FedEx Ground - problem resolved!

[K. Eng]

I go to check the status of a FedEx delivery that was supposed to come today.

It says:

3:50 AM On FedEx vehicle for delivery
4:22 PM Delivery exception - Customer not available or business closed

There's just one problem. I've been here all day. No door tag was left saying that FedEx Ground attempted delivery. They never showed up.



So I call customer support. The rep is utterly useless and says I can go to the depot (about 30 mins away) to get the package.

[JHEM]

The driver went to the wrong house.

The driver quit early to get a jump on Friday shore traffic.

The driver's a BOOB.

Pick one of the above.

Get your shipping fees refunded!

Regards,

James

[bigtiger]

This happened to me couple times too. I believe some drivers are just too lame.

I have had very good experience with UPS and DHL.

I think this Fedex hoax is like a national thing. I heard all sorts of similar stories like this.

[jdhurst]

Been there, done that. UPS is no better. Even the Canadian newspapers are saying the Post Office is the delivery vehicle of choice now. Better service, lower cost. The Post Office of all things! However, been there, done that as well, and I agree!
... JD Hurst

[Kyocera]

All the computers and parts i have purchased from folks here and from other sources have always been on time and delivered right to my front door. Yes, the US postal service works! I am definately tipping my mail person this Christmas.

[AlphaKilo470]

Once, a friend of mine ordered an antique firearm and the thing not only came late but a day before delivery the tracking site claimed the item had been signed for and delivered before it got here. It was the next day that he found the box laying out on the back deck. I would like to remind the audience that this was a [expetive deleted] firearm!

Around here, UPS is good since they seem to run along the same schedule as my daily commute but they always beat up my boxes. The best service, oddly enough, is the postal service who in my area has never skipped a beat on anything and always delivers my boxes in tip-top shape. If only the postal service was this good elsewhere.

In order to clear possible questions or confusion for those who don't know, an antique firearm is legally classified as an "antique" and not a firearm which is rather stupid but as I can imagine, clears much of the red tape that someone looking to collect or invest might have to incur otherwise.

[leoblob]

I think the specific driver on your route determines how good the service is. My experience here is that FedEx is the best, then the post office (still very good), and UPS is the worst. No idea about DHL.

[k2jsv]

Around by me UPS is the Gods of package delivery. The postal service does alright... but they are abusive to packages. FedEx absolutely SUCKS!!

Case in Point.

I live on a state road that starts at the state line with Pennsylvannia and ends at the state line with Connecticut. My house number is 4 digits long and I have a 911 sign at the end of my driveway with public safety compliant lettering with my house number. Above it on the post in 5 in carved letters (very prominent) is my LAST NAME!!

FedEx wouldn't deliver the package: "Address and STREET does not exist" WTF!!?!

I picked up the package at the depot... 2 hours drive. The manager bought my gas and dinner.

Second delivery 3 months later. I have it delivered to my work, because it needs to be signed for. FWIW, I am a 911 Dispatcher... but that will be important later.

FedEx calls to verify the address and get instructions. I happily give them the information they asked for and phone call ends. No package for 3 days after that. They said it would be there that day. First day i could forgive because of looking up directions..

PS. Our county 911 Center is at the airport... ahem.

After the 3rd day I check the status of my package. "Undeliverable: Business closed at time of delivery" Uh guys.. it's a 911 center... we don't close.

After some squabbling with FedEx customer service... I trek off to the depot. I get fuel and dinner again... along with my package.

[christopher_wolf]

I have had so-so service from FedEx; UPS and DHL have been pretty good though. Never had a package mangled with them (the USPS where I lived before must have had a special machine to do that). Then again, the USPS has been pretty good, but that may be because I live next to one of their local hubs.

[pphilipko]

Happens all the time to me.

Fedex's drivers are much too lazy to deliver packages, and lie about statuses.

UPS's drivers dump the packages by the front door and pretend that the package was received and signed.

The post office delivers the packages to my retarded neighbor (who, by the way, opens ALL of MY packages.

I guess I'll have to pick the least of the three evils: Fedex.

[christopher_wolf]

The post office delivers the packages to my retarded neighbor (who, by the way, opens ALL of MY packages.

Is that by mistake or just when you aren't home? That shouldn't be legal if they entrust the package to the neighbor while you are away.

[JHEM]

I'm embarassed to say that I've never had any large problems with either shipments or receipt of Fedex packages. They're the only shipper I use, including international. There have been a few occasions where the recipient was "unavailable", but a few irate phone calls to the local depot has usually gotten things straightened out, including having the driver turn around and attempt a second delivery.

We're on a first name basis with all our Fedex drivers, particularly the one who handles our AM deliveries. Between my wife and I both working out of our home we have either a delivery coming in or a shipment going out daily, and usually both.

