Another FEDEX rant.......

I HATE FEDEX.
That said, here's how they most recently screwed me.
I ordered a flashlight from Arc Flashlight LLC. The owner PG insists on shipping Fedex "signature required", and it costs extra for that. I live outside the Los Angeles area (Orange County) and it shipped fron the Phoenix, Az. area on Wednesday. Tracking info indicated it would arrive Friday, so I was here to sign for it.

Late Friday, NO PACKAGE.

Later Friday, tracking info shows it being scanned in SACRAMENTO CALIFORNIA.

Now get out a map if you need it. This SCREW UP has my package taking a route that is about FOUR TIMES LONGER than it needed to be to get to me. This means that after paying an extorted premium in shipping charges (I'd have gone for USPS) I cannot be here to sign on Monday, Tuesday, or whenever the "heck" they get here. So, I now have to wait, get the door slip, and drive across town to get the damn thing myself.

I'm a busy man. WTF is up with FEDEX?

Rant over. I want my cool new flashlight.
FEDEX gets a from me.

And the little guy from your signature line gets a from me! Cool. Sorry that you have a little problem with shipper there. I always end up holding my breath when I think of the huge volume of stuff they ship and that noboby cares about my little ole package! Go get em Jack!

Thanks for the sympathy, Bushman.
I can DRIVE to Phoenix in 6 hours. Maybe I should have picked it up?? LOL

At this point, It dosen't sound like a half bad Idea!!! LOL

ARC Factory Tours!

I may have just gotten lucky but once when I knew I wasn't going to be home to accept an ARC, I called Fed-X and explained the situation. The CS woman was real nice and contacted the local terminal who instructed the driver, (who was already out on the road with my pkg.), to leave it without a signature. I don't think they are officially supposed to do that, but it may be worth a try. Make it sound REALLLL important.

I am not too happy about the Fed Ex thing either. I ordered a new LE from ARC and was watching the tracking info on the web. I was out on errands for the first delivery attempt, ok, shame on me. I filled out the back of the tag they leave on the door and signed the front of the tag as well. I thought that was the signature wavier for future deliveries and the front signature was for the current delivery (and was told by Fed Ex cs that was right). The next day came and the Fed Ex jerk comes and goes so quick that I am not sure how I missed him. I was home all day and watching for them. At this point I am worried that I will be on final delivery attempt and not get my package. Now today comes and I plan to be home all day and get my package. I am upstairs and I hear one knock at the door and start to run down the steps and nearly break my neck trying to get there ASAP. The Fed Ex jerk has already driven away with my package. He just marked the existing tag on the door final delivery attempt and drives off. I am completely depressed at this point. Extra money paid for delivery and no new ARC "AAA" LE for the weekend.

I call the number on the tag and finally get a live human on the phone. I calmly explain the entire story and she tells me the final delivery was attempted and I can get the package and the warehouse after 6pm today or on Saturday. The station is on the other side of Detroit from me (More than 20 miles away). At this point I start to unload on the CS person regarding their practices, policies (Poor drivers). I have never had this kind of trouble with UPS or USPS. The CS person tells me that the signature on the front of the tag is not acceptable for delivery, that I have to sign in person per the shippers instructions. If that is the case why have the signature line on the front for drop off and why can't ARC accept this? If the customer wants the package left and is willing to sign for it, it is considered delivered and perfectly legal. It should not be ARC's issue at all. Let the buyer beware if they choose to sign the wavier!

Now, I wait for the entire weekend and stew about this issue. I am not sure that I can order another ARC light directly from ARC if I have to take delivery like this. I will go to other suppliers and get it shipped UPS.

Anybody else feel abused by Fed Ex (Fed Up)and wish that ARC would accept the wavier?

Jeepin, I would write a rant to Fedex Corporate and explain everything, particulary the fact of the knock once and RUN AWAY driver. Does that *** expect you to wait AT the door????? How many other people has he pulled this on???

I'd bet that he marked the form, THEN knocked and took off to his truck at a dead run!

Originally posted by Gone Jeepin:
Anybody else feel abused by Fed Ex (Fed Up)and wish that ARC would accept the wavier?

Click to expand...

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">That sounds about like my own experience. I won't knowingly order anything that is going to be shipped by FedEx. I regard FedEx as an extension of the vendor. If the vendor doesn't mind treating their customers that way, why give them my business.

now i understand, what you're all talking about. add me to the list of unhappy fedex-customers.

i ordered a couple of arc sls last monday and was expecting delivery on friday. i had to work so i was not there to sign and get the package but our housekeeper opened the door and refused to accept the package because she felt that it was incorrect to sign for me (oh well, i should have told her about the package). anyway, i looked at the tracking information on the fedex-homepage and it says that 'Shipment was refused by recipient' ! now i'm really pi...ed ! since it wasn't me that refused the package i hope they will make another attempt to deliver it.

