Some Fedex Complaints From Customers

[Devilwin]

I am a supervisor and although I do run a route, I arrive early to sign settlements and check out service mail, which is mainly complaints from disgruntled customers.
Many are legitimate, but some are just downright unbelievable. Here are a few gems from this week:

Customer said her package was chewed up by her dogs. Package was left where she had told our guy to leave it, no previous issues.

Customer said her child saw a picture of the enclosed toy on the box, ruining his Christmas.

Customer called to complain the driver didn't make another attempt after seven at night. ( He had been there twice during the day)

Customer complained her package was left in the rain in a plastic bag, and she accidentally threw it in the trash! (We bag packages to keep them dry)

Customer said driver didn't wait on her to get to the door, just left her package, rang her bell, and left. (Standard procedure, at least he rang the bell)

Customer said driver refused to let his 13 year old son sign for a case of wine.

Sometimes we get packages that shippers pack poorly. Something happens, guess who gets blamed??
Look at this Amazon package.5801
We repacked it...

[CameronBornAndBred]

Customer said driver refused to let his 13 year old son sign for a case of wine.

How did either of them know it was wine? Did he see a picture? Was this the same kid that had his Christmas ruined?

[DukieInKansas]

How did either of them know it was wine? Did he see a picture? Was this the same kid that had his Christmas ruined?

If it was FedEx Ground from WTSO, it says alcohol on the box.

[DukieInKansas]

Of course, that is just a wild guess. :-D

[brevity]

"No ice? You mean I gotta drink this coffee hot?"

Customers are the worst. Can't correct them, can't kill them. After what only feels like a lifetime dealing with them, I have become a much better customer to others. People in the line of service don't have to be friendly, or even decent. They just have to be competent. If I get upset, then someone really had to screw up.

[Devilwin]

How did either of them know it was wine? Did he see a picture? Was this the same kid that had his Christmas ruined?

We have a standard label which states the package contains alcohol, and must be signed for by an adult over 21.
Also, it must be signed for by a person residing at the home, or a relative.
People like these in these "complaints" are in the minority, most customers are nice folks and appreciate what we do, especially this time of year.
The last two days we broke records for volume. And, our hub's drivers delivered 99.8% of the packages on time. Considering what we had, that was a herculean effort! Kudos to the folks at the K-Vegas hub! Our hub takes over from Raleigh at Burlington, goes to the Virginia line, Mt Airy to the north, Mocksville to the west, and Troy to the south. Servicing the cities of Greensboro, Winston Salem,High Point, Burlington, Graham, Thomasville, Mt Airy, King, and all the rural areas in between.
Friday, 43000 packages came in. Yesterday, 46000 arrived. Most of the drivers in the big city routes had between 150 - 250 stops each of those days.
But we can see the light at the end of the tunnel now. Things should trickle down now. Christmas Eve should be light..(fingers crossed,lol)

[Indoor66]

We have a standard label which states the package contains alcohol, and must be signed for by an adult over 21.
Also, it must be signed for by a person residing at the home, or a relative.
People like these in these "complaints" are in the minority, most customers are nice folks and appreciate what we do, especially this time of year.
The last two days we broke records for volume. And, our hub's drivers delivered 99.8% of the packages on time. Considering what we had, that was a herculean effort! Kudos to the folks at the K-Vegas hub! Our hub takes over from Raleigh at Burlington, goes to the Virginia line, Mt Airy to the north, Mocksville to the west, and Troy to the south. Servicing the cities of Greensboro, Winston Salem,High Point, Burlington, Graham, Thomasville, Mt Airy, King, and all the rural areas in between.
Friday, 43000 packages came in. Yesterday, 46000 arrived. Most of the drivers in the big city routes had between 150 - 250 stops each of those days.
But we can see the light at the end of the tunnel now. Things should trickle down now. Christmas Eve should be light..(fingers crossed,lol)

You guys to an Outstanding job. Congratulations and kudos for excellence. The few mix-ups and errors pale when compared to others - like the USPS!

[weezie]

Last week, FedEx came up the driveway in rain and fog at 8:30pm. Unfailingly polite drivers and helpers. I really appreciate you men and women!

