UPS sucks...what else is new?

The BBQ Pit
#1

A bit long, but I need to rant about these morons so I apologize in advance…

So I take yesterday off from work so I’ll be home to receive my new home gym from UPS. Their tracking info states the delivery date will be July 14th & when I doublecheck yesterday morning, it says “Out for Delivery.” I’m supposed to be getting 2 packages, each about 75 lbs & bulky so there’s no way I can pick these up from the UPS facility if I miss the delivery. For the same reason, I can’t have the packages delivered to my workplace because they won’t fit in my car. No problem though, I think, I’ll be home and can carry them upstairs with some effort.

After being home all day & checking the UPS site off & on (still reading “Out for Delivery”), I was a bit surprised to see a new entry around 5pm that the package was left in the facility and is rescheduled for July 15th. Very nice! I just wasted an entire vacation day because some moron forgot to put it on the truck apparently. I call the vendor that sold it to me and complain. The woman says it’s too late to do anything about it today but she’ll call the UPS preferred line in the morning and see if they can make sure it’s delivered on Friday after 5pm (when I’ll be home.) She’ll call me in the morning to let me know.

So this morning at work, I finally call her about 11:30 (2 1/2 hours after she said she’d call) and leave a message. She calls back and says no problem, she talked to UPS and they’ll definitely deliver it between 5 and 7 tonight. Perfect! I’ll be home and can haul the thing upstairs.

I get home around 5 and then the wait begins. Have dinner with my wife, then she goes off to pick up a couple of things she needs while I wait. 7pm rolls around and lo and behold, a UPS truck shows up a couple apartments down the street. My wait is over! He delivers some package to the complex, then another UPS truck arrives and parks in front of him. Two trucks? I’m guaranteed to get my gym! I can see the trucks from my apartment window so I watch them talk for a few minutes before the 2nd truck takes off. The first truck pulls up in front of the place next door & he gets out to go across the street. OK, I think, I’m next, so I get ready to go down and haul the packages up. After a few minutes, I hear the truck start up so I head into the living room to wait for the knock. Oh hang on, the truck is heading off. Without stopping to deliver my gym. That’s pretty strange - did they forget it again? I check the tracking website and find this lovely piece of bullshit, which was entered in a few minutes earlier: “THE RECEIVER WAS UNAVAILABLE TO SIGN ON THE 1ST DELIVERY ATTEMPT. A 2ND DELIVERY ATTEMPT WILL BE MADE” What the fuck!!! Was I invalid? I’m unable to sign? How so? I’m sitting right fucking here in my apartment, waiting for your sorry ass…AGAIN! I doublecheck the door and the mailbox area downstairs…no UPS note to be found. The fucker didn’t even attempt a delivery, yet here I am, fucked over again by this piece of shit company. At this point, I call up and bitch away at the customer service rep, who takes down the incident, then I get a call back from the manager, who tells me that sorry, there’s nothing they can do except file the complaint in the hope that it won’t happen again. FUCK!!! I confirmed the delivery address with the service rep and there are giant fucking numbers on the side of our building so there’s no way the moron could mix it up.

First thing Monday, I’ll be calling the vendor again to demand a refund of the 58.00 shipping charge.

#2

Oh yeah, call UPS, I’m positive that this guys manager will love to hear about this. I’m not sure that this was so much UPS’s fault as just one lazy bastard that didn’t want to huck your home gym onto your doorstep as he’s being paid for.

#3

ups employee here. first off i’d like to say i should be pitting you for sending away for something that heavy that i might have had to have lifted form the floor all the way up into the truck which is at about chin level. do you know what its like when i step out of my trailor, covered in blood, sweat and dirt to find about thirty home gyms/treadmills/slot machines?! i would get home about 30 min earlier (we spend the last half hour or so picking the heavy stuff up off the floor) if people would just get in their cars and drive to the nearest walmart type store or sports outlet and pick up their own damn home gym. but i wouldn’t pit you for that because lifting all those treadmills/home gyms/slot machines has given me glorious muscles (vanity, isn’t it great?). anyways, having got the nonsense out of the way… complain till you are blue in the face. that driver will be properly punished. you will get a refund. ups is very anal (i get bitched out everytime i screw up, maybe you should all be pitting me for smashing/misloading your packages…) about the right package getting to te right place at the right time because if it doesn’t, you get a refund and we lose your buisness.

