I HATE FedEx

FishyFishFish

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I had a package of corals stuck in Memphis too recently.

It was 11:59PM and the tracking was still showing 'estimated delivery by end of day'. 1 minute to get from TN to my house in TX was always going to be pushing it. It sat in Memphis for over 17 hours (on an overnight delivery) and finally arrived almost 3pm the day after it was due, but it was too late by then as I was out of town. Miraculously a couple of things appeared to have survived (I'm still trying to nurse them back) but a lot was either dead or mostly dead.

The storms in the south have long since gone. Over the weekend after my corals were due to arrive I had to go to Florida with work and there was no issue with the weather. I'm not sure if Memphis was already struggling with the surge in demand due to coronavirus, and the storm pushed them over the edge, but Memphis appears to be broken. I won't order anything from the eastern US via Fedex that might travel through Memphis. The coral vendor offered to send me a replacement package (again by Fedex) but I wasn't going to chance it again.
 

Shaina Carey

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Jeeze. This terrifies me because the closest saltwater fish store is 2 hours away and I don't drive. I would have to order my fish and other things online. Now I am hesitant.
 

DaneGer21

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Wait until fedex puts a package in your mailbox and the USPS takes it because that’s an illegal delivery. Then be told by USPS that you have to pay the fine/fee to get the package released.

Ask me how I know, I had to pay $6.58....Fedex never called me back for reimbursement.
 

Shaina Carey

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Wait until fedex puts a package in your mailbox and the USPS takes it because that’s an illegal delivery. Then be told by USPS that you have to pay the fine/fee to get the package released.

Ask me how I know, I had to pay $6.58....Fedex never called me back for reimbursement.
What the actual heck?
 

Shaina Carey

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Exactly!

USPS has the only legal right to deliver in your mailbox; according to USPS.
That is one of the dumbest bullpuckey I have ever heard. I have had Fedex put small packages in my mailbox and my mailman never did anything like that. o_O
 

DaneGer21

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That is one of the dumbest bullpuckey I have ever heard. I have had Fedex put small packages in my mailbox and my mailman never did anything like that. o_O
I live in a VERY small town, money is money I suppose. We figure usually it gets looked over, but that day, our mail lady must have been mad!
 

FishyFishFish

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Jeeze. This terrifies me because the closest saltwater fish store is 2 hours away and I don't drive. I would have to order my fish and other things online. Now I am hesitant.

On the same day I was expecting my Fedex delivery from the east coast, I was also expecting a UPS delivery from the west coast; that was here by 10 am on the correct (next) day. I am not saying UPS is better than Fedex, as they all have their issues and things can go wrong with all of them, but it's not always bad. I can now place my future orders in an attempt (not always possible I know) to avoid Fedex Memphis.

My biggest annoyance in my situation is that I ordered one box from the east coast which was late, and I already now know where the issue is. The vendor ships a significant amount of parcels across the US and must know that Memphis is having problems yet they continue to ship via the same method (as indicated by them offering a replacement shipment). Maybe they are stuck in a Fedex contract but companies that ship this number of parcels must know where the bottlenecks are and they shouldn't just be blinding sending live animals through areas known to have consistent problems.
 

Pntbll687

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So, when fed-ex / ups simply don't deliver on time what happens? Does the seller get a refund from the company?

This seems to be borderline fraud when a company takes money for overnight/priority/2-day and then doesn't delivery on those services. I understand weather can be a factor with snow and storms. But there are thunder storms across the US everyday, and I don't want to hear the phrase "due to COVID" ever again from a shipping company.
 

FishyFishFish

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Wait until fedex puts a package in your mailbox and the USPS takes it because that’s an illegal delivery. Then be told by USPS that you have to pay the fine/fee to get the package released.

Ask me how I know, I had to pay $6.58....Fedex never called me back for reimbursement.

That was the same with my Fedex shipment. It was left in a USPS parcel locker but, fortunately, it wasn't taken away by USPS. My apartment complex front desk accepts shipments for residents during working hours, and their office was open, so there was no need for it to be left in a locker.
 

FishyFishFish

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So, when fed-ex / ups simply don't deliver on time what happens? Does the seller get a refund from the company?

This seems to be borderline fraud when a company takes money for overnight/priority/2-day and then doesn't delivery on those services. I understand weather can be a factor with snow and storms. But there are thunder storms across the US everyday, and I don't want to hear the phrase "due to COVID" ever again from a shipping company.

Well, you're not going to like the answer!!!

This is the Fedex answer to your question:

Global Suspension of Money Back Guarantee.

The impact of COVID-19 is causing local, state, and national governments around the world to issue work and travel restrictions on a daily basis which are impacting our ability to meet our high standards of service. As a result, we have made the decision to suspend our money-back guarantee for all FedEx Express, FedEx Ground, FedEx Freight and FedEx Office services effective immediately until further notice. Because FedEx is an essential transportation service provider, we will continue operating as government restrictions and regulations allow.
 

rtparty

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Relying on ANY of the shippers right now is dumb. Sorry, but that is the truth. Every one of them has clearly stated they will NOT guarantee delivery times and you risk losing your money if you pay for overnight and it doesn't get there. Covid has screwed shipping channels at every level. UPS, FedEx, trucking companies, you name it can not find enough workers or people willing to drive. This is a fact. I deal with them every day for work. The new age workers don't want to be truck drivers. They want to sit on a computer, make money, and just order everything. Then wonder why orders are taking longer.

