Wednesday, January 7, 2009

The Downs of UPS Delivery

Take a box. Any box. Drop kick it, smash it, run over it, crush it, tear it, drop something really heavy on it, make it filthy, and throw it anywhere but at the front door where it belongs. Make it late, misdirected, ship it back and forth across the country, and call it a "delivery exception" and you now have an idea of how UPS handles your parcels.

Now if you have fragile items, add that to your concerns. Ever wonder why UPS has certain carton requirements for strength? Because they are not going to handle your package with care! They don't care what condition it's in when it arrives, if it arrives on time or whatever. Hell, in my estimation, I don't think they care if it even arrives! Try and get information on the phone about your shipment and it's proprietary, between them and the shipper. You're out of the loop. You paid, you get no info.

Most shippers have some sort on "on-time guarantee" with UPS and other shipping companies. If the parcel doesn't get there on time, they can get a refund. Ask where your refund is when you don't get your package on time. I think UPS might use weather and other excuses for their "delivery exceptions" but many times they just F-up and put your package on the wrong truck and it goes to the wrong place, and they can't get it back until the driver returns. Seen that happen numerous times. Once, when I was actually able to get to talk to someone at a delivery hub, I was told it was buried too deep in the trailer and they couldn't get to it, so I'd have to wait until the truck was unloaded. Then they misrouted it anyway.

It is for all of the above reasons, and more, that we ship with the U.S. Postal Service using Priority Mail, or, if items need to go by ground service, by FedEx Ground. First, lighter items travel by air with the USPS, and only take two to three days to reach their destination. Secondly, in 8 years of shipping, we've not had a single damaged article incoming or outgoing with the USPS or FedEx, either Express or Ground. Can't say that with UPS. Third, FedEx Ground is much cheaper than UPS in most cases and delivers in 5 days rather than 7 cross country. That makes people happy. Plus, in the same 8 years, there has been one missed delivery date with FedEx, unlike the numerous ones with UPS.

I've received packages with the contents hanging out, the tops torn off, the tape ripped loose, boxes crushed, and these were all shipped by professional shippers. I had an outboard motor shipped to me that was saved from UPS only by the layers of bubble wrap surrounding it...the exterior cardboard was shredded.

My latest was a package shipped on 12/26 from NY which arrived yesterday, January 6, 11 days after. It would have arrived in ten but it had a "delivery exception". Then again, maybe 9 days because one day was a holiday. Great. Then the brilliant driver dumped it about 20 feet from the door and we didn't find it until late in the day, thinking it hadn't been delivered. He left it where anyone could have picked it up and walked off with it, yet the delivery online shows he left it at "front door". I should be lucky to have a front door that big!

A camera I ordered was sent out for delivery in Ontario, CA, the wrong city, although it obviously was addressed here. An overnight air shipment no less. Luckily, somehow they found that one and it arrived later the next day, but another UPS screw up nonetheless.

UPS will tell you how many packages they deliver successfully. Wonderful, but it still sucks if it's NOT your package they delivered successfully, right? Not much different than the automaker who tells you how many good cars travel down the line and you just got a bad one...or the surgeon who tells you how many surgeries were successful...after they botch yours?

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