UPS does it again

MaxTheKnife

MaxTheKnife

Joined
Aug 19, 2000
Messages
643
I've read topics in this forum about the antics of UPS in the recent past. I've never had a minutes trouble with UPS in all the years I've used them. But, I guess it was my turn. I bought a Singer leather sewing machine on eBay a few weeks ago and have been waiting for it to arrive. It got here today and was totally wrecked. The guy that packed it did a super job. I have no idea where he got all the damn newspapers he had stuffed in that box.

I'm not talking about scuffs and scratches here. Those guys had to have litterally drop kicked the sewing machine out of the back of one of their trucks for the kind of damage that occured. I'm talking about a 1" steel shaft that the hand wheel is mounted on getting bent so far out that there's no way of ever getting it fixed. Totally useless for my shop now.

I paid $500.00 for that machine and $45.00 for shipping. What in the hell is UPS doing to our stuff!!? It's like it's an inconvenience for them to take care of the stuff they've pledged to transport for damn good money. I haven't even got started on the claim process yet. Didn't have time to this afternoon. Hell, I worked hard for the money I paid for that machine. And was hoping to streamline my sheath making so I could get my orders out faster. This really burns me up. Somebody tell me to shut, I'm about to blow a gasket here!
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Ok, so I'll take it to whine and cheese. Pass the Brie Wulfie.

 
Aww man! That sucks! I get US Mail because the worst they have ever done is delay a package by a couple days. UPS has done a lot of dumb things. My cousin ordered several boxes of ammunition, and it clearly said on the box that you must obtain adult signature. Instead, UPS threw it on his porch and didn't ask for a signature. Very stupid if you think about it! There were a lot of small children in that neighborhood. What if a small child came up and played with the box before they picked it up (they picked it up a couple HOURS later, leaving several hundred rounds of live ammunition in an unsafe place).
 
I'll give UPS some credit. For all the dozens and dozens of things I've had delivered to me via UPS, only once have I ever had a shipment arrive damaged. But why they had to pick a $2600 Leica camera lens to destroy that one time is beyond me
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. Like Max said, when they decide to screw up, they screw up big. This box literally looked like the truck ran over it. The funniest part was, when I went to pick the package up, the lady behind the counter handed it to me to be signed for as if there wasn't a thing in the world wrong with this package, even though all four sides were split and it resembled an accordian more than a box.

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Semper Fi

-Bill
 
I will probably jinx
myself ,but I have never had any problems with UPs either coming or going. Once, when I was a gun dealer. UPS Did put a shotgun on my neigbors Car! She got mad and I cant blame her! sorry to hear about your machine. They will make it good,but what a pain in the butt.
 
In my reserve unit a friend of mine is a driver for UPS. When I ask him questions about why things are left on the porch instead of getting a signature,he tells me the UPS drivers "unofficial motto" is "IF YOU SEE THE CUSTOMER,YOU ARE WRONG". He says it's mainly because of incidents like those stated above and,THERE'S NOTHING WE (the drivers) CAN DO ABOUT IT. All I can say is (knock on wood) to this point I have been lucky.
 
Don't get me started on UPS... Those people are horrible. Just do a search using the search feature here at bladeforums.com and you'll see what I mean.

Bottom line for me: UPS recently announced they'd no longer accept firearms in their regular, "Brown Label", service. Why? Caving in to political pressure? Trying to make a social statement? No. Losses from employee theft were to great. They still accept firearms in their more expensive, overnight service which is handled mostly by machines. The US Postal Service treats employee theft as a serious crime and doesn't just slap the hand of any postal employee they catch in it, they turn 'em over for criminal prosecution. As a result, while I won't say that it doesn't happen, most Postal Service employees wouldn't think of it. UPS, on the other hand, seems to consider employee theft just a cost-of-doing-business. As a result, some their employees seem to see it as just another employee benefit. Instead of dealing with the felonious behavior of their employees stealing guns from customer packages, UPS passes the problem on to their customers by making them use the more expensive service.

Those same UPS employees are still handling packages and my guess is that they're looking for something new to replace the income they used to make selling stolen guns.

I don't want them handling my packages.


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Chuck
Balisongs -- because it don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing!
http://www.balisongcollector.com
 
I'm not at all the UPS fan.
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Order few blades two years ago, I PRE-PAID the sum of merchandise+actual UPS cost.

When the package arrived, they're trying so hard to charge the shipping, even though in the airway bill. . .it's already said "prepaid".
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I had to hassle many days with UPS people here in Bangkok, try to convince them that it's THEIR job to talk to UPS staff in U.S., not my job.

Meanwhile the package was still in the warehouse, and I have to pay for storage space on the daily basis. . .

Once everything was clear, that THEY're wrong. That they couldn't double charge me.
I still have to pay for the warehouse, . .no refund.
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Never want to try working with UPS again, since then.


[This message has been edited by Santi (edited 10-12-2000).]
 
