Fed-Ex needs to get their act together.

Hmmm. My father ran the Main Post Office here in Houston (5 million people and millions of packages) for many years as Mail Flow Coordinator among other titles. In his 44 years of service he had a few complaints, but the bottom line was that USPS does a fantastic job with the mail. A few quick facts.

. We have the lowest postage rates of any industrilaized nation on earth
. Average ship time for most first class mail is two days anywhere in the lower 48
. Post Office goal for all first class and Priorty mail is two days in the lower 48
. The only difference in a First Class package and Priority Mail (most knives we ship) is the tracking number and $50.00 of automatic insurance - which is what you pay for in Priorty Mail. They are handled the same way on the same mail lines all the way from the dock, through the system and back out for distribution. USPS also tracks first class packages, they just don't give the tracking number to you unless ity's Priority Mail.
. USPS Priority Mail is the best in the world. IMO.
 
Hale Storm said:
USPS Priority Mail is the best in the world. IMO.
Click to expand...

Yup, I agree Priority Mail for the win! Fed-Ex Ground/Smartpost is probably the worst the U.S. has to offer. Extremely slow, unreliable sometimes, and overpriced. I have also noticed that Fed-Ex sucks at updating the tracking. The 3 times I had something shipped to me using Fed-Ex it took about 4 days for updates to show on their tracking system.
 
Some of the comments here are such nonsense. No offense, but it is obvious comments are being made without an understanding of carriers, the different levels of services offered, price, tracking, etc. Opinions are OK; but trying to act like an expert when you don't have a clue is nonsense. UPS surepost and Fedex smart post are a LOW cost option that many etailers use - it relies on the PO to provide the back end delivery..............and yes it is slower. Fedex provides USPS priority and overnight mail most of it's lift. It is humorous, in that some here are praising the PO priority service while dumping on UPS and Fedex. See most of the complaint of slowness is because of the PO and most of the things you like - are because of Fedex.
Plus UPS and Fedex actually gaurantee thier ground shipments - try that with USPS or even their Priority mail.
 
I would never use FedEx. I won't buy products from a company if the only option is FedEx. If people want to send me something not through USPS I say UPS. I know our local driver pretty well. He lives across the street. Even if he didn't, my experiences with FedEx and their bad rep would still make me not use them. Of course when I ship things it is always through USPS. I've only had a couple of issues over the years with stuff I've sent. And only one issue with our local delivery guy that was dealt with after a complaint to the local PO.
 
Gastonknife said:
Some of the comments here are such nonsense. No offense, but it is obvious comments are being made without an understanding of carriers, the different levels of services offered, price, tracking, etc. Opinions are OK; but trying to act like an expert when you don't have a clue is nonsense. UPS surepost and Fedex smart post are a LOW cost option that many etailers use - it relies on the PO to provide the back end delivery..............and yes it is slower. Fedex provides USPS priority and overnight mail most of it's lift. It is humorous, in that some here are praising the PO priority service while dumping on UPS and Fedex. See most of the complaint of slowness is because of the PO and most of the things you like - are because of Fedex.
Plus UPS and Fedex actually gaurantee thier ground shipments - try that with USPS or even their Priority mail.
Click to expand...
Since I was the one that mentioned SmartPost, I'll respond to this.
I am very well versed in the shipping options for FedEx and UPS, less so for USPS. I always use FedEx for my business shipping, and I routinely use it for personal shipping; and the problems over the years have been few and far between...though, admittedly, that can depend on the location of any particular user for all three of the mentioned carriers.
I understand what SmartPost is, and why it works the way it does...and, given the option, I will just about always choose to pay more for a better service. Having a package stop 45 minutes from my home, only to next travel 2 states away, then sit there for 3 business days without moving, is very frustrating as a customer. The first two times I received packages via SmartPost, the shipper didn't list the service as economy shipping; so I was less than thrilled to have the experience described above.
My experiences with UPS, overall, have been decent - there were a couple of misdeliveries, and several instances in which they failed to hold a package for pickup...not enough to condemn the incoming service; but the locations are less than convenient for me, so I don't use them unless I have to (usually returns, when I am sent a UPS label)
USPS has lost/misdelivered more of my items than FedEx and UPS combined; but it still amounts to a very small percentage.
None of the carriers are problem free. Poor service from any of them is best addressed directly, and not starting at the bottom of the chain of command. Simply not using a carrier is easy, and might make some people feel good because they're "speaking with their dollars"; but such a message is lost if it isn't made known to management level personnel. The same goes for gripe posts made on hobby forums - unless the powers that be are made aware of the problems you are having, they aren't very likely to be fixed.
 