[nocilla]

Last week, FedEx came up the driveway in rain and fog at 8:30pm. Unfailingly polite drivers and helpers. I really appreciate you men and women!

We regularly get packages from UPS between 8:00 and 8:30 at night. I don't know if that is our driver's regular route or if he is stopping on his way home or what. He is always nice though. We don't mind it but I thought it was weird the first couple times. My wife even plans for it sometimes and has a bag of cookies or something the kids made for him.

[bjornolf]

My son needed an extra long VGA cable for his school presentation today. I ordered it December 15th Amazon Prime 2 day. They said guaranteed by the 16th. On the 16th it said it had been delivered to the USPS office in my town by FedEx and would be delivered by Dec. 18th. It has said out for delivery since then. Still don't have it. Amazon very kindly refunded my money. Fat lotta good that does my son's grade.

So, my question is, how come MOST of my Amazon Prime packages are delivered by FedEx or UPS, but some get delivered to my post office for them to deliver?

[Devilwin]

They must have sent it SmartPost. That's where the USPS takes it the last mile. I personally do not like that service, because I would rather have my customer's stuff in my own hands, rather than depend on them. I am not certain of the criteria of what goes to SmartPost, but it may be because of a volume issue. Next time insist on Fedex Home Delivery, avoid the USPS. I am waiting on two packages myself from the Panthers' Store. Been stuck in NYC for five days. Today we get a delivery date of the 26th (my birthday, lol). Ordered these items November 26th. USPS, of course..lol
Sorry, I shouldn't say that. They work like dogs too this time of year, and usually do a good job.
Sorry your son's package got delayed..

[sue71, esq]

Ugh I cannot stand when companies use Smartpost! I always (mentally) tack another week on to the estimated delivery because the USPS part takes so long, for whatever reason.

Note that when my packages have been delivered via Smartpost, I did not select quick/urgent/guaranteed delivery. However, I also have not been notified prior to ordering that the delivery would be via Smartpost. I've only found out once I received either an order or delivery confirmation. So there's that. :mad:

[Devilwin]

It seems to be a volume issue, along with size (small), and SmartPost and the UPS version Surepost are cheaper than ground. Also, it takes packages that have po box addresses and many rural areas. But if it were me, I'd ask if they didn't offer you a choice.

[bjornolf]

Okay, but I pay a lot of money for Amazon Prime, and when they promise it'll be there in two days and it's late, that really makes me angry. If they know this happens, they shouldn't promise two day then send it with that method.

[Devilwin]

They should not use Smartpost or Surepost for Prime customers, agreed. It's got a lot to do with the USPS Sunday delivery thing as well. Plus, the shipping companies infrastructure has not grown enough to meet the growing demands of e-commerce. In the end, it's human beings making the deliveries, and they can only do so much.
We need to get real and hire more full time help. Remember Christmas 2013? Lots of presents didn't make it under the tree, mainly from UPS AIR, but Fedex Express Overnight had some too. The shipping companies were blamed, but the truth was, vendors accepted shipments past the cut-off dates, bad weather grounded several planes, and procrastinators overloaded the systems, resulting in the delays..

[Jeffrey]

When I buy anything fragile, worth more than $1,000, I insist it be shipped FedEx! I have refused to buy fragile items when the shipper insisted on shipping UPS. Our local UPS group abuses packages, frequently in front of us. They'll come into our building and drop a package, on hard tile, from 3 feet in the air. When politely asked not to, they ignore our receptionists and do it again. Clearly, they have no pride in their work.

What I can't figure out is why Amazon uses UPS? Does FedEx refuse to match their price? Every time Amazon asks why I'm returning a damaged package, I write, "UPS sucks! Why do you use them?". Of course, I'll probably never get a response, but it guarantees Amazon takes back my return. Amazon must be losing substantial money from all the damaged returns caused from shipping UPS.

[Devilwin]

When I buy anything fragile, worth more than $1,000, I insist it be shipped FedEx! I have refused to buy fragile items when the shipper insisted on shipping UPS. Our local UPS group abuses packages, frequently in front of us. They'll come into our building and drop a package, on hard tile, from 3 feet in the air. When politely asked not to, they ignore our receptionists and do it again. Clearly, they have no pride in their work.

