[ghoti]

Does this happen a lot to you guys?

6:03 P.M. THE PACKAGE WAS MISSED AT THE UPS FACILITY, UPS WILL DELIVER ON THE NEXT BUSINESS DAY

It has happened twice to me in the last three days, once with UPS Ground and once with Second Day. It's not the end of the world, but it just bugs me because I was reading the "OUT FOR DELIVERY" (WTF is all that all caps nonsense, anyway?) message in the morning, and then nothing. And especially for the 2nd day delivery I even paid more, so I kind of expected that to have a higher priority.

I guess they scan the parcels when they move them into the loading area, not when it actually goes onto the truck. But still.

[Yontsey]

Ive never heard of that on packages that I track. I have a ton of shit come UPS though and I dont track everything, just the big money items.

What was it by chance?

[torifile]

I've gotten that message before. It pissed me off to no end because, like the fish, I paid extra for quick shipping. Did they do anything to remedy it? Nope. But overall, I like UPS more than the other services.

[Chinney]

I have not experienced that problem but I’m not happy with UPS right now for other reasons. They tried to hose me with additional service charges on iPod accessories I ordered from Griffin. I had already paid a significant charge for UPS shipping in my original purchase price. But at delivery, UPS wanted more money for charges that were vaguely worded to suggest that they related to customs duties. The thing is, though, that I knew that no customs duties applied to these products.

On further investigation and time on the phone with UPS drones, it turned out that UPS was charging me for something they referred to as “customs preparation” – preparing the package for customs officials to determine that there was no duty. The charges were significant – larger than actual customs charges would have been – amounting to half again the total cost of the products.

In my view, the charges were not part of the purchase agreement, were excessive, and misleading. I refused to pay and asked UPS to return the products. Griffin and UPS, agreed, but after two months I have not received a refund, with Griffin saying that they will not issue it until UPS actually returns the product. I have decided never to order from a company that uses UPS for delivery.

[Kickaha]

UPS was *HORRIBLE* down in NC. In four years of living at the same address, out of 14 shipments, we had one show up 'normally'. One. Out of 14. (Every other carrier had a 100% success rate, with never a problem.)

The others were sent back to the shipper, lost, had to be picked up at the depot, etc.

They never called the contact number, not once, to report a problem. The reasons given were invariably "No such address" "No such street" "No such apartment in complex" (WTF? No apt complexes anywhere *near* the house...) etc, etc, etc.

I'd always have to ask them to hold it at the depot, but of course they couldn't even get *that* right, and more than once I had to wait in excess of an hour at the depot for them to tell me "Sorry, it must have gone out on the truck again..." No one was ever able to explain to me why, exactly, a package that came back marked as "No such address" was sent out again to *look for the same location*. Duh, much?

I was verbally abused (ie, screamed at) by the depot manager twice, had numerous hours wasted by them, and had 3-day deliveries take up to a week of it sitting in the depot post-arrival before I could actually go get it. Did I ever get a refund, or even an apology? Fuck no. I had the depot personnel threaten to smash my package, hide it, send it back, etc, if I didn't just sit down and wait for another oh, hour. Fuckers.

Letters to UPS National resulted in no action.

UPS in Raleigh is horrid - avoid at all costs.

On the flip side, UPS in Seattle never caused me an issue, but FedEx did. Wacky.

[spotcatbug]

I've had "out for delivery" messages from UPS with no actual delivery on that day, but only when they were still within the promised number of delivery days. For example, a package sent to me by UPS Ground would be "out for delivery" on the second day and then wouldn't be delivered until one or two days later. If that happened and it was past the promised number of days, I'd be pissed. Especially if I was waiting on Apple kit.

I can't recall ever getting a package late from UPS, though. Not to defend them. I don't like or dislike them.

[ghoti]

Well I've been happy with FedEx, UPS, et al. so far, and this is the first time this has happened - and twice in a short time, which was a bit of a surprise. The package is actually a day late now, but it's just not important enough for me to raise a stink. I had just never seen that message before and thought it was rather bizarre.

When I ordered my MacBook a month or so ago, Apple missed the cutoff time for FedEx to pick it up, and so it was estimated to be a day late. That would have sucked because it would have meant the difference between Friday and Monday (an entire weekend without the new toy! ). But they managed to get it through customs and move it from Anchorage to Charlotte really fast, and so it still arrived on Friday - a (business) day before their estimate.

