UPS - Unbelievably Poor Service. Avoid this courier...

[Dood]

After seeing the graphic pictures here on BC and hearing how UPS managed to destroy yet another valuable instrument my heart sank. Not just because Andy Travis’ dreams that were unfolding on his NBD thread were crushed.. a bit like what UPS did to said instrument, but because at the same time UPS were handling the shipment of something valuable for me too.

Even feeling huge sympathy for a fellow bassist and BC family member, you still don’t think that it will happen to you. Well, unless the parcel you are expecting doesn’t turn up on the promised day.

And so, the story begins...

Back to Wednesday last week, time was getting a little late, so I thought I’d drop a call to my local UPS depot. “The parcel wasn’t scanned in. That means it wasn’t ready for collection. It wasn’t picked up.” Odd, considering how good the shop I was in contact with had been. I’ll give them a bell.

The parcel was definitely collected. Much head scratching ensued.

Thursday, lots of telephone calls and emails back and forth to the shop trying to get through to UPS customer services, who didn’t really seem that bothered. We did manage to get a request raised to investigate a lost parcel though... eventually. Maybe they see this happening so often, it’s not really deemed as important anymore?

Well the good news via the shop is that the driver on the route that day remembers the collection and should have scanned the item on to his van. As I now understand it from UPS “customer services”, parcels should have also been scanned off the vehicles in to the depot. Which appears to have not happened on both occasions. It’s all a bit... well, odd.

“So what of a parcel that hasn’t been scanned going through the UPS system” you ask? UPS don’t know. Over to those helpful tikes at UPS for an answer to that one.. Where do packages that “haven’t” been scanned end up? Are they stopped in their tracks by some sort of clever sorting process? I asked. You wouldn’t want anything dangerous accidentally going through right? You could hear the look of confusion over the ‘phone line. In fact, if you took the word of the chap I spoke to, you’d be forgiven for thinking that the staff who work at UPS lived in Ben and Holly’s Little Kingdom. Magic spells making things seemingly disappear? .. well, the possibilities are endless. 

Friday I think came and went.. 

Monday, and Tuesday and communication is made, but to be honest it all still felt a bit like, “we’re telling you we are looking in to it, but no one is.” - because how long does it actually take to search a local depot? Surely a large box without a shipping label isn’t that difficult to miss? It wouldn’t have been allowed to leave a depot unmarked surely? UPS don’t have a solid answer for those questions either.

Today, this morning we had a message saying a parcel that possibly matches the description has been found. Yet as I type this late in to the evening, have they possibly managed to look at the parcel? Or are they possibly still doing flip all? I wonder where they found it too? I’d love to have an answer to that question. I would love to know. If it’s even the right parcel!

So here we are. UPS don’t know their derrière from their elbow and are fast demonstrating a level of incompetence that is practically unmatched in all the years I’ve been sending kit using any courier. (Save for the last time they messed up) The shop have had problems before with them and are moving to a new courier too.

 

 

 

[zranyard]

What a nightmare, thanks for sharing. I'll certainly never use them for anything in the future. 

[AndyTravis]

and the face to face customer service?

 

[fleabag]

What a frustrating event. Lets hope they pull their ' don't seem to give a turd ' finger  out of their buttocks and get this sorted.

Bunch of 5 knuckle shufflers

[la bam]

I lost faith in couriers earlier in the year when then cracked my SC3.

What annoys me more is now they charge you to do a job - pick up and deliver a parcel in the same condition as it was picked up - a job any of us could do, but if they dont manage to do that job - either by non delivery or arriving damaged - you dont get anything back unless you have paid extra to insure it!! and then theres a million caviates to try and stop a pay out.

In what other job are you allowed not to do what youve been paid for and then only allow rectification in the form of compensation by the client having to take out their own insurance policy against you not doing your job??!!

drives me crazy.

[julesb]

My experience with UPS was terrible as well. The bass eventually arrived but the tracking system seemed to be way out of time with what was actually happening. If I remember correctly the system updated itself with all the movements as it was delivered. The customer service was non existent. A friend of was mine a manager at a couriers and said the culture was that an item should be packed well enough do be dropped from head height! Also, even though they take your, money musical instruments are excluded from insurance most of the time...

 

[ambient]

This courier thing has gotten stupid. I know accidents can and do happen, so understand the requirement for packing items properly, however it really shouldn’t be such a lottery as to whether or not your parcel disappears into a black hole or not.

It seems that there’s actually no reliable courier, one person will recommend one, then the next moment you’ll hear a load of horror stories about them.

Regarding disappearing parcels, a parcel can’t just disappear. They surely have cctv throughout the depots, don’t they have it in the vans too?

[Hellzero]

Sadly, the answer is : welcome to the real world, ... a world of total incompetence.