DHL was tried for a period of time due to my wife's employer insisting. They lasted six months before the company went back to Fedex.

USPS has become exponentially better than just 5 years ago. they're very good for small, robust items, but I still won't entrust them with anything of great value, such as a laptop.

I won't use UPS at gunpoint.

Regards,

James

[christopher_wolf]

USPS has become exponentially better than just 5 years ago. they're very good for small, robust items, but I still won't entrust them with anything of great value, such as a laptop.

I didn't relate the story about the package that, apparently, was *thrown to my door* from the USPS mail truck where I used to live, did I? It was a small box with some documents, a binder and some CDs. I hear a vehicle coming, it slows down, then I hear a thud; so I go and open the door and the box is sitting on the doormat with a corner slightly askew. That said, I haven't had any other incident like that from them and all packages that have been routed through them have never gotten lost and usually get where they are going in one piece.

[K. Eng]

The driver went to the wrong house.

The driver quit early to get a jump on Friday shore traffic.

The driver's a BOOB.

Pick one of the above.

Get your shipping fees refunded!

Regards,

James

It's possible that the driver went to the wrong house, but I called FedEx and they confirmed that they had the right shipping address.

[K. Eng]

I've never had problems with FedEx Express (Red and Blue guys). From what I can gather, they are a different subsidiary than FedEx Ground (which used to be some other carrier that the FedEx parent company purchased).

I'm embarassed to say that I've never had any large problems with either shipments or receipt of Fedex packages. They're the only shipper I use, including international.

[lucas]

yeah, my old boss somehow purchased fedex ground routes and made a business out of it.

all i know is that fedex express is king. they kill the competition as far as i am concerned. almost always my express saver (3 day) packages are delivered in 2 days, and my 2 day packages are delivered overnight. never had any damage or losses with fedex express.

(fedex ground lost one of my packages once.. it took 30 days total from the loss to file an insurance claim and get my money in my hand.)

[JaneL]

I won't use UPS at gunpoint.

Really. I bought a used TP from someone once, and when it was delivered by UPS, the box looked like it had been dropped, kicked around and then backed over by the truck Just To Be Sure.

I happened to be there when it was delivered, heard the truck drive up and went to the door. I refused to let the guy leave until I had opened the box, gotten everything out, checked it over and turned the notebook on to make sure it was working (it was).

I like FedEx myself.

[JHEM]

It's possible that the driver went to the wrong house, but I called FedEx and they confirmed that they had the right shipping address.

The fact that the correct address is on the box isn't a guarantee that the driver is at that address when he attempts delivery!

I've been awaiting a UPS delivery on more than one occasion where I see the truck roll up in front of my house and the driver hops out, walks across the street and drops a box on my neighbor's doorstep. I usually have walked out to the street by the time he or she returns to the truck and I inquire if they were looking for no. 42. They almost invariably say yes and have often gotten defensive when I tell them they've missed the target. One driver even told me "Oh, it's across the street" and drove off!

Regards,

James

[carbon_unit]

Around here the UPS guys are the best. They will take my stuff to work if I am not home. If I have a hot delivery I can call them on their cell phone and meet them as they hit town and have it by 10:00AM! They are always friendly and helpful.
FexEx and DHL act like they are angry and in a hurry but FedEx is usually a day ahead of schedule.
USPS varies. Sometimes they are fast, sometimes they loose things and sometimes I have to go to the counter and ask for a late package and they will go find it laying in the corner.
So is life in a small town.

[K. Eng]

Someone might have read the email I sent FedEx, because the ground truck showed up this afternoon with my stuff.

My guess is that a truck broke down yesterday, and whoever was in charge of entering data on the status of the packages didn't know what to do.

Still... wtf.

[nem0]

I've had more bad experiences with FedEx than any other shipper.

One summer, I was working on campus and had my living expenses comped as long as I stayed in the dorms. However, for security reasons, the buildings were locked at all times, and to get in you had to ring a doorbell and check in with the desk. There were three glass doors at the entrance, and in the center of each door was a bright pink sign that said, "FOR DELIVERIES, RING BELL AND WAIT FOR SERVICE." This isn't unusual, either. Happens every summer, and has happened every summer since the early 90s.

When I checked the tracking number at one of the public terminals, it said, PACKAGE COULD NOT BE DELIVERED. WILL HOLD UNTIL BUILDING OPENS.

The building wasn't scheduled to open for two weeks.

After a long, very heated phone call to customer service, they agreed to dispatch the package again, and I spent the next morning sitting on a bench outside the building, just in case.

