Yeah I know I bitch a lot, but I do not care. This little rant is about why I think FedEx sucks…
So as you may have read I was in Canada for about 5 days and I was expecting a new computer to arrive. Dell built it too fast! Anyhow it was sent via FedEx and I made arrangements so that they would not leave it on my porch while I was gone.
Well I return from my trip and see that a $2000 box is sitting on my porch… over 5 days, in shitty Chicago weather. No signature required, and no attempts at multiple deliveries. It blew my mind.
Why would you not require a signature for a $2000 package?
The only really good take away from this is the discovery of what a safe neighborhood I live in.
If anyone from FedEx reads this, I suggest you allow people to delay their deliveries to a later date like DHL. DHL was great when I had to time shift another computer at an earlier date.
If you want read a praise post follow this link and read why I love DELL.
{ 31 comments… read them below or add one }
>>>If you want read a praise post follow this link and read why I love DELL.
Um, no link 😛
Check your eyes old lady 😛
hey guy, you know how many packages ups and fedex handles aday, it is very hard to pick a box out of a million. The hub i work part time at, handles 100,000 packages in 1 shift (about 300,000 a day), and we’re a small hub.
I think you missed part of the bigger point. The driver left a computer on my porch WITHOUT a signature.
DHL can pick out one package and do it. You have a computer system set up to track all the orders…you would think somewhere on the thing they could have a “hold on truck” or “hold at warehouse” option.
Fedex Sucks alright! Went to my girl friends mothers funeral. Had to go out of town. Got stuck in a storm. After three attempts while I was gone stuck in the storm, received a letter from Fedex stating that I had “terminated my emplyment with Fedex”. Hope Fred Smith reads this!
why do you think fred smith cares about you? he cares less about his employes
so you are mad because the shipper did not require a signature and the crr did not know you were out of town? that would be fedex’s fault?
The shipper does require a signature, AS THEY SHOULD, with a laptop. BUT fedex left it on my porch w/out the signature.
FedEx drivers can’t find their way around a parking lot. There has not been a single FedEx delivery here in West Virginia that did not have a “Delivery Exception†where the driver apparently had decided to call it a day and go home… returning the “Next Day Delivery to some dark hole at some remote FedEx station. Unfortunately, FedEx has contracts with big corporations such as Verizon. Verizon promises “Next Day Delivery†of cell phones, but despite anguished pleaading, Verizon still ships FedEx.
FedEx also will not deliver to a nearby nude resort. UPS and USPS have no problems with that. How does FedEx survive with such incredily poor “service?†And don’t even try to reach anyone by phone–you might as well be talking to a shovel handle. They just don’t care!
FedEx cannot release a pkg to a recipient w/o a signature if the shipper designates it as DSR, ISR, or ASR, their scanners will not allow them to. If it was released it was b/c the shipper did not specify it. If he hadn’t released it you would have complained about that too and how it took 3 attempts to get it b/c you weren’t home. FedEx holds shipments and does a future delivery all the time, it’s called a Dex17 internally and indicates that a customer requested future delivery on a certain date. Unfortunately company policy prohibits us from keeping a pkg at the station for more than 5 days before it is returned……we aren’t are warehouse or storage facility. If you aren’t going to be home to sign for something that is sig required, don’t order stuff….how hard is that? That being said, if the moron did leave it w/o a signature and it required one, it is grounds for termination…..everyone at my station knows that Dells are not to be left w/o a signature at Dell’s request and also the “common sense” policy of not leaving something worth a couple thousand dollars on a porch in broad daylight.
Dell always estimates their ship date to be about a week later than it actually takes, it’s called under-promise and over-deliver. Companies do it all the time, give you a high estimate and then come in below it to make themselves look better. FedEx must be doing something right as Dell has dropped UPS completely, mainly due to pkgs being damaged.