I've now heard many times that UPS has left the package (knives, flashlights, ammo, maybe guns, cameras - and definitely not just from this forum!) on you doorstep or something. No signature nothing. This alone... well I can't see why you even bother with it. There are other ways.

Hugo.
 
I've had alot of stuff delivered UPS over the past few years, and luckily it has all arrived in one piece. The thing that ticks me off is their "unofficial motto" that thebladerunr mentioned-"if you see the customer, you are wrong".
I work in the evenings, and have been at home several times when packages were delivered. They don't even ring the doorbell. I see the package when I'm backing out of the driveway to go to work. Oh well, at least my stuff's intact, so far.
 
I know for a fact that ups employees that unload and load truck drop kick, steal, and smash packages. They are timed. My best friend worked for ups and told me all about what goes on. If ups catches an employee stealing, they will make an example of him/her and will have him/her arrested in front of the other employees and procecuted.
 
I've never received anything ups (i think...) But my Battle Mistress that i received the other day from Fedex looked like the box had been through a meat grinder. It was totally destroyed. Luckey it was a BM and not some more fragile item. Although how they managed to bend a 1 inch steel shaft is beyond me.

Seriously though, i can't think of many better ways to break my foot that kick a singer sowing machine...... It would be interesting to know how they managed it.

James

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The beast we are, lest the beast we become.
 
"Motto, if you see the customer You are WRONG"? That's a new one on me....... and Gollnick, that is old news about the firearms deal, nothing recent about it my man.

As many packages as UPS handles a day, some are going to get destroyed. UPS is the largest privately owned small package carrier in the world next to the Post Office(which is not privately owned). Some drivers and inside workers just simply do not do their job very well & do not give a "rip-snort" about your packages, but for the most part, they do a pretty good job. That is regretfull about your sewing machine getting busted up.....I am curious if it was packaged with the original styrophone that surrounds it and not just newspaper.

As far as drivers leaving packages with out signatures........unless the pacakge has an "adult signature required" sticker on it, it is not necessary and some drivers I know would probably leave it just because they are in a hurry...sad....but true, especially at Xmas time when these guys are delivering 225-300 stops a day. The requirement for driver release is supposed to be "out of site, out of weather".
I'm not making excuses for UPS for you guys and your circumstance, but crap does happen at UPS...Pacakges get busted, drivers mess up and things get lost & stolen
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I have had good luck with FEDEX, UPS & the USPS. My hats are off to all of them.

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Knives & Things
Mike Payne
 
I have had more BAD experiences with UPS than I can count - I no longer use them if there is ANY possible way to avoid it. Funny that you mention it...we just received a package from them yesterday with one entire side of the box crushed and caved in. Luckily, there was nothing breakable inside.

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It is Us against Them. Whoever they are.
 
Originally posted by mpayne:

That is regretfull about your sewing machine getting busted up.....I am curious if it was packaged with the original styrophone that surrounds it and not just newspaper.

[/B]
Click to expand...

I don't think they had styrofoam when this machine was made mpayne. Believe me, it was way overpacked,and still it got busted up. Here's a pic, notice the broken board it's mounted to. Man, what a shame. That is a beautiful old machine too.
http://albums.photopoint.com/j/ViewPhoto?u=1189412&a=8761231&p=30502481

 
I also avoid the use of UPS where possible. Soft items such as clothes seem to survive well but other items and their delivery is a problem. We find items left anywhere and they regularly cannot find our address. USPS and my PO Box assure me that I will get what I order and it will not be left out in the open!
 
UPS once left a $2500 art pottery vase on my front porch while we were out of town at an antique show after we specifically asked them to never leave anything on our porch. I asked one of their drivers why mailers get so dirty and he told me they like to stick 'em under the truck wheels for traction.
 
I have to agree with mpayne. Until a recent promotion, I headed the shipping dept at a small manufacturing company. Of the over 200,000 packages I've shipped in the past few years (95% using UPS) we have had very few complaints.

By the way, drivers are required to segregate any "next day" packages and hand them directly to a supervisor, "high value" packages are handled the same way. I think it's the same way on the other end also.

I did send a multiple carton shipment to Italy once using FedX. It was a computer controlled system we manufacture, the system arived intact but, the computer cartons were filled with rock of approximatly the correct weight.

I solved the "doorstep" problem by having everything delivered to my workplace. I can inspect and refuse anything that is damaged. Haven't refused anything yet.
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Steve-O
 
I understand that UPS will, on occation, damage or loose a package. The Post Office does. Federal Express does. You can always point out specific cases. But, in my experience and the general experience of those who have posted in the many threads on the subject that we've had here, UPS seems to have the highest rate of problems.

