[monochrome]

I'm pissed she's not in my location

What can Brown do for you?

[grhazelton]

We've had FedEx leave packages by our garage door, which is on the side of the house. There is virtually no overhang there, and any rain would possibly damage the package. This happens despite a front porch, visible from the street! I've been at home occasionally when FedEx arrives; they pull their truck into our driveway so I suppose the garage door is a little closer than walking up the sidewalk and up four steps to the porch. Grrrrrr!!!!

UPS, in contrast, leaves their truck idling at the curb and puts the package on the porch, where it is effectively hidden from prying eyes by shrubbery. We also have had the same UPS driver for over a year, whom I have "cultivated" by hollering "Thanks!" whenever I'm home for a delivery. Can't hurt, might help.

[Docrwm]

We've had FedEx leave packages by our garage door, which is on the side of the house. There is virtually no overhang there, and any rain would possibly damage the package. This happens despite a front porch, visible from the street! I've been at home occasionally when FedEx arrives; they pull their truck into our driveway so I suppose the garage door is a little closer than walking up the sidewalk and up four steps to the porch. Grrrrrr!!!!

UPS, in contrast, leaves their truck idling at the curb and puts the package on the porch, where it is effectively hidden from prying eyes by shrubbery. We also have had the same UPS driver for over a year, whom I have "cultivated" by hollering "Thanks!" whenever I'm home for a delivery. Can't hurt, might help.

We've had the same driver for 4-5 years at the office. He's nice enough in person, but UPS claims that he has logged into their database on our office that we are closed on Fridays. Oh, and the dispatcher called the office at 7:15pm Friday night (about an hour later than promised) and stated "Sorry the call is late, we've been slammed with calls today!" Well, Duh! If you don't deliver things promised you get calls. He wasn't sure why it didn't go our after it was promised that morning by the morning dispatcher to be sent out to the truck en route but wanted to let me know - again BIG DUH! - that it would be delivered at the normal time on Monday. Brilliant.

[ChrisPlatt]

FedEx Ground drivers are independent contractors.
Service quality can vary significantly depending on who delivers your package.

Chris

[grhazelton]

FedEx Ground drivers are independent contractors.
Service quality can vary significantly depending on who delivers your package.

Chris

Quite right! A friend ordered some computer gear to have been delivered by FedEx. When it didn't arrive within a reasonable time he contacted first the vendor, which confirmed that they had entrusted it to FedEx; he then called FedEx which said they'd contact the driver, an independent contractor. That went nowhere; perhaps the driver had left! FedEx didn't seem too concerned. The vendor was kind enough to resend the item at no additional cost via UPS; it arrived promptly. Needless to say he won't order unless shipment is by UPS.

Makes you wonder if anyone has any recourse with FedEx.

[riff]

Hate em both!!!!
UPS - First time I use them for some parts from Saleen. I stuff arrives and duty and brokerage charges are more then the order of ~500.00. I'm not pleased as any fool should know these are duty free parts. To add insult to injury they charged me a health fee of 120.00 dollars to fork this up. I called and they admitted that they made a mistake and I was entitled to a refund. However the refund would take a year because they had already paid the duty to Canada customs. HUH? They would not back down and about a year later I did receive a refund. Shortly after that the second package from them arrived, I paid with a CC and get a call about a month later that the driver had made a mistake and they needed another authorization. I explaind my biz dealing with them to date and said I could looking into it within a year. And I did. Last time I dealt with them!

Fedex
At one time I supplied audio speakers to a US seller, the orders were shipped direct from from me to the buyer. I used Fedex Ground and it seemed to be going well. Then one day after shipping dozens of identical packages with identical paperwork which Fedex reviewed and deems 100% complete and accurate I get a bill from an outfit call Fedex Brokerage for duty on a few packages. They claim it's a separate company. The long and short of it was they claimed I didn't ask them to not clear packages so they did. Fedex Ground was unwilling/unable to help and the matter was never resolved. I got a call from a very pushy collection agent who threatened to file this on my credit. I came unglued in a big way and never heard from them again.

[Wheatfield]

My favourite UPS fail story.
I ordered some parts for my densitometer from X-Rite. They had to be shipped via UPS, because that's how they rolled at the time.
Anyway, I got home after work about a week later, and there is a box sitting in the gutter of the street in front of my house. Being the responsible citizen that I am, I investigated, with the intent of picking up someone's trash and disposing of it.
Except that it was addressed to me. Bloody UPS driver appeared to have just pushed the package off the back of his truck and drove away.
To top it off they wanted 50 some dollars for brokerage and fees.
I decided that since the box hadn't made it onto my property, they hadn't completed the delivery, so I ignored the bill, which eventually went to collections. At that point, I got in touch with the collection agent and informed them that if they could come up with a signed by the addressee delivery release, I would be happy to pay, but that since UPS hadn't delivered the parcel to my address, they were SOL.
Never heard back from them, and I am now on UPS's delivery must be signed list, which is fine by me, since I use them as infrequently as I can.
Fed-Ex has always been quite good, and their depot is about a 10 minute drive from my house, so I generally ship Fed-Ex, hold for pick up if I can't have stuff shipped in via the post office, which is my first choice, since they have always been very reliable.
It took UPS over a month (closer to 7 weeks, IIRC) to deliver my studio lights to me from B&H photo, and it was a nightmare to get them to change the delivery address to my place of business, even after they had been out for delivery 3 times. They ended up dropping one box off at my neighbors house, but by then the box had been burst from handling, the contents were damaged, and as it was the middle of winter, she had styrofoam chips stuck to everything in her house because of static.
I hate UPS with a passion.

[bjake]

Package looks good but what was inside is useless,a 200mm stuck wide open.
Jake