The guy that was “fired” for going to a funeral and not being able to make it back obviously never worked for FedEx Express, or is the same idiot who left the Dell on the porch. It’s called bereavement, people take it all the time. Plus you have sick and personal days you could take. He may have worked for FedEx Ground, in which case it is his responsibility to cover his route since he would have owned it being an independent contractor….and if he didn’t and doesn’t show up for work what are they supposed to do, just wait until it’s convenient for him to come back? Sorry for your loss, but people still need their stuff.
To Tom in WV, you either have an incompetent driver or live in an area with unmarked roads where people don’t put addresses on the house or mailbox. I guess drivers are just supposed to “know” where everyone in a 5 county radius lives by first name. We don’t have GPS and believe it or not, drivers take vacation/retire/quit and someone has to fill in who may not know it as well, give them a break. Just b/c Verizon says they offer “Next Day Delivery” don’t be fooled, it is usually at an extra cost and you must request it. Almost everything they ship goes either 2 or 3 day, and is ISR (Indirect Signature Required), which means it can be delivered to a neighbor or you can sign the bottom of the doortag they leave and hang it back on your door if you aren’t home at the time. I can’t comment on the nude resort since I have no knowledge of that, but personally I wouldn’t have a problem with it.
Yes, our call-center sucks….as does everyone else’s unless you happen to get the one person who actually cares. Ask to be connected to the local station, they can actually speak and understand English and are usually very helpful.
Sorry for the long post, but I hope that clears some things up. Some of us actually do care!
LB, thanks for your feedback! I had another “fun” experience the other day by UPS. I ordered some furniture that was supposed to be delivered via freight… and the company was supposed to call a day prior to the delivery so I could make arrangements of where to set the stuff. It turns out that is was UPS who delivered it. No call, no doorbell ring. I wake up that morning to find my entire porch was filled in Tetris Style with large furniture boxes… it was AWESOME.
A typical fedex driver working at my hub has to make 80 deliveries in a 12 hour shift. It is against the rules for us here to drive any longer than 10 hours per day, so you could say that 2 of those hours are spent sorting and loading the packages. UPS has a similar sized workload, proportionate to their hours.
We are not required to get a signature *unless the shipper requests it*. It is not required of us to deliver only if some answers the door, *unless the shipper requests it*. The same is true for UPS. This is well known, especially by big companies who use our services often.
We don’t have time to require every person to answer the door and personally recieve the package. It is of course easy to tell if a box is a computer box, especially if the word DELL is printed on it (and we get LOTS of those.) But we don’t know the value of the contents of all the other boxes. If we waited for even just a quarter of the customers to answer the door, we would have time to deliver maybe half of our normal load. Maybe. And any driver who has been here for more than a few weeks that brings back half their load will soon find themselves looking for a job elsewhere.
It is the shipper’s responsibility to request a signature. And you have the right to ask of the shipper that they require a signature upon delivery. (You have the right to *ask*, but I didn’t say that they are obliged to comply.)
Anyhoo, your ire is misplaced.
I forgot to add, most of the computer boxes marked DELL *do not* require a signature. When we scan the packages, signature requests will immediately become apparent if they were made.
I said MOST, not all. You can confirm that your package required a signature by reading it on the mailing label.
And when I said that it is the ‘shipper’s’ responsibility, I was talking about the company who is sending you the package, not Fedex themselves. English is not my first language, but I know my job very well.
Please understand that Fedex Ground drivers who travel between states, terminal to terminal, are totally FedUp with Fedex. Fedex wants us to hurry and then sit 24 hours praying for a load to the next terminal. Many drivers are only working ever other week as Fedex hired too many trucks for too little Freight. Think about it… we still have to make our truck payments and house payments with only half a paycheck. All Fedex Ground trucks are owner operators, do you think under these circumstances we give a shit if your packages are late!