What I can't figure out is why Amazon uses UPS? Does FedEx refuse to match their price? Every time Amazon asks why I'm returning a damaged package, I write, "UPS sucks! Why do you use them?". Of course, I'll probably never get a response, but it guarantees Amazon takes back my return. Amazon must be losing substantial money from all the damaged returns caused from shipping UPS.

Amazon uses UPS, Fedex, and the USPS. We get tons of their stuff every day.
Thanks for your vote of confidence, but we sometimes have items get damaged too. It's really unavoidable when you handle millions of packages every day like we do.
But we do try hard to get your package to you in good condition.
Tomorrow is my last Christmas Eve working there. Retiring in August. To be frank, not gonna miss Christmas one bit, lol. In fact, now I will be able to enjoy it for a change!:cool:

[budwom]

When I buy anything fragile, worth more than $1,000, I insist it be shipped FedEx! I have refused to buy fragile items when the shipper insisted on shipping UPS. Our local UPS group abuses packages, frequently in front of us. They'll come into our building and drop a package, on hard tile, from 3 feet in the air. When politely asked not to, they ignore our receptionists and do it again. Clearly, they have no pride in their work.

What I can't figure out is why Amazon uses UPS? Does FedEx refuse to match their price? Every time Amazon asks why I'm returning a damaged package, I write, "UPS sucks! Why do you use them?". Of course, I'll probably never get a response, but it guarantees Amazon takes back my return. Amazon must be losing substantial money from all the damaged returns caused from shipping UPS.

Well, our local FedEx driver enjoys leaving packages several hundred yards away from our home nested in snowbanks because he's habitually too lazy to actually drive down our
rather modest, plowed and clearly marked driveway...the point being there are lazy drivers to be found at all the major delivery companies. I wouldn't make any generalizations about UPS vs FedEx based on
my experience.

[Jeffrey]

Well, our local FedEx driver enjoys leaving packages several hundred yards away from our home nested in snowbanks because he's habitually too lazy to actually drive down our
rather modest, plowed and clearly marked driveway...the point being there are lazy drivers to be found at all the major delivery companies. I wouldn't make any generalizations about UPS vs FedEx based on
my experience.

I think it's what we've both said, "local UPS" and "local FedEx". I assume regional management has different expectations, demands, goals, etc. of what their employees' accomplish. Our local FedEx is awesome and our local UPS sucks, so I insist on FedEx. I've never noticed anywhere near the disparity anywhere else I have resided.

Thanks, your response certainly explains why Amazon does not work exclusively with FedEx. As you point out, they have their share of lame employees also. Fortunately, I have not met them.

[Devilwin]

Well, our local FedEx driver enjoys leaving packages several hundred yards away from our home nested in snowbanks because he's habitually too lazy to actually drive down our
rather modest, plowed and clearly marked driveway...the point being there are lazy drivers to be found at all the major delivery companies. I wouldn't make any generalizations about UPS vs FedEx based on
my experience.

Report him. That's not acceptable at all.

[cspan37421]

Local driver treats Fedex Office like a drive through

http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/local/story/2015/dec/23/breaking-vehicle-crashes-storefront-causing-partial-building-collapse/341765/

One of the victims is a friend. There may be more to the story ... but best not to get into it here. Could get interesting though.

[budwom]

Report him. That's not acceptable at all.

His best move was to abandon a Christmas (big) box of Florida oranges and grapefruits clearly marked Do Not Freeze in the aforementioned snow bank,
discovered the next day when walking hounds down the road...

[Kdogg]

Well, our local FedEx driver enjoys leaving packages several hundred yards away from our home nested in snowbanks because he's habitually too lazy to actually drive down our
rather modest, plowed and clearly marked driveway...the point being there are lazy drivers to be found at all the major delivery companies. I wouldn't make any generalizations about UPS vs FedEx based on
my experience.

He/She should walk it up to the door. They are not allowed to use drive ways because of liability issues. One time a delivery driver drove up to the house and damaged some accent lights. He begged us not to call the company, gave his name and phone number and told us he would pay for them. They lights weren't expensive so I never bothered.