I've had bad experiences with all three, Fed-ex, UPS, and USPS. US Postal Priority is a real joke these days. When picking up Fed Ex or UPS packages at the local office, UPS seems to have it's act together a bit more at least for these two particular pick up centers. It once took the Fed Ex employee a solid 15 minutes to locate my package. Makes me wonder what method they use to inventory/store the packages. Also agree that the drivers are none too patient to wait for you to answer the door.

At least with Fed Ex and UPS, you can track the results day by day and "most" of the time I receive the packages in the two or three day shipping rates that I paid for. I can not say the same for Postal Priority anymore. Not sure if 9/11 had anything to do with that or not but I will not use the service if I really want my package to ship to it's destination within three days.

Hmmmm....I ship packages all the time with U.S. Postal Priority Mail and have yet to have a problem (with the shipping, anyway).

I had one problem a couple of years ago, but that was a problem with the U.S. post office insurance (which is a joke by the way).

Recieved an item that was damaged (a $2,000 item no less). Took it to the post office to file a claim. It had to be shipped back to the original sending post office, and then submitted for review, etc. To make a long story short.....after many phone calls and emails, etc. and after waiting many many months, I finally got a letter stateing that they won't cover the damage. Their reason was that they did not find visible signs of damage and abuse by them on the shipping box.

What a load of crap. If all they are going to cover with their insurance is their own neglect, then the insurance should be free since it will be their own fault when a package gets damaged. So, basically, when you buy insurance from the post office, it only covers their neglect, which they should take responsibility for without charging you for it to begin with.

It took another few months, but I finally got a refund from the company that I made the purchase from.

Yes, insurance is a big problem with all shippers. A FedEx example: I had a class III trailer hitch damaged in transit. This is a huge hunk of steel that is built to tow a 5600 pound trailer, mind you. One would imagine that you'd have to be pretty creative to damage it. I shipped it from the customer counter at FedEx, and was told that it could only be shipped without packaging, and the address label was stuck right to the hitch by the guy at the counter. It arrived at the destination scratched and bent. Obviously somebody dropped it from some height (back of the truck onto the pavement?). My insurance claim was denied because of "insufficient packaging." The official word was that no damage was found to the packaging, so it wasn't their fault. Yup, I'd like to see the guy who inspected the non-existent packaging.

Shouldn't this be illegal? They take my money to protect myself from them. Then it turns out I'm NOT even protected from them when it is 100% their fault? I eventually got reimbursed, but it took three months. Lovin' FedEx, boy.

And on that subject, I'm currently being held hostage in my house today by FedEx. I have two packages arriving today. An attempt was made yesterday, but since they are both "personal signature required" they will make two more attempts, after which I need to drive 30 miles to pick it up at the hub. If I miss it today (between 8am and 8pm) I wait until Tuesday for the next attempt due to the holiday. I've called the dispacher to find out when it might be here today, and was told that they have no way to communicate with the driver who has my items. So here I sit, with 3.5 more hours to go.

Yes, signature *required* pretty much pisses me off. Not to mention that I'm paying extra for the pleasure of being held captive....

I agree L-H. We're paying them to do a job. If they screw that job up (by damaging a package), we need to pay a premium, in advance, so that they'll make it whole again. If somebody pays me to build a piece of furniture, should I also offer to charge them some extra insurance just in case I wreck part of the thing while I'm building it? I just don't get it. We're insuring ourselves against a company (or the gov't) screwing up the job we're already paying them to do!

I agree darell....in my opinion....these insurance charges are a scam and a rip-off and I never purchase them anymore. I'm not sure why it's not illegal. I pay to insure only against their neglect?????? WTF?? If it's going to obviously be their fault, then shouldn't they cover the cost anyway???

What other organization in the country can get away with this?

And then, all they have to do is say they found no signs of neglect and deny the claim.

Alright, I feel the need to rant as well.

I don't normally have these problems, but here I am...

Ordered an Arc sLS Wed Oct 30th and it shipped Thurs Oct 31st. So far so good. I was a little disappointed to see that the estimated delivery date would be Nov 6 (on the tracking info). I order stuff from NewEgg all the time and they manage to Fedex stuff to me with their rediculously cheap Fedex Express Saver shipping in three days (thats from CA to PA). If I would have known it would take a week to get it, I would have spent the extra 4 dollars and got 2 day shipping (since the Express Saver isn't an option).

