Burned by UPS

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Well to The UPS Store you are — if you’re willing to go there and actually pay counter rates which is why he is partially getting the run around because the store is the actual shipper for billing. Remember Mailboxes, Etc? That’s what they became. Independent franchises that make a lot of money if you go there and have them actually generate your label.

It’s a moot point now but it’s a lot cheaper to create own label at UPS.com and a lot cheaper than that to setup a free personal account and apply a discount code. You can then drop it off at The UPS Store without paying them anything.

That $70 Next Day Air label would be around $30-40 if you do it on your own.

I went to UPS store in early/mid December to drop off an Amazon return, frankly they were nice people working but if someone told them "I'm going to go elsewhere" they didn't seem like they would even try to argue that. At that time they were very clear that they couldn't guarantee delivery by Christmas unless you paid some high amount that NO ONE was taking up on their offer. In fact people were scoffing at it. Sounds like they should have done what you suggested.

I'm just saying approaching it like they will bend over backwards for 1 person who ships with them every now and then vs a large company with a hefty contract is not how I would think about it. Maybe I would be pleasantly surprised but I'm a dime a dozen in the grand scheme. Plus they probably think "good luck elsewhere you'll probably be back when you see how other places are like". IDK totally my opinion but your point makes sense about independent franchises, I suppose my point was thinking about the company UPS as a whole but it's totally possible a local store chooses to interact differently.

 

[ndelaware]

UPS ceased guaranteeing anything almost 2 years ago.

 

[LuvOrlando]

Not to be flippant here but you're not really a customer in the sense that you might think. It's the larger companies that shipping matters the most. You and I in the grand scheme don't really matter as much. I def. don't think I'm important enough to throw weight around and say I'll go elsewhere to ship my items, TBH they probably wouldn't bat an eye at that. But that's just my viewpoint on it.

I'm sure you are 100% right, but I doubt it's just me, nothing about me is special. I'm just a use case, no more and no less.

 

[spiders]

UPS ceased guaranteeing anything almost 2 years ago.

The service guarantees for Next Day Air and Worldwide Express was restored last spring with normal exclusions.

 

[Disney.Dreamin.Dee]

I read this right before going to UPS to mail something for the first time. (I've done plenty of Amazon returns lol but of course that's free and easy).
I was actually pleasantly surprised by the customer service and price. Only cost me $13 to ship something in 2 days (did not need rush delivery) and I was expecting to pay much more.

 

[ndelaware]

The service guarantees for Next Day Air and Worldwide Express was restored last spring with normal exclusions.

And rescinded again a short time later.

That didnt stop them from increasing their rates again this year.

 

[spiders]

And rescinded again a short time later.

That didnt stop them from increasing their rates again this year.

It has not been rescinded. They modified it, like they do every peak season, but it still applies. Residential 10:30 moved to 12:00 (which still applies now) — guaranteed.

Everybody raises their rates every year. This year being the most justified rate increase of all.

 

[spiders]

I went to UPS store in early/mid December to drop off an Amazon return, frankly they were nice people working but if someone told them "I'm going to go elsewhere" they didn't seem like they would even try to argue that. At that time they were very clear that they couldn't guarantee delivery by Christmas unless you paid some high amount that NO ONE was taking up on their offer. In fact people were scoffing at it. Sounds like they should have done what you suggested.

I'm just saying approaching it like they will bend over backwards for 1 person who ships with them every now and then vs a large company with a hefty contract is not how I would think about it. Maybe I would be pleasantly surprised but I'm a dime a dozen in the grand scheme. Plus they probably think "good luck elsewhere you'll probably be back when you see how other places are like". IDK totally my opinion but your point makes sense about independent franchises, I suppose my point was thinking about the company UPS as a whole but it's totally possible a local store chooses to interact differently.

Well honestly there is nothing they can do to offer you a guarantee when one doesn’t exist. The only way they could do that is by establishing some kind of local policy - which who knows is even allowed - and then they would completely absorb the cost themselves.

 

[kymom99]

My son has been working away from home. I sent a care package before thanksgiving by usps before thanksgiving, hoping it would arrive by st. Nick day. He got it in 2 days and it cost me about $21 with $50 insurance. He is 1800 miles from me. I also sent things to the grandkids during the pandemic for what I felt was a reasonable cost.
Last month the same son realized he needed a winter coat. He looked in some places to buy one and couldn’t find anything. He asked if I could send him one if his. I shoved the coat into a smallish box. It weighed about 2 lbs. the only thing open was UPS store so I went that route. This was on a Saturday. It cost $30 to send it the following Monday. Had I wanted it sent immediately it would have been $80. It was 2 day shipping but the lady said give it an extra day because they were busy. I believe he got it in 3?
USPS all the way for me from now on.

 

[sam_gordon]

They just disavowed any responsibility in the situation, everyone all around just absolved themselves with gibberish. To me, this is unacceptable. Now, what can I do about the protocol being unacceptable is limited. I am powerless since they have my money and are free to pick and, apparently, choose how they honor their own policies at will so I either accept this and continue to do business with them or I do not.

I bet if you look into their policies deep enough, you'll see an exception for adverse weather, which is probably what happened here.

Alternative s are Fed ex & USPS, not sure about Fed-Ex, they are more expensive so do I want to throw more on the roulette table? USPS is spotty but even if they do hiccup the service is a lot less expensive, so a lesser potential loss to me. This is a $68 loss, apparently anytime I try overnight it is a potential loss since guarantees have no teeth so why not just put less cash up? I don't see a benefit to paying more without value added.

