UPS - How do they stay in business? (Long, I'm afraid.)

The BBQ Pit
1

This isn’t The Pit, so I’ll try not to use expressions like “dog-buggering” when referencing UPS; but I really want to know: How do they stay in business?

First of all, their corporate policy is to not deliver packages when people are at home. Of course I could arrange to go to a neighbourhood where I’m likely to be shot, carjacked, and/or robbed, and pick up the package at the downtown L.A. depot – after driving through some of the worst traffic in the nation; but UPS apparently doesn’t want people to pick up packages in person, else they wouldn’t put their depot in a dangerous neighbourhood.

No, they would prefer to make multiple “attempts” at delivery to addresses where they have a pretty good idea that people won’t be, burning expensive fuel and polluting the atmosphere, than to deliver when people are around or have hours where people can pick up packages during non-traffic times. Saturday, for example.

If someone mails me a package and I’m not home, then I can leave work a little early and pick it up at the post office a few blocks away from my flat at a reasonable hour. FedEx stays open until 19:00 and they’re not much farther away than the post office. And both the post office and FedEx are open Saturdays, so people can drive to a decent, nearby location without having to take time off from work. Heck, the post office and FedEx will even deliver on a Saturday!

We used to have a UPS driver who would not even attempt to deliver packages. For whatever reason, I’ve found myself at home on a weekday. Did the driver knock on my door? Nope. He would knock at the manager’s apartment. If the manager wasn’t there, he’d leave a yellow pick-up notice and leave. This is a 30-unit building, not a huge complex. It’s not that difficult. I’ve told the manager that I was expecting a package. She said she saw the driver leaving. (Apparently she couldn’t get to the door; and anyway, I was home!) I’ve heard he’s no longer the driver.

So when someone sends something by UPS (which I strongly discourage) I call UPS and reroute the package to my office. (NB: The company I work for is not in the business of accepting personal packages for people.) I give them the street address. I give them the floor number (we have two complete floors). I give them my cube number. I give them my phone number and tell them that if they can’t find me to call me on the phone. I tell them that the business name is not on the doors, so pick a door an knock on it. I check tracking and see something like “Need suite number.” Huh? You have the street address, the floor (suite) number and my cube number. UPS delivers packages to the business every single day! How can they not find me?

Every single time I route a package to my office, they screw it up.

I have arranged to take a day off of work to be home to accept a package. (Which equates to over $200 for shipping whatever I’ve ordered, BTW.) I’ve called to tell them, “I am at home and I am waiting for delivery.” When I call back they say, “Oh, the addressee called and told us to hold the package at the depot.” I’m at a loss as to how they got that from “I am at home and I am waiting for delivery”.

So I found an original “perfect condition” 1960s steering wheel for my MGB. I paid for it with PayPal and I put on the payment receipt, “Please DO NOT SEND UPS as I cannot be at home to accept it. Please send by U.S. Mail or FedEx only.” Naturally the seller sent it by UPS. I got my first UPS notice on Tuesday last. “Rats! Oh well, I’ll be leaving work early on Wednesday.” Traffic by LAX was backed up due to holiday traffic and I was later than expected getting home. I missed the delivery. Well, I have Friday off. Guess what? UPS had Friday off as well. I had the package re-routed to my office :smack:

It didn’t show up Monday. I called. They put 505 instead of 600 for the street address. 'Recipient moved," said their tracking system. So I called them Monday night. I told them the correct address. I had the woman read the address back to me. No delivery today. They didn’t change the address. So I called them again today. They said they changed the address. I called the clerk at the Anaheim depot. His records showed the same incorrect address. I gave him the correct addres again. I told him to dliver the package to me, or to the mail room on the 9th floor. I told him to have the driver phone me if he can’t find me (remember, they deliver other stuff all the time). I told him to tell the driver to knock on the door if he can’t find me. I told him to tell the driver to pick up the phone in the lobby and dial my extension if he can’t find me. He said I told me I should call back in the morning.

So how in the name of the gods does UPS stay in business? They have inconvenient hours, some of their drivers are incompetent, they can’t seem to get the right address on the package even when it’s given to them several times. A package I could have had on Tuesday is still, a week later, undelivered; so they’re slow. If people would just wake up and stop using UPS, then they will go out of business for their sins!

“Brown”? Poo is brown.

2

Well now!

