I’m just venting, I know this is the cost of doing business but it’s still frustrating.

I get a lot of deliveries at home for work, all by FedEx because they have the contract. I try to get FedEx hold as much as I can but I still get at least 5 packages a week at home. I had three packages all shipped from the same warehouse in Memphis at the same time Friday for 1030 delivery this morning. Actually 1 was supposed to ship Thursday for Friday but the storm caused a 1 day delay.

I get a notice that one is delivered at 1010, so I assume all packages are on my porch. About 1020 I get could not deliver because the customer is not home for one of the packages. This has happened before, so I call to see what the issue was. In the past it was a new dispatcher who has marked signature required by mistake on a part she finalized for me. That’s not the problem, according to FedEx “the delivery guy felt it wasn’t safe to deliver” a package to my porch (where a big box already was) so he didn’t leave it. I asked for a hold at fedex for that one, because I’m never home at 1030 to get the packages. At 1130 or so the third box is delivered notice shows up. And I find myself wondering “what the hell fedex?” Did they really put these boxes in three different truck? Who is handling load management because that makes no sense.

The same kind of thing is why I do the holds as much as I can. I can get the delivery at 0830 at the local distribution center or a “guaranteed” 1030 to my home or the customer. Only I sometimes find myself at a hospital standing in receiving and get a “Could not deliver business closed, will try again at 1400 notice” via email. Dude,the freaking hospital was not closed, WTF? In the meantime a CT, X-ray, or Spect camera is down or partially down and all the customer sees is me not there fixing the machine.

It’s simpler for me to order to my house for the day before or to my hold for the morning. Except some days I have to be somewhere else before 8 and can’t just swing by FedEx after 0830.

I used to have the same FedEx guy every day. He knew my van and would knock if he saw it. Or put the packages behind the chair on the porch. Heck, he suggested I put a deck chair on the porch so he could do that. Was a good idea. And sometimes I even sit in the chair, so that was a bonus.

Anyway, rant off.

quote:

Only I sometimes find myself at a hospital standing in receiving and get a “Could not deliver business closed, will try again at 1400 notice” via email. Dude,the freaking hospital was not closed, WTF? In the meantime a CT, X-ray, or Spect camera is down or partially down and all the customer sees is me not there fixing the machine.

I've had this several times, once waiting on a transmission that I had to have that day as I was leaving on a trip (motorcycle) that weekend. Had it sent to my office where it's usually pre noon delivery, morning truck comes by, nothing., Afternoon delivery nothing, walk outside at 5 pm and watch the FedEx truck drive by the office without even pulling in.

My truck was parked right out front, I'm standing... RIGHT there, email pops up with the , Business closed scheduled for delivery next week. WTF

Called them ASAP, got a customer service rep and she said that we were not there, explained not only were we there, we watched her driver pass right on by. He was in a hurry to end his shift and go home, they made him come back, and after the part was in my hands gave him crap, he admitted he drove by and was trying to beat traffic..

Never have shipped FedEx since...

Is an account at The UPS Store practical for you?

That's how I receive all my deliveries, it works fine, no problems. The UPS Store takes delivery, signs for stuff, holds it safe and secure, and sends me a text or email to let me know that I have a package.

Sign up for FedEx Delivery Manager, it's free, and you will get notified any time a package is shipped to you. You will know what date they are to be delivered. You can have them rerouted to any FedEx Office location for hold at location pickup at no charge if you know you won't be home.

quote:

Is an account at The UPS Store practical for you?

That's how I receive all my deliveries, it works fine, no problems. The UPS Store takes delivery, signs for stuff, holds it safe and secure, and sends me a text or email to let me know that I have a package.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Right now I do not have an issue. I get all the deliveries at my office. If I ever retire that is likely to be a problem. How much is the cost for that service at UPS? Thanks

My FedEx Express service is great. It's a mix of different drivers, but all deliver on time and put the packages in a logical location on the porch.

The guy that owns the FedEx Ground route? He's a jack wagon. Always a guess if I'll get it, even when I do I might have to hunt for it at the other doors... just a hassle. But as customer service told me, he owns that route, so he's who I get.

Luckily, my work ships 99.7% Express.

quote:

Originally posted by ZSMICHAEL:

quote:

Is an account at The UPS Store practical for you?

That's how I receive all my deliveries, it works fine, no problems. The UPS Store takes delivery, signs for stuff, holds it safe and secure, and sends me a text or email to let me know that I have a package.

How much is the cost for that service at UPS? Thanks

You could think of The UPS Store as sort of a deluxe post office box, with concierge service.

The cost might vary with location, with the size mail box that you get, and whether you have a business or a personal account. Stop in at a location near you, they'll give you the whole story.

I have been using them for well over twenty years. I rent a box, where all my business mail is delivered, and I have all packages delivered to that address. All of the carriers -- USPS, FedEx, Amazon Logistics, United Parcel, etc. make deliveries to The UPS Store. I never have to worry about not being home to receive a package, The UPS Store signs for everything, notifies me that I have something to be picked up, and they keep my stuff safe and secure.

The location that I use is on the route between home and work, so it's not out of my way at all. In fact, it's in the same strip mall as the Publix supermarket, so I can pick up my mail and packages, and groceries, in the same parking lot -- one stop shopping.

It has the added advantage of giving me an address other than my home. You can use your imagination and come up with a bunch of scenarios where this is beneficial to personal security.

[quote]The location that I use is on the route between home and work, so it's not out of my way at all. In fact, it's in the same strip mall as the Publix supermarket, so I can pick up my mail and packages, and groceries, in the same parking lot -- one stop shopping.

It has the added advantage of giving me an address other than my home. You can use your imagination and come up with a bunch of scenarios where this is beneficial to personal security.[/quote
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Thank you very much for taking the time to respond. I will definitely look into this option. The UPS store is about the same distance as the USPS where I also have a PO BOX. I do not like the idea of stuff sitting by my front door unattended.

quote:

Originally posted by ZSMICHAEL:

The UPS store is about the same distance as the USPS where I also have a PO BOX. I do not like the idea of stuff sitting by my front door unattended.

An account at The UPS Store is more expensive than a PO box, but you do get a lot of additional service.

They offer three sizes of mailboxes at different rates just like the Post Office, but unlike the Post Office they charge more for a business account than they do for a personal account. They justify this by stating that business users do more volume, packages etc., and cost more to service in terms of staff time.

I don't have an account at the UPS store, but if I miss a delivery that requires a signature, I can log in to myups.com and have it held at the closest UPS store, no charge, for pickup later.