The last great sentence from one of the numerous UPS driver, last week : "You have a newly painted facade, that's why I missed the delivery". 🤨

Hey man, the house is still there, at the same place, in the same street, with the same number and I'm still bearing the same name !!!

Extraordinary stupid driver, like most of them...

[Dood]

I think it’s all getting out of hand and I agree with you La Bam, Ambient. Why are we having to pay extra because a courier can’t be trusted to do one simple job? 

It has always irked me, but now it really is boiling my fosters. Baggage handlers and Couriers are in a special group all of their own. Neither will be dealing with anything valuable of mine in future.  

Whilst on the subject of shipping instruments, there have been countless examples of pieces of gear that I planned to review that either arrived damaged or got back to their ‘owners’ damaged due to those muppets who don’t care. I’ve seen more than one speaker cabinet arrive in triple layer packaging with several inches of foam supports, only to have the box in one hand and a whole tweeter in the other. Bass necks that look like bananas and amplifiers that have had their ‘internal organs’ ruptured. 

And an apology from any single one? Nah. 

[Geek99]

I've only once had a problem with them, with one rogue driver who couldn't be bothered to scan on pickup and so my item got lost until I started shouting at UPS on twitter. It was an Xmas gift for two disabled kids, so it mattered to me. They've been golden on every other occasion. 

[Dood]

3 minutes ago, Hellzero said:

Sadly, the answer is : welcome to the real world, ... a world of total incompetence.

The last great sentence from one of the numerous UPS driver, last week : "You have a newly painted facade, that's why I missed the delivery". 🤨

Hey man, the house is still there, at the same place, in the same street, with the same number and I'm still bearing the same name !!!

Extraordinary stupid driver, like most of them...

Ahhh yes, that reminds me... “Why didn’t your driver deliver?” “He couldn’t find the address” YOU HAD ONE JOB!!!, gahhhhhhhhh! Obviously too stupid to use Sat Nav, or even a mobile ‘phone. Or.... dare I say it.... THE POWER OF SPEECH and ask someone!

[Dood]

3 minutes ago, Geek99 said:

I've only once had a problem with them, with one rogue driver who couldn't be bothered to scan on pickup and so my item got lost until I started shouting at UPS on twitter. It was an Xmas gift for two disabled kids, so it mattered to me. They've been golden on every other occasion. 

I will add that the local driver here can be excluded as he’s a nice chap. Sadly he is in a tiny minority at UPS.

[mikel]

1 hour ago, ambient said:

This courier thing has gotten stupid. I know accidents can and do happen, so understand the requirement for packing items properly, however it really shouldn’t be such a lottery as to whether or not your parcel disappears into a black hole or not.

It seems that there’s actually no reliable courier, one person will recommend one, then the next moment you’ll hear a load of horror stories about them.

Regarding disappearing parcels, a parcel can’t just disappear. They surely have cctv throughout the depots, don’t they have it in the vans too?

Quite. Its their job to deliver items, In good condition. Removal companies, at least the ones I have been involved with, manage to deliver huge amounts of delicate and breakable items with little in the way of problems and all the movers I have used are insured for breakages. If you have a company that moves stuff around for a living why not have insurance, one that states items should be reasonably well packaged. It would be a good pointer to me that they were a decent company.

The last delivery I got the store informed me that I should open the package and ensure the item was intact before signing for it, even if that meant making the courier wait. So if it was damaged the store would replace or refund me and claim from the couriers.

[la bam]

19 minutes ago, mikel said:

The last delivery I got the store informed me that I should open the package and ensure the item was intact before signing for it, even if that meant making the courier wait. So if it was damaged the store would replace or refund me and claim from the couriers.

Good luck with that.

No courier will wait, and it's just another disguised tactic from the courier company to say you agreed it was in good condition when you signed for it, so if it's not you can't claim.

[Beedster]

There are good and bad people, and good and bad practices, in all courier companies. My UPS guy is outstanding, he carries rolls of 'FRAGILE' tape with him and asks whether we want stuff labelled before he takes it to the depot. He's on occasion added extra tape to boxes for me when he thinks they look undertaped, and he even hand wrote a message from himself ("This is the collection driver, please do not place any items on the top of this customer's box") when I sent an acoustic a while back. He's under a hell of a lot of pressure and often works 12 hour days, but despite this he's polite and friendly, and never rushes. 

[Newfoundfreedom]

They're all the same. I've had an absolute nightmare with Royal Morons on many occasions. Even to the point where I lost my rag so much I went to the local sorting office and threatened to disassemble the delivery drivers legs if he didn't do his job properly, after waiting in all day for a delivers several days in a row (waiting for various car parts for an old Beetle I was restoring). Only to find a card in the door on each occasion saying the delivery driver tried to deliver your parcel and no one was home. I was there and there were also two dogs in the house. I swear the bloke must have been a ninja to even get the card in the letterbox without the dogs knowing. He was obviously just posting them everywhere instead of actually doing the deliveries to get his round finished and knock off early. Funnily enough I always got my deliveries after that. Although I've also had several things go missing in transit despite paying extra for tracked delivery. 

