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

The BBQ Pit
41

I have been a big fan of Fed-Ex for years. I ship all of my business paperwork thru them every week, have for years, with nary a problem.

Until this week.

I shipped my stuff as usual, but I made one mistake. The entire address was correct- business name, street address, city, state…but I made a typo and the last number of the zip was wrong.

Those fuckers returned my package. The fact that everything else was 100% correct was a lot less important than the fact that my zero looked like a six.

So now I don’t get paid this week, and I need that money, too. Waiting another week is gonna kill me.

Bastards

42

Update on my husband waiting for a UPS package - yesterday, the regular driver was back on the route. My husband spotted the UPS truck first while delivering the mail, though, and walked up. This UPS driver knows my husband has the USPS route in our area, and it turns out he had been looking for my husband’s vehicle too. Package delivered safely, hooray.

Some carriers are just lazy - the one for UPS where we used to live (who forged the time on a “I was here but you weren’t” yellow slip and didn’t even ring the bell) certainly was. There’s no excuse for at least not trying to see if someone’s home, or following any simple “for deliveries” notes as long as it didn’t break any “signature required” rules.

Sometimes if they ring-and-run, they’re on a tight time schedule for deliveries. Occasionally my husband will get a couple dozen certified letters for his route on the same day. Spending, say, 2 minutes waiting at each door would add nearly an hour to his route time, putting him into overtime for that, and raising serious questions with his supervisors unless he could justify it. (Mysteriously, some of the supervisors just don’t understand that something requiring a signature takes longer to deliver than something that doesn’t.) So he’ll wait about 30 seconds at the door for at least the sound of footsteps or someone calling out, and then he’ll turn and head down their walk, assuming no one’s home (after having to take extra time to check off a “you have a certified letter” notice and leave it).

43

Put me in the “will never deal with UPS again and will not but from companies that only ship UPS” column.

I shipped a TV to myself when I was in school. UPS broke it and refused to pay full price for it. Bought a replacement TV (floor model) and at the end of the year shipped it home. UPS broke it and refused to pay for it because it wasn’t shipped in the original styrofoam, which I didn’t have because I had to buy the discounted floor model because they refused to pay for the first one they broke. It was wrapped in pillows and blankets and they broke it in half.

In the same round of shipments as the broken TV, they broke and “lost” all sorts of other things. What astounded me was the sheer inventiveness of the things they lost. They delivered my tape deck, turntable and CD player, but not the receiver that allows them to work together. They delivered one speaker and not the other (why wouldn’t the thief steal both speakers?). They delivered the desk chair but lost the piece that held the back to the seat. They delivered the box fan but lost the knob that turned it on. Worst of all for me, they dleivered a sealed box of books that had books in it that weren’t mine, meaning that TWO cartons of books broke open and they just scooped some back into each box. To this day I have no clue what if any books I lost.

Because I took the boxes to a Mailboxes-type place for shipping, under UPS rules this company became the shipper and UPS refused to deal with me regarding reimbursement. I spent countless hours on the phone long distance to Texas trying to coordinate the reimbursement. Finally after something like eight months UPS grudgingly provided me with a written list of the items for which they would accept responsibility. The TV was disallowed but they admitted they lost the stereo components and broke the fan and chair. They refused to pay anything for the books since I couldn’t “prove” that any were lost. They told me to provide them with wriiten replacement costs, and you can damn well bet I sent them the listing for the highest priced box fan I could find.

This was 13 years ago and in that time I’ve received maybe 4 things from UPS. They’ve fucked up every one of them. Three delivery attempts over three business days? Try two delivery attempts on the same day an hour apart and then leave a slip marked “final attempt failed.” Try the utter inability to get a package from one side of town to the other without losing or damaging it. May they all rot in Hell forever.

And I don’t know who’s been telling you people that Amazon doesn’t use the post office. I’ve ordered any nmber of things from Amazon and they’ve been sent via USPS to my PO Box.

44

I always thought that some packages required a signature and some did not. I’ve recieved some packages from UPS where they just left them on my doorstep which is hunky dorey for me. At least I GET the package. If this is true (some packages requiring signatures and some not) perhaps for the ones that do require a sig, the delivery person could actually knock on the door. For the others, they could just leave it.

I just can’t get with the whole “they leave a slip and you go pick it up” mentality. They are DELIVERING the package right? Then why is the deliveree expected to pick it up? That kinda defeats the whole purpose of having something delivered doesn’t it?

