I know this has been done to death here, but let me add my name to the long list who have been victimized by FedEx. Tell me if you’ve heard this one before.
Here are the details - YESTERDAY - Sanguis shipment in two boxes: 6 750s and one big bottle in a separate box. Big bottle makes it. FedEx driver chick doesn’t even bring the other box to our office. Apparently, when they unilaterally made the decision to do this, they broke the 2-part shipment up.I then called and emailed Jamie at Sanguis (who is great by the way). She sends me a series of emails which basically reveal that she’s dealing with numerous broken bottle complaints all over the country.
Jamie promises me the wine will be replaced. Great. Everyone’s happy (except the Sanguis folks, of course).
Later, FedEx calls me and tells me that they should not have delivered one of the boxes, because the shipment is marked “1 of 2” and “2 of 2.” I tell them that’s too bad, because that’s exactly what happened.
TODAY - we get another package from FedEx with a new shipping label and tracking number from Sanguis. My initial thought was, “Damn! Jamie didn’t need to overnight me replacements so quickly.” I was shocked, though, to open the box to reveal four scruffed and wine-stained bottles of Sanguis which FedEx had apparently repackaged and redelivered. They also apparently returned the damaged stuff to Sanguis.
I’m guessing no one at FedEx appreciates that stained labels might not be a good thing. I’m guessing they did this repackaging thing in hopes of bringing down the value of the insurance claim.
I called Jamie and I could almost hear her tearing her hair out. She said we could ship the wine back to her and she would replace them with clean bottles. I told her I didn’t really care because I was going to consume these bottles. She’s thinking about the best way to handle this problem.
At the end of the day, I have two take-aways: 1) the folks at Sanguis are awesome; and , 2) FedEx blows.
On the multiple-bottle shipment – I have no idea. I never saw the shipment. On the other box that was delivered without incident – it was a big bottle in pine box, backed tightly inside a very large box with 10 million foam peanuts.
Fedex sucks. But how did customer service get so bad, not just with Fedex but with businesses in general? Is it our current culture with everyone just sticking their nose in their smartphones? I happily support and stay loyal to restaurants, stores, businesses who understand customer service, will even pay more for it. Makes me a customer for life. Seems so simple.
Amen brother. Customer service is something that needs to be taught to the employees by the management. Customer service was the buzz word of the 2000’s but now in the 10’s it has been replaced by uneducated idiots who don’t give a shit.
I happily support and stay loyal to restaurants, stores, businesses who understand customer service, will even pay more for it. Makes me a customer for life. Seems so simple.
You and me both. People wonder why business fails so quickly.
I’m not a huge mail order person, but I’ve received delivery of a few hundred bottles none of which have been broken. Sometimes the styrofoam has taken its hits, but that’s the point.
As for FedEx, they (like UPS) seem so driven by efficiency that the extra time lugging a box/case of wine takes seems to cause drivers not to bother.
Same here; frozen bottles twice, maybe even some got cooked a bit, but never a broken bottle in over fifteen years of deliveries. If they were having a rash of broken bottles all over the place, something was wrong with their packaging. Remember all those broken Riedel glasses from Amazon?
The conclusions I drew were that either 1) the wine was improperly packaged; or, 2) multiple packages were compromised early in the shipping chain (which would explain why you had issues around the country). I can’t speak to the packaging of the wine since I never saw how it was packaged. I had no problems last year with essentially the same order. Or the year before that come to think of it.
I’m willing to put the blame squarely on the shoulders of FedEx. Its wine. Everyone knows its wine. It has that “Adult Signature” required sticker on it. There’s no excuse for rough handling during shipment. None.
Jay, that is an interesting flow of logic, if indeed the rash of broken bottles were packaged outside the industry norm. I wonder if Fed-Ex had a similar rash of broken bottles from the other wineries they picked up from that day.
Just received this email from Sanguis. I think the part I’ve highlighted is the most interesting fact:
Dear All,
I’m writing you this email on behalf of Jamie (with whom most of you have already communicated) and myself because you have received a shipment from us that was damaged in transport.