So overall, I'm happy with shipping companies. UPS also finds the houses I live in, so no problems there. Just try to throw my parcel in the truck as promised next time, okay?

[ghoti]

And to answer Yontsey's question: the first one was a bag (which is great), and what is now on the truck (hopefully) is the external disk enclosure kretara suggested.

[PKIDelirium]

I hate UPS. I hate FedEx.

I use USPS or DHL. Never had a problem.

[Moogs]

Always had good results with both FedEx and UPS. I think troubles arise in more rural or isolated neighborhoods. I know down in North Carolina and Georgia for example there are a lot of "homes up on the hill" type of deal and the drivers get lost. Although you'd think they'd all have GPS? Maybe newer neighborhoods that aren't yet listed on teh GPS discs?

[GrayDiggity]

Nope, no GPS. If I could comment more on the inner workings of these *express* shipping companies I would...

[kieran]

I guess that means you work at one of these express companies?

[Windswept]

I order *lots* of stuff online, so have had plenty of experience with UPS over the last few years.

I do love it that they leave packages on my doorstep, because my doorstep doesn't show from the street, so the package is relatively safe from the eyes of passing thieves.

I love having the convenience of coming home (via the garage), opening the front door, and voila!... there is my eagerly anticipated parcel, waiting patiently on the doorstep for me to appear and take it safely inside.

One giant hiccup in the smooth running of this happy procedure is that my house address is almost identical to that of another dwelling, five houses south of me, on the same street.

A box of amazon books was delivered to them once, they refused delivery, and sent them back. Idiots.

I had a package of two very nice shirts go missing this spring, and I have a feeling that this time my neighbor 'accepted' the package and just kept the shirts.

So, finally, I went down on a Sunday afternoon to meet this neighbor and discuss the package delivery problem. She had just moved into the house recently (so couldn't have been the shirt thief), but it turns out, she also had a couple of expensive (DHL) packages missing. *sigh*

But, in general, I have been pretty happy with UPS, and have received most of my packages right on time. I do enjoy reading the package's itinerary. How it is scanned as it leaves the warehouse in Ohio at 3am; and then is en route across the plains; then is scanned upon arrival at 10am the next morning in my city... etc.

When I read the itinerary, I can't help picturing the vastness of America over which the parcel is traveling, and the relentless functioning of various business and shipping processes, once set in motion.

It's all pretty damned efficient, if you ask me. If only our government could function *half* so well as the parcel shipping services in the United States.

[PKIDelirium]

I wish online stores would offer USPS Priority as an option... It kicks the ass of all the private/commercial shipping services.

[Windswept]

Originally Posted by PKIDelirium I wish online stores would offer USPS Priority as an option... It kicks the ass of all the private/commercial shipping services.

If it 'does', how widely known is that information, I'm wondering?

Maybe it's incredibly efficient because hardly anyone knows about it.

I mean, this is the first I've heard anyone mention it as being a great delivery option.

You don't work for the post office, do you?

[Kickaha]

Originally Posted by PKIDelirium I wish online stores would offer USPS Priority as an option... It kicks the ass of all the private/commercial shipping services.

Agreed. The one segment of the government that seems to run well. Odd, they were spun off... and have competition... hmm... correlation? Nawwwww...

[Chinney]

I also would put in a plug for the postal services. UPS and FedEX are in the business to service business and their service is geared to that. US and Canada Post serve the general public. Both UPS and FedEx expect you to be home when they want to deliver, during normal office hours. If not, you have to pick it up at their warehouse, which is inevitably a single facility way out in the burbs - not very handy if you live downtown or in a suburb in the other end of town - and not very handy in terms of their opening hours. The postal service, meanwhile, has this little thing known as your neighbourhood post office - with extended opening hours. A wonderful place. And no surprise service charges either.

[PKIDelirium]

Originally Posted by Windswept If it 'does', how widely known is that information, I'm wondering? Maybe it's incredibly efficient because hardly anyone knows about it. I mean, this is the first I've heard anyone mention it as being a great delivery option. You don't work for the post office, do you?