HorseloverFat said:
UPS and USPS are unionized. FedEx is not unionized and therefore the employees tend to be more overworked and disgruntled. Also, I understand that they are not supported from above,i.e., management, so this attitude is unfortunately passed on to the customer. And you were wondering why your package was damaged by the courier...

A FedEx employee brought this article to my attention, and after reading it I have decided to never patronize FedEx again : http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/boycott_fedex_20100222
Click to expand...

sounds like someone has an agenda........... just curious what is your occupation and are you a union member?
 
hhmoore said:
Since I was the one that mentioned SmartPost, I'll respond to this.
I am very well versed in the shipping options for FedEx and UPS, less so for USPS. I always use FedEx for my business shipping, and I routinely use it for personal shipping; and the problems over the years have been few and far between...though, admittedly, that can depend on the location of any particular user for all three of the mentioned carriers.
I understand what SmartPost is, and why it works the way it does...and, given the option, I will just about always choose to pay more for a better service. Having a package stop 45 minutes from my home, only to next travel 2 states away, then sit there for 3 business days without moving, is very frustrating as a customer. The first two times I received packages via SmartPost, the shipper didn't list the service as economy shipping; so I was less than thrilled to have the experience described above.
My experiences with UPS, overall, have been decent - there were a couple of misdeliveries, and several instances in which they failed to hold a package for pickup...not enough to condemn the incoming service; but the locations are less than convenient for me, so I don't use them unless I have to (usually returns, when I am sent a UPS label)
USPS has lost/misdelivered more of my items than FedEx and UPS combined; but it still amounts to a very small percentage.
None of the carriers are problem free. Poor service from any of them is best addressed directly, and not starting at the bottom of the chain of command. Simply not using a carrier is easy, and might make some people feel good because they're "speaking with their dollars"; but such a message is lost if it isn't made known to management level personnel. The same goes for gripe posts made on hobby forums - unless the powers that be are made aware of the problems you are having, they aren't very likely to be fixed.
Click to expand...

You are fine, it was some of the other nonsense. I agree wholehartedly with your post.
 
Gastonknife said:
Some of the comments here are such nonsense. No offense, but it is obvious comments are being made without an understanding of carriers, the different levels of services offered, price, tracking, etc. Opinions are OK; but trying to act like an expert when you don't have a clue is nonsense. UPS surepost and Fedex smart post are a LOW cost option that many etailers use - it relies on the PO to provide the back end delivery..............and yes it is slower. Fedex provides USPS priority and overnight mail most of it's lift. It is humorous, in that some here are praising the PO priority service while dumping on UPS and Fedex. See most of the complaint of slowness is because of the PO and most of the things you like - are because of Fedex.
Plus UPS and Fedex actually gaurantee thier ground shipments - try that with USPS or even their Priority mail.
Click to expand...

So which company does your daddy work for? UPS or Fed-Ex? :rolleyes:
 
Gastonknife said:
sounds like someone has an agenda........... just curious what is your occupation and are you a union member?
Click to expand...

Negative. I don't have an " agenda " and I'm not currently a member of a union, boss. I am a veteran with many friends that have both served in the military and been employed by UPS and/or FedEx. They clearly know these organizations from the inside and I respect their reports on the same. They have been unanimous in informing me that FedEx is an execrable company to work for.

And what is your occupation? Would it happen to be as a manager for FedEx?
 
Gastonknife said:
sounds like someone has an agenda........... just curious what is your occupation and are you a union member?
Click to expand...

Negative. I don't have an " agenda " and I'm not currently a member of a union, boss. I am a veteran with many friends that have both served in the military and been employed by UPS and/or FedEx. They clearly know these organizations from the inside and I respect their reports on the same. They have been unanimous in informing me that FedEx is an execrable company to work for.

And what is your occupation? Would it happen to be as a manager for FedEx?
 
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