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geekhack Community => Off Topic => Topic started by: EverythingIBM on Mon, 17 May 2010, 19:56:16

Title: UPS is sometimes terrible
Post by: EverythingIBM on Mon, 17 May 2010, 19:56:16: Okay, before I give this little woeful tale, I'll say that I did get the intellistation, but not without some rage.

I got an email notification saying that UPS delivered the computer. Uhhh really? It's not HERE! So I was slowly simmering in my anger and at the same time mad that there's a chance I may actually never see it; a refund is one thing, but this is one killer computer. It's like punching someone in the face and then bandaging it up.

Anyways, after thinking it over, I tried using UPS's "authenticated" tracking system, you know, you put your little code in with your postal code, and it lets you see other details INCLUDING the signed signature. Well, apparently my postal code and access code were incompatible. I reviewed the email they sent me, and I paused, THEY GOT THE NUMBER WRONG. 16 instead of 19.

So I raced out the door running to house 16, and there it was, the box. Apparently the fellow living at house 16 said the UPS guy just put it there and didn't even GET a signed signature and simply waved as he drove away. Well, he phoned UPS to come and "redeliver it", UPS said they would in a few minutes, but of course it was sitting there for a few hours getting nice and steamy (perhaps that's a good thing as I now have it opposed to UPS doing something else stupid as they try to "redeliver it" a few houses down). Anyways, I told him that it was a computer; he said that's a very bad thing for UPS to mess up, and he was leaving soon anyways. So I just took it instead of it being at the mercy of any stranger walking by who thinks they might need an intellistation.
Mind you, I didn't enjoy lugging that huge box.

So, UPS didn't get a signature (when it said they did; I'm curious as to what they would have put, although I CAN'T TELL since it won't verify with their stupid codes), didn't even ask for payment, and delayed their attempt at redelivering it, let alone getting the address wrong WHEN IT WAS BILLED CORRECTLY. Here's a tip for those who want to be a "UPS delivery man", make sure you don't have dislexia.

I'll turn the computer on later to see if it actually works (being an IBM it probably will), but, I'm just so angry about this and attempting to calm down. Some nice cold juice with a little relaxation may help.

It looks like a very tasty computer though, yum. At least I have a story to tell; I never actually had to pick up my parcel FROM SOMEONE ELSE'S HOUSE.

PS: I don't want to begin my rant on how they delivered my 300PL.
Title: UPS is sometimes terrible
Post by: ch_123 on Mon, 17 May 2010, 20:01:05: Surely our resident grammar fascist didn't manage to misspell dyslexia? The irony, the irony.
Title: UPS is sometimes terrible
Post by: EverythingIBM on Mon, 17 May 2010, 20:09:51: Quote from: ch_123;183338
Surely our resident grammar fascist didn't manage to misspell dyslexia? The irony, the irony.

I'm so mad right now I don't even care.
Title: UPS is sometimes terrible
Post by: kishy on Mon, 17 May 2010, 20:12:03: My comparisons would all be UPS vs Canada Post.

From what I've witnessed of the two, UPS delivery staff are far more careless with packages...I've seen one set down a box rather aggressively on my front step, they drive like maniacs (relevant because items could fall from the racks in the truck when taking corners at 30-40km/h), they balance the electronic signature thing in one hand and the box in the other and won't let you even read the return address before signing (how am I supposed to refuse a package if you won't let me see what it is?)

Canada Post workers on the other hand will approach the door with the signature thing (if applicable), inform you they've got a package for you, would you like to see it...they'll bring it from the truck, let you check out the label, and you sign once you've acknowledged you're accepting it (again, if applicable).
Title: UPS is sometimes terrible
Post by: kishy on Mon, 17 May 2010, 20:16:38: Quote from: me
drive like maniacs

(http://geekhack.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=10066&stc=1&d=1274145360)
Title: UPS is sometimes terrible
Post by: EverythingIBM on Mon, 17 May 2010, 20:23:33: Canada post delivered me a VHS that I ordered in some soaking wet bag... they said it somehow got lost.