45

I have only had one horrific delivery issue, and UPS went out of their way to assist me–
I had computer equipment delivered. The sender (an ISP company who should rot in hell-not AOL) labelled it as a package that would be signed for by anyone around.
Someone in my building signed for it, then put it in front of my door. When I got home later that evening, the box had been opened and stuff stolen from it.
Called UPS-Lurlene (her name, honest to diety) explained what I needed to do-file a police report, contact the sender. Did that, called her back-a UPS driver was over within an hour making copies of the police report, getting the name of the moron I spoke with at the ISP, etc.
UPS ended up paying the ISP for replacement of the stolen equipment, but the ISP still swears they never received it. UPS gave me the date/check number/amount, then even faxed me a copy of the check, cashed by the ISP.

With regards to other deliveries, I now have stuff delivered to a friend who I know is home during the day. There have never been any problems with anything sent.

46

Yeah, same here - I’ve ordered lots of stuff from Amazon, and it has always been sent USPS. I didn’t know they even used UPS.

47

I used to do 40-60 or pizza deliveries a night, in the dark, and that was including door-to-door service, waiting for the money or the person who could pay, etc. And I sure as shit didn’t make UPS driver wages or get their benefits.

They are horrendously overpaid, (collectively via the behaviors witnessed and testified to here) lazy, and have a union that is Karl Marx’s wet dream. They have (collectively) some of the rudest and most worthless phone service people on the planet, and they absolutely do not give a shit if your package ever makes it or not. And their delivery guarantees are crap - just try to get any real refund from them.

And for every “UPS is shit” story in here, I have at least one of my own. I only used them when there is no other option available, and have walked away from several purchases where there was no other option available.

Who can say why they are this way, but it is amazing to me that they still exist.

48

My neighborhood is safe. When I register for an internet shopping site, my address line 2 reads PLEASE LEAVE AT FRONT DOOR IF NOT HOME. That works fine for garments, camping equipment, etc.

However, when I ordered this computer, I had it delivered to the office.

49

Textual Atlas provided for your convenience

Boston - a city on the east coast of the US
Newton - a small city 30 minutes west of Boston, and a bitch to get to if you don’t have a car
Foxboro - a small town 60 min south of Boston, and impossible to get to without a car
Ipswitch - a quaint fishing town 90 minutes north of Boston, hard to get there even with a car

Got a mental map?

OK, so…

I was having a package delivered from a store in Boston to my home in Boston. Yada yada yada, 3 final notices from UPS on the same day. You’ve already heard that a bunch of times. So I called them and asked them to deliver it to my office in Newton. No problem, says they.

Two days later, it hasn’t arrived. I call. They tell me it was delivered. I ask where to. Proudly and confidently, they tell me to Foxboro Stadium. Huh? I don’t work at Foxboro Stadium, I don’t live at Foxboro Stadium, I’ve never once been to Foxboro Stadium, and I’m not even a football fan. I check with the store that sent it, they have never had a customer anywhere near the vicinity of Foxboro.

OK, they’ll get it right tomorrow. Tomorrow comes, and come to find out it’s been delivered. Correctly. To Foxboro Stadium.

Now I’m starting to worry, as the contents of this package are priceless and unique, and no amount of compensation will make me whole.

This goes on for about 2 weeks. Every day, they claim it’s been correctly. To Foxboro Stadium. When they realize the error of their ways, they tell me I can just swing by Ipswich to pick it up at their distribution center. Yeah. Take off of work, rent a car, drive 90 minutes north, to visit a DELIVERY SERVICE and pick up a package that is 150 minutes south IN FUCKING FOXBORO!!!

The happy ending: A guy on my street just so happened to work at Foxboro Stadium. He noticed the package. After staring at it for 2 weeks he decided to bring it over to me.

50

UPS = Satan’s delivery service.

I have had decent luck with USPS, great luck with FedEx (but not FedEx ground- they are not really FedEx), and spotty luck with UPS.

The problems is UPS really, really doesn’t give a rats ass. At all.

And when they break something you shipped with them, which they forced you to buy insurance for (to protect you, from them kind of like the Mob), they will deny your claim.

Every fricking time. You have to fight, and fight and fight those assmonkey claims people who seem to get paid soley on the basis of legitimate claims denied. :rolleyes:

They destroyed an expensive mountain bike we shipped from one bike shop to another in a UPS approved container (professionally packed by the owner, who has 20+ years of experience).

When the bike shows up- we are waiting for it (it was late- what a shock). As the driver starts pulling the bike box out we notice the 1 foot by 1 foot giant hole in the box with mangled bike parts hanging out. We point this out, refuse delivery due to the destroyed nature of the bike, and put in a claim on the insurance they sold me.

At first, they simply deny the claim. I call those fuck nuggets to inquire why- as the bike never made it off the truck and the driver noted the damage at that time.