Priority Mail isn't widely known?

I use it whenever I have to ship something. Free sturdy boxes FTW. The majority of eBay uses it as well, and I WISH places like Amazon etc. would offer it. In all the years I've been using USPS I've never had a package lost or damaged.

The same cannot be said for UPS and FedEx, where I routinely get boxes that look like they've been through three nuclear wars and then thrown on the ground and run over by their truck several times.

[colivigan]

I like UPS for the tracking. USPS Priority Mail is indeed very good, but the tracking sucks, to put it mildly. Tells you when the package is delivered. If you're lucky, you may get an earlier indication that the package was "accepted" at the PO of origin. Nothing in between, generally.

I just sent a package to Canada. Don't ever use UPS for shipping to Canada, for reasons previously discussed.

USPS tells me:

Your item left the United States from NJI at 8:01 AM on August 29, 2007

On a whim, I decided to enter the USPS tracking number at Canada Post, and found:

International shipment has arrived in Canada

Item was released from Customs and is now with Canada Post for sortation

Better tracking north of the border!

[Banana]

I once sent 15 boxes through USPS. 14 made it within reasonable amount of time. The last box just were missing. I called the PO and was told that "they'd document the incident." I went and asked what they meant by that, and was told that they simply don't track package unless you pay extra for it, so it could be anywhere.

Six months later, it arrived. I have no frickin' idea where it was, though.

UPS seems to be reasonably satisfactory around here. I've yet to ensure horror tales others has posted here, and that is true for even FedEx. Maybe I'm lucky?

[Windswept]

Originally Posted by PKIDelirium I wish online stores would offer USPS Priority as an option... It kicks the ass of all the private/commercial shipping services.

Originally Posted by Windswept If it 'does', how widely known is that information, I'm wondering?

Originally Posted by PKIDelirium Priority Mail isn't widely known?

If you'll notice, I was referring to your comment that "USPS kicks the ass of the other services". I asked how widely known *that particular fact* was.

To take the nearest example at hand, *I*, for one, certainly didn't know USPS Priority Mail stood out as being the best.

Originally Posted by UncleJohn I like UPS for the tracking. USPS Priority Mail is indeed very good, but the tracking sucks, to put it mildly.

Yeah, I really do *love* the UPS tracking, mainly because I'm never home. So I keep watch on the tracking, and then I know when the package will likely be sitting on my doorstep, and on 'that' day, I go home early to whisk it into the house.

Otherwise, you have NO idea which day a parcel might show up. Companies that use USPS regular ground delivery generally say to expect your package from 7-10 days after ordering... or maybe it was 7-10 days after shipping... I can't remember which.

What annoyed me when I ordered from Costco, iirc, was that during the ordering process, they said the package would be shipped "Ground", but they didn't say *which* delivery company.

USPS will deliver to the community mailbox half a block from my house, and put the package in a parcel lock box. UPS will deliver it to my doorstep.

But the worst is when I don't know 'which' company... and, therefore, don't know 'where' to look.

I pretty much *never* have USPS parcel delivery, so I never remember to check the community mailbox, since 99% of the time, I don't use that as my mailing address.

The used book I bought from amazon sat in that lockbox for god knows how long before it occurred to me to check there.

[Majost]

Originally Posted by Windswept Yeah, I really do *love* the UPS tracking, mainly because I'm never home. So I keep watch on the tracking, and then I know when the package will likely be sitting on my doorstep, and on 'that' day, I go home early to whisk it into the house. Otherwise, you have NO idea which day a parcel might show up. Companies that use USPS regular ground delivery generally say to expect your package from 7-10 days after ordering... or maybe it was 7-10 days after shipping... I can't remember which.... USPS will deliver to the community mailbox half a block from my house, and put the package in a parcel lock box. UPS will deliver it to my doorstep. But the worst, is when I don't know 'which' company... and, therefore, don't know 'where' to look. I pretty much *never* have USPS parcel delivery, so I never remember to check the community mailbox, since 99% of the time, I don't use that as my mailing address.

Ah, see, USPS is *so* much better in big cities. Why? They have a key to the mailboxes to the common areas of apartment buildings, including my little 6-flat. So, they'll happily leave stuff in there... and it's generally safe until I get home. UPS/FedEx/DHL? Forget it. I need to have it shipped to work or pick it up at their office (but only after *attempting* delivery. Stupidest rule ever.)

