Recent UPS delivery problems.

[WeekendDirectionals]

At the end of the year with the holiday temp help we experienced screwups at UPS and Fed/ex.

One amazing example is at Christmas a fed/ex temp driver delivered a 50 pound box to our storefront on a Tuesday. The next day she pulled up outside us stopped her truck. I heard a neighbor ask if it was for him. She said no it's for Paul. (I am Paul). I heard her start truck. I ran ouside and walked up to her window of the truck. I asked don't you have something for me, I am expecting signs. She said no it's for another neighbor.

I went inside to track package. She reported she couldn't find us. I made them redeliver that day. The other driver just shook his head we are well marked in a small downtown main street. See jpgs.

With temp help I can somewhat accept the mistakes however in the last 10 days UPS has made four screwups. We send materials out regularly to our drivers. Their addresses are saved in our UPS address book, so we are doing nothing differently. We have had four screwups where they have missed 2 next day deliveries (one by 3 days), taken to a business ten minutes away from driver's house, etc.

We got a refund on the next day deliveries, but the point is we wanted materials there because the driver needed the materials.

On the other hand Fed/ex has been fine since year end temp help is gone. We get about 7 or 8 boxes to us and our drivers a week from Firesprint with no mistakes.

Is anyone else experiencing much higher UPS delivery errors than usual?

I have special trade association UPS rates that fed/ex couldn't match even with our associate membership in the National Association of Home Builders, but I am considering paying more.

I would appreciate hearing what others are experiencing. Thanks!

 

[ThinkRight]

Without the poll,it is a real simple answer .
One is Union, the other is not.

 

[binki]

On Monday's we don't open until 1pm. UPS will just leave a note, FedEx will leave it with an open business but put the wrong address on our note.

Other days we open at 10am and substitute UPS drivers will just leave a note (they are supposed to deliver during business hours) and FedEx never comes that early.

Saturday delivery UPS will come at 8am (we open at 10am) and leave a note. I call dispatch (I have that number) and force them to redeliver since I paid for a Sat. delivery.

They both suck sometimes but most of the time they are ok.

UPS does do a better job of crushing boxes and destroying merchandise though

 

[TyrantDesigner]

I hate UPS with a passion. For over 2 decades I've hated them and it grows with every destroyed item, every missing shipment and every damaged box I get. (or don't) Still don't know what happened to 2 packages that got shipped for christmas. Really I won't go fully into the tirade again ... just search for "USPS tracking is a joke" and you'll see my rant. Really whenever I need something shipped to or from me and I have the option of USPS, UPS or Fedex, I go with USPS or Fedex. Just got a box last week containing some glow wire for a sample I am making ... box was crushed and somehow only contained 1 of my 2 rolls of glow wire but "it was like that when it was loaded into my truck" ... grr. Had to reject the package ... didnt even need to open it ... ripped wide open.

 

[Jack Knight1979]

I also hate UPS with a passion. I used to ship quite a bit with UPS, almost 98% of my shipments, but I now I try to send everything USPS Priority.

If the item is freight or just to big, I still go ups, but I try to spend as little as possible with those fools.

UPS makes my blood boil. I'm not a huge business. I spend about 20k a year with them. They treat me like dirt.

I feel that I spend enough money for a courtesy visit periodically and maybe a phone call once in a while.

I've never seen my rep. I've talked to him maybe twice on the phone in five years. He's annoyed that I even ask for service. I love my drivers. Those guys are great, but the management side of UPS is far past awful.

 

[anotherdog]

I have used both and hated both until I relocated and found the reason;

Its the middle managers, the ones who run the depots. No matter what company, if the guy who is in charge of the depot is an idiot, the whole show is messed up. My experience with the drivers is that they try to do a good job (I know there are bad and lazy ones out there too), but if the routes aren't organized and the loads aren't balanced you have have drivers with impossible quotas screwing with the deliveries so they can get the van back on time. It's okay to miss a delivery or be so rushed that boxes get damaged, but you MUST be back at the depot on time for the shipments to connect. I have heard of drivers fired for missing.

So they..."miss" a couple of deliveries and save enough time to get the pick-ups done.
I have seen trucks I knew by the tracking had my urgent deliveries drive right by and sure enough it would say nobody was in.

In the last year I moved to a different area, a little more rural. Happy drivers, intact boxes (mostly) on-time deliveries.

Now we have a company callled Purolator in Canada...I am sure ever morning they spend 20 minutes kicking the #$%^ out of the packages before they load them up.

