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.