#4

Did the manager say that the driver didn’t attempt it? Or did he go to the wrong apt?

I see what you mean about the driver not wanting to haul it off his truck, but if he doesn’t deliver it that means he has to load it and unload it every day.

Seems like they’re just making more work for themselves, silly bastards.

#5

Oh, comrade33, open cans of worms much?? :rolleyes:

#6

If one doesn’t want to load and unload possibly heavy or awkward packages, one shouldn’t apply to work for a parcel delivery service.

#7

My standard practice is to just let them try delivery the first day while I’m at work. I get home, get the little note on the door and head over to ups.com. Then I just schedule a pick-up for the next day and go get it from the sorting facility myself. Of course, it should be noted that the sorting facility is less than 1.5 miles from my apartment and is on my way home from work. If it’s much further from you, this may not be a valid strategy.

#8

i revel in it.

i was just kidding. i love my job.

#9

And Fed Ex swallows, I’ve got my eye on DHL, but that’s for a different thread.

#10

This sort of thing happened all the time when I was living in L.A.

One one occasion I especially wanted to receive my merchandise. (It only weighed about five pounds, BTW; so there’s no problem with lifting it.) I knew the day the package would be delivered, so I took the day off. At the time I was making a very nice salary, so this was an expensive vacation day. I called in the morning and was assured the package was out for delivery. At noon I called again. I told the rep that I had taken the day off, and that I was waiting at home for delivery. No worries, it’s on its way. I avoided the computer since I was on a dial-up and wanted the line free for when the driver came to the gate. When the package hadn’t arrived by 15:00, I did log on and checked the website. ‘CUSTOMER CALLED AND REQUESTED PACKAGE BE LEFT AT DEPOT’ :eek: :mad: I called UPS back and clouded up and rained all over a supervisor. I told him that I did not request the package be left at the depot. I told him that I specifically told the rep that I was waiting at home for delivery and that I would be here. I told him that it cost me $200 for taking the day off specifically so that I could be there to get my package. I told him about the poor service I and the other people in the building have received from UPS over the years. They sent a van out with the package and it arrived around 19:00.

Oh, and ‘all of the other times’… Like the OP, I have been home on other occasions waiting for deliveries. On one occasion that I specifically recall I was waiting all day – again, not using the phone. The phone never rang. There was never a knock at my door. In the afternoon I went out to find the yellow tag, which said that I was not home. LIAR! The manager said she had seen the UPS driver arrive, leave a note, and then leave without simply ringing me on the intercom.

The driver would never try to deliver packages to individuals. He would take everything to the manager, and would not even attempt to see if the recipient was home. The manager got bloody sick of this, I can tell you! Now, you may say, ‘But do you know how difficult it is to make deliveries in an apartment complex? Hundreds of apartments, and there’s a schedule to be kept!’ Only my building had 30 units (one of which was just a ‘store room’) and two levels. That excuse doesn’t fly.

And a ‘FINAL ATTEMPT’ notice was often the first clue I had that a delivery had been attempted. Not only could this bugger not be arsed to even attempt a delivery, but he also couldn’t be arsed to leave a note the first time or two he didn’t attempt delivery.

This went on for years I ensured that I did not buy anything from any seller who shipped by UPS. Several people in the building complained – especially the manager, upon whom packages were routinely dumped. But no action was taken for years. The story we got was that drivers are in a union, and it’s almost impossible to have them disciplined. Whether that’s true or not, this driver kept his job. In the last year I was in L.A., we finally got a new driver who would actually do his job and attempt to deliver packages. Not that it made any difference to me; I’d already ‘banned’ UPS. But my neighbours finally got decent service.

Another problem with UPS is that they no longer left packages at the local depot in West L.A. It used to be that if I got a ‘yellow sticky’ I could drive up and get the package when I got home from work just before they closed. Then they started taking undelivered packages to the depot downtown. So I wouldn’t have time to get home, discover the notice (if the driver had bothered to leave one), and then fight L.A. rush-hour traffic to get to the incredibly crappy neighbourhood where a Chez Crack sign would not have been out of place on every other house, to pick up my package. And of course, UPS depots are closed on Saturdays.

By contrast, FedEx always left a notice. They were in Culver City, which was only a mile or so away from my apartment. They were open Saturday, so I could get my package if I was late getting home.