One part of all of that resonated with me. A couple of weeks ago I stayed home on a Friday (I wasn’t feeling well anyway) so I could be there for FedEx. UPS also was supposed to redeliver. They did, too, although not until 7 pm. or so. No big deal.

So I’m waiting, and FedEx never does show up (they had put a hangtag on the door). I figure it’s no big deal, because their office isn’t far, and they’re open late. So I eventually wander over to the mailbox and get the day’s mail while I continue to wait for either UPS or FedEx.

So what do I see in the mailbox? A note from the letter carrier that they have a package for me at the post office.

I’ve been home all day. They couldn’t walk five feet from the mailbox to the door and knock on it.

So, UPS came when they were supposed to for me, although pretty late in the day; USPS was lazy and didn’t even knock on the door, like with you.

But FedEx was the worst. They never showed up that Friday. I went to their site to track the package, and they claimed they had come by that day and “owner not home/business closed.” Which was a complete fabrication. I went to their depot to pick it up the next day, only to learn it was on the road. Took till yesterday to track the thing down.

3

UPS, FedEX, DHL, etc. HATE residential customers - they live and die on B2B.

I’ve got people trained to use USPS, NEVER UPS, but some businesses will switch carriers, so:

If I know something is incoming via UPS:

Make a note, reading:

“UPS - pls hold on will-call” and tape it to the door.

(yes, locally at least, they say “on will-call”, not the normal “at will-call”)

When the package arrives, the driver is SUPPOSED (they pay bottom-rung wages, maybe?) to take the note, stick it on the package, and leave all packages with such tags at “will call” at end of his/her shift.

If the note is gone when you get home, plan on going to the bad side of town the following afternoon, have ID, and a little slip with your last name, street addr, and ZIP (they sort and store by ZIP) in hand.
Give the slip to the person and see if thay can find the package (they like having it written out for them).

The above worked for me. YMMV (greatly)

4

Hm. The post office and FedEx have always been great for me. UPS has always been atrocious.

5

The UPS folks around us just leave the package at the door if we’re not home. They hide it behind some of the porch plants, though, so it doesn’t get stolen.

6

but while we’re on the subject of How do they stay in business?

Why in the world did they start that “brown” ad campaign?

Yeah, I know the trucks and uniforms have been brown all these years, but why over the past year or so, do they feel the need to have the public refer to them as “brown?”

Awful, in a contrived and disgusting way.

7

Oh, I soooo feel your pain. I’ve been screwed over by UPS on many an occasion. I’ve spent countless hours on the phone with “supervisors” at the "Customer ‘Care’ " (note the excessive use of quotes). However, I’ve got to agree with happyheathen – they don’t give a rat’s ass about you, me or the next guy who just ordered some thing from the internet. As long as the local university and the other large companies continue to send things with the “Brown”, they’ll be in business.

8

I don’t like UPS either, and not so much for the damage all the packages they deliver seem to have, but for the fact that their drivers have problems reading. I have a fenced, gated yard. I have dogs. I have a big “KEEP OUT” sign posted on the gate. I have a large enclosed box with the word “packages” in big letters outside my gate. So why is it every single time they come to my gate, they insist on trying to open it? I don’t want my dogs let out, or maced again. Why can’t they read and understand where I want my packages left? None of the other delivery drivers have a problem with this, but the UPS drivers always try to deliver the package inside the gate. :mad:

9

Hm, I don’t have problems with UPS. My driver always leaves the packages by the door or in the bushes and then rings the doorbell. I get packages all the time. Same with FedEx. I think I have about six outstanding Amazon orders that will be sent by UPS, and I expect that all of them to be left. The USPS driver doesn’t have a problem leaving packages by the door, but he doesn’t bother to ring the doorbell.

10

Very unfortunate Johnny. I’ve never had a bad experience myself.

11

:smack:

I mean with any of the three you mentioned. The two above, and the implied UPS reference.
Same with California Overnight.

12

I’m not using them any more because I ship a lot of paintings, and they charge 70 lb rates on boxes over a certain size even when the thing barely weighs 10 lbs. The post office does not do that. I don’t know about FedEx but I’m going to be looking into them.

13

FedEx comes into my building and leaves the package at my door. The driver then leaves a message on my answering machine that the package is there. When something ships FedEx I will have it 24 hours later.