Yeah, the box the computer was shipped in had dents, and it was really dirty. Luckily neogeo computers packed it well.
Title: UPS is sometimes terrible
Post by: Zalusithix on Mon, 17 May 2010, 21:46:37: There's no such thing as "best in the US", just "best in my area". I'd take UPS ground over Fedex ground here. While neither are great, I've yet to have Fedex ground not screw up on a delivery in some way shape or form.

Order of preference for me around here based on my experiences: Fedex Air > UPS Air > UPS Ground > Fedex Ground.
Title: UPS is sometimes terrible
Post by: HaaTa on Mon, 17 May 2010, 22:00:20: I hate UPS, as they like to leave things on your front porch... Other than that, usually don't have any problems with them.

FedEx is good in Canada. I have a cousin who works in the FedEx hangers in Toronto, he warns everyone NOT to label thing as Fragile, as the sorters like to play football with those ones. Making something as inconspicuous as possible is usually best.
Title: UPS is sometimes terrible
Post by: skcheng on Mon, 17 May 2010, 22:03:17: UPS manages to destroy anything and everything sent to me in Northern Jersey. And I like my delivery guy. I just see what the boxes look like when they arrive at my office or at home. Pack EXTREMELY well if you're using UPS.

UPS Parody.....or is it???

> type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385">[/youtube]
Title: UPS is sometimes terrible
Post by: Mercen_505 on Mon, 17 May 2010, 22:05:15: UPS is usually very good in this area, but you have to watch out for USPS. If something is clearly stamped "DON'T FOLD" in red ink in half a dozen locations, that clearly means it needs to be rolled up and stuck in my mailbox.

Once in a great while I receive a box from UPS that looks like it was handled in a rough manner, but thus far I've had no actual damage to whatever was inside the box.
Title: UPS is sometimes terrible
Post by: EverythingIBM on Mon, 17 May 2010, 22:54:59: Quote from: ripster;183371

I find that Ebay packaging is more to blame than the delivery service. I thought a Geekhacker had sent me a dead cat.
Show Image
(http://geekhack.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=10071&stc=1&d=1274153173)

Yeah no kidding. Packaging is the first priority. The only thing that can go wrong then is a missing package -_-
Title: UPS is sometimes terrible
Post by: audioave10 on Tue, 18 May 2010, 00:23:27: I once had a UPS driver throw a box onto the corner of a concrete porch. The box contained a vintage Harmon-Kardon turntable. It was destroyed. Recently, my Windows 7 pack was left on my doorstep and it was after dark by the time I got home. These guys are Monday afternoon quarterbacks.
Title: UPS is sometimes terrible
Post by: EverythingIBM on Tue, 18 May 2010, 00:53:27: Quote from: audioave10;183404
I once had a UPS driver throw a box onto the corner of a concrete porch. The box contained a vintage Harmon-Kardon turntable. It was destroyed. Recently, my Windows 7 pack was left on my doorstep and it was after dark by the time I got home. These guys are Monday afternoon quarterbacks.

How much was the harmon-kardon out of curiosity?
Title: UPS is sometimes terrible
Post by: InSanCen on Tue, 18 May 2010, 01:18:36: I've seen a courier trash a £1/4M server and disk array. It was being moved from one location to another, about 50 miles or so, and was the sole occupant of the delivery van. At the other end, it was lying on its side. Apparently, being so heavy "it should just have stood up" hence not being strapped it. Cost them plenty though, no only did they have to replace the server and pay compensation, but lost all business with that company, to the tune of ~£500K a year.

They also played football with my AT Model F on the waty from Germany.