UPS. They want to be called ‘Brown’ now. Poo is brown.

#11

better never order cable service

#12

I feel your pain Johnny. I can understand UPS making mistakes but this seems almost deliberate for some reason. I even checked the nearby apartment complexes that he went to and looked at the yellow stickies he left. None of them belonged to my package, so I can’t see it being a case of the wrong address. And of course there are those huge numbers on the side of the building so unless he’s completely stupid (this is a strong possibility), he’d know which building I’m in. I would think that the vendor calling the UPS preferred line and asking about the package would be some sort of indicator to the local UPS depot that it would be important to not fuck this up again. But apparently that didn’t do much good.

And with regards to picking it up from the UPS depot, I’d be more than happy to do it except I don’t have a vehicle big enough to pick up the packages. That’s also the main reason why I purchased it online.

I was able to get the local UPS # from the call center manager (who told me I didn’t get it from her) so I’ll call them tomorrow to see if I can get an EXACT time on when I should be expecting my packages. I’ve already wasted an entire vacation day, plus 3 hours on a Friday night waiting for this asshole to deliver.

#13

I had UPS deliver something last week. I get home from work to find a yellow slip on my front door. (Two people were home all day).

The next morning, I put a sign on the door.

“UPS- Ring Doorbell.”

Problem solved.

:rolleyes:

#14

This doesn’t help the OP’s specific situation, but for small packages I considered unlikely to be stolen, I used to tape a signed note to my door asking the driver to just leave it there. I had a rubberstamp with my name and address that I used for printing my return address on envelopes, so I would also stamp the note with that so they knew that it definitely and positively came from me, the person who lived there.

#15

On 6/22 I ordered a computer from Gateway. Scheduled delivery by UPS was 7/5. I’m home all day and while coming inside from checking the mail, I find the dreaded yellow notice. No biggie, I know the driver is a piece of shit anyway and I leave him a note to next time make an actual attempt to ring the fucking doorbell, exactly as mentioned earlier in the thread.

The next day I hear the familiar sound of the UPS truck racing 20 mph over the speed limit in our quiet neighborhood full of playing children, brakes squealing in front of my house, and the doorbell rings. The man in the shit colored uniform asks me to sign for a “wet package.”

No Fuckmuscle, this package is not wet, its drenched. The bottom of the package holding my brand spankin’ new $1600 tower is so wet that I am able to poke my finger through the heavy gauge cardboard with the cow pattern on it and caress the side of the tower.

He tells me there’s a leak somewhere in his truck and everything on the floor is in three inches of standing rain water. He wants me to sign for it. I laugh and tell him to take it back to his truck and give it to his boss. He tells me to have it my way.

I call Gateway and tell them the story, they tell me that I should have signed for the package and then downloaded their form to return damaged merchandise. They were sorry to tell me that I couldn’t even get a refund until UPS returns the package to them. I tell her that the box was so damaged that it would not contain the wet computer through transit, and that I’m really disappointed that that was Gateway’s best effort at customer satisfaction, and to cancel the rest of my order and refund everything.

She puts me on hold to talk to her supervisor for a few minutes and comes back and offers me a new computer for ten percent off, but she has to charge me again. I tell her we gotta deal as long as she can next day it FedEx and waive the shipping. Done deal, almost.

As of today, I’m still waiting for my computer that I paid for a month ago because now Gateway has shit on backorder. All because Brown dispatches trucks with holes in them and drivers too stupid to try to pull over and salvage other people’s property.

In April I bought Turbotax from Amazon and UPS lost it for two weeks and delivered it after the twentieth. I had to go find it myself and wait another week or two for Amazon’s refund.

I used to work for that company in the mid 80s while in college. This type of service was unheard of back in those days. Today, Brown can’t do anything for me. I will never use their service again.

#16

UPS service did improve before I left L.A; but the previous cock-ups really soured me on ‘Brown’. In fairness though, UPS have provided very good service up here in NoWA. The driver is friendly, and she will leave most packages at my door, as out of the weather as possible, when I’m not home. Unlike the downtown L.A. depot, the depot in Bellingham is easy to get to. (Of course, Bellingham has a fraction of the population of L.A.)

