Shipping and confirmation

Cindy Denning

Cindy Denning

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Apr 9, 2004
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Watch out right now until the end of Christmas with the shipping company you use, sent out a package yesterday via FedEx Priority Ovenight and waved my signature on the receipt so my customer would have to sign for it. I tracked the package and found that it had been left on his front door, not good. FedEx says from this date until Dec.31st they will wave this right because of customer overflow. I don't know if UPS or USPS is working this way but ask before you ship your cargo. Use caution my friends. Cavelady
 
It sure seems so. I've always had trouble with UPS leaving boxes by the door. It's not a problem if you don't have neighbors, but if you live in a city, it's too easy for someone to walk off with your stuff. I have a friend , who has a FFL, came home to find a package of 3 insured guns sitting on his porch. Not good. Lazy people.

Howie
 
UPS does that as a general rule here, year round. The driver signs "Door" and then leaves the package.
 
Bailey Bradshaw just finished a knife for me. I sent him payment, but asked him to not ship me the knife until January 3rd. I have had too many problems with packages at this time of year.
 
UPS does this in my town to, I came home from a night club at 2:30am, to find my Elk Custom Shoppe Buck 110 sitting on the porch. There were people home from 4pm the night before when I left, all they had to do was knock and give it to them, instead they just left it one the porch and walked away.

They do this all the time.
 
Three years ago, I had a UPS driver drop an insured, Sig req'd, package on my doorstep, as I watched through the open front door. I walked out the front door, picked up the package, made it to his truck before he got there, and asked him who signed for the package. Yep, he signed it door. I had UPS called three times about this moron dropping stuff off within 4 feet of a public walkway, as it's against their policies. That was the last time for me at that address.
If you've got a residence where there is easy access by the public, I'd ship another way. FedEx & USPS, same deal, except USPS doesn't drop off insured stuff without a sig.

Howie
 
in italy too.
happened two times, they left the packages not even at my front door, but in MAIN ENTRANCE of condominiun ! the second time i arrived exactly while theUPS guy was leaving, and asked WHY the package was there.. he said that it is the NORMAL procedure , and that - since the elevator is private - 3 floors by feet were too much...

no words. UPS is very expensive for overseas shipment and this is the service..
 
I ship a lot of stuff with my business. This is up to the discretion of the driver...whether the carriers admit it or not. If it did disappear, they will end up paying, but that isnt much help on a custom knife with a 1yr+ wait.

If it is sent UPS or FedEx air, the shipper can usually specify customer pickup at terminal...or sent it USPS registered registered/insured. They will NOT leave that. But the Post office people are idiots and I avoid the like the plague whenever possible.
 
I use to use UPS faithfully and never had a problem with their service UNTIL went to ship a package that I had to insure for 500.00 and that isn't a big sum of money. The dimensions were about 5"x4" . They would NOT ship it and said they doubted I would find a carrier that would and tried to talk me down on the insurance, funny they had no problem sending the other package insured for 150.00 I bawked at dropping the insurance value and have not delt with them since. Calling 1-800-PICKUPS they said yes they should have shipped it. Went to using FedEx with great results until this came up. Looks like beware signs are up right now.
 
UPS left a box of knife making supplies on the floor behind a car in my garage, I was home which is why the door was open. It should have been pretty obvious someone was home since the door was open. They never knocked or anything. I just happened to see it as I was going outside :mad:
 
I think that any time that happens, you should wait a couple of days, then call them up asking where your package is.
No, I don't mean to submit a claim, just do it to get their attention. Call them back a day later, then tell them a good neighbor saw them drop it off, and that you have it.
Maybe get the attention of the driver's supervisor. It took three times with UPS at my last address to straighten him out. :rolleyes: Only once at this address.

Howie
 
On the receiving end, a post office box may be the safest way.....combined with delivery confirmation.
This combination, IMHO, leaves little room for errors and excuses. ;)
 
Cindy Denning said:
...sent out a package yesterday via FedEx Priority Ovenight and waved my signature on the receipt so my customer would have to sign for it... Cavelady
Click to expand...

Cindy, by reading what you've written, and having run this firm's mailroom for years, I've also learned a few lessons... According to the quote above, it would appear that you released Fed Ex from asking for a signature - that's why they leave it without a signature. Maybe you miss-typed something or I miss-interpreted what you've written, but releasing any carrier from getting a signature leaves the package at the mercy of fate... I know I have had packages disappear from porches when I used that particular feature with USPS Express Mail... Now, requesting a signature and then having the carrier just leave it without obtaining a signature is just wrong, and the carrier can be held accountable for the packages' loss... it may take awhile, however, to get anything out of the carrier...

If my interpretation is wrong, I apologise... and empathise with the feelings directed against the carriers when they sometimes seem to really bolix things up... it happens to us relatively frequently no matter which carrier we use... :grumpy:
 
In general, I usually ask that packages be left at our door without signature, as our house is fairly isolated, and we are not home during standard delivery hours. Not to court diaster, but I have never had a problem. However, if it is a one-of-a-kind custom knife that I have been waiting for, I simply wwon't risk it and I will have it sent USPS :barf: insured, so I know that the post office will hold it for me. I cannot afford to lose something that valuable, and the knifemakers that make my custom knives can't possbly be working with the kind of margins that would allow them to eat the cost. Besides, my relationsips with them are too important to me to have them go sour over this type of thing.
 
USPS PO boxes are not that great either sometimes. I think I've shipped maybe 10 times to a PO box and at least 2 times the Post Office didn't even deliver it to the right Post office! In each case it took about a month to find, and found only after we raised a stink.

The delivery confirmation said they had it, but they couldn't find it. We had to start calling nearby post offices until they found it.

That being said I still prefer USPS.
 
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