The name of these culprits? DHL. In the UK, FedEx are relatively new players. We use them in work, and nothing bad so far to be fair.
Title: UPS is sometimes terrible
Post by: EverythingIBM on Tue, 18 May 2010, 01:28:07: FedEx delivered my ThinkPad very nicely; good timing too. And they had a little special package for it (awwww; so it was nice and comfy).
Title: UPS is sometimes terrible
Post by: clickclack on Tue, 18 May 2010, 04:31:09: I have had the worst luck with UPS. I have had better, much, much, MUCH better luck with USPS and FedEx. By far and I mean BY FAR!!!!!
More recently just before I joined geekhack I was moving back from another state and I was bringing very precious family belongings back. They were from a family member who had just passed. I shipped 23 boxes back and insured them through the roof and packed them to be secure, very well padded and damn bomb proof! It cost me thousands to send them and there was siginificant damage to about 18 boxes but all 23 had damages inside. Some items were even lost through gaping holes in the box. It was a major punch in the gut after having gone through such a hard time that week.
It was hell.
Things I have learned-
-insurance is bogus unless UPS packs it which is also bogus if you had it done at a UPS shop as they are not owned by UPS.
-you are not the owner of the packages once you ship it if you shiped it from a UPS shop and not the Hub.
-Don't let them take the box(s) back to inspect them they will just give it back in probably worse condition. As for an inspector to come to you, which is bogus since they won't have the time and will as for you to send it in.
-It's usually not the deliver guys fault, scarry huh?
-If you really want to make sure things go ok with insurance you need to have it appraised but UPS needs to ok the appraisal. Good luck with that.
-If you can get them to agree with the fact that the insurance is valid, that does not mean they have to pay it to you. If it can be fixed they will shoot for that if it's significantly cheaper, if its not they will look up (ebay) and find how much your item can be bought for and give you that money (this will most likely work against you though).
-they treat your shipments much better if its going to or from a business opposed to an individual.

I actually have a bunch more to say and more silly tips but I am actually getting really upset, and that's not a time of my life I want to relive... So the moral is F#$% UPS!
For those who have had good luck with them, thats wonderful =)
I don't want to detter people from using them, I just needed to vent and rant on about them. Good employees are better than crappy ones, but a business model that is clearly not really in your favor (client/customer) kinda negates some some of the benefits.

To the OP-
I think your situation was pretty choice considering the mixup, you got the package without them having to mess things up again! ;)

I probably should not type when I am this sleepy.
Title: UPS is sometimes terrible
Post by: audioave10 on Tue, 18 May 2010, 10:06:47: Quote from: EverythingIBM;183408
How much was the harmon-kardon out of curiosity?

Gosh...I can't actually remember. This was in the 80's and it was an early 70's model.
Title: UPS is sometimes terrible
Post by: bitflipper on Tue, 18 May 2010, 10:18:33: One of the worst things UPS does is let shippers issue tracking numbers without actually shipping anything. Some ebay sellers use this to pretend they've shipped something to you while they order it from Hong Kong. The tracking status shows something like "manifest pick up". In my opinion, this borderlines on fraud.
Title: UPS is sometimes terrible
Post by: mr_a500 on Tue, 18 May 2010, 11:15:41: If you're in Canada and you order from the US, you have to watch out for UPS and FedEx charging obscene "brokerage fees". They charge $50-100 on top of Customs fees. When I first started getting stuff on eBay, I didn't know about this until I got charged 3X what the damn thing was worth. On top of that, they didn't even deliver the damn package. They just rang once at the side door (when the front door was pretty damn obvious), then squealed out of the driveway. I ran down the road after them, and they saw me, but they kept going. Then I had to take a day off work to drive 30km to their nearest storage location to pick up the package during their 9-5 hours. This was back when they were "signature Nazis" and wouldn't leave anything without a signature.

Now, they've gone the other way. Last week, I got a delivery of expensive Teuscher chocolates (a gift). They just left the box under the front door mat. When I came out of the house, I was just about to step on the mat when I noticed the bulge. It was only my quick reaction which saved $100 worth of chocolates from becoming a chocolate mash. What the hell is the point of putting something under a mat? Any would-be thief could obviously see something was there. It was only hard to see when coming out of the house - because of the angle.
Title: UPS is sometimes terrible
Post by: EverythingIBM on Tue, 18 May 2010, 13:05:50: Quote from: mr_a500;183510
What the hell is the point of putting something under a mat? Any would-be thief could obviously see something was there. It was only hard to see when coming out of the house - because of the angle.

It's to hide the package from the house-owner, not the thief ;)
That way UPS can't be blamed for bad shipping, because, the item will never turn up in a damaged state. Just a wild guess.
Title: UPS is sometimes terrible
Post by: kishy on Tue, 18 May 2010, 13:07:25: It's obviously so they can blame you for stepping on the mat when the item is damaged.
Title: UPS is sometimes terrible
Post by: ricercar on Tue, 18 May 2010, 17:52:39: Quote from: ripster;183349
FedX Ground is the best in the US.