We know how enthusiastic all of you are and that receiving our shipments of wine - which was made with lots of love and care of the course of two to three years, carefully bottled, hand-waxed and hand-labeled, and then packed with equal care - feels a bit like Christmas or your birthday. So we feel terrible that (a) your experience on this go around was filled with disappointment rather than excitement, and (b) that the beverage and package in which we placed so much care was destroyed.
In all the years of shipping wine we’ve had only two broken bottles> , and we’ve had a disturbing number of damaged packages being delivered during this release. We had some issues with our FedEx pick up during this shipment and suspect that our friends at FedEx ‘accidentally’ dropped some boxes to show us who’s boss (although of course we can not substantiate this).
We know this is a hassle and very much appreciate it if all of you would return the packages to FedEx or call them to request that they pick up your damaged goods. FedEx is reportedly not particularly responsive to claims filed by the receiver of a damaged package, so if you could kindly send us pictures and/or any other supporting documentation (some of you have already done so - thank you!), we will file those claims.
The chances of reimbursement by FedEx are slim, but we will pull wine from our library and replace your shipment with ‘fresh’ bottles - it would not sit right to think of a bunch of Sanguis bottles sitting in your cellars with stained labels. We will send these replacements early next week.
Thank you so much for being loyal customers, and for your patience and cooperation in this!
Sincerely,
Matthias Pippig
PS: Word on the street is that FedEx and UPS are going to merge …the name for this new SuperCompany will FedUp! (we hope that’s not actually the case because it may just be ‘Brown’ who delivers the replacement packages and and future shipments as well…)
If something happens at the point of pickup there’s nothing for it, but on the receiving end I’ve been very lucky and have been happy with the major delivery services. FedEx Ground has become my preferred ground carrier since the driver arrives around 9 in the morning.
I’m a Corporate Sales Rep and have some experience in working with wine shippers. I have some thoughts and will weigh in if anyone cares to hear it. I am reluctant to because I don’t to be percieved as just defending my employer and towing the company line.
I will say this though.
For the winery to suggest that this damage occured by FedEx due to mishandling that was intenational in order “show them who’s boss” is ridiculous. FedEx employees are professionals and deliver so many packages daily that believe me… we’re not trying nor do we have the time to devise some ‘master plan’ to screw over some small business & shipper that is just trying to get their product to their customers. We want to get our customers packages delivered quickly ans safely, (well, everyone except that dumbass who was tossing monitors during the holidays). I’ve witnessed employees not giving what I would consider proper care to packages and it kills me every time, someone that is distracted and moving too fast, or just having a bad day. Either way, unacceptable. Most people think that FedEx employees are walking packages around and may be surprised that due to the automated hubs and stations, packages have very little human contact… usually just at pickup, delivery and when being taken off and loaded on the truck.
Anyhow… if anyone here on Berserkers ever has a FedEx problem and they want me to look into it I’ll be glad to. Just PM me. Even if it’s a track & trace, damaged package, or a winery or retailer that just wants to find out, “who’s the local FedEx Rep in my area?”… I’ll do what I can.
FWIW, I now use FedEX for shipping ONLY. In 2 years of shipping wine, I have had exactly ONE problem with FedEX and my claim was promptly settled. I’ll just say my experience with UPS is quite the opposite. On my online store, I removed UPS as a shipping option and will only ship FedEX - they are less $ which is good for the consumer and I have had FAR less problems.
I get good service from both. I used to request FedEX from CA because it was cheaper. Both used to arrive before noon. UPS will swing back buy if they miss us. Fed Ex now hits us around 3pm and does not return if we are out for coffee. UPS pick up is fairly close, FedEX is halfway to Hood River. I will be moving my business soon, do they deliver to a drop off point for pick up?
The only problems I’ve had with FedEx were due to one particular driver who had a habit of not knocking or ringing the doorbell. In each case, the issue was promptly resolved and the wine was perfectly fine. Every other FedEx person I’ve interacted with (drivers, customer svc reps, etc.) has been totally professional and always willing to help. FWIW, I’ve had equally good experiences with UPS. The few times that I’ve received damaged wine it was always the retailer’s fault (mostly from ignoring hold requests). The one thing I really like about FedEx is that I can have a package rerouted to the local FedExOffice/Kinko’s if I’m not going to be home to accept delivery.