The other problem I have with UPS is their overall attitude. The idea that we're going to deal with an employee theft problem by inconveniencing customers is one example. The "drop and dash" practice most UPS drivers seem to adopt is another. I once spent twenty minutes on the phone with UPS, trying to convince them to refund eight dollars and change for an overnight package that they took over two weeks to deliver. They argued with me for twenty minutes about eight dollars. And you can say the same thing about me... why would I argue for twenty minutes about eight dollars? But it's the principle of the thing. If they said they would deliver the package overnight and it took over two weeks, you'd think the customer wouldn't even have to ask for a refund. You would think they'd tape the check to the box when they delivered it. But no. According to UPS policy, refunds for late overnight packages can not be issued until the package is delivered since we don't know until then if the package is lost or just delayed. But, refunds for late overnight packages must be applied for within two weeks of shipment. It's no wonder my package (which they originally said they could get from Atlanta, Georgia to my house in Sherwood, Oregon overnight) had to sit in a UPS depot in Tualatin, Oregon (not ten miles from my house) for three days. They deliberately held that package in Tualatin to get past that two week loophole in their policies so that they wouldn't have to refund the shipping. That's just unethical in my opinion. And then to spend twenty minutes of their time plus their 800 bill (probably well over eight dollars of expense to them) arguing about it displays complete contempt for their customers.

I could go on with many more stories. Don't get me started.

I literally will not order something if it has to be sent UPS. I'll buy it from some other vendor. I'll pay more for it just to avoid the hassles and headaches of UPS.

On several occations, when I have ordered stuff and specifically told them not to send UPS but the company goofed up and sent the item UPS, I have refused delivery (even made UPS come out and pick the package up) and then insisted that the company resend it to me via another carrier. It may seem silly, but in all of those cases, I have subsequently ordered from those companies again and they've handled it perfectly.

UPS caters to the big mail-order retailers. They make everything very simple for them to win their business. That's why most big mail-order retailers use UPS as their preferred shipper. We customers need to let these retailers know that UPS does not do a good job for us.

Brick-and-mortar retailers know that the delivery of the purchase is part of the overall buying experience. They actively hire friendly clerks who can carefully put the customer's new purchase into a nice bag and cheerfully hand it to the customer and smile and say, "Thank you." No retail store would hire a clerk who would throw the customer's purchase at them, spit in their face, and kick them in the butt as they live the store.

Is the same not also true for online and mail-order retailers? Isn't the delivery of the merchandise not part of the overall buying experience? Why do these retailers hire a delivery service that essentially spits in their customers' faces on their behalf?



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Chuck
Balisongs -- because it don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing!
http://www.balisongcollector.com
 
I speak in agreeance with mpayne and Steve-O.

I was a full-time UPS driver for a number of years down in California. The Monterey Peninsula/Pebble Beach area specifically.

You would not believe the pressure management puts on it's drivers to get rid of packages. It is absolutely unreal...and the more you show them you can get rid of those packages, the more they give you. It just gets worse.

There are time standards you must comply with. Periodical driver "audits" by supervisors who count your steps to and from your truck, time your delivery with a stop watch on a clipboard, this sort of thing. I cannot speak for the customer service employees that Chuck speaks of, but I suspect they are under heavy pressure also.

"Drop and Dash"....technically known as DRD, or Driver Release Delivery, was started in the mid 80's. It's not new. It's not something drivers do on their own just to
cut corners. It's what we were trained to do. First, a management team sweeps a given delivery area and evaluates whether or not it can be deemed a "safe area" suitable for DRD. Not ever being management, I cannot state specifics, but I would suppose neighborhood crime rates are studied, and are of major consideration.

Packages that have a sticker stating "Adult Signature Required", or "Signature Required" are never to be left at a doorstep. Do some drivers leave them anyway? Probably. Maybe by intent to avoid a send-again. Perhaps they simply missed the sticker. Drivers aren't machines out there. They're human, and they're under lots of pressure.

Learning how to be a customer conscious driver, and satisfy your supervisors is a subtle game, a highwire act, and some drivers never quite get it. Personally, I felt more loyalty to my customer's expectations than I did for my supervisor's.

When one supervisor told me that I should treat every package "like a guest of honor", only to be told by my driver supervisor to think of my packages as "obstacles" to get rid of, I knew something was up. That's probably why I am no longer with UPS. BTW, I left UPS...Not the other way around.

I feel that UPS generally and initially hires high quality people, and that they are not "horrible". How these employees handle the pressure is up to the individual. Some see a need to learn "The Dance", and cruise on to 20+ good years with The Big Brown One, while others may become cynical and jaded with the pressure. What might one of these employees take it out on? Right. Your package. Unfortunate but true. Can't exactly kick your supervisor in the butt, now can you? I might add that this mostly happens in the load/unload shifts by part-timers. I know. That's where I started out.

Next time you see a UPS truck roll by, perhaps you should think twice about the contempt you feel. You can rest assured that the driver is working his butt off trying to earn an honest wage and support his family. Maybe the dissatisfaction should be aimed towards the UPS salaried stockholders!

Oh yes...Upon a "friend's" return to town from a UPS Supervisor's school, I asked him what he had learned. His reply? "I learned how to fire you and not feel bad about it...." He was serious as a heart attack.

AL

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"When loss and gain are alike to one, that is real gain.."
 
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