I still won’t send anything by/spend my money at UPS though, since my L.A. experiences with them was so frustrating. Maybe it really is, as my former apartment manager said, a ‘union thing’; but if the company will not discipline a driver after a few years of complaints, then they obviously don’t care about customer service.

#17

I have never, ever had a UPS package delivered on time or correctly (i.e., the guy rings the doorbell) to my home address. We use UPS all the time at work, however, and they could not be more reliable.

I guess they have their priorities. But I won’t buy anything online if I know it’s going to be UPS. I’ll even call to find out if I can get delivery any other way. And if that doesn’t work and I need something I’ll have them deliver it to the office.

#18

Y’all just need to move out to the sticks. :stuck_out_tongue:

I love UPS, and it is the only way to ship anything back home to my Mom in the middle of nowhere Humboldt County California.

We have the same delivery driver for years at a time. In my youth, my Mom was on a first name basis with the “UPS Lady” (I’ve never been good with names), and she would occasionally, depending on her schedule, take a few minutes to have a cup of coffee and chat.

Our current driver now leaves my Mom’s packages in the new firehouse dedicated to the memory of my Dad at the top of our property, instead of bouncing the truck down our bumpy dirt driveway. When she has a tracking ID, she usually leaves him cookies or something on the day he’s supposed to deliver.

It’s all about perspective…and really makes me want to give up this high-stress cubicle farm and move home…

#19

I’ve had a few friends who wore the brown, and I can tell you that the level of service is 100% dependent upon the driver. If you have a good regular driver it is bliss (having worked in the shipping/receiving department of a small company). Also, knowing what their schedule is helps, for example the guy who does our neighborhood route is always going by around 4-4:30 pm, so there is never any need for me to waste a vacation day.

Best thing about UPS? They aren’t the post office with eternemployment, so if a bad driver gets enough complaints then UPS will fire their ass.

#20

I did finally get my packages last night (an hour after the message on my machine said, but oh well.) The driver even helped me carry them two flights to my front door so I definitely appreciated that. One box was relatively unharmed, while the other one was full of loose bolts & washers. I haven’t seen any damage yet in that box, but I’m going to check everything pretty thoroughly.

So that solves my delivery problems…oh wait, NO it doesn’t! Allow me to hijack my own thread if anyone cares to read about another exciting delivery problem. About 5:45 last night, my wife & I decide to order Italian food from this little place nearby (Two Guys from Italy in Glendale, CA.) I’m about to call when I notice on their mailer that they accept online orders. Woah, very handy. I go to the website and put in our order. I get a confirmation email back saying it should be there around 6:25pm, with an upper limit of 60 minutes. OK no problem, I’m waiting for the packages, I can wait for our dinner too. An hour goes by, so I call the restaurant to see what’s happening. The girl who answered was acting pretty strange when I said my order hadn’t arrived, so she said something about “That’s funny, someone else called a little bit ago about their online order. I think there’s a problem with the online thing.”

I ask her if I can speak with a manager so she puts me on hold for a few minutes, then comes back and tells me he’s speaking with a customer right now. Can I call back in 15 minutes? What the hell? This is service? Umm no, I tell her that I need to speak to him and please tell HIM to call ME back as soon as he can. And I also inform her that it’d be a good idea to actually ENTER my order now, since there’s no record of it in the system. She was actually not going to do this apparently. Even though it’s now been 75 minutes since I put my order in.

So almost 10 minutes later, the manager calls back. He says oh there’s a problem with the fax, blah blah, never happened before, blah blah. Never apologizes…never offers anything for my hour plus wait, NOTHING. He says they can “rush” my order and it’ll be ready in 5-10 minutes. I ask him if there’s nothing he can do, since I’ve been waiting almost an hour & a half, and he grudgingly says that they can include a free slice of cheesecake (apparently our hour & a half of waiting is worth about $5.) At that point I was pretty annoyed with all this delivery bullshit I’ve been experiencing and complained until he said he could give me half price and that’s the best he could do. I didn’t want to get a couple meals with extra saliva and who-knows-what-else at that point so I just told him forget it and thanks for wasting my time, etc.

NO apology from the manager? Is that what service has come to? Isn’t it his JOB to make things right in a situation like this? I have a confirmation email from them at 5:45pm saying our dinner is going to be there and he doesn’t even have the class to say “Sorry.” Was I being too harsh, in light of my annoyance at UPS? I don’t think so, but maybe I was…