I had the same job the following summer, and they did the exact same thing. Luckily, this time it wasn't an urgent delivery, and I had a car. Had to drive halfway to the next town to pick it up at the disbatch center, but at least I got the dang thing.

The most recent foul-up was last spring, just after my roommates and I had bought a new house. I got a call on my cell at 6:45 in the morning from the FedEx disbatch center. The lady said, "We just tried to deliver a package, and the driver couldn't find your house."

Couldn't... find... our house? Granted, navigation systems and online maps put our location as three blocks that-a-way, but anyone with half a functioning brain can figure out that, if it's not at that intersection, it's probably up a few blocks, where the rest of the 29xx numbers are. You'd think someone doing DELIVERIES would know how to find an address. I mean, for pete's sake, the pizza guy, UPS, and the newspaper kid found it just fine.

Not impressed.

I'm also a little wary of UPS. My roommate was a box slinger for several months, and had all sorts of horror stories about how they treated boxes. Something along the lines of, if it says fragile, it means you can only drop it from 3 feet off the ground, instead of 6.

On the plus side, when my ThinkPad showed up, he grabbed it off the line and brought it home instead of waiting for it to get on the truck and dispatched. Can't beat service like that.

[smugiri]

UPS does it again

[archer6]

I have used FedEX, UPS, DHL. Over the years I have had problems with each of them, I belive due to the challenging nature of their business. No business is perfect and overall I have had good luck with all three. That said my preferred shipper is FedEX. The reason is that I have had the fewest issues with them and when there has been a problem their resolution system is the very best. Full refunds for the shipment no questions asked, and then an additional disount the next time I use them. My company does a huge amount of shipping and FedEx has always come through for us.

[pphilipko]

The post office delivers the packages to my retarded neighbor (who, by the way, opens ALL of MY packages.

Is that by mistake or just when you aren't home? That shouldn't be legal if they entrust the package to the neighbor while you are away.

They said it was accidental...my house # is 3*48, while my neighbor's is 3*78..

No worries though, I filed a complaint with the post office, and they said that they would send a different, "better" postman to my house. This was several years ago, and since then, very few packages have been "misrouted".

[rkawakami]

As this was the only post I found having to do with FedEx, here's a bump to this old thread...

I buy a parts/as-is T23 from an eBay seller. The pictures in the auction show a normal system (lid open with screen and keyboard visible and another picture of the bottom showing a missing battery). $77 for the laptop and $20 for shipping (yeah, kinda high but not too bad). 11 days later, the package arrives...

I have an infrared detector along the walkway to my front door. It triggers an X10 controller inside the house so I know when someone is coming up to the door. It's a Tuesday morning and I'm at home working in the front bedroom. I hear the "click" of the X10, but nobody knocks on the door or rings the doorbell. I go to the door, open it up and I see a briskly-walking FedEx driver already halfway back to his truck. I look at the door and see a "call tag". I look back at the driver and he's already inside the truck driving off. Then I turn and look on my porch and see this box:

Shipping container

I immediately get the feeling that he did NOT want to speak to or see anyone when he dropped off the package. This is what was inside:

What used to be a good 2647-4NU

This has been the only time (so far, knock on wood) that I've had a problem with FedEx. I've used them several times to ship eBay sales and have received many packages over the years. I quickly contact the seller, take many pictures and set up a web site so I can document everything. Four days later, after I arranged it, FedEx comes by to pick up the package. I wanted to be home when they picked it up so I could ask a few questions. That morning my daughter had to go to the doctor so I left the box on the porch with a note asking that the driver contact me on my cell phone when he came by. I get back home two hours later and the package is gone, my note (which was taped to the box) left on the porch and a pickup tag on my door. Needless to say, I did NOT get any phone call.

Finally after 6 weeks, multiple calls to FedEx claims, multiple e-mails to the eBay seller (and only rarely any response from him), I get a check from FedEx for $87.79. This appears to be the $77 for the eBay auction price plus the actual shipping cost that FedEx charged the seller. So I'm now out $11.21.

Two lessons learned:

1) Don't buy from eBay sellers who grossly over-inflate the shipping charge in case you need to file a damage claim. I normally heed this advice myself but as my bid price was fairly low, I decided it was worth it. Having USPS, FedEx and UPS shipping accounts helps to know what the real price is.

2) Don't piss off the seller because you need him/her to file any compensation waiver. From my understanding, all shipping services have the implied contract with the shipper, not the recipient. It doesn't matter to them that YOU, as the eBay buyer, actually paid for the shipment. Any settlement check will be held up until a waiver is filed by the shipper.

[sunkssss]

ouch, that looks painful.

i've never had any bad expieriences with any delivery companies - FedEx, UPS, UPPS, DHL - and i've had telescopes, computers, etc delivered without any problem.