A couple of weeks ago I get an urgent delivery of adhesive vinyl and banner while it was raining, the guy opens the back of the truck and water pours out. There are my boxes sitting in an inch of water. He shrugs and says the trucks leak... my jaw still aches from all the grinding.

I'm currently with UPS and quite happy. Go see the guy in the depot.

 

[SightLine]

Anotherdog pretty much nailed it. Both are about the same, both for some people will hate one or the other. It is very much regional and comes down to your local depot/terminal and the staff there. The main sorting/distribution hubs are generally okay and take good care of things it's the local terminals and their staff where things go bad.

Here in Columbia, SC - UPS is excellent. Great drivers with good staff and management at the terminal. The rare problems are handled quickly. About the same with FedEx here.

 

[Dice]

Fedex is better at shipping express. 1,2,3 day. UPS is better at shipping Ground.

They both damage packages. UPS seems to "loose" more packages. Fedex has a much better claims system and insures $100 on every package if it's their fault, even if you don't insure it. UPS claims is a nightmare.

You can't judge them based on the Christmas Season, it's an absolutely crazy time for both.

 

[2B]

UPS has a bad habit of damaging odd and/or heavier boxes

Fed-Ex is faster and cheaper for us

 

[skyhigh]

I've had a better experience with UPS. For some strange reason F/E will either damage a box, or it comes with GREASE all over it. And Nooooooo, I'm not receiving auto parts.

Coincidentally, I just received a damaged package (a very expensive package) from UPS. I hope you guys haven't jinxed me.

 

[MikePatterson]

Our UPS driver comes by at 12:30 and leaves a note. Wont redeliver and my stated hours are 8-12, 1-6. I have tracked him down several times and got my packages as well as informing him We close for lunch every day.

In closing IMO they are like 2/3ds of the worlds employees and just dont give a crap.

 

[Just Another Sign Guy]

I've had it with USPS..but I know I have one of the lasiest drivers on the plant.

UPS driver will literally go through the motions of marking packages as delivered on fridays that will show up on monday.

FedEx I have acceptable results as long as I disregard the by 'X' o'clock on next day deliveries & accept that they will show up 'that day'

 

[ddarlak]

i have had damaged packages from both, probably more from UPS, but i get more from UPS.

UPS is good to me, they have dropped packages off at my house when i wasn't at the shop without me even asking. the driver recognized my truck parked at home and just dropped off the package.

fed ex sometimes is a pain, they will never just leave the package when i'm not in and that's a pain in the ***....

 

[WeekendDirectionals]

The stories of marking no one there reminds me of one time, where UPS gave me three boxes, but on a 4th I should have gotten that same day the driver marked it no one there. I asked their customer service what do you think I did .... run away down the street between the third and fourth box?

 

[visual800]

is UPS not the tight ship it used to be? I always thought they were organized, clean, on time and very very strict!

 

[signcrafters london]

UPS >>>>>>>>>>> FedEx in my area.

A FedEx driver once brought me an overnight package at 4 p.m. I asked him why he didn't bring it by 10 a.m., which is what I paid for, and he said, "Because I didn't think you'd need it until now." A few years later the same guy left one of my packages a half mile away at an address that could never be confused for mine.

 

[FireSprint.com]

I have a list as long as my arm for every shippers mistakes. They all have good days and bad days in my experience.

 

[royster13]

Your suppliers usually have a much bigger "stick" than us...Document every delivery problem with your suppliers...If your supplier sees too many problems they will move up the food chain as far as their account status allows them....I have one supplier that had so many problems reported by their clients they were able to get a senior manager to come to their facility....

 

[sar bossier]

I hate UPS with a passion. For over 2 decades I've hated them and it grows with every destroyed item, every missing shipment and every damaged box I get. (or don't) Still don't know what happened to 2 packages that got shipped for christmas. Really I won't go fully into the tirade again ... just search for "USPS tracking is a joke" and you'll see my rant. Really whenever I need something shipped to or from me and I have the option of USPS, UPS or Fedex, I go with USPS or Fedex. Just got a box last week containing some glow wire for a sample I am making ... box was crushed and somehow only contained 1 of my 2 rolls of glow wire but "it was like that when it was loaded into my truck" ... grr. Had to reject the package ... didnt even need to open it ... ripped wide open.

THIS - UPS sucks A$$

 

[SD&F]

I have used UPS and Fed-Ex for over ten years. I used both of them for awhile. I started with UPS and then I had a claim for over 7000.00 and they balked and turned it over and over...I finally got paid.
I then switched to Fed-Ex and have found that the damage rate has been a little lower until we reach the holidays, then the shipping department crosses its fingers and hopes for the best.