As The World Turns

Gdjjr · #1 07-31-2021, 05:40 AM

Anyone recognize that? It's what I feel like the last 4 days. I ordered the back ordered Martin 00017 Monday. Tick - tock, right? It was supposed to be delivered yesterday. The tracking page said at 4:46 delivery was attempted and the customer or business wasn't available- LIARS! There were 3 people in my apt at that time and the office to the apt complex closes at 6- I HATE LIARS! And I eliminated that word from my vocabulary years and years ago.

So, as any modern day person would do I searched the internet for a way to lodge a complaint- you need to take a number as it seems there may be 1000's ahead of you-

As fate would have it, I also received an email from high on the food chain from Sweetwater thanking me for my recent purchase - it had 3 links to the top 3 dogs at Sweetwater- so, I explained, in the link to the CEO, that I do enjoy the experience dealing with them and their expediting is second to none. However, Fed Ex is the weak link in their chain- I explained the situation as succinctly as possible and politely asked that he, and those in positions of clout in large shippers businesses, contact Fed Ex peers/equals to correct the situation or it will only get worse-

I also inquired why, Sweetwater has the Rat Rod on back order but other outlets has it available.

I wonder if/when I'll get any response-

Mr. Paul · #2 07-31-2021, 06:42 AM

Honestly Sweetwater is going to get delivery complaints no matter who they use to ship their merch. They all are falling short at a much higher rate these days.

Gdjjr · #3 07-31-2021, 06:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr. Paul

Honestly Sweetwater is going to get delivery complaints no matter who they use to ship their merch. They all are falling short at a much higher rate these days.

I'm sure- but, you never know which one will spark an action- I will NOT take being lied to, or in this case, about, by/from anyone, IDC what excuse is used or given. Janitor to POTUS and all points in between.

I suspect my future guitar purchases will be elsewhere, even if I have to drive there.
In fact, 1142 miles from where I live to Fort Wayne Indiana, while not free shipping, might net a better price because of coming to get it. And, Sam Ash web site says they have the Rat Rod I want,as well as the 00017, and it's a fairly short drive although there is a lot of traffic to contend with, so there is that.

imwjl · #4 07-31-2021, 08:02 AM

Some of the complaints about shipping need an understanding of all the challenges and constraints, and I also think some understanding of the challenges to make money and pay people.

You can find news about well known shippers dropping customers these days. Where I work even sustained 10-15% plus raises still make it hard to fill a lot of positions.

I expect shipping to remain and get more expensive from the news I follow and my day job where we have both a delivery operation and are constantly getting tiny, LTL and truckload stuff to docks 24x7x365.

Robots aren't ready to do all that's promised yet so right now I'm really happy to see order pickers and drivers make more money and get more respect while some whine about these issues. You can see how good it is for the economy. Our just shy of 600 in first line worker category are getting a boost like they've never had or for older workers like they haven't had for decades.

RRuskin · #5 07-31-2021, 10:41 AM

FedEX has yet to deliver anything to me on time. Worse yet, their tracking is either inaccurate or nonexistent. Expected items not only don't arrive on time but completely disappear from the system only to reappear up to a week later. Did I mention that stuff has been delivered to the wrong address on a number of occasions?

Inyo · #6 07-31-2021, 12:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gdjjr

Anyone recognize that? It's what I feel like the last 4 days. I ordered the back ordered Martin 00017 Monday. Tick - tock, right? It was supposed to be delivered yesterday. The tracking page said at 4:46 delivery was attempted and the customer or business wasn't available- LIARS! There were 3 people in my apt at that time and the office to the apt complex closes at 6- I HATE LIARS! And I eliminated that word from my vocabulary years and years ago.

So, as any modern day person would do I searched the internet for a way to lodge a complaint- you need to take a number as it seems there may be 1000's ahead of you-

As fate would have it, I also received an email from high on the food chain from Sweetwater thanking me for my recent purchase - it had 3 links to the top 3 dogs at Sweetwater- so, I explained, in the link to the CEO, that I do enjoy the experience dealing with them and their expediting is second to none. However, Fed Ex is the weak link in their chain- I explained the situation as succinctly as possible and politely asked that he, and those in positions of clout in large shippers businesses, contact Fed Ex peers/equals to correct the situation or it will only get worse-

I also inquired why, Sweetwater has the Rat Rod on back order but other outlets has it available.

I wonder if/when I'll get any response-

Note that the poster has posted in the General Discussion arena that the guitar has been delivered. It's in his "Woo-Hoo!" thread. Reported that the person who delivered it said that it was on the wrong truck yesterday.

J Patrick · #7 07-31-2021, 12:38 PM

….fwiw….I have received many FedEx shipments on time….got one today a day early…..yes a few have been a day or two late but no more so than either UPS or the USPS…..

imwjl · #8 07-31-2021, 01:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RRuskin

FedEX has yet to deliver anything to me on time. Worse yet, their tracking is either inaccurate or nonexistent. Expected items not only don't arrive on time but completely disappear from the system only to reappear up to a week later. Did I mention that stuff has been delivered to the wrong address on a number of occasions?

Could you explain how year after year they sustain around $60 - $80 billion in revenue and have hundreds of thousands of employees without doing a reasonable job?

How much shipping do you do to make any of that credible? For all the problems that do occur, FedEx, UPS and USPS are part of getting near $200 million of stuff on our docks and some stuff back to our customers. As an actual director of infrastructure I often wish many other cogs in the wheels that make our lives worked as well.

You also get what you pay for. Low rate general stuff even if fairly fast shipping can have more hiccups. The stuff I get in fast freight that's part of keeping an enterprise running all the time has a premium associated with it and they generally deliver.