UPS insists on making three attempts over three business days. They won’t ever leave the package even with me leaving notes for them to do so. They only make attempts during the middle of the day when I am not going to be at home. After these three days on the fourth day the package is available for pickup at the distribution center. I have to wait four days minimum to have the chance to go and pick it up myself.

UPS sucks.

14

Aha! I’m NOT the only one who’s been bitch-slapped by UPS! I thought maybe it was just me. How dare I have a 9-5 job that prohibits both my being home when they deliver AND going to pick the package up at their office (which closed evenings and weekends)? I must not want to receive my packages very much!

And I’m very irritated by their snotty little notes, warning me about how they’ve made a gajillion attempts, and I’d better get my ass in gear and quit my job, so I’m home tomorrow, or they’re gonna send it back.

Ooh, I’m getting dangerously close to Pit territory here, so I’ll sign off.

Love, Kn*ckers

15

I dunno around here UPS is the black hole of death of courier companies…we say that UPS stands for unbelievably poor service :smiley:

16

Hmm. Personally never had a problem with UPS, but that’s probably because my mom and I both work shifts, so we’re at home during the day when a package might be delivered. I have, however had a problem with Fed Ex. I will never have a package delivered by them if I can help it.

I ordered some printer ink cartridges. I didn’t know what shipping company Canon uses, but two weeks later, I didn’t have my cartridges. Called Canon, was told the Fed Ex tracking number, called Fed Ex, and their automated system told me that the package had been delivered. Bullshit, I thought. Mom and I had both been at home on the day and time of the alleged delivery. After a bit of trouble, I finally got a live human on the phone, who told me that package had been signed for by an E. Baily. I had no clue who E. Baily was. Turned out the driver had just dumped the package at the apartment complex office without so much as coming to the apartment and knocking at the door. E. Baily was a new employee at the office. Of course, the office people didn’t have the courtesy to call and let us know that we had a package sitting.

Oh, and USPS? My mom had a defective hot roller set that she needed to send back to the company for replacement. She left the box in the mailroom right by the “outgoing mail” box (it wouldn’t fit in the letter slot). Weeks went by, no new hot roller set. Finally, she got a note from the office saying they had a package for her and if she didn’t come pick it uo, they’d send it back. Guess what the package was. Uh-huh. The box she had sent. Clearly labeled with the company’s address. The postal carrier had picked the box, which was clearly labeled with the address it was being sent to, and instead of putting it in thier little postal truck, had carried the box, which was clearly labeled with the address it was being sent to into the complex office.

Personally, I don’t think any service that you pay to deliver packages is worth a damn.

17

My only advice is to use their web site to reroute stuff. I use it all the time to have them hold stuff at their warehouse, which luckily isn’t that far away. You do need the InfoNotice[super]TM[/super] number though, which you can only get after they try and fail to deliver.

FedEx is nice because you can pick up the same day they first try to deliver, and they’re open to 7 PM, while UPS is only open to 6 PM.

USPS will leave anything outside my apartment door. Which is convenient, but also scary, since I usually have no tracking number and if something gets swiped, how would I even know?

18

Pity me. I worked for about a year for a pager company that shall not be named doing loss recovery on UPS shipments to and from their customers. The shipments were incredibly loss-prone in both directions. I spoke to the inventory manager at the NYC office once, she told me that incoming packages often arrived open and empty, and UPS would then deny our loss claims due to “inadequate packaging”. “Yeah-they don’t stand up well to razor blades,” was her comment to me … It was pretty clear to us that contents were being pilfered en route, but (of course) we could never prove anything. And the UPS claims department was an absolute PITA to deal with-everything was always somebody else’s fault. Grump.

19

Huh. I got a pyramid-shaped box today from UPS. Oh it was originally a cube, just severly dented.

I’m fairly sure that’s why the UPS guy always leaves the stuff on the porch and bolts w/o a signature. I’ve had ripped boxes, destroyed boxes, I had a tricycle for Kiddo delivered and part of the STEEL frame had been worn away – dragged on asphalt for a mile or so, I’d guess. They suck.

20

I’ve had nothing but problems with UPS. They and I both know I will never do business with them again, and I won’t purchase from businesses that only allow UPS shipments. They’ve lost my packages, delayed time sensitive shipments for a week on their error (and refused to make any reparations), and proceeded to tell me that it was all my fault. There is no excuse for such poor customer service.