Werty, I’m very sorry to hear that you had such a crummy experience with FedEx. It is absolutely positively not right what happened to you. Although I don’t know all the details behind the scenes with your shipment, I can tell you that it is definitely not the type of service FedEx represents or stands for. I know it seems to have happened some time ago, but if you haven’t resolved the issue already, let me know and I’ll see what I can do for you. I work for FedEx Express in AK and we do our best to make sure every experience is outstanding. Email me at [email protected].
Just a couple of things to consider…
Information is only as good as received. If Dell did not select the appropriate options in the shipping process, the package would not have required a sig. Also, a company is only as good as the sum of its parts. …if you had crappy service, then that means someone messed up somewhere…Dell, the fdx CSA, courier etc. …either your courier did not receive the updated package information or the courier neglected his/her responsibilities. The package will have a digital delivery sig. on it by the courier that delivered it. If it was their fault, it can be addressed. You are owed a great apology and, in my opinion, some sort of refund if FedEx is at fault.
…regarding the last post from the FDX Ground driver. …I’m also sorry to hear things are so hard on you guys right now. Please keep in mind that a large part of our problem is due to the weakened economy. …there are simply not as many people shipping right now due to the increased costs related to our fuel surcharges etc. …and that’s across the board. It’s a hard time for all of us in the shipping business.
Here is what happens on my apartment complex… Fedex delivery guy wont deliver to the 4th floor apartment. Seen him stoping his truck outside my apartment building and driving away after leaving door tag on my mail box “We are sorry we missed you” while I am watching him driving away from my balcony. This is after repeat rewuests to fedex to bring the package to the my apartment. Called Fedex several times and send the email got response
” Response (June Prolet M.) – 08/19/2008 02:48 PM
Dear xxxx:
Thank you for your inquiry. We regret any inconvenience this has caused.
FedEx delivers to the address indicated on the airbill at the time of shipment, not to a specific person. At many businesses, apartment complexes and universities we deliver to the main mailroom, apartment office or shipping and receiving area, so that they may distribute within their internal departments accordingly.”
Glad to know they do not deliver to the apartments anymore, though UPS, DHL and USPS do deliver to my apartment and knock on my door.
Thanks
During my 12 years in shipping and receiving departments in 3 different states, I have come to expect that most of the FedEx CSRs, drivers and even the Reps I interact with do not care about me, my business, FedEx, or even performing their job adequately. And this is not much different than other couriers I have dealt with, freight or package service. The goal of the average American worker is to sit on your arse and do as little as possible. You, the customer, interfere with this goal. You are an inconvenience to most of them when you call or when they have to deliver a package to you. This doesn’t only apply to FedEx, you can sense this attitude amongst most people in the workforce and it’s pretty commonly accepted/ignored. There is no motivation for improvement and both employees and employers are to blame for this.
I deal with it by being ridiculously nice to FedEx employees, and in turn, usually don’t experience too many problems. If the driver or CSR likes you, they may be compelled to do more than they would otherwise, but this is not always the case. Just this afternoon, I have made 4 attempts, 2 by fax and 2 by phone to get FedEx to stop faxing our phone line. None of these attempts resolved the problem (hence my random Google search, “FedEx sucks”.
About the Dell computer, I would contact Dell in an email (phones- you’ll just get the runaround and it’s sometimes hard to understand Filipino accents) explaining that you feel you cannot trust them to deliver your orders safely and that you will no longer be a customer because of this. Dell is more likely to cater to you than FedEx is. To Dell, you are money in their pockets, and Dell’s voice is way more powerful than yours when informing FedEx that they screwed up. It also may be that Dell ships using the “Service Default” option, which with Home Delivery means they must get a signature if someone’s around, otherwise, they can leave the package. The person at Dell taking your order may not know the difference between that and Direct Signature Required, and is probably telling more customers than just you that signatures are required on their packages.
Good luck to you! Kill them with kindness!
Fedex once left a package on my front steps too. When I picked it up and read the address, I then walked two blocks away and delivered it to the person it was intended for. True story.
