local postmaster and the state head for the last 10 years, and they've done jack squat about our sucky post office. I think there are only 2 people in the building that really do any work, and the rest of them just slack off (or jack off) all day long.

In situations like this, you need to know the proper way to complain. And that is to write to your US congressmen using the phrase "I petition you to look into this matter." This tends to get results. If you like, PM me for details.

[Andara Bledin]

Ooh, I will totally pass that on to the bossman.

He's had a mad-on over the incompetence of our local PO for at least the last decade.

^-.-^

[Sparky]

The most interesting thing UPS does -- well except for the time they left a large heavy package with a non-existant address on my porch for three weeks -- is send a postcard saying "You didn't get your package because you've moved."

We get a lot of packages sent here addressed to people who no longer work here. I used to refuse these. Then I'd get a postcard, "Dear Professor X, We tried to deliver a package to you at [delivery address] but it could not be delivered because you have moved." I mean, um, duh. Sending it to the address that we've already established that the person is no longer in residence at? I suppose the point is to have the post office forward it to the correct address, but it still seems dumb.

I eventually realized these packages were unsolicited books. Now we just keep them.

[Digitalpotato]

So anyways, now mom ordered a computer part. I look up the tracking order in the event that it arrives when she's not here (she travels a lot). Now while the product isn't like, ultra expensive, we're still assuming that because shipping was paid for by the company she ordered it from that it's probably expensive or needs a signature.

Good news: It's going to arrive when there's most likely to be the at least two people in the house.
Bad News: It was shipped from San Francisco last Friday and for some reason, has spent the entire weekend (I can understand why it was there on Sunday) and is still listed in "Juneau, Alaska"



now note that I live in Colorado...It's practically a straight line from San Francisco to Denver, then another straight line right on up to where we live...Why was it shipped to Alaska? O.o

[Aethian]

I am guessing...it got on the wrong plane?

[Broomjockey]

I'm willing to bet that when it makes its next stop, it will no longer say Alaska on the board any where. I've had that happen. Not that exact thing, but the whole "It says one place, then later when the next update happens that old place is no longer listed anywhere on the journey."

[Lady Legira]

Postie Pwanage this morning.

Hubby was wandering about getting ready for work (Royal Mail btw) when he heard a couple of cards come through the door, heard shuffling noises and then a card started appearing through the door (did you hear a knock because I didn't) and hubby opened the door. Cue one embarrassed postie who shoved the parcel at my hubby and said "here's your parcel." and vanished away. Hubby was wearing his uniform but it was covered by a jumper so you could only see the tips of the collar.



Maybe he'll knock in future before assuming...

[Flying Grype]

I've got a package coming from Minneapolis to Toronto by UPS. I looked at the tracking page and it made a stopover in Louisville, KY in between. It now says it's been delivered... here's hoping.

I will send FedEx and UPS stuff to my apartment, because I have the good fortune of living in a building with a security/concierge desk in the lobby. They'll sign for any package and give it to me when I get home. When I'm living in a house again I doubt if I'll ever use a courier.

You know the two big courier companies merged, right? The new company is called FedUPS.

[Legal Eagle]

Just had one from a UPS style company didn't bother to take a note of the name sorry.

Get home to find a note shoved through the door that a package had been left with a neighbour, this is strange in itself, any time we have to get anything delivered we have them delivered to a work address as there is nobody in the house during normal working hours to collect packages. So i go next door to pick up the package and notice a few things wrong

Not my name
Not my postcode
Not my Street name (or anything near it, we're not talking smith st rather than smith drive)
Not my house number


So i ended up spending the vening searching for the correct address and deliverring it myself. When i delivered it my real owner of the package was more than a little annoyed and i really hope the driver gets written up for that one, at the very least.

[the_std]

Ugh. If I never see a DHL deliveryperson again, it will be too soon. I used to work as a secretary for a government office and was therefore the mail person as well. FedEx, UPS and Canada Post were all handled by very nice people who knew their routes, were quick, professional and courteous, and would also help tiny ol' me lug the big boxes into my receiving area. If there was something wrong (missing package, late delivery, anything unusual) they would inform me ahead of time or get on their phone right away to get it fixed, which surprised me cause they all worked large routes and it was easy to fall behind on their scheduling.

Of course, I had no such luck with the DHL guys. Luckily, people didn't use them too often, so I'd only see them around once a week, versus once a day. They were always rude, dumping boxes any old where in my lobby, even in front of the stairwell door on more than one occasion. They also used really weird hand-held scanners that had a different layout than the ones that everyone else uses. The first few times I encountered them, it confused me, but when I asked for clarification, they would just grunt and shove the scanner at me again. Also, they seemed to miss at least one package per delivery, and they tended to be very important packages. This would cause them to get angry as they'd have to come by again before the office closed, which was generally at 5pm, and they'd come trucking in at 4:59, huffing and puffing and swearing because they were going to be late for everything else. One guy even tried to blame me! "Well, you should have just come to pick it up! Then we wouldn't be in this mess!" Yes, me, the lowly secretary is going to hoof it to your depot on company time, leaving my desk unattended, when that's what you get paid to do. Right.

I don't miss that part of the job at all.

[Ravenzfire]

Not as long as radiocerk but I worked for UPS for about a year at one of their hubs in Pennsylvania. I worked truck loading so we would scan the packages as they came into the truck and then stack them up to be driven to another hub. I worked the area that delivered into Philly so we would be slammed every night, reason why I only worked there for about a year.

Anyway a couple things I picked up from the inside.

First, don't plaster your package with fragile stickers. Like radiocert said, a sturdy box and a good tape job is all you really need. Those boxes take a beating like you would not believe without the aid of a person. Actually I've found in a lot of cases plastering your box with fragile stickers just pisses the loaders off and your box will get an extra hard toss into the back of the truck, don't agree with it but it was pretty common in my area.

As far as your package going to some place that's way out of the way; the most common reason is that it slipped into the wrong truck. When loading a truck you have a couple guys on the upper belts that sort the packages and push them down ramps that go into trucks headed for specific locations. The sorters read a code on the label that tells them which package should go where. Then the guys in the truck read the label again, scan it and then stack it up. This should keep wrong packages from getting into the truck but when it get's really busy you have boxes just pouring into your truck and it's very easy to not catch if the wrong package got put into the truck and scan it in. They have incentives and such to help keep this type of thing down but with human error it's going to happen.

[LadyAndreca]

First, don't plaster your package with fragile stickers. Like radiocert said, a sturdy box and a good tape job is all you really need. Those boxes take a beating like you would not believe without the aid of a person. Actually I've found in a lot of cases plastering your box with fragile stickers just pisses the loaders off and your box will get an extra hard toss into the back of the truck, don't agree with it but it was pretty common in my area.

I've heard this piece of advice many, many places--from airlines, bus lines, shipping services, places that handle things you pack. If I'm shipping anything fragile it goes in bubble wrap and as many packing peanuts as I can fit in the box. The last thing Mom shipped to me that was fragile, she actually wrapped in a shipping blanket too.

[Digitalpotato]

First, don't plaster your package with fragile stickers. Like radiocert said, a sturdy box and a good tape job is all you really need. Those boxes take a beating like you would not believe without the aid of a person. Actually I've found in a lot of cases plastering your box with fragile stickers just pisses the loaders off and your box will get an extra hard toss into the back of the truck, don't agree with it but it was pretty common in my area.

I should have known that - When my dad's boss ordered a computer, they put a fragile sticker on it, and the interior of the computer (Eg the chips) were in PIECES when she got it.