Add onto all this that ships are dumping full containers of goods into the ocean just to get the product off their boats so they can return home. They are sick of waiting in port because they won't reopen ports to full capacity. Yes, this is really happening.

So, people can complain all they want about this but help isn't on the way for any of this. About 2 weeks ago, UPS and FedEx jacked their shipping rates by 100% across the board. What used to cost me $25 per box with my discount is now $47 for the same box. Every one of us needs to be ready for that cost to be passed on. You and I will pay for that. Free shipping amounts will go up. Costs of goods will go up. Prime membership is going to go up soon enough.

Welcome to the new world order.
 

iMi

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I've had such bad experience with FedEx and UPS both. FedEx seems slightly better though.

A couple of months ago, I was getting a new Mac delivered. What a nightmare. On the delivery date, UPS showed out for delivery. Great, I thought. Later in the day I checked the tracking and it said "delivery attempted." I have outside cameras in the driveway along with Ring doorbell. UPS driver never showed up.

So, I call them. Why wasn't the package delivered? Answer, we attempted. What's your info notice number? I don't have one because your driver was never here. Answer, they attempted delivery. Look, I have cameras and a Ring door bell. No one was here. Answer, they attempted delivery and will try again tomorrow. After a while, they said they will have the dispatch contact me. Can I have their contact info? No, they cannot accept inbound calls. Ok, fair enough.

Two hours later I get a call. Our driver attempted delivery. I told him his guy wasn't here. Answer, I talked to him, he was there. I have cameras, Ring doorbell. Is he invisible? Because he wasn't here. Answer, he was there. Ok, why didn't he leave behind an info notice. Answer, we attempted delivery. I asked, why was the package not left at the door as requested by Apple. Answer, Apple requires signatures. I told him I'll be happy to send him the screenshot of my order where it says that due to the pandemic the package will be delivered "contactless" without a signature required. Answer, signature is required for ALL Apple shipments. I asked him to check another tracking. It was for an iMac that was $3,500 delivered just a couple weeks earlier. No signature. I asked, why no signature request on a package that costs three times as much as the one you're delivering now? At that point, he went from being rude to insulting me and hung up on me. That's the UPS treatment, friends.

That's not even the whole story... they delivered it the next day. This time they send someone who was not invisible. So, yeah... I hate UPS a little more than FedEx.
Each company has their advantages, FedEx might be cost.
I think you pay a little more for UPS, but might get a little better service.

Ah, hard no on the "better service" from UPS. At least in my case. I'll bet it depends on where you live and the caliber of people working in your hub.
 

bblumberg

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It's ALWAYS Memphis. I started stocking my rank in October and have had 5 overnight shipments delayed in Memphis. I'm currently awaiting a shipment of frags that were supposed to be here yesterday morning. They sat in Memphis for 17-18 hours. I'm just about to the point of only ordering from vendors that use UPS.
^this.

For whatever reason, shipments passing through Memphis either to or from me have issues and delays, particularly international shipments. Second worst is Anchorage.

On the other hand, we shipped a package of live cells from our lab in Irvine to another in Utrecht, NL. We used World Courier because they have the ability to refresh dry ice in the package. The package sat in LAX for 2.5 weeks while World Courier could not figure out why it would not pre-clear customs. When it eventually made it to Utrecht, the cells had clearly been thawed and refrozen (from the color of the media) and, of course the cells were not viable. They had the nerve to charge $1614 for this debacle, which we are refusing to pay since they clearly violated the conditions of carriage (dry ice constantly refreshed).

To FEDEX's credit, we shipped the same cells using their service and took a chance that they would make it before the dry ice was exhausted. $95 and 2 days later, the cells were safely in Utrecht, happy and viable. So FEDEX is not all bad, but I do note that this shipment went direct from LAX and not through Memphis or Anchorage!
 

iMi

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I remember getting a package from IPSF in Hawaii, Fed Ex Overnight to Vermont took two days or was it three since it was flying into a new day.

I few years back my work got charged for shipping a Fed Ex overnight 20 lb box of fish eggs, took two days and the receiver refused the package (they were actually the ones paying the shipping). We got sent the bill of around $250.

That's what FedEx does when they can't collect. Our company has an account with them and in order to ship something overseas, they have to use "receiver account" as the option even though I'm employed (and own) the company. Otherwise the system errors out, so it looks like I am an individual shipping to a company using their account.

One time, some idiot working at the Fedex Office store (no other way to describe him) decided to use an extra large box in which to ship our samples to China. We got billed $1,500 in "oversize" fees. While we were disputing it with an account manager who was frankly doing a good job, Fedex billed me instead. They even made aggressive collection calls and claimed the shipper rejected the charge and I was responsible.

This is what they do... In the end, it was escalated, should not have been re-billed, most of the charges were credited and I paid the invoice and had to expense it because they couldn't put it back on the account where it belonged.

We don't ship with them much anymore. DHL has been better and the local UPS store now offers direct shipping service as well, for less.
 

HAVE YOU EVER KEPT A RARE/UNCOMMON FISH, CORAL, OR INVERT? SHOW IT OFF IN THE THREAD!

  • Yes!

    Votes: 32 45.7%
  • Not yet, but I have one that I want to buy in mind!

    Votes: 9 12.9%
  • No.

    Votes: 26 37.1%
  • Other (please explain).

    Votes: 3 4.3%
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