A four pack shipped ground from suburban NY to Virginia last Tuesday, due at my place on Thursday. I had a couple of days off so I was able to hang around the house the whole day (adult signature required), the weather’s nice so the windows and front door were open, but no FedEx truck. Late that evening they email me with an update that no attempt at delivery was made (why not?), but they’d rescheduled for the next day, which turned out to be a duplicate of the first day – again no delivery, but this time they noted “person not home or business closed”, which wasn’t true, and of course there was no door tag, but apparently FedEx Ground drivers makes the same excuse all the time when they fail to deliver, even when the business that they say was closed is a 24-hour convenience store!
On the weekend they posted that they’d attempted a delivery on Saturday but no one was home; that last part was correct in that I was at work all day, but Saturday delivery? Turns out that the package at some point was handed over to FedEx Home which does deliver Saturdays but is closed, today, Monday, and the FedEx support person I got by phone couldn’t tell if or when the the package would make it to the one-hour-away Kinkos/FedEx hold location as I’d finally requested online. (Every single one of the multiple emails from Fedex since the package was originally picked up noted that the service was FedEx Ground, no mention at all of FedEx Home.)
At this rate, I would have been better off to have driven up to Scarsdale and gotten my wine myself. For the record, the shipper, Zachys, has been very responsive and helpful in this but are similarly stymied by FedEx’s f*ckedupedness.
What a poorly run operation. UPS has also gotten much worse the past couple of years, but if their driver says my “address is wrong” (he simply didn’t attempt a delivery – I’ve had the same address for decades), then I only have a fifteen minute drive to their location.
They used to be my preferred and most reliable shipper; the same driver for years, and he always showed up before 9 am which worked out perfectly for my work schedule. Something changed a couple of years ago and whatever drivers I have now are either incompetent or else whatever they get paid is insufficient incentive (vs. their fuel costs?) to do the job.
This latest episode, though, really takes the cake.
I agree with that completely, Corey, all shipping is local, and I used to have very good service here from both UPS and FedEx Ground; FedEx Express has never been a problem.
I have my Fedex shipments delivered to a nearby print and ship center. No waiting around for signatures and they will hold it for several days if you can’t make it in to pick them up. No issues whatsoever.
The USPS at our Maine place can take wine deliveries (you have to use a certain address, then they sign for it and hold it for you). It actually worked once or twice this summer (UPS IIRC).
Had the same problems happen over the years with Fedex, UPS and USPS packages (mostly non-wine luckily) - say they attempted delivery but nobody was there - of course, I have a 24hr a day doorman. Have to believe the drivers’ lies are rampant when at some point they just decide not to complete their route.
C’mon guys - are you all telling me you’ve never seen what happens to delivery guys when they ring the doorbell of a lonely housewife’s home? As soon as that funky guitar starts playing, the rest of the deliveries are NOT getting made.
FedEx is pretty good for that in my area, lots of site choices. Pretty straight forward. there are only a few vendors left who are UPS only that I will deal with since it so much harder for me to either recieve stuff, or pick it up.
I was reading that UPS is planning a big price hike for the holidays, btw.
For me the “local” facility is 57 miles away; there are many other FedEx locations that are closer, including the depot from which the trucks depart, but they’ll only hold packages for pickup at the one that’s an hour away.
And I agree with you about work ethic and doing a good job if you include FedEx Ground management in your indictment.
I haven’t had a lot of problems lately. But as I have posted here before, I had a business that was open every day at 7am and closed at 10pm (except Sundays) with at least a dozen 21+ year old people on hand, with a service desk and a back door receiving clerk and, more than once, the FedEx driver said it was person not home/business not open/un-deliverable/whatever issue. I would then go to Kinko’s, thankfully in a convenient location, to pick up the package. Basically, from what they would tell me is the (contract) driver didn’t feel like driving too far out of his way and would just say we weren’t open. But that it was a contract driver issue.
I just get all mine shipped to a local UPS Store from both FedEx and UPS for $5, check the tracking # and usually pick up before they call me. I live about 8 blocks away and pick up around noon. I only lost one shipment when I was not given either a tracking number or a phone call and the package was returned after a month. I discovered this when picking up another shipment and the clerk remembered. I gave them my phone # for the record.
It was only worth a half bottle of M.Ilan so I let it go.
John, you’re right that it ultimately comes down to the driver delivering the packages, but the whole contract driver model is FedEx Ground’s chosen business model. They cling to the conceit that once the package is on the truck they’re in the clear and essentially have no further responsibility in the matter.
They know that there are serious service flaws in their system, as your examples illustrate, but they refuse to improve their practices. The contract drivers, who might actually work for a different contract holder (thus less $$ for the driver), are, from what I understand, underpaid and overworked with little motivation to go that extra mile to get us our shipments.
Not to get too political, but it seems this is the business model most companies are adopting. Use temps and sub contractors to limit liability and risk as well as reduce costs.
FEDEX called me today on wine shipment. They needed suite number for our office. Happily gave them number and all is well.
FEDEX called 10 minutes later. Due to adult signature required I would have to pick up. Told them everyone in our office is adult and can sign. They say their system does not allow them to update address on adult signature deliveries so I’d need to pick up in person.
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