Ah, but I still haven't seen it. Nov 6th came along and no ARC. So I check my tracking info and it shows that it was delivered to the local sorting warehouse the previous day. So I should have received it on time. Next day, still no ARC. On the 8th, in the morning I check the tracking info again, still no info since it was scanned at the local sort on the 5th. I call up ARC and speak to Merri who sounds like a pleasant young girl and explain the situation. She asks for my tracking number and upon looking it up, she finds that it has just been scanned at a sort center thats a couple hundred miles away!!

She said she'd look into it and call me back. Later in the day I receive her phone call and she says that since I had it delivered it to my work address (which is what I always do for anything shipped, far easier to recieve packages, and have done it a hundred times) and she thought it was going to a private residence, that it went to the wrong sort center?? I wasn't about to argue at that point in time and she said that they would attempt delivery the next day Nov 9th Sat (today). Which of course doesn't work since I'm not at work!! And if they can't deliver it today, they won't deliver it on Monday due to holiday, then the next POSSIBLE time I might get it is Tuesday. Argh!!!

And what do you want to guess the condition of a box thats been in a shipper's hands for two weeks will be?

We need to start up a CPF Pony Express for this stuff.

Mark

Oooh, that's an ugly one for sure. I'm afriad there's no easy answer for Arc on this one. I'm guessing that they feel as if they've jumped out of the pot and into the fire. They're at the mercy of whatever shipping company they choose.

One thing that I wish Arc would reconsider is the "personal signature" required business. Since signing the release puts all the responsibility on the recipient, I just don't see the need for the added aggrivation or expense. I'm still waiting on my Arc package (and another - my new soldering station) since 8am. Two more hours to go. If FedEx does NOT show up tonight, I'm gonna be even MORE ticked. And at this point that's pretty hard to imagine...

Oh man, I must have a rare FedX terminal around here. I got a phone call at work the other day on my cellphone. Now that I think of it, I'm not sure how they even got the number, but it was the FEDX driver! He told me he had a package for me (my SLS), and did I want him to just leave it at the front door. Heck yeah, I tell him. According to the tracking info., it wasn't even due to be delivered until the next day.
Maybe the C.S. people have some database of delivery info they use and it contained info. from my first delivery from arc. (see above post).
So, that's twice now I've been able to avoid a trip to pick up a FedX signature package from ARC. But, not to press my luck, I think I'll have future orders delivered to my work address.

I think part of it has to do with the clout of the shipper. I have a friend who buys lots of stuff from LL Bean, and they ship everything FEDX. They've never failed to leave a package, and never get a signature, as she's always at work. This is actually contrary to what FedX's web page says they do, but I'm betting that part of the deal LL Bean has with Fex-X is "if you screw around with our customers we'll drop you like a hot freakin' potato."

I always leave a note on the door, handwritten, with a nice big "thanks!" at the bottom, and my signature, when I'm expecting a package. That works all the time, and they always take the note with them. I think the drivers have a lot of discretion, and this gives them a "cya" document.

Aloha,

Maybe the problem is not as it seems.

Did you know that Fedex Ground is owner operated (yes privately owned and operated by that driver)and not a part of the "Fedex Express" system? i.e Express vs Ground

Did you know that they operate with totally different services and commitments?

You can check the services out at: http://www.fedex.com/us/services/waystoship/

note that the service of a ground delivery is between 1 - 5 days and only day sensitive if a premium service is ordered.

I hope this helps.

Aloha

I must be lucky were I live. Fed Ex always arrives in my neighborhood between 11:25 & 11:45 am. It's been this way for 10 years! When I ordered my Arc 2nd day, I told my wife to expect it between those times. She smiled and didn't believe me. The next day my package arrived and I asked her what time they came by...11:45! She couldn't believe it. So Fed Ex works for me. (Note: this was with 2nd day delivery)

Now if I order $8 shipping from Arc, they show up on Saturday!? Didn't know they do Saturday delivery but we weren't home so they came Monday at 2:00pm in a rental van?! What kind of company is this?!

I guess that's GADGETOMETRY's point. Fed Ex ground is a different company than Fed Ex Air?

You can bet that all my orders placed with Arc will be for 2 day Air FedEx. Even to IL I get my Arc packages before noon the next day (not 2 days).

My point: Pay $12.50 for 2 Day delivery.