Fedex Beef

[anti-squirrel]

I've had too many friends work at UPS, FedEx, DHL, and of course, as mail carriers.  This time of the year is a mad-house.  Between ship-off point and arrival-point, there could be weather, accidents, illness, and of course, theft.  I had a package from China (computer parts) get "lost" when the plane crashed.  Was checking on status and right after shipping started I got an instant refund.  News that night had an air-freight plane in China crash on the runway, so...

Everybody involved in delivering the World To Your Door is just one tiny cog in a huge complicated piece of machinery.  Those guys and gals are putting in some crazy-long hours, and this time of the year, they have to deal with impatient Everybody, bad weather, crazy traffic/drivers, and of course, the potential for lost merchandise by "seasonal help".

Add in dogs, homes that don't have clear numbering, people forgetting to turn porch lights on, and notes/messages not making it onto deliveries (such as "leave delivery in pick-up cab"), I think it's pretty amazing I still get about 99% success.  The latest 1%-er??  Ordered my mother a new computer on Amazon, it was 4 miles from their house when tracking vaporized.  End result?  Amazon took care of me.  I got a refund, ordered a different model (since the 1st was the last in stock), got free rush delivery, and she's sitting pretty with her new computer.

I'm not saying the various parcel delivery services can excuse bad service and employees, but like a lot of things, you can success a thousand times, and one bad experience.  IT's the one bad experience you hear about, cuz nobody talks about the stuff that works the way it should.

[Bicycleman]

I was driving a little pickup truck one time and the brakes failed as I was approaching a heavily traveled street.  Did I care WHY the brakes didn't work?
USPS, FedEx, UPS, etc. are in the business of delivering stuff.  Do I care WHY it doesn't get to me?
Same answer both times.

[GumpIsrael]

For me, FedEx is usually about 2 days earlier than they say they'll be, which is nice. Cuz the USPS here takes forever.

[Back_Roads]

 I have to hand it to my fedex lady , she braved a snow storm to deliver my HPA hoses and fittings on time

[anti-squirrel]

I was driving a little pickup truck one time and the brakes failed as I was approaching a heavily traveled street.  Did I care WHY the brakes didn't work?
USPS, FedEx, UPS, etc. are in the business of delivering stuff.  Do I care WHY it doesn't get to me?
Same answer both times.

Nobody is asking you to care WHY.  Life is what it is.  Stuff happens.  Should it ruin your day because a package you ordered from the other side of the planet doesn't show up on the right day?  No, because accidents happen.  It is no different than you carrying in groceries and having a bag break.  It is no different than riding a bicycle and getting a flat tire.   I also think of it this way: if people want to complain, that's fine.  But I haven't seen anybody come up with a better way of doing things, and given the amount of brainpower that goes into logistics transport, I'm pretty sure this is the best way until somebody figures out teleportation.

I'll add that if my brakes failed while driving, I'd really care WHY they failed.  So it wouldn't ever happen again.

[Martis 1]

Deliveries are very "interesting" this time of year.  I ordered two 1322's for my sons from Airgun Depot.  They're in Salt Lake City, Utah.  Normally when I order from them, the package goes from there to Reno, NV, then here to me in Truckee.  Normally takes about 2 days. 

This time, the order went from Salt Lake City to Ohio, then to Reno, then to the Bay Area, then to Sacramento, then to Truckee, and finally to me after a week.  That was USPS. 

Not a problem for me, just amusing watching the tracking.

I once ordered a shotgun stock and forend from Boyd's.  On the scheduled day, I came home to find literally half a shipping box!  The Boyd's box was torn in half and crudely taped shut with clear packing tape.  There were black tire tracks, probably from a hand truck, visible on the torn section.  The box only contained the forend.

I went through the convoluted nightmare of getting a human on the phone at Fed Ex and tried to explain the issue.  As English clearly wasn't a first, or probably even second, language to the person on the phone, it took nearly 15 minutes to make them understand what I had not received.  They finally told me to contact Boyd's and have them start a claim process. 

The next day I contacted Boyd's, but about 15 minutes later, a Fed Ex truck pulled up out front.  The driver, (really nice guy), delivered the other half of the box, which was in similar condition to the first, complete with the other half of the tire tracks. 

Fortunately it contained the stock, which was not damaged. 

The driver explained that due to the rigorous time constraints that they're under, the loaders are anything but gentle with packages.  They just don't have time to be.

This is why I appreciate places like Airgun Depot and Pyramid Air, that really package things well.  The way they package pellets, the delivery guy could nearly throw the box from the street to my doorstep and not dent any skirts. 

[Hoosier Daddy]

This thread was started August 11, 2016, absolutely nothing to do with the Holiday conditions that has recently come up.
I am  Maintenance Manager at a factory. My machine up-time depends on the prompt delivery of parts when I need them.
More times than not Fed-Ex has left me hanging... seriously. Their"Overnight Red" delivery will show up 3 or 4 days later. That service is NOT guaranteed, but paid for and money taken none the less.
Mean while UPS is Johnny on the Spot every day at 10:30.