[budwom]

He/She should walk it up to the door. They are not allowed to use drive ways because of liability issues. One time a delivery driver drove up to the house and damaged some accent lights. He begged us not to call the company, gave his name and phone number and told us he would pay for them. They lights weren't expensive so I never bothered.

All the delivery companies use the driveways around here, otherwise nothing would get delivered. Definitely no rule about not using driveways... The onus is on the homeowner to keep them open and safe, especially plowed in the
Winter. But everyone knows that, we all have to use our driveways to get to work, shop, etc.

[jimsumner]

All the delivery companies use the driveways around here, otherwise nothing would get delivered. Definitely no rule about not using driveways... The onus is on the homeowner to keep them open and safe, especially plowed in the
Winter. But everyone knows that, we all have to use our driveways to get to work, shop, etc.

Has it snowed any this season in your neck of the woods?

[budwom]

Has it snowed any this season in your neck of the woods?

about two inches total, and we average around 160 inches/yr. 64 degrees right now, normal temp would be ~30, previous all time hi for this date was 51.
Absurdly warm...every day in December has been above average, month is more than 13 degrees above average at this point, kind of ridiculous. Walked in
shorts and a tee shirt today....looking forward to Pinstriping on Saturday, should be in the fifties in NYC...

[jimsumner]

about two inches total, and we average around 160 inches/yr. 64 degrees right now, normal temp would be ~30, previous all time hi for this date was 51.
Absurdly warm...every day in December has been above average, month is more than 13 degrees above average at this point, kind of ridiculous. Walked in
shorts and a tee shirt today...looking forward to Pinstriping on Saturday, should be in the fifties in NYC...

It's pushing 80 here in Raleigh. But boatloads of rain. We're over 54 inches of rain on the year. Average is 43.

Pretty soon the mosquitoes are going to start showing up.

[budwom]

It's pushing 80 here in Raleigh. But boatloads of rain. We're over 54 inches of rain on the year. Average is 43.

Pretty soon the mosquitoes are going to start showing up.

Ha, we have a few dandelions popping up, which is insane...temp now 68 breaking the old record by 17 degrees...we do have some odd bugs flying around, but
no skeeters, you can keep those...

[77devil]

I think it's what we've both said, "local UPS" and "local FedEx". I assume regional management has different expectations, demands, goals, etc. of what their employees' accomplish. Our local FedEx is awesome and our local UPS sucks, so I insist on FedEx. I've never noticed anywhere near the disparity anywhere else I have resided.

Thanks, your response certainly explains why Amazon does not work exclusively with FedEx. As you point out, they have their share of lame employees also. Fortunately, I have not met them.

Our UPS driver is great, but when I occasionally go to the distribution center to pickup a package the service is hit or miss. I'm generally satisfied with Fedex. And our postman is terrific. It's all about the person making the delivery.

Amazon spends a billion dollars annually with UPS, but is reportedly in talks with Boeing to buy some planes to start insourcing some of the air logistics.

[-jk]

Our UPS driver is great, but when I occasionally go to the distribution center to pickup a package the service is hit or miss. I'm generally satisfied with Fedex. And our postman is terrific. It's all about the person making the delivery.

Amazon spends a billion dollars annually with UPS, but is reportedly in talks with Boeing to buy some planes to start insourcing some of the air logistics.

Boeing makes really big drones...

-jk

[Devilwin]

On the driveways. They used to frown on us using driveways, but some are just too long to walk up in the interest of time, also, parking on the street is hazardous, children can run out around the van and get injured or worse.

