Maybe I didnt write it clearly. Problem #1 is grumpy or angry delivery guy. Just had one today. He was very pissed and annoyed I had 4 boxes. Problem #2 stating nobody was home when someone was. On the same day UPS delivered something and had no issues.
Also, I dont know how UPS or Fedex works where I live but I see new faces very frequently.
Our FEDEX driver loves us because he loves our dog, and our dog loves him and the cookies he brings. Doesn’t matter to him if it’s four boxes of white anchovies in one package weighing 5 pounds or four boxes of wine weighing 35 - 55 pounds (the latter if it’s Champagne or wine bottled in war clubs).
But I live in Maine and the pace and tenor of life is different here. This makes me extremely happy.
Dan Kravitz
Interesting. The shipper is paying extra to have an adult signature taken and to not break the law.
I dare you to sit down for service at my shop. The only tip which you would ever get from me would have been chopped off a tail.
Ive had some annoyed looking drivers for sure. I always go out to meet them at the truck and help ect. When I see them. But I’m not tipping the fed ex guy. I have a feeling they get annoyed because of the signature though. I wouldn’t want to unload 4 cases either before I knew someone was home, so they have to make two trips to get it done I guess.
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OK, maybe he doesn’t tip. But if he’s bitching or annoyed because you keep getting packages that are fifty pounds, he needs to get a new job. It’s like working at some drive-thru window and getting annoyed because some guy keeps ordering cheeseburgers instead of just taking the plain hamburger. WTF? People are supposed to take into account the personal preferences of delivery guys now?
“I’d really love to order a case of this wine but my delivery guy doesn’t like the full cases, so I’ll just take three bottles.”
The fake attempt to deliver is really irritating though. I’ve waited at home with the door open and when I called UPS I was told that the driver attempted delivery! Of course there was no door tag since he didn’t even bother to drive by. I assume he just drove home, went to sleep, and then filled out a bunch of dummy door tags.
Depends on the route, but in busier areas there are often temporary workers used to help with higher volume. You see that a lot this time of year as well with the holidays coming- most city routes will have temporary drivers doing extra runs.
For my part, I agree with the sentiments of most in this thread. Delivery drivers are unionized and do just fine for themselves compared to many other workers. I consider myself a generous and frequent tipper- but I only ever do it for UPS or Fed-Ex when they are delivering a LOT of boxes and I need them to bring them up to my condo rather than leave them at the front desk.
That said, last year I just started having everything sent to my business PO box at a UPS store. Not just wine, in the instances where I can even have it shipped here, but anything of value. A couple of years ago when the rash of doorstep thefts happened in my area in Dallas, $2400 in ostrich hides were taken from my front door in a secured condo building with a doorman and security. Happened to tons of people before the guys were caught.
The package had been marked for signature required, but the UPS driver did not care. UPS paid out the full insurance claim, but less than a month later I came home again to find another 4-figure box of animal hides sitting in front of my door. Not stolen that time, but clearly UPS is being very slack in policy enforcement- I would imagine some of my fellow MBAs did the math and figured it was cheaper to pay out claims than take the time required to follow their own terms of service when people pay a premium for signature required and other services.
Many wines are far harder to replace than raw materials for making wine bags, so I just use the UPS store option and avoid all the difficulties and perils of home deliveries when someone is not usually home during the day. Very much worth the $25 a month.
This was a UPS story, but Fed-Ex is no better. Especially during the holidays when volume picks up.
I think the the whole ‘I tried to deliver but they weren’t home’ schtick is harder to pull off now, given that so many people have HD cameras all over their house approaches. Or Ring devices.
If people can get deliveries to a Walgreen’s, I have found that works pretty well.
UPS drivers are unionized, Fedex aren’t. But they are comparatively well paid.
If I driver was rude or angry simply because I had heavy boxes, I’d report to management.
Plus I believe most of the trucks have GPS, so if driver is not at least on the street management will know if there’s a pattern
I have 99% of my wine delivered to the local FedEx Store. They are great! During the holidays I get the manager and some staff if they have been there long enough gift cards.
ok boomer
What do you do for UPS shipments?