Also on the get what you pay for, our own delivery operation and using some other shippers usually shows the most unhappy are often those least prone or willing to pay for services and products that can insure success.

Mistakes happen but it's not the rule with sustainable businesses except for unusual stuff like health care and some monopolies.

RRuskin · #9 07-31-2021, 01:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by imwjl

Could you explain how year after year they sustain around $60 - $80 billion in revenue and have hundreds of thousands of employees without doing a reasonable job?

How much shipping do you do to make any of that credible?

Because of my experiences as a receiver, I never use FedEx to send things anymore. They messed up 2 weeks ago and yet again last week. I have no control over who an online retailer uses but whenever I see FedEx tracking, I resign myself to the item not arriving without a certain amount of grief. UPS and USPS have performed much better.

fumei · #10 07-31-2021, 11:53 PM

Bunch of whiners...just kidding, sort of.

Having something delivered to Canada adds (some times) another dimension of pain, beside late delivery (or to the wrong address). I too have been home, eagerly awaiting (after tracking) a delivery. Actually sitting on my porch, reading a book, waiting. As the tracking says it is going to be delivered that day. A later message states "undeliverable. No one at address". Liars! You never showed up. Checked, yes they had the correct address, and I was there, waiting. Liars.

However, regarding the opening comment, I ordered a $3 part, and requested they just pop the sucker in the mail - I will wait. Use USPS, please. No. We use UPS.

My $3 part has a $45 brokerage fee. Payable now. $45 for a $3 part! That was on top of the shipping cost which was minimal.

As for FedEx, I ordered a DAW workstation from ADK ProAudio, years back. They were great. Helped me through the process of getting exactly what I needed. The price was a little higher than what I wanted, but to get a dedicated, designed, workstation was worth it. A month after a flawless delivery by FedEx, I received an invoice from FedEx demanding $800 in brokerage fees. No mention on delivery, and ADK insisted that there would not be any additional costs. That was an error on their part, but yikes, if I had known it was going to cost me $800 more I would not have bought it. It pushed the price point past what it was worth. Too late though. I had it. Shrug.

Part of the problem with ordering from the US is there does not seem to be consistency in what are duties (which shipping companies have no control over), and what is "brokerage", which they DO have control over.

There was no duty on that $3 part. Just what, exactly, was the cost to UPS for a wee parcel smaller than the size of a cigarette box that they need $45?????

Yeah yeah, first world problem.

Gdjjr · #11 08-01-2021, 05:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fumei

Bunch of whiners...just kidding, sort of.

Having something delivered to Canada adds (some times) another dimension of pain, beside late delivery (or to the wrong address). I too have been home, eagerly awaiting (after tracking) a delivery. Actually sitting on my porch, reading a book, waiting. As the tracking says it is going to be delivered that day. A later message states "undeliverable. No one at address". Liars! You never showed up. Checked, yes they had the correct address, and I was there, waiting. Liars.

However, regarding the opening comment, I ordered a $3 part, and requested they just pop the sucker in the mail - I will wait. Use USPS, please. No. We use UPS.

My $3 part has a $45 brokerage fee. Payable now. $45 for a $3 part! That was on top of the shipping cost which was minimal.

As for FedEx, I ordered a DAW workstation from ADK ProAudio, years back. They were great. Helped me through the process of getting exactly what I needed. The price was a little higher than what I wanted, but to get a dedicated, designed, workstation was worth it. A month after a flawless delivery by FedEx, I received an invoice from FedEx demanding $800 in brokerage fees. No mention on delivery, and ADK insisted that there would not be any additional costs. That was an error on their part, but yikes, if I had known it was going to cost me $800 more I would not have bought it. It pushed the price point past what it was worth. Too late though. I had it. Shrug.

Part of the problem with ordering from the US is there does not seem to be consistency in what are duties (which shipping companies have no control over), and what is "brokerage", which they DO have control over.

There was no duty on that $3 part. Just what, exactly, was the cost to UPS for a wee parcel smaller than the size of a cigarette box that they need $45?????

Yeah yeah, first world problem.

Well, we complain about not having any shoes (in the first world) til we meet a man with no feet (from any world)

And not to be rude; I wasn't whining- I stated a fact! Fed Ex lied- Period.

A few years ago, I was crew chief on a sprint car- I had to order parts and pieces for repairs and maintenance- Fed Ex, UPS, and USPS were deliverers of said pieces and parts. USPS was the most reliable, which surprised me and they occasionally showed up on a Saturday- now, there were and I assume still are size constraints, but, that doesn't excuse lying about anything.

Gdjjr · #12 08-01-2021, 05:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Inyo

Note that the poster has posted in the General Discussion arena that the guitar has been delivered. It's in his "Woo-Hoo!" thread. Reported that the person who delivered it said that it was on the wrong truck yesterday.

Note that the poster said Fed Ex lied- did you see that part in this thread?

Kerbie · #13 08-01-2021, 08:40 AM

Can we ease up on the name-calling in this thread? Everyone is entitled to their opinions, but we can remember Rule #1 here and be a little bit nicer about expressing them.

We seem to be making harsh judgments about shippers when we don't know exactly what happened in a particular situation. All shippers right now have significant business challenges, so let's dial this back a little.

brad4d8 · #14 08-01-2021, 09:17 AM

Fedex is the only shipper I've had multiple problems with over the last 20~ years. I can think of only one time USPS was a problem, and that was when the carrier left a note saying no answer when we were home. I walked to the end of our street and retrieved the guitar from her. FWIW, some the other carriers at our PO referred to her as the "evil [name here]" to distinguish her from the other carrier with the same name! OTOH, I did have a Fedex shipment of a guitar case that the carrier not only took it to the back door, knocked and waited until I answered. So often it is the individual carrier, not the common carrier.