[Devilwin]

Thank God it's over. Now we can get back to normal. Yesterday was my birthday, and Duke gave me a bowl win! We at Ground/Home Delivery had a good year, but the folks at Fedex Express got killed all week, some even worked Christmas Day to try to get stuff out. With the massive rush of overnight orders, coupled with bad weather, many packages did not make it. But they tried hard. I only had 54 stops yesterday, and finished at noon. As I was getting ready to head home, I talked to a girl from Express. She still had a ton of stops left, said it would be 8 or so when she got done. And she delivered 120 stops Christmas Day! What kind of holiday did she have?
To be honest, I kind of agree with those that say we shouldn't promise what we cannot deliver, but even after shippers agreed to abide with our cutoff dates initially, they bumped the dates the closer we got to the big day.
EXAMPLE:
Yesterday three customers told me that our largest shipper was telling people that free shipping and by Christmas delivery was available til the 21st via our Ground/Home Delivery service, which was a blatant lie! Our cutoff was the 16th. Express was simply just overwhelmed by last minute online shoppers.
Nothing burns me more than reading all these "Fedex ruined my Christmas" comments. No we didn't, YOU did! YOU waited til the last minute! YOU know what date Christmas comes on, YOU know how big the rush is, but YOU chose to wait.
That's my rant. Not meaning to blame everyone, the vast majority of people understand, and get their orders in early. And if anyone here was affected, I sincerely apologize for the company.
To blow my horn a bit, I only brought back one package during the entire month, and that was a package that was refused because the customer cancelled the order...
Hope everyone had a good Christmas, and my hopes for a good 2016!:cool:

[swood1000]

To be honest, I kind of agree with those that say we shouldn't promise what we cannot deliver, but even after shippers agreed to abide with our cutoff dates initially, they bumped the dates the closer we got to the big day. ...Yesterday three customers told me that our largest shipper was telling people that free shipping and by Christmas delivery was available til the 21st via our Ground/Home Delivery service, which was a blatant lie! Our cutoff was the 16th. Express was simply just overwhelmed by last minute online shoppers.
Nothing burns me more than reading all these "Fedex ruined my Christmas" comments. No we didn't, YOU did! YOU waited til the last minute! YOU know what date Christmas comes on, YOU know how big the rush is, but YOU chose to wait.
That's my rant. Not meaning to blame everyone, the vast majority of people understand, and get their orders in early. And if anyone here was affected, I sincerely apologize for the company.
To blow my horn a bit, I only brought back one package during the entire month, and that was a package that was refused because the customer cancelled the order...
Hope everyone had a good Christmas, and my hopes for a good 2016!:cool:
I appreciate the heads-up concerning the "real" deadline, but it seems like Fedex could require Amazon not to announce a false date (but maybe not, since Amazon doesn't just use Fedex and so maybe Fedex can't keep Amazon from announcing December 21 just because the Fedex date is December 16, and then handing the package to Fedex).

If Amazon announces a date of December 21 and it doesn't get there by that date, resulting in shipping charges having to be refunded, is it Amazon who has to pay that? (I guess this doesn't help those Amazon customers who get free two-day shipping, for whom there would be no refund?)

[Devilwin]

They were told along with others, but chose to do it anyway. They were threatened with fines..This does not affect two day or Prime, just ground service.

[killerleft]

I was offered two-day free delivery by Amazon on 12-22. Had the item delivered about 9:30 A.M. by UPS on 12-24. I'm not a member of Amazon Prime. Neat!

[Devilwin]

Nice of them to pay for that service, which is certainly UPS/AIR. No way UPS ground could have done it.

[SmartDevil]

In my area, UPS is terrific, and FedEx Ground/Home is astonishingly bad. But I'm sure overall the companies are pretty equal. Probably depends on how well local mgmt runs things.

And no problems here with USPS SmartPost deliveries being on time. But the problem in my nice neighborhood is that such a high % of SmartPost delivered packages get stolen within minutes of the carrier leaving them on the porch or hidden elsewhere. During December the thieves trail the USPS carrier by about a block and either swipe the delivered boxes or break into the shipping boxes and take the contents.
I've complained to Amazon and other sellers, and, of course, to USPS, but the problem persists from year to year. Amazon replaces the packages but it is still a pain.
Anyone have any ideas?

[brevity]

But the problem in my nice neighborhood is that such a high % of SmartPost delivered packages get stolen within minutes of the carrier leaving them on the porch or hidden elsewhere. During December the thieves trail the USPS carrier by about a block and either swipe the delivered boxes or break into the shipping boxes and take the contents.
I've complained to Amazon and other sellers, and, of course, to USPS, but the problem persists from year to year. Amazon replaces the packages but it is still a pain.
Anyone have any ideas?