Today I called fedex looking for a package that was supposed to have been delivered over a week ago. I live in a second floor apartment, my name is clearly displayed on the bell. I was home at the time, but the bright light never rang the bell, just decided to toss the package at the bottom of a stairwell to the basement where no one lives. So today, a week later, fedex tells me he left it down there, and sure enough I found it. It’s been sitting there all week – lucky for me it only rained heavily twice.
Fedex really and truly does SUCK.
fedex sucks.. last dec.2 i shipped international economy a digital camera
they charged me $110 canadian for it i dont mind that .. but now its december 16 i received a bill from fedex in the mail asking me to pay $124 canadian for fuel surcharges..if iknow about this 124 $ fuelcharge i was not going to ship the package . this piss me off bigtime .. i tried calling the 1800 number but the people transfer me 3 times and got put on hold for a long time …this is my first time using fedex and this will be the last … what a bad experience..
correction on my last post thats a transportation charge and fuelcharge
I recently experienced something with FedEx and do not know how to proceed. I ordered some 600$ tickets from my usual website and FedEx always delivers 2 days after. The envelope specifically indicates :”Attention FedEx courier: Signature required. This package cannot be released without obtaining a signature.” But the courier left it in front of my door on the ground. A day later I find this soggy envelope full of melting snow on my porch.. I quickly bring it inside and check the condition of my tickets which are made of a thin cardboard and they are totally ruined!! I am beyond angry so I call customer service and they simply tell me that someone will call me back. Does anyone know if they are obligated to reimburse me?? I kept the envelope and whats left of one ticket as well as my receipt for the purchase..
no really – Fed Ex Sucks
I recently had a large but not heavy box delivered by fed ex – they thoughtfully left it in the rain – visible to the street – under the mail boxes at the apartment building I live in – and I was home at the time about 20 feet away. The thoughtful driver left the “door tag” under the box. Thank god that did not get wet!
Recently I placed an order for art supplies to come to CA from IL… They used this wonderful Fed Ex system that delivers to the local post office and USPS takes over from there… oh wonderful!
So I filled out the shipping information and in the field for Special Delivery Instructions – I typed “Please bring to apartment 8 I am always there! Do not leave by mail boxes.
When I checked the tracking number and saw the package had “been “delivered” I got concerned – I have had many conversations with the post office and the vendor and in frustration decided to send a nasty gram to Fed ex – poking around the site a chat box pops up – “How can I help you?”
So- I typed in my story….
A FedEx representative will be right with you…
You have been connected to Chris .
Chris : Thank you for using FedEx.com Sales Chat. I’ll be happy to assist you. Please allow me a few moments to review your inquiry and gather the necessary information so that I may better assist you today.
Chris : Good afternoon Debbie. I do apologize for any inconvenience that you have encountered with the shipping process. How can I assist you today?
Me: I was looking for a way to provide feedback on lousy service
Chris : I’ll be happy to transfer our chat session to an available Customer Service Chat Representative Debbie. One moment please.
Chris has left the session.
Please wait while we find an agent from the Domestic department to assist you.
You have been connected to Julie .
Julie : Hello Debbie – I am going to briefly read your chat transcript, so I can better assist you.
Me: okay
Julie : I am so sorry, do you have the tracking number for the Smartpost package? That is where the post office delivers the package.
Me: Date Shipped: 2/16/09
Amount Charged : 221.68
Tracking ID
XXXXXXXXXXXX
Julie : That is showing on the USPS website, that the local post office delivered that on 2-23-09
Me: Customer service at Blick Art materials called the local post office who told them the package was delivered to this address on February 23 at 3:55. I was here all day – no package… none since
Julie : I am sorry, we gave the post office the package on 2-21-09 , if you did not receive it you need to contact the shipper, we only had the address for your local post office not the final destination of the package
Debbie Mitchell: My feeling is that fed ex should be aware that this service is broken – and with the other experience of a large (but not heavy) box being left in the rain in a place visible to the street with a door hanger tag on it – when the doors are right there and people are present is silly
Julie : I am so sorry that happened.
