Beware of UPS

Any of them are going to have failures, most due to the local delivery guy. Exceptions being crushed parcels from conveyors etc.
The Rural carrier putting packages on top the mailbox is in violation of their own union contract. They are required to dismount and take the box to the door. The carrier could park at the foot of the driveway Which is usually part of the road shoulder.
When I worked as a Rural Carrier we had one of our people leave notices rather than dismount, commonly known in the office and no measures were ever taken to correct it.
 
99% of the time UPS does a great job, and you can always tell exactly where the package is on the web.

However, for the 1% of the time when they do {f-bomb} up, it's like pulling teeth to get them to take any special measures to get it right for you! :(

Several years ago we had a box of material sent to us (UPS) when we were setting up for a trade show. It did not arrive as promised. :( After several frustrating attempts (they wanted me to file a tracking request which would take something like 5 days!) they finally admitted that it was in town, at the wrong depot, and would be delivered the next day. We needed it >>THAT<< day! No amount of pleading would get them to get it to us the day promised!

My co-worker even went to the UPS office and even tried bribing someone there to go out of procedure and let us have it that day. They knew exactly where it was, but they would not get it to us or let us pick it up!

Yes, it arrived the next day.

We had an equally frustrating time getting the scanner that I currently have in time for a project! My then-boss had to intervene on that. :(
 
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bolohead said:
On the other hand, I purchased a Hexar AF three weeks ago here on the classifieds. The seller sent it via Priority Mail, which normally takes 3 days max to Hawaii. It still hasn't arrived.
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I take back what I said about USPS. It was the seller's fault for sending it parcel post instead of priority.
 
Just to throw in some experience from rural Germany: at work we once had a very, very urgent package for the United Arab Emirates (I think). UPS did not even manage to pick it up in time. Obviously, that was the last time we employed their 'services'. DHL had it there even a day faster than promised.

Hermes (active apparantly only in a few European countries) also is quite good around here, but slow, and their drivers apparantly have to work very long hours -- they sometimes deliver at 9 pm. For me, that's a reason not to use them. Yeah, I know, call me a lefty.
 
All my problems were with Fed EX, mine going astray and others ending up at my house with no similar address, just a dump, pure and simple.

Valuable stuff I have delivered to local UPS distribution center and held for will call. Impossible to pull funny business and you can open it in front of them.

Address as follows
john Smith phone #
C/o UPS 210 W. 63 rd st
Westmont, Il Zip

They call when it arrives or you can track it.
 
UPS used to be great for me and then the drivers changed routes. The new driver used to throw everything that came regardless if the box said fragile or not. Also the tracking would say it left the distribution center at 4 a.m. and I would get the package usually between 6-7 p.m.. I've also had the nobody at home will attempt redelivery BS pulled(I work 3rd shift so I'm always home when expecting a delivery) so I now use them as little as possible.

Fed Ex on the other hand has always delivered by 10:30 a.m. and U.S.P.S. Priority almost always by 1:30 p.m..
 
Our mailing/shipping address is the local UPS Store, one block away. So the store employees sign for the parcel, and if there's any question of damage when I pick it up they can watch me open it to check.

We don't have to be home to receive packages. If we're traveling, we can ship stuff to ourselves to lighten the luggage.

Conversely, at my office I accept and sign for packages for my residents, looking them over for signs of damage. UPS driver knows to bring packages to the office if the recipient isn't home. Same with FedEx, DHL, and I maintain good relations with the USPS letter carrier and the local Postmaster.

I very seldom have any problem... once years ago USPS lost a Pentax LX that was going to Pentax for service. At that time their insurance max was $500, whereas the package was worth more. Months later they settled the loss claim for $500.

And just last Fall, an RFF member mailed me a SDHC card in a flat letter envelope. The mangled envelope arrived, but without the card. Postmaster investigated, and concluded the letter sorting machinery near the sender had likely choked on the card, and that it should be somewhere in that terminal. Never found it, but they made a good try working the postal system phones to get to the right people. Better to send a SDHC in a padded envelope.
 
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nikon_sam said:
USPS does have Tracking...it's called Delivery Confirmation...it may cost extra but they do have it...:rolleyes:
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Delivery confirmation is not tracking. If the package never arrives where it is suppose to, USPS delivery confirmation doesn't do you much good. Tracking means that you know the progress and location of a package at each stage of delivery. USPS does not do this. If they fail to deliver a package the only recourse is to try to get the local post office to research the issue for you. I once had the USPS delivery a package to a wrong address, even though they "confirmed" delivery. It took two weeks of brow-beating the local postal office manager to get them to discover the error when the package was returned to the office by the incorrect recipient. Had the recipient been dishonest, they would have had a nice new Zeiss lens for free courtesy of the USPS.
 
Doug said:
Our mailing/shipping address is the local UPS Store, one block away. So the store employees sign for the parcel, and if there's any question of damage when I pick it up they can watch me open it to check.
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Doug, in order for that to work, did you have to rent a mailbox at that store? In the past I've had the problem where UPS will deliver only between 9:00 and 5:00 (or similar), but I work at those times, and could not sign to have the package left outside my house even if I wanted to, because it contained wine. I called customer service and asked if I could have the parcel held at the nearest UPS store (open past 5:00) for me to pick up in the evening. The answer was oh, no, can have it held for pickup only at the regional distribution center. (This requires me driving far out of my way to an industrial area where traffic is clogged with trucks.) I always thought it was completely daft that UPS bought more than 3,000 Mailboxes Etc. stores and rebranded them UPS stores, only to then not use them in ways that would generate obvious competitive advantage, such as letting you have a package held there. I've since surmised that they're not daft, but rather crass and greedy: I assume they're not letting me hold deliveries there, only to force me to buy that right by renting a box there?

