ups..sick of this..3rd case this month.

Even though it was insured they say I have no claim due to the following reasons, which is all bullshit, packaged in new 12 pack styro shippers - my question here - is this happening with more frequency to other retailers and have any of you had any luck with any kind of recourse when this happens…

This is their standard response:

Number of Parcels… 1
Tracking Identification Number… Merchandise… 12 OF 12 WINE
The contents contained in the package described above were damaged. We regret any inconvenience
this may have caused you or your consignee.
The complete contents have been discarded.
When damage occurs, UPS inspects the package and evaluates the packaging according to our
packaging guidelines which include the International Safe Transit Association (ISTA) 3A Test
Procedures for small parcel delivery shipments, published by the ISTA. Your packaging did not meet
these guidelines. UPS is not liable or responsible for loss or damage to any package from improper
packaging.
The evaluation revealed the following deficiencies in the packaging that was for this shipment.
The merchandise´s container cap(s) were loose causing leakage.
The packaging was not sufficient to protect or support the weight of the merchandise.
The package was not sufficiently closed and sealed.
The merchandise was not properly placed within the packaging to sufficiently protect it.
To help avoid this problem in the future, we would be pleased to offer additional suggestions for
improved packaging.
Please visit us at h

We’ve had a couple incidents like this but I will argue with them until I get the outcome I want, there’s only been once that I lost my argument and that was because I neglected to put the correct required signature. UPS will try to bully you into backing down so they don’t have to pay the claim. If it was to a reciprocal state and had “Adult Signature Required” along with the proper insurance and sufficient packaging, I would not give up .
I’ve learned that if each bottle doesn’t have some bubble wrap under or around it to keep the bottles from bouncing around, when the UPS gorilla launches the cases the bottles can go through the top or bottle of the styro. I’ve now gone to the extreme of putting most of our shipments in the next size larger box and filling it with styro peanuts, the cost is minimal compared to the loss and aggravation.

I am still arguing with them, had all the correct info on the box etc, they are telling me they cannot send me the damaged box back as proof, or take a photo so I have demanded insurance. I get the feeling this box just walked away. Will see what gives.

Technically, your boxes need to be approved by UPS or Fedex.

I would talk to your rep and get them an empty box as a sample so they approve the box. Then demand your money.

Sadly, the second part of your statement may be most true. Our styro shippers are crazy tough, and UPS broke more boxes in December of 08 than FedEx did in ALL of 2008.

Holidays are the worst time to ship UPS. Contracted shippers work for them and have little or no regard for your items. I quit shipping EVOO with UPS due to there draconian policies and disregard for their customer base. I’d sooner have my eye poked out with a sharp stick than use their service, ever. Stiffed me for 2 cases of oil that were damaged but they couldn’t produce the damaged goods or even photos. I say fuck’em and if they want to discuss this in my neighborhood, come on down.

Don’t know what kind of shipping volume you have, so I think frequency of incident is relative to how much you’re shipping.

I probably ship, on average, only about 20cs a month. I have had about a dozen claims total over about 3 years and have never had a problem collecting from FedEx. Didn’t even realize they might refuse a claim due to faulty packaging on my end.


UPS sucks!

not what i want to hear with some Rhys on the way… by UPS!

can’t believe that all 12 b were damaged beyond deliverability. I, too, would demand a policy change so that the merchandise was delivered . . .
alan

Great, one of my two cases of Rhys is MIA… “billing information received” only, from a shipment of a week ago. Like there is a chance of this case sitting around on Kevin’s front porch or something.

If anyone gets an extra case of Rhys, it’s MINE!

D’oh, never mind. Turns out, I had spec’d a ship date of 11/2 when placing the order. Rhys’ team processed the billing last week, and correctly shipped today.

Definitely a sticking point, and one that UPS is falling back on more and more frequently. UPS will declare that you shipped in an “unapproved” shipper unless the mfr has acquired their approval stamp and it is placed on the box. Ironically, the laydown pressboard style that most board-posters loathe is generally more often approved, and safer from breakage, because there is less room for the bottles to jostle and break through the packaging. But beware, because there are a lot of wine shipper wholesalers out there who have not gotten UPS ‘approval’ for their item. The styro is better for temperature control, but very, very fragile in transit.

In 20 years, I have never had UPS refuse to return damaged merchandise, but then there has always been some kind of salvage–usually heavily stained labels and bottles that have been floating around for 2 weeks, but hey, it can always become crush-crew pizza wine. It should be up to the owner to decide how to handle the salvage, so I say … protest mightily. This sounds like a new, lame attempt to cut pennies on their end at the expense of the paying customer and the owner of the shipment.

…or somebody just walked off with the box.

For what it’s worth, out of about 5000 boxes shipped with UPS since we took fulfillment in house and started shipping ourselves, I can only recall about 3-4 destroyed or damaged boxes. Of course UPS said it was our faulty packaging and wouldn’t do anything about it, but I think that < .1% is an acceptable rate of mishap.

Simon,
Ya’ gotta’ love the canned responses. Hell, it sounds as though you put open bottles in a big envelope. You should ask for a list of what you did right.

UPS’ service and customer service seems to have gone down hill dramatically in the last 3 years or so. We have been a shipper since about 1999 and recently we have seen lesser service, higher prices.
I had a 5 Liter that had been shipped from our winery to a custom sandblasting/etching company in Seattle for a personalized charitable event. I actually sent 2 in separate boxes that were both to be customized. I recieved ONE back, and when we tracked it, showed it had shipped, then just disappeared. Customer Service could not tell me where it went, would not refund the cost of the bottle (which was 1 of 2) not like I could just replace the bottle to the charity… and thier final excuse as to “why” they were not responsible - said we did not sign the “approved wine shipper agreement” with UPS.
Again, we have been a shipper since 1999, all documents signed, all approved packaging - they suck, but we can’t seem to find a better alternative.
So now this is my way of getting back, or at least making them work for the overpriced service we all receive - Every holiday the Driver takes a poll if we will be open the day before or day after, if we will need service, and if we will need pick-up and/or delivery. Of course my answer is now always we will be open both days, and will require both services… like I am going to help them save money by running fewer Drivers - Not as long as they behave like they do.
A couple of other things as long as Im on a roll - during the holiday season we continually get an “update” when we log in to create our shipping labels - which means they are raising the prices with each “update”, knowing they have a captive audience during the busy time, and also knowing it doesnt cost them a penny more to move that box.
Last year I sent Christmas Wreaths from Oregon to my out of state Distributors, the boxes were about 5 inches flat and about 30 inches or so in width. They didn’t weigh much more than 5 pounds, hell its some Fir boughs and pretties - So I shipped several of them, and when we got the bill, which my label told me it was under 10 bucks to ship each, they added a huge number to the bill because it was not a usual shape ! It ended up costing me more to ship them than to buy them !
OK, I feel better now, but understand your pain.
Linda
PS - We just upgraded computers and when we called for a new UPS disk, they told us we could be part of the Beta test as they did not have the fine tuned program for us. WHAT ?? Did you people not know Windows 7 was coming ?

I assume (with apologies for the naivete ) that as a customer I can’t set up a Fedex account and insist that a retailer ship via Fedex, billing my account directly if I feel that Fedex will handle my wines a little more carefully than UPS?

20 bottles arrived yesterday via UPS, packed in styro shippers. The full case was intact. The box containing 8 bottles was banjaxed at two of the corners, the styro completely disintegrated but thankfully Flickingers had packed the 8 bottles in the center . I think I caught a break…

Any evidence that ground shipments get treated better or worse than air?