Debbie Mitchell: me too I used to use fed ex and we are now insisting on vendors shipping with UPS
Debbie Mitchell: Just thought someone might want to know – I have wasted enough time and money on this at this point.
Julie : Thank you for using FedEx.com Chat, Debbie. I hope you have a better day.
Thank you for using fedex.com chat, you may now close this window.
Your session has ended. You may now close this window.
Well – I feel all better now!
UPS is MUCH better!
How is it that UPS can find the door and Fed Ex can not?
And try tracking anything with the post office – oh my what a team fedex and the post office!
When it really really has to be there – use UPS!
Fedex pisses me off! First those stupid morons tell me to leave a note for the driver even though signature service is not requested and then the stupid driver won’t leave it at the inside stairwell of my apartment. I just hate Fedex. They are worse than the post office.
Reading up on this, I see both sides of the story. I felt compelled to whine about some experiences with Fed ex and UPS, and USPS. In my honest Opinion.
I mainly buy computers, electronics devices online to save on tax and shipping.
I have had a few stomped boxes from UPS, but the products were ok. (Some were hardrives ,knock on wood for future purchases) Fed-ex usually will ship to me form Calif, Montana , between 7-10 business days and boxes in good condition .( not too bad, but I’m spoiled by newegg and their NJ facility and UPS – i get things on average in 2 days.) USPS usually takes the longest, and their mailing centers are like the DMV .Good luck to the consumers, and sanity of the “good” workers. If anything changes to put me over the edge “I’ll be back”…I
Some people are just trying to do they’re job…why am I even reading this stuff!! What a bunch of winebags…
One day I was getting a package from FEDEX it never came. I check online delivered to some one that don’t even live in the area. They must have delivered it to some one walking by my door. I never see that item again. an other time I will was waiting for a package. When I came home from work and I check online and it said delivered. I still did not got my package. So I knock on every body door and nothing. One guy came out of his house almost getting ready to fight me because I knock on his door asking about a package. Then I call, they said there is some thing wrong with the FEDEX computer. Great!!! They said it had gone back to the sender and an other time I came home to find my neighbor kids play with my package. What the F*CK!!!!! And my other package on the floor in the office were any body can take and it take two different FEDEX Driver to delivery two small package in one day. So I call them and they said if your don’t home they will give your package to your neighbor or office with out you knowing about it.
This is why you NEVER buy anything online unless you use a credit (not debit) card. There are special rules for credit cards and you can always do a charge back.
A lot of shippers confuse insurance. Insurance covers THEM not you. If something is damaged and the shipper tells you to handle it, you tell them, “No, insurance protects you not me. You refund my money, and YOU file the insurance.”
If not simply dispute the charge. It’s the sellers obligation to see to it that you get the package.
As for the guy with the tickets, you might also want to call the box office, something similar happened to me, and I showed up at the box office with the warped tickets. They asked for ID and reprinted the ticket.
Werty, have you tried pickupzone.com? You can send your packages to Walgreens and they will keep packages in a locker until you can pick them up. It has saved me a lot of stress with missed delivery slips.
The SHIPPER dictates whether a pkg requires a signature. NOT fedex. If a pkg has a release authorization then fedex HAS TO RELEASE IT! The only exception is if there is no safe release location. (i.e. an apt hallway) If you don’t want something left at your door then call fedex with the tracking no. and tell them what to do. Signature required deliveries cost more to ship and some co. don’t want to spend the extra money. Don’t be lazy. Ask the shipper to send it “signature required” next time. Don’t blame someone else for doing their job.
why would you leave or not wait till you was home to order it duh
Yes Fedex sucks big time I agree! I sent a parcel that was supposed to arrive in 5 days and it took 8 days! and they change the status to Future delivery requested as they wish!!! and it cost me 85$ to send this parcel!!! I will now use UPS for sure!