Of course, all that being said, I'd still ship a big ticket item via one of the private couriers... and have it go to my lab.

[Windswept]

Originally Posted by Majost Ah, see, USPS is *so* much better in big cities. Why? They have a key to the mailboxes to the common areas of apartment buildings, including my little 6-flat. So, they'll happily leave stuff in there... and it's generally safe until I get home. UPS/FedEx/DHL? Forget it. I need to have it shipped to work or pick it up at their office (but only after *attempting* delivery. Stupidest rule ever.) Of course, all that being said, I'd still ship a big ticket item via one of the private couriers... and have it go to my lab.

Oh, that reminds me. At one point, I was ordering an entire set of Le Creuset cookware, but I was only ordering it one piece at a time, because it was outrageously expensive. Each piece, being made of cast iron, was also VERY heavy.

I just couldn't risk having this expensive cookware sitting on my doorstep, with the chance of being stolen, so I decided to have it shipped, one piece at a time, to my 'work' address.

Well, by chance, I had ordered a *large* (9"x14"), deep, porcelain-coated, cast-iron baking dish. It weighed an absolute TON. Anyway, one day my boss walked in with this extremely heavy box, and personally delivered my Le Creuset baking dish to me.

A bit later, a colleague (a good friend) told me that the boss had put a memo in all the employee mailboxes requesting that personal mail *NOT* be delivered to our work address. Oh, I nearly died.

Turns out, she was kidding about the memo. I got her back later though.

[Eugene]

Sounds like the package arrived but failed to get sorted at the facility.

I've never had any permanently lost packages with UPS, but their system for rerouting misdirected packages is a bit screwy. No matter what, it gets sent back to their giant CACH facility in Champaign, IL. You could be sending something ground from Sacramento to San Francisco, and just because it gets lost, it gets sent across the country before they find out where it actually should have gone...

I almost always choose FedEx to send my packages. They're generally fast and their online shipping utility is easiest to use. They've also got the most drop-off boxes/offices in my area.

UPS does tend to mangle the outer packaging a little bit more often, I think.

[curiousuburb]

You know Jimmy Hoffa is still in a parcel in the back of the shipping warehouse right? Best place to hide him.

Maybe it's that Indiana Jones warehouse that extends infinitely.

[colivigan]

After many UPS shipments without incident, this just happened to me.

THE PACKAGE WAS MISSED AT THE DESTINATION LOCATION AND IS DELAYED

The "destination location", in this case, is an intermediate sorting facility. The package no longer shows an estimated delivery date.

Originally Posted by Eugene No matter what, it gets sent back to their giant CACH facility in Champaign, IL.

Well, if this is true, it might actually turn out to be a good thing. My package is going to Aurora, IL. How's that for dumb luck!

[bassplayinMacFiend]

Originally Posted by Kickaha On the flip side, UPS in Seattle never caused me an issue, but FedEx did. Wacky.

UPS was started by a guy on his bicycle in Seattle back in I believe 1907. Yes, I worked for an airport sorting facility for them once. I remember many many 2nd day air packages from Florida wreaking of coffee grounds. I was surprised that so many people in Fairfield county would get their coffee from Florida.

[curiousuburb]

Originally Posted by bassplayinMacFiend UPS was started by a guy on his bicycle in Seattle back in I believe 1907. Yes, I worked for an airport sorting facility for them once. I remember many many 2nd day air packages from Florida wreaking of coffee grounds. I was surprised that so many people in Fairfield county would get their coffee from Florida.

Mmmm Coffeeeee.

[Shades of Blue]

One thing I like about UPS is that when I know a package is on its way to me today (OUT FOR DELIVERY) and I know I won't be home to accept it, I'll call UPS and ask them where I can meet the truck. Usually the truck is stopping at some large commercial area and hanging out there delivering a lot of packages for at least 20 minutes or so, and they'll give me a location and a time and I'll go meet the truck and sign for my package.

I also like USPS shipping because if I do miss the package, I can just go to the local post office and pick it up. Picking up a missed UPS package is an hour's drive for me.