The Negatives with my Mule order

Boycotting UPS is the answer. I refuse to knowingly use UPS due to their exorbitant brokerage fees. In my opinion USPS or FedEx is the only way to go for shipping from USA to Canada.
 
CUTS LIKE A KRIS said:
Is it just tracking LOST shipments?? I received my wedding ring set form Delbert Ealy on the 11th of last month by USPS and I tracked it online at the time.
If I would have called in the order would it have been shipped as I requested
, as others have stated or is there no flexibility in shipping options? Just wondering what my options are. When my daughter goes down for a nap I am going to call UPS and try to get a reversal.
Click to expand...

The so-called "Delivery Confirmation" system on USPS is totally useless. It is eyewash to make the shipping public believe that it works. If something actually gets lots, USPS does NOT use that tracking number for anything other than a reference number. It is not a bar code tracking system which means when they lose something, they have no way of finding it except to start at the beginning and work their way through the whole system. They give themselves 90 days to go through their keystone cops routine. If they don't find it, well, I hope you have your shipping insured. Don't get me wrong, I use USPS a lot, but if they lose something (which has been rare for me), it is a big pain dealing with them and they almost never find the "lost" item.
 
CUTS LIKE A KRIS said:
I just got off of the phone with UPS after a long argument where the lady refused to say that a 43% Brokerage fee was too much, in fact she said that the $30 is what I would have been charged even if my product was worth $30, after all "we have to be able to stay in business" and that anybody that told me they paid less were liars! They are apparently going to "goodwill" back to me $31.03, but they are going to put a marker on my name and address so that I don't try this again.
Some vindication but still a very frustrating ordeal with UPS giving me attitude from when I said hello, and I always act professional and polite when dealing with people.
Good luck to everybody else, I learned to call in before I do any email orders in the future and hope I do not miss out on limited runs.

Still really like Spyderco!!
Click to expand...

I'm glad you got your money back. Now which Spydie are you gonna invest in now. :D

aj
 
mckrob said:
Boycotting UPS is the answer. I refuse to knowingly use UPS due to their exorbitant brokerage fees. In my opinion USPS or FedEx is the only way to go for shipping from USA to Canada.
Click to expand...

I have had great results with FedEx. Twenty bucks covers shipping, fees, et al, if the knife is manufactured in the US.
 
Dude, I think our Mules came in the same truck!

I will never ever knowingly ship via UPS. I was very happy about the $15 flat rate for the SFO, but I foolishly assumed that it was through USPS.

Sal, we understand your concerns, but when we're paying 50% of the shipment's value to cover these artificially inflated brokerage fees, we're willing to take the risk that the package gets lost.

When I saw the $35.10 charge, I was tempted to RTS. (And perhaps I should have. I know I'd have more luck getting the people at the SFO to re-send for $20 USPS Global Express than I would trying to get any of that $35 back.)

To add insult to injury, there was a "delivery attempt" yesterday morning... to my neighbor's house. I've worked with these drivers before (I once had a summer job handling packages at FedEx) and I respect that they're under pressure to make deliveries on a very tight schedule, but how long does it really take you to check the address on the house you're delivering to???? I called them after my neighbor came over to give me the delivery attempt slip, and they were apologetic. Not apologetic enough to refund the brokerage fee, but apologetic nonetheless.
Then I got home this afternoon (I left a cheque for the driver with family people who I knew would be home) and saw that they left a reciept for the brokerage fees... on a "cosmetics" delivery to someone in Calgary. :rolleyes:

So, ten days and $35 later I've finally got the Mules, but I don't even have a reciept for those $35.

I wonder how much it would cost to put a stop payment on that cheque...
Nah. Shiny footprints are probably worth it. :(

Thanks for the Mule Team, Sal, and for all the midnight oil that's been burnt over at the SFO!
 
Architect said:
The so-called "Delivery Confirmation" system on USPS is totally useless. It is eyewash to make the shipping public believe that it works. If something actually gets lots, USPS does NOT use that tracking number for anything other than a reference number. It is not a bar code tracking system which means when they lose something, they have no way of finding it except to start at the beginning and work their way through the whole system. They give themselves 90 days to go through their keystone cops routine. If they don't find it, well, I hope you have your shipping insured. Don't get me wrong, I use USPS a lot, but if they lose something (which has been rare for me), it is a big pain dealing with them and they almost never find the "lost" item.
Click to expand...

Good to know- I was under the assumption that it was an actual tracking system.

My suggestion to other Canuks is to fight- demand a reduction and don't take their "we have to make a living" crap.

If there is another way to get future Mules I would gladly be part of it.
 
CUTS LIKE A KRIS said:
I forgot to add it seems even worse when some got free shipping in the US and I get $50 shipping!
Click to expand...

I don;t know where in Canada you live but if you live in southern Canada, near the border you can have it shipped to a P.O. box near the border then drive across and pick it up. Just a thought, might not be possible.

Tom
 
UPS is definitely hit or miss.

My last domestic order took them over a month to deliver. An order which they never did deliver, I went to the depot to get it.
As for the tracking, my package was listed as being in another city the whole time it was sitting in the city where I live.