Matt, UPS is horrific in South Florida. If the winery or vendor does not ship FedEx I don’t purchase. One exception-The Black Cat Lady. I then have it shipped to my work.
I developed a good relationship with my FedEx guy, to the point where we had an agreement that he would sign for me and leave my wine if I weren’t home (where we lived it was always protected from the elements and safe from porch pirates). He mentioned to me that he had a couple of other regular wine buying customers for which he did the same thing. I asked him if the others received as much shipped wine as I did and he grinned and said, “Brother, you’re the king!”
Most all the drivers know me and know there are only adults living here. I have an agreement with them. They can put deliveries in my garage. No problem. They get a nice tip every year. This week I had a FedEx Delivery notice in my email. I left the driver a note, signature and instructions on my front door but came home to a door tag. I left him a new note asking him to leave it at the package store in Podunk. Next day I have a delivery exception when I checked tracking. I contact FedEx and ask that the package be reconsigned/redirected to the package store. They decline and say the closest place they can bring it is the Walgreens in Santa Rosa 10 miles away. Seeing that the shipping was generated on and billed to my FedEx acct I would have thought that I am the one who decides where it goes. Apparently not.
Luckily the driver heeded my note and left it at the package store.
The problem with this and someone above who said that the UPS driver just left their boxes without a signature is that it’s totally illegal - and you’ll have zero recourse in the case that there are any ‘issues’. It always cracks me up how some folks have an affinity for a specific shipping company because their driver does stuff like this and takes care of them - it’s great until something goes sideways, and unfortunately, it may at the end of the day. I get it, but this is one of the reasons why it’s as expensive as it is to ship alcohol in this country.
And as far as delivering to a UPS or Fed Ex drop off, remember that one shipping company may not deliver to the other’s locations, so be careful about this.
As far as the original OP, wine is heavy - much heavier than a lot of things that are shipped these days. This can get people cranky for sure . . .
Cheers.
i just have all of mine held at the local Fedex/UPS shipping centers or shipping stores. i dont have to wait for it and they dont have to carry it around. seems to make everyones life easier.
You’re absolutely right… it is illegal. And for that reason, I had agreed with the driver that I would not tell anyone what he was doing. At the time though, I was still working and because I couldn’t arrange to be home when the shipment came it was worth the risk to me. I never did have a problem, but if I did I was resigned to eat the loss. The time and effort that I saved in redirecting the shipment to where I could physically pick it up on another day was worth far more than a potential lost shipment.
I’m sorry for all the additional shipping dollars you have incurred because because I made this choice.
And as far as delivering to a UPS or Fed Ex drop off, remember that one shipping company may not deliver to the other’s locations, so be careful about this.
Oh they totally refuse. I inadvertently did that a few times. Forgot that a package was coming UPS and entered the FedEx store for delivery. When I got PO’d and checked, I realized it was my mistake. So I got PO’d at someone for something else - no use wasting a good pissed off mood!
But as far as the home doorbell cameras - you’d think that would be the case. And also for apartments. And yet, within the last six months, twice I’ve had the UPS guy claim to have made a delivery that never happened. Once at an apartment which is staffed all day - he claimed he was there around 2:00. Not true. The next at my house where I left the front door open and specifically stayed in the house, kitchen, or front yard garden. Again, it was a ghost delivery.
The thing about the Fed Ex people is that some are corporate and others are private franchises. Used to be the ones with green lettering were private, those with orange lettering corporate. The private guys were generally better about things because if they make an extra trip, it was on them.
So far we have had good relations with our UPS drivers. We’ve had four different drivers over the last 6 years so there’s a learning curve with each new driver. We have the cell number of our regular driver so we can notify him to get help when we are shipping for the holidays, have other large shipments or nothing to ship. When our regular driver is off we’ve been fortunate to have very good service from fill in drivers. The largest shipment we’ve stuck him with is 60 six packs and 3 cases. We helped load and everything went smooth. Yes, he is tipped well and worth every penny.