That's exactly what your choice is. Don't like how someone does business or what they charge, go somewhere else.

 

[LuvOrlando]

I bet if you look into their policies deep enough, you'll see an exception for adverse weather, which is probably what happened here.


That's exactly what your choice is. Don't like how someone does business or what they charge, go somewhere else.

Yes, but then what is the proclamation of a guarantee for exactly? That's the thing that is most irritating, why do big businesses get away with stuff that doesn't apply to regular people, like you or I could never get away with taking money from a business and not honoring the spirit of a contract.

 

[spiders]

Yes, but then what is the proclamation of a guarantee for exactly? That's the thing that is most irritating, why do big businesses get away with stuff that doesn't apply to regular people, like you or I could never get away with taking money from a business and not honoring the spirit of a contract.

There are provisions in every contract and I personally don’t think they have ever hidden the fact that they exclude weather.

 

[sam_gordon]

Yes, but then what is the proclamation of a guarantee for exactly? That's the thing that is most irritating, why do big businesses get away with stuff that doesn't apply to regular people, like you or I could never get away with taking money from a business and not honoring the spirit of a contract.

umm, yes we would as long as we follow the LETTER of the contract. That's the entire point of having a contract.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Yes, but then what is the proclamation of a guarantee for exactly? That's the thing that is most irritating, why do big businesses get away with stuff that doesn't apply to regular people, like you or I could never get away with taking money from a business and not honoring the spirit of a contract.

Here's how I would look at it. Under normal circumstances, nothing in the way, those who pay for more expedited service are put ahead of those who don't. Your package gets put on a plane, truck, whatever in a more priority fashion. That's what the service is there for. Those who don't pay for the service understand their package isn't getting priority.

Unfortunately stuff gets in the way at times. Remember when Amazon had their web service issue not too long ago? It impacted Amazon's ability to get boxes onto trucks, and for delivery drivers to know where to go. It temporarily halted stuff. I have Prime, my package is supposed to get to me within 2 days of it being shipped and majority of the time it is, sometimes it's even delivered a day earlier. But that issue with the web service unfortunately coincided with a package I was supposed to get. As a result my package came a day later. Amazon notifies me when weather in my area may delay package delivery as well.

I don't think you don't have a right to be frustrated, I totally get it, but I do think there's sorta "it happens" that comes into play here.

 

[a1tinkfans]

Fed Ex is just as bad. I learned a long time ago that overnight/next day, 2 Day Air with all of them means nothing. They charge you an arm and a leg but will not guarantee it. The odds are better with First Class or 3 day ground with UPS (which almost always gets there in 2 days.)

Maybe time to get a Smart Lock? One that you can put a code in, unlock/lock remotely and can send a digital key.

My overnite International mail with usps had a Time Guarantee.
they missed it by 2 hours.
usps gave me ALL my money back and it was Easy!
I was honestly shocked and had the employee Not told me when I shipped, I’d have never known there was that guarantee. Yes, it was costly but I was willing to pay and it worked out Xtra well. US to South Korea

 

[LuvOrlando]

My overnite International mail with usps had a Time Guarantee.
they missed it by 2 hours.
usps gave me ALL my money back and it was Easy!
I was honestly shocked and had the employee Not told me when I shipped, I’d have never known there was that guarantee. Yes, it was costly but I was willing to pay and it worked out Xtra well. US to South Korea

Thanks for that! OK, this will be what I shift to, I am ok with paying if I get what I am paying for and there is some sense of symbiosis

 

[wenrob]

My overnite International mail with usps had a Time Guarantee.
they missed it by 2 hours.
usps gave me ALL my money back and it was Easy!
I was honestly shocked and had the employee Not told me when I shipped, I’d have never known there was that guarantee. Yes, it was costly but I was willing to pay and it worked out Xtra well. US to South Korea

I haven’t overnighted anything in close to a decade because of my experiences of it not working out- FedEx, USPS and UPS via Amazon so I’ve never heard of that. I just looked it up and there’s a pretty big list of what constitutes the actual guarantee. Your situation seems to have fallen into the sweet spot. And I’m sure it’s worked out for tons of people but for me I won’t ever drop that kind of money again on something that may or may not fall within the right parameters.

 

[spiders]

FedEx has the air contract with the USPS. If you’re sending something Express Mail then FedEx is going to fly it. If you’re sending something Priority then there’s a good chance FedEx is going to fly that too.

 

[tvguy]

The weather thing I get but I don't think burning customers with non-existent guarantees is smart, it's just not good business. They DO have Saturday delivery so they should absorb the difference and get it there tomorrow as an act of good faith, this was $68, so it's a substantial premium, or reimburse for the difference (overnight -4 day) for not doing better forecasting. This is not smart business for repeat customers, it is a great way to lose a customer though. From a strategy point of view, I ask which is cheaper keeping a customer by absorbing stuff like this, or trying to go out and catch a new customer with marketing dollars used to lure them away from a competitor? Me they had & lost for whatever the difference is in 4 day and overnight, marketing money may or may not work on the new person, it's a fools decision, it's nearly always cheaper to keep a customer for repeat business than to try and lure a new one.

Well, I can't speak to the shipping aspect, but as a landlord isn't it not good business not to have someone in the city where the property is located who could provide a key to a tenant? Property management companies exist for this reason for remote landlords. Or given the cost of shipping, having a locksmith go out and cut a key may not have cost much more.