Inadequate packaging. Hmm, the bike was packed in a UPS approved bike box, by a bike shop. Strike one you ethics deprived fart sniffer.

They wait a bit, and then tell me claim denied again. Now I am starting to get pissed. What now I inquire? Well- they claim that I shipped the bike in that destoyed manner. I.E. I and the bike shop (who had done business with them for over a decade) were trying to defraud them. We pointed out the giant hole in the box and asked them how we managed to get the UPS guy to pick up a package with destoyed bike parts hanging out of this massive hole.

Also I requested that they put this statement in writing as I did not want them to claim that they didn’t slander a business and attorney with unfounded accusations. Oh yeah-- oops I didn’t mention I was an attorney now did I. Strike two.

Oops they say-- we will pay the claim. Of course, they tried to only replace a few parts. I straighten them out. Every part the bike shops indentify as damaged gets replaced. Strike three. They cave in.

Wait, nobody spends this much money on a bike they then claim. Out comes a price list from my shop (full retail-- no discounts for those dickheads). Finally they cave in for good, but petulantly require the broken parts. Fine I say, come to the bike shop and get them.

3 weeks later :rolleyes: the check arrives.

What a great company. :mad:

51

So I missed my chance for a profanity-filled OP?

Bugger.

52

I work for a company that ships almost exclusively using UPS; you guys don’t know the half of it (as far as ‘how do they stay in business.’ In terms of bad customer service I’d say this thread pretty much nails it).

I’ve gotta say, though, USPS is worse. When they lose (or steal) your stuff, there’s nothing you can do. You just have to eat it.

At least with UPS there’s always tracking. And, with UPS, as long as one party (the sender or the receiver) is a big company, it’s almost always UPS that ends up paying for the screwups.
That’s what I don’t get. As has been described, pretty much everyone along the route of a package treats it horribly. They smash them, crush them, kick them, bounce them, open them up and remove the contents.

The thing is, though, when any of these things happen, my company makes a damaged or missing items claim. And every single claim gets approved. I can have a customer call me up and say, this item was obviously damaged before shipping – the item itself is broken; the inner box is unharmed, and the outer box is unopened and pristine. I call UPS, make a claim, fill out a form, UPS pays us, we re-ship the item. I’m not saying I make fraudulent claims – I trust the people in my warehouse a far sight more than I trust some faceless package handlers. The point is that for pretty much anything under $250 or so, UPS doesn’t even want to see the original package. They just wave the claim through.

In other words, they make a habit of breaking shit on purpose and then cheerfully paying for it.
And some of the crazy things I’ve seen them do just boggle my mind. I’d bet dollars to donuts, Johnny L.A., that the reason they put the alleged holding depot in such a bad neighborhood is because it doesn’t actually exist. Almost every case I’ve seen where a customer is told by UPS that their package is being held, it’s actually just getting returned to the shipper.

Oh, and a final word to the wise: If UPS leaves a package without getting a signature, they’re liable for whatever happens to it. If they deliver you a package and nobody’s there to sign for it, and you get home and set up a block party to have people stroll by and steal shit out of your package, then call up UPS to make a claim for it, they’ll have to pay. I mean, you know, hypothetically.

53

The shipping company I’ve sworn off here is FedEx. The driver on my route never ever leaves the “attempted delivery” slips, he just lies and says he has a “signature waiver on file” and then leaves my airline tickets or whatever in the entryway of my apartment building where they could get taken by anybody and because he doesn’t even get one of my fellow residents to sign for it, I wouldn’t even know who to ask to figure out what had happened to my package. When he did it with the airline tickets I sent a complaint to FedEx about the fact that I have never signed any sort of signature waiver with them, but (surprise!) they never deigned to respond.

At least the UPS guy leaves the notes, and if I truly do want to sign a “signature waiver”, it’s on the back of the note and I can, if I don’t, then he doesn’t pretend I did so that he can save time. I do live in fear that I’ll end up having to pick up something at the distribution center because I have the sneaking suspicion that it is not located convenient to public transportation. Just a hunch.

USPS is the best though because the mail carrier has a key to get into the building and access the mailboxes, so at least the packages get left where only residents, and not the general public as well, can steal them.

I miss my college mailroom. They were always there, you never missed a package.

54

Actually, it does. I’ve been there. Businesses have security guards outside. Graffiti everywhere. Trash. Houses in disrepair. People have warned me not to go there at night. Now, I’ve been downtown at night. I don’t worry about legions of homeless. But this is just across the freeway from downtown. Gangsta territory. This last time, the UPS guy I talked to on the phone said it was a bad neighbourhood.