Why is it that every time I order something that's shipped UPS ground, it gets to me in a shorter time that expected, and every time I pay extra for 2nd Day Air or Overnight Air, the package never arrives on time? I've been waiting today for a new DVD Writer to be delivered. The UPS tracking has it being put on the delivery truck at 7:52am in Mesquite. The UPS truck came and went at his usual time, about 3pm, today without coming to my door and leaving the package. I call the UPS customer service, and they say "Well, they have until 7pm to deliver it", but they've NEVER made two trips to my apartment complex in any of the previous times when a package was said to be on the truck and yet wasn't delivered. So, I fully expect that one hour from now, I will still be without said DVD Writer, which means I'll be getting it Monday at the earliest (because why wouldn't it take essentially five days to get from Mesquite to Plano?) And all the UPS people tell me is to contact the shipper if it fails to show. They don't call and maybe tell someone to look around on the truck, find the package they forgot to deliver and run it out to me. Nope, they willingly give up the money for the service they provide rather than trying to make it right and live up to the service they promised. I mean, it's nice and all to eventually get free shipping, but I kind of asked for faster shipping for a reason because I wanted the item sooner rather than later. And I hate that somebody screwed up (and routinely screws up on anything but package shipped UPS Ground), especially since the UPS driver who delivers to my house is a really nice guy who seems to go out of his way to be polite and friendly. I think he does a lot to put a good face on UPS, but this continued inability to deliver a package to me in the guaranteed time is getting awfully tiresome, as is their unwillingness to make even the smallest effort to make things right.
FedEx is sometimes cheaper IIRC, and they have convenient boxes for you to use. Also, if your company is sort of small and has a deal or account with one of the shipping companies, you might ease in on that, that's what I do.
I know that most computer places don't use them, but I almost always us US Priority Mail. It is fast (3 days) and extremely reliable. I've bought and sold literally hundreds of things using them as the shipper and only had one item lost (and eventually recovered).
I've had UPS show up at 10am on several occasions when I told them explicitly that I would not be around until after 5p. After the packages arrived, I usually saw "do not deliver before 5pm" on them...meaning the drivers obviously didn't follow the written instructions. I've had good experiences with Priority Mail, but not Express Mail. I've paid for the latter a couple of times and it's made it into the town of note the next day - this after an early morning purchase here - but never delivered on that day. Usually 2-3 days...the same as Priority Mail, just more expensive.
I hate the way UPS just knocks one freaking time and then leaves your $1500 package sitting on your front doorstep saying "Please take me!".
After my complaint, the UPS guy did end up showing up today at 6:44pm. I asked him why he was so late today, and he told me they not only loaded his truck full today, but they put a full trailer on, too. So, he just had an extra long route today. I don't know who it was who drove through earlier in a big brown truck, though, at the usual delivery time. But I did get my DVD writer on time, at least.
It is a tale Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, Signifying nothing. - Macbeth seems fitting (except for the idiot part of course). who says school ain't learned me nothing about Shakespeare.
I ordered 3 ptoys for my sons birthday this weekend. All were shipped UPS ground. There was a delay in the order and they were not shipped until late last week. On the tracking it says delivery is scheduled for monday. So I was surprised to find the UPS guy at my door this morning. Problem is he only had one package. Now all three shipped from the same place at the same time but only on eof them managed to get on the truck from mesquite to Beaumont yesterday morning. The other two didn't get on the truck until today. CK
True UPS story -- I ordered a guiro (percussion instrument) from Lone STar Percussion in Dallas (Great service for any drummers that would be interested). Like they always did, they sent it out IMMEDIATELY through UPS. Well, three days later, the package came, I opened it, and I had a bag full of sawdust. Literally, the only way to break a guiro like that is to re-enact the opening scene from "Ace Ventura - Pet Detective". So I called Lone Star up, told them, and even though it wasn't their fault, they sent me a new one. Less than a week later, I got a package that had a BIG sticker on it that said "What can brown do for me? DON'T BREAK THIS PACKAGE!" I gained so much respect for Lone Star Percussion that day.