Bwa ha ha. Today FedEx ground claimed 10:30 delivery of a woot to my front door. I was here; they were not. The package is still MIA after a call and a promise to have the FedEx driver come by to verify my house was the actual delivery point.

This is not the first time a FedEx Ground "delivery" occurred in the morning (according to the web) when the truck doesn't actually come to my home until late evening (according to reality).
Title: UPS is sometimes terrible
Post by: kishy on Tue, 18 May 2010, 18:14:26: I prefer the Canada Post wording of "out for delivery". You know it's on a truck, you know it will be delivered that day, but no broken promises about actual delivery time.
Title: UPS is sometimes terrible
Post by: ricercar on Tue, 18 May 2010, 18:55:28: FedEx usually use "On FedEx vehicle for delivery" but that was replaced by "Delivered" at 10:30 AM local time. Liars.
Title: UPS is sometimes terrible
Post by: audioave10 on Tue, 18 May 2010, 22:19:19: Today's delivery: The UPS guy didn't make his normal time with me so I had to go to work. Sure enough, when I got home at 8:35 PM, both packages were setting on my porch. I'm in a four-plex apartment not a house. Close call. They were there and OK. One was from Newegg: hard drive & mouse. The other was my 82G2383 clicky M from Clickykeyboards. Not a bad $45 spent.
I feel Lucky!
Title: UPS is sometimes terrible
Post by: EverythingIBM on Tue, 18 May 2010, 23:15:21: Quote from: audioave10;183926
Today's delivery: The UPS guy didn't make his normal time with me so I had to go to work. Sure enough, when I got home at 8:35 PM, both packages were setting on my porch. I'm in a four-plex apartment not a house. Close call. They were there and OK. One was from Newegg: hard drive & mouse. The other was my 82G2383 clicky M from Clickykeyboards. Not a bad $45 spent.
I feel Lucky!

If someone did steal that model M, they'd probably be confused and dump it somewhere. Most people don't have tolerance for old computer equipment.
Title: UPS is sometimes terrible
Post by: clickclack on Wed, 19 May 2010, 03:50:07: Quote from: ripster;183901
You guys need to give your Delivery people cookies...

That's not a bad idea, but I just don't think I could actually keep myself from putting something "interesting" in the baked goods. ;)

I don't actually have a malicious bone in my body, but sometimes I wish that I did. =P
Title: UPS is sometimes terrible
Post by: Infinite north on Fri, 21 May 2010, 03:50:44: I had a package that was supposed to be delivered yesterday by ups. I check the tracking and it looks like the apt # got cut out of my address some how. checking the tracking today UPS says that they rectified the issue and delivered the package. nothing arrived at my house so I am not sure where it ended up.
(http://www.wigu.com/dump/fed-ex-ups-crash.jpg)
Title: UPS is sometimes terrible
Post by: D-EJ915 on Fri, 21 May 2010, 22:12:57: saw a fedex and ups pass each other the other day, they waved lol
Title: UPS is sometimes terrible
Post by: EverythingIBM on Fri, 21 May 2010, 22:33:13: Quote from: D-EJ915;185588
saw a fedex and ups pass each other the other day, they waved lol

They're proud of one another's occupation.
Title: UPS is sometimes terrible
Post by: audioave10 on Fri, 21 May 2010, 23:07:09: They may be the only ones who are proud.
Title: UPS is sometimes terrible
Post by: EverythingIBM on Sat, 22 May 2010, 00:42:35: Quote from: audioave10;185601
They may be the only ones who are proud.

That's an interesting proposition.
If a delivery man working for UPS orders a delicate package on ebay with shipping by UPS, would they themselves go run and pick it up as to not have it being damaged?
And if they didn't have the opportunity to go pick it up themselves, and it did get damaged by another bone headed UPS driver, would they get some sort of special compensation?

(http://cdn.racing.ups.com/wp-content/themes/upsracing/images/downloads/wp-davidandthedriver-1680x1050.jpg)
UPS racing: delivery so fast, it crashes!