On the other hand, my mule arrived in less than a week and only $2.73 in fees. Likely a mistake but I'll take it.

I know in the outlying areas they sometimes use contract drivers which adds another variable.
 
CUTS LIKE A KRIS said:
They are apparently going to "goodwill" back to me $31.03, but they are going to put a marker on my name and address so that I don't try this again.
Click to expand...

I understand the frustration about the fees, and at least they gave you something back, but just a word about their noting the matter for your name/address - it's not personal. If they, or another company, compensates you as a one-time courtesy for something that's not an error on their part (the exorbitant rates and their unfair nature notwithstanding) then it's prudent of them to document it because there are unscrupulous folks who will try to abuse such compensation. Doing what they did with the notation isn't something done out of spite, it's probably standard policy. It was at my last job in such situations. Getting a less than professional attitude from the person you spoke with is another matter and certainly doesn't help your frustration, so if you had an issue with that you could always ask to speak to whoever supervises their CS reps.
 
This is probably a good way to determine just what is the best way to ship mules to Canada. Then you can tell us what you want. It would have to be a way that serves both your needs and ours. It must be fairly simple on our end.

sal
 
USPS is probably the best way to ship fixed blades to Canada. I have a hunch some of the missing knives were folders which get stolen by Canada Customs based on a silly reading of a bad law. Maybe an option were Canadians can opt for USPS with the understanding that Spyderco is not responsible for lost parcels?
 
Sal Glesser said:
This is probably a good way to determine just what is the best way to ship mules to Canada. Then you can tell us what you want. It would have to be a way that serves both your needs and ours. It must be fairly simple on our end.

sal
Click to expand...

Would it be possible to ship blades to one of your dealers in Canada and we can order from there? I think a lot of us deal with Jay at Warriors and Wonders a fair amount.
 
ColdOne said:
Would it be possible to ship blades to one of your dealers in Canada and we can order from there? I think a lot of us deal with Jay at Warriors and Wonders a fair amount.
Click to expand...

Unsub said:
Jay has a great rep ,I would be OK with that.
Click to expand...

You guys are sort of missing the point it seems imo.

Spyderco is not making money on the mule & now if you do ship it to the dealer what are your expectation of him though.

He can't start shipping and charge the same amount for the mule anymore. He has a business to run as well.

aj
 
Didn't plan to complain but since someone started this thread...

Dealing with UPS is a quite an unpleasant experience.
I mean it is probably OK for business mail but for individual persons that's a nightmare...

You pay the high price to have privilege of the superior UPS service:

First you'll pay taxes on every UPS parcel (while it seldomly happens with USPS)... I can live with that, that's the law and taxes are meant to be payed, problem is UPS will ask for a substancial share of that price for simply filling the paperwork. In the end I paid 70€ to Spyderco ("supposely" including shipping) and will pay an additionnal 30€ to UPS only half of it being taxes.

Those UPS morons only deliver 9am to 6pm, from monday to friday. Guess what? I've got a job and I'm not seriously thinking about taking a day off to reception a parcel, and even if I did so, they can't give a precise hour so I'll have to wait from 9am to 6pm just in case. They'll make 3 attempts and then send it back to sender. Since first attempt is without warning, and second one automatically scheduled to the day after I won't be there either...

Sure you can get direct from the office, well I mean the warehouse, a one hour trip in/one hour back, in a gloomy industrial zone outside the city (at least FedEx has a city office).

And don't get me started about the 0,15€ per minute "I-don't-give-a-crap-about-your-problem" call center...


Considering the fact that with USPS, for half the price I could have the parcels conveniently waiting in mail box my personal message to Spyderco would be: PLEASE USE ANYTHING BUT UPS

(FedEx aien't a lot better on fares but at least you can get your parcel)
 
This is from the UPS tracking website from my Mule shipment.

Note that it says they tried to deliver two times and the receiver did not have the funds available... well I checked at home and they did not speak to anyone at my house nor did they leave a delivery notification as their website suggests. It is a house with a very simple street address, not a complicated delivery. The only reason that I even knew about this delivery is because they called and left a message on my mobile to pick it up at their depot. I am currrently in Peru and check my voicemail in Canada maybe once a week, so it is quite likely that this would have been returned to sender if I not checked my voicemail when I did. This is not the first time this has happened.

This is yet another reason to steer clear of UPS - unreliable tracking information.


ups1.jpg
 
Sal- I would be willing to have USPS delivery with the knowledge that it is at my risk. All of my shipments other than this one have been this way and I have had no problems, even with shipments of 10+ knives at a time.

I must say that it is an honor to be able to discuss the situation with the owner of the company who is actually willing to listen to his customers.
 
Hi, friends in Canada, I had same bad experiences with UPS too, but then I know, when they delivery package to you and asking for high brokerage fee and tax, you can ask the driver to take package back to warehouse and tell him you will go pick up yourself and clear the Customs yourself since it is personal item, this way you just pay the tax. I dont know other place but in Montreal, it works this way, and I saw many people doing this way. phone them before you go to make sure the package is there in warehouse, and they will guide you what to do , it is simple.

Hope this helps.

Alan
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top