--Dave
 
UPS and Fedex have only ever held packages for me at their regional distribution centers. Usually about a 10-15 drive for me. But preferable to taking off from work to pick them up.

Now I just deliver everything to work. I work at a college and we have our own mailroom, so everything gets signed for and then delivered to my department. It's much better this way.
 
A tracking number is 75 cents at USPS and works well.

BTW the last UPS screw up was to a IIIc K that was museum quality getting CLA'd by DAG now it has cracked original vulcanite which can never be original again. God I have to stop reading this thread I just keep getting pissed all over again!!!
 
Argenticien said:
Doug, in order for that to work, did you have to rent a mailbox at that store? ...
--Dave
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Yes, the cost depends on the size of the box at the UPS Store; ours is about average I think and runs $135/year. The separate UPS shipping/pickup office is 4 blocks away but it's only open from 4pm-6pm, and everyone stands in the same line whether sending or picking up, so it's a pain to use. That, plus we don't have mail delivery to the house, makes the UPS Store box and their service worth it to us.
 
This is just a heads up to the members take it as that....too many screw-ups, I don't like the odds with UPS at all.
 
Why do I like the USPS or Canada Post or Royal Post or ... you get the idea. I just bought a viewfinder from a member in Australia. Parcel was dated Jan 25th it arrived in Toronto Canada on my desk at 10.00 am today. That's 7 business days half way around the world, $20 postage, with tracking and the box is pristine.

Why do I have issues with UPS, Fedex etc? I have two legitimate claims for refunds in the amount of $40.00 +/- with both of them for over 3 years. They think they have ground me down. They are wrong for the $40.00 I'm a walking testimonial of what predatory and arrogant business practices they employ. The $40.00 was a claimed "duty" on goods entering Canada. Used cameras do not attract duty. They refused delivery unless I paid. A clear grab which I was forced to pay. When supporting documentation was provided subsequently showing the applicable CRA guidelines on duties ... they refused to respond.

I don't like them. I only use them on request or if I dislike the person I'm sending goods to.
 
Jan, I bet the $40 was a "customs brokerage fee" for their handling the item through Customs. Bogus of course; I was charged that fee once on used camera gear purchased outside the USA, while the US has no import duty on camera gear, thus no handling needed from UPS.
 
Doug said:
Jan, I bet the $40 was a "customs brokerage fee" for their handling the item through Customs. Bogus of course; I was charged that fee once on used camera gear purchased outside the USA, while the US has no import duty on camera gear, thus no handling needed from UPS.
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Doug, I know how to read a bill.. so I'll gladly take your bet. The 'customs brokerage fee' is about $35.00 typically with UPS no matter what. This was clearly marked "duties" and it was a line item subsequent to the "customs brokerage fee".

Interestingly USPS and Canada Post frequently overlook 'customs brokerage'. Canada Post sometimes has a "handling charge" of about $7.00 . These courier companies are the very worst business models. They make me think of the old AT&T oligopoly before they were broken up in the US. If you are a shareholder in these courier companies you love what they do to the public. I have no use for these couriers. If you add UPS's 'brokerage' fee into my grudge about "duty" it's obviously more like $75.00 + dollars.
 
jan normandale said:
Doug, I know how to read a bill.. so I'll gladly take your bet. ... If you add UPS's 'brokerage' fee into my grudge about "duty" it's obviously more like $75.00 + dollars.
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Ouch, that's hard to take. I haven't seen them add duty for packages coming into the US, just the brokerage fee, bad enough. And good enough reason to ask overseas shippers to use some other carrier!
 
Doug said:
And just last Fall, an RFF member mailed me a SDHC card in a flat letter envelope. The mangled envelope arrived, but without the card. Postmaster investigated, and concluded the letter sorting machinery near the sender had likely choked on the card, and that it should be somewhere in that terminal. Never found it, but they made a good try working the postal system phones to get to the right people. Better to send a SDHC in a padded envelope.
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I am an Electronic Technician for USPS and work on that machine.
The Advanced Facer Canceler System checks and cancels postage,
faces the mail, scans it, assigns a unique ID tag (red bar code on back)
and performs the first level of sorting (local or outgoing mail).

Letters in collection mail travel at high speed suspended tightly
between pairs of belts for a 150-foot trip through this machine.
Enroute they are flexed as they pass past the "stiffness detector"
and pass several times 180° around 12-inch diameter bull wheels.

The tiny contents of your "letter" likely tore the envelope when flexed,
fell out and were sucked into one of the machines ventilation ducts.

Unless otherwise specified all letter collection mail is processed by automation.
When mailing an item that might be damaged by this, mail it at the post
office counter specifying to the clerk that the item is *non-machinable*.
The item will be marked for special handling and you must pay a small surcharge.

Chris
 
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