Electrified fence? I think Amazon sells them.

[sue71, esq]

In my area, UPS is terrific, and FedEx Ground/Home is astonishingly bad. But I'm sure overall the companies are pretty equal. Probably depends on how well local mgmt runs things.

And no problems here with USPS SmartPost deliveries being on time. But the problem in my nice neighborhood is that such a high % of SmartPost delivered packages get stolen within minutes of the carrier leaving them on the porch or hidden elsewhere. During December the thieves trail the USPS carrier by about a block and either swipe the delivered boxes or break into the shipping boxes and take the contents.
I've complained to Amazon and other sellers, and, of course, to USPS, but the problem persists from year to year. Amazon replaces the packages but it is still a pain.
Anyone have any ideas?

Apparently, though I never personally encountered this problem, the large USPS mailboxes for package deliveries at my apartment complex (where they leave a corresponding key in your standard mailbox so you can get into the larger box and retrieve your package) have been broken into numerous times. Well, according to some, it's either that or there are duplicate keys out there, but that's another story. So now, instead of USPS using those bigger postal boxes, they drop everything too large for the standard mailboxes at the main office. More secure, but you have to get there during working hours to get your package.

Can you have packages delivered to your workplace? That's the only alternative that USPS suggested to our residents.

[kmspeaks]

Apparently, though I never personally encountered this problem, the large USPS mailboxes for package deliveries at my apartment complex (where they leave a corresponding key in your standard mailbox so you can get into the larger box and retrieve your package) have been broken into numerous times. Well, according to some, it's either that or there are duplicate keys out there, but that's another story. So now, instead of USPS using those bigger postal boxes, they drop everything too large for the standard mailboxes at the main office. More secure, but you have to get there during working hours to get your package.

Can you have packages delivered to your workplace? That's the only alternative that USPS suggested to our residents.

USPS leaves all packages at our office as well. The only thing that annoys me is they never knock on the door, they just put a slip in my mailbox and take the package straight to the office. There have been times when I get the delivered notification from Amazon when I was home all day but I still have to go across the street to pick up my package. The UPS and FedEx guys always knock and leave the slip on my door saying the package is in the office if I'm not home.

[bjornolf]

In my area, UPS is terrific, and FedEx Ground/Home is astonishingly bad. But I'm sure overall the companies are pretty equal. Probably depends on how well local mgmt runs things.

And no problems here with USPS SmartPost deliveries being on time. But the problem in my nice neighborhood is that such a high % of SmartPost delivered packages get stolen within minutes of the carrier leaving them on the porch or hidden elsewhere. During December the thieves trail the USPS carrier by about a block and either swipe the delivered boxes or break into the shipping boxes and take the contents.
I've complained to Amazon and other sellers, and, of course, to USPS, but the problem persists from year to year. Amazon replaces the packages but it is still a pain.
Anyone have any ideas?

Security camera? My dad has one that sends video to his ipad.

[wavedukefan70s]

The police here had two undercover staged at the front of our neighborhood.trailed cars behind the usps trucks.caught one guy .they should sieze your vehicle permanently for that.

[aimo]

The only complaint I have about FedEx is that they drive WAY TOO FAST through our neighborhood. It is 25mph, rural, with a lot of pedestrians and blind curves. They FLY down my road. Our UPS guy is actually pretty good about not speeding. My complaint with UPS is incorrect deliveries at my old house. I was forever getting neighbors' packages, and our house numbers were very clearly marked. One mis-delivery came the week following that UPS strike a number of years back.

[Devilwin]

Get the number for the Fedex hub in your area and complain, there's no excuse for that. Be sure you get the right service, Express or Ground. Express has red/orange in the logo, Ground has green.

[wavedukefan70s]

The fedex and ups guys here are good.the usps however isnt.
I my self actually move import and export cargo. From the states to various countries.
The amount of cargo and packages moved around the world and in our country is staggering.
I am absolutely amazed at the consumption of goods.
In a need it now society. I believe 99% of ups and fedex guys/gals do a solid job.

[Devilwin]

Thanks, Wave. Most of us try.:cool: