Just to issue a warning to anyone shipping UPS this Christmas season. I had a piece of audio gear (an integrated amp)that I thought I would ship UPS to my Dad in Ohio to help build him a little system while I was visiting for the hollidays. I took the package to UPS in Austin TX and paid $27.00 dollars ABOVE the normal shipping to have it sent (they said garunteed) in two days. Well, what do you know it snowed in Ohio, and to make a long story short I am visiting my Dad with no amp.
Having called UPS they still can't say when the package will be delivered, and they WILL NOT refund any shipping charges. I can understand there are things outside of everyones control happening here, and I know that in the grand sceme of things this is a small problem. My gripe is that I paid for sevices that were not rendered....... I am willing to pay the regular UPS shipping, but it seems like they should be reembursing people who paid for special service that wasn't fulfilled.
Although no small print was offered at the time of purchase, I guess I should of known.
tvad, i agree, my dealing with fedex have been unpleasant as well. i can't stand fedex for different reasons. i will gladly pay a couple bucks more for UPS.
also what i usually do is print out the label at home, and i just give it to a UPS driver. if you're in a major city Brown trucks are everywhere. if for some reason i can't give it to one, i just drop it off at one of the stores.
one thing about the stores. they always try to make extra money off you. they shake it, to see if they can add filler, or tell me "we won't ship in that box cause it says it's a denon 2200 dvd player", what a crock! i asked why and they said cause someone could steal it knowing what's inside, how do you know that's what's inside? anyway.....
"Also, you can create your UPS shipment online, pay for it online and print a shipping label...all at the standard UPS rates, and then just drop the package off at The UPS Store."
You can do the same thing w/Fedex Ground on the net (if you have a Fedex "ground enabled" account" and drop it off at any Kinkos. Fedex Ground about 25% cheaper than UPS and sometimes a day faster. Be careful, though, they tried to charge me for weekly pick-up. Cheerfuly credited my account, but I never asked for pick-up and never used it.
Yesterday I tried to ship a package at a UPS store. The web quote for shipping was $21. The 800 number quote was around $22. But the price at UPS store in Los Altos, Califonria, was $47. Turns out that UPS store charges $2.50 per $100 of insurance, whereas the UPS regular drop off locations or pickup charge $0.40 per $100 of insurance. OUCH. I ended up using Federal Express for the same $47.
Is my memory faulty, or, when UPS purchased Mail Box Etc., and renamed it "UPS Store", did they not advertise "same low rates as UPS"???
We at ( company name) refuse to initiate any shipments with UPS for our business or privately.
It is our experience that UPS employees are brutal, careless and negligent in their handling of packages, and they are apparently not held accountable for their actions. Drivers have been unhelpful and unwilling to even document damage found at the time of delivery.
Claims procedure at UPS is aggravating and time consuming, with conflicting, little or no information or cooperation given, and never in a timely manner. Their inspectors and adjusters seek only to find ways of relieving UPS of responsibility for their bad service.
Our research on the Internet has revealed huge numbers of complaints about UPS, so our experience would appear to ordinary, not extra-ordinary.
Therefore, if a customer insists on UPS as a shipper, the customer will be responsible for arranging pick-up, insurance and type of service. We will take NO responsibility, except to assure the shipper during the almost inevitable Claim process (also the responsibility of the customer) that the unit was in good condition and packed well before shipping.
As others have stated, "acts of God, civil insurrection, riots, strike, or war" are some of the standard disclaimers that will void a contract. Essentially, the situation is one in which the party cannot perform their legal obligation due to unforeseen circumstances over which they had no control. That being said, why don't you wait until your package is delivered, the weather and backlog situation has calmed down, and then call UPS and NICELY explain your situation. Somewhere up the corporate ladder, someone will probably help you out. But right now, UPS, and the airline industry are swamped trying to take care of the backlog nightmare, and the last thing they want to do is spend their limited resources dealing with people like you. Please don't take offense to that statement. You do have a legitimate complaint, but sometimes, timing and a pleasant demeanor are key to resolving a problem!
I often ship (from work) via FedEx. when a Priortiy package is not received at the guaranteed delivery time (typically 10 am) a full refund is given upon request. While I agree in the grand scheme of current world events that this seems trivial, you were not given the service you paid for. Plain and simple. Otherwise, what are you paying extra for? Higher UPS profits? Hardly.
UPS, get real, treat your customers right and refund the $27!
Chicago FIRE strikes again! Trust me guys, I DRIVE RIGHT pass the Hodgekins UPS in Southern Chicago, right off of I-294, and It is a BIG place, and I didn`t hear about the fire till Christmas Eve, so i don`t think that ALL of the packages were destroyed.
One thing I forgot to mention (the most important)...... My family is together, and healthy for the holidays. Many may not be so lucky.......... I am very thankful
As I stated; my problems are small time compared to the things others are experiencing around the world. It's a small gripe that I will not loose sleep over, but there is some disappointment (and maybe my fellow Agoner's would like to know that UPS isn't what it's cracked up to be).
The point I was trying to make is that I am fully prepared to pay for the regular shipping charges, things happen........ I just feel like they should be a bit more forthcoming with the extra $27.00 I paid that was to "garauntee" delivery........ It just kind of feels wrong on thier part to say "Oh well, Sorry but tough luck".
Call UPS customer service and ask them to send you a copy of their shipping rules and regs. You will be surprised how thick this book is. Acts of god/nature, natural disasters, etc void the delivery guarantee. I once paid over $300 to Fedex overnight a package to Hawaii on a Thursday to have it there Friday. Turns out Fedex doesn't do guaranteed overnight from the mainland to the islands. I should have sent it Two day and saved myself about $180. Learned the hard way on that one.
Everytime I call UPS because of a delay they say a train broke down, no matter where it's coming from or going to, despite the time of year or weather conditions. Isn't it funny how my delivery via FedEx from the midwest is right on time during this same storm. How could that be? And one FedEx delivery even arrived a day early!! I don't use UPS anymore unless there is no other choice available.
I had a similar experience with Fed Ex. There are basically certain circumstances where they find they have to suspend their guarenteed delivery times - typically due to severe weather. I don't remember whether I asked for a partial refund or recieved one or not. I know that I was surprised at how casual their attitude seemed to be, but that's probably because they are used to this as normal operating procedure during difficult times. I was quite surprised though.
UPS also had a fire at its Chicago hub facility over the holiday. They estimate up to 2000 packages were damaged. I suppose from Texas to Ohio you are safe ???
I think that you are being overly hard on them and should understand that some things are beyond control.
In the scheme of things, considering what is going on over in Indonesia and Africa, Iraq and the like, be happy that your family is safe and sound and got to see you and enjoyed your company. I am sure they are more pleased about that than getting the amp on time.
I understand that you were a little disappointed/upset with everything, but I think that what you are expecting is a tad unreasonable. I live in NW Ohio, do you have any idea of how much snow we really got??? I had to have a guy with a Bobcat dig me out. I now have 6-8 foot tall piles of snow up and down my drive way. We got buried. I think that due to the circumstances that you could be a little more understanding. Now, if it we sunny and 70 degree, I'd say that you do have a valid complaint.
Well, I have the opposite story to tell. I paid for UPS ground from San Jose to Seattle on Wednesday, December 22nd around 6:00 PM, (at a Longs Drug store mail center no less!), and they said it would take until December 28th. (It did not seem unreasonsable for it to take 6 days, given the reason.) I was not in a huge hurry, as my family has never been sticklers for punctuality! The package was delivered on Christmas day!
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