[Dood]

1 hour ago, Beedster said:

There are good and bad people, and good and bad practices, in all courier companies. My UPS guy is outstanding, he carries rolls of 'FRAGILE' tape with him and asks whether we want stuff labelled before he takes it to the depot. He's on occasion added extra tape to boxes for me when he thinks they look undertaped, and he even hand wrote a message from himself ("This is the collection driver, please do not place any items on the top of this customer's box") when I sent an acoustic a while back. He's under a hell of a lot of pressure and often works 12 hour days, but despite this he's polite and friendly, and never rushes. 

Yes and he, like my local driver, Luciano I think his name is, should be commended. He won't be though as he's actually just doing the job he's employed to do - Taking care of parcels. Hell, I used to work in IT and would think nothing of bringing a coffee out to my customer whilst I helped them out with their fault or project. I don't believe it was ever noted on my appraisals though.

It's now seemingly so expected that service will be crap that anyone 'doing their job properly' is seen as 'going the extra mile'. - Maybe since 'going the extra mile' is too much effort for some, who don't care about anything other than getting paid, it's no surprise we are left with situations like those above.  Pat on the back to friendly driver. We need more like you. 

[Beedster]

6 minutes ago, Newfoundfreedom said:

I swear the bloke must have been a ninja to even get the card in the letterbox without the dogs knowing. 

Quote of the day

But it is amazing, the either simultaneously bring the full force of their left hand to bare on the doorbell whilst at the same time banging the door heavily with the right and shouting at a level that would wake a hibernating bear, or somehow manage to get the card through the door as per the above post.....?  

[ead]

3 hours ago, la bam said:

I lost faith in couriers earlier in the year when then cracked my SC3.

What annoys me more is now they charge you to do a job - pick up and deliver a parcel in the same condition as it was picked up - a job any of us could do, but if they dont manage to do that job - either by non delivery or arriving damaged - you dont get anything back unless you have paid extra to insure it!! and then theres a million caviates to try and stop a pay out.

In what other job are you allowed not to do what youve been paid for and then only allow rectification in the form of compensation by the client having to take out their own insurance policy against you not doing your job??!!

drives me crazy.

Lawyers

Accountants

Politicians

[Dood]

7 minutes ago, Newfoundfreedom said:

 Although I've also had several things go missing in transit despite paying extra for tracked delivery. 

Ah yes, on the subject of my ole IT career, we used to receive deliveries that had a despatch note on the outside. The amount of kit that "got lost" was astounding. Right up until the point that the despatch note was updated and the contents couldn't be read through the plastic flap.

[The59Sound]

Why I never use a courier to post a bass. Sorry, someone had to say it. 

[mikel]

1 hour ago, la bam said:

Good luck with that.

No courier will wait, and it's just another disguised tactic from the courier company to say you agreed it was in good condition when you signed for it, so if it's not you can't claim.

I did have good luck with that. I told the courier what the store had told me, so he waited the two minutes while I checked.  If he had not been prepared to wait two minutes I would have told him to sling his hook and not signed. 

Its simple. You are paying for a delivery. If you dont check its ok and sign for it then sadly the problems mount, cos you are in effect saying its fine by signing the delivery note. I worked in warehousing for a few years and If you signed for a delivery without at least giving it a visual check then you were in trouble if it proved to be damaged.

Edited September 6, 2018 by mikel
Additions

[Dood]

Just now, The59Sound said:

Why I never use a courier to post a bass. Sorry, someone had to say it. 

Oh and I totally agree with you. I absolutely wouldn't if I didn't have to. But, why are we being held ransom when we do have to?

[taunton-hobbit]

So, not UPS, but Securicor, back in the day, managed to 'lose' a package - I'm in the High Wycombe depot patiently explaining that the parcel contains a couple of matching walking sticks for the Queen Mother's 100th Birthday - cue sneer of disbelief from the idiot manning the counter.

After a certain amount of time, I manage to retrieve said package, take it home & gift wrap the contents.

The best moment was when I walked back into the depot, with my 'new' package, nicely labelled up to HRH, Clarence House.............

Counter clown looked totally stunned.

[Hellzero]

Here is the little trick I used to learn when I was working as a Truck Allocator Clerk (logistics clerk), simply write this and sign, you will be protected, no kidding : SUBJECT TO CONTROL.

It's faster than negotiating with the driver, who is not allowed to refuse you the right to open and check the parcel, that said.

Knowing the law and throwing it at their face can be useful too, sometimes.