posted on July 30, 2001 10:56:36 PM
I have seen a lot of posts here lately concerning Fedex Ground encouraging sellers to use this service. I opened an account with them when they first took over RPS. I too have been very satisfied with their rates and service and no problems....until today. Just thought I would post this experience so everyone knows what might happen to them.
I shipped a package to "Somewhere", NM via Fedex Ground on July 20 with an estimated delivery date of July 27. I get an e-mail from the buyer today wanting to know when they can expect their package. I checked the tracking on the package and the last scan was on July 25 in "Big City", NM (by the way, the "Big City" is actually in TX)...which is over 150 miles away from "Somewhere", NM. The scan notation reads "On FedEx vehicle for delivery/'Big City' NM". Due to the distance from where it was scanned, the date it was scanned, and not yet being delivered, I was concerned so I called FedEx. The CS rep told me that the item went out on the truck on the 25th to be delivered. The driver returned with the package and noted that he could not locate the address. So what did they do?? On the 26th, they turned it over to USPS to complete delivery! and it would take at least a week after it is finally delivered for USPS to return the delivery information to FedEx. If I wanted it delivered by USPS, I would have shipped it USPS! When I opened my account, I was never told that if they could not find an address they would let USPS find it! I am highly upset by this situation (as is the buyer). Opinions anyone? (Yes, I know I just opened up a big can of worms )
Edited to add... "The actual names of the cities involved have been changed to protect the innocent."
posted on July 30, 2001 11:42:59 PM
same experience here, three nisdirected packages within two months of using them One was address to To Midwest, last scan was Longmont CA I think., never found it yet!!!
Driver tossed and expensive teapot on to a brick porch from bottom step and came crashing down with customer in yard to witness it!! Broken to oiece, insurance didnt pay off because they said They wasnt a pick up notice ordered( call customer service the very day this happen as customer contacted me.
Got bills last moth with all kind of extra charges almost double what Account rep quoted..., fuel, rural delivery, home delivery. Go Ahead and use them if you want , I havent had a good experience!!!!!GOOD OLE USPS for me
posted on July 31, 2001 12:43:41 AM
I used RPS once and received stuff through them several times. They were so bad is was to the point that if a shipper ever said they only shipped RPS, or it would go out RPS I would tell them to cancel the order or I would pay to have it sent UPS. Everything I ever received from RPS was either broken or damaged in some way. I once received 4 boxes of figurines that were packed in heavy weight boxes, each box was less than 25 pounds. Out of all the boxes I had more broken than not, one box I only had one good item. I hope they have improved some after FedEx bought them.
USPS has always been pretty good to me, free boxes, free bubble mailers, free scale, free tape, free software, free bins to haul my stuff to the post office, free labels that I use to print orders and shipping labels.
Say what you will about UPS but I have never had one problem that they didn't take care of and I ship 40-50 packages a week with UPS and have for over 4 years. Now getting a UPS rep to return a phone call or to stop by is another story, but I have never had them not pay a claim.
I'm going to give airborne a try starting next week. They also will give the item to the post office for delivery if it is to a PO Box, RR or if they can't find the house. Not a problem as I see it because they actually hand deliver it to the post office in the town where it is to be delivered and the scan is suppose to show that it was delivered into the post offices hands for delivery.
I have never had one problem with FedEx, but I have only used them about 100 times, still not a bad record.
posted on July 31, 2001 06:59:34 AM
Fed Ex, Fed Ex Ground, RPS, whatever will leave my packages all around the countryside.
I live way out in a rural area and they change drivers too much for any of them to learn the route.
I have had my packages left at abandoned houses, other peoples porches and garages.
I also have lost money because a shipment was left by Fed Ex on someone else's porch and by the time I got it I was one box short.
"Too bad, driver scanned all boxes at delivery to porch" I was told.
too bad it wasn't my porch!
UPS most of the time has found me, even at Christmas time with their subs. Sometimes my deliveries have been delayed a few days because they couldn't find me and had to take them back to the terminal for information, but at least they didn't leave them at the obviously abandoned house down the road.
edited UBB
~Not barrelracer on ebay, don't pick on them!~
[ edited by barrelracer on Jul 31, 2001 07:00 AM ]
posted on July 31, 2001 08:18:13 AM
I have only shipped 4 items with them in the past month. 3 made it in 3 days. But the other was scanned 5 times in Kansas City, and finally after 5 days returned to the local FedEx. They reshipped it and it showed up in Sayre, NY on the track just 2 hours after it arrived back in Arkansas. No such city. Suppose to be Sayre, PA. But it did finally make it 5 days later.
The girls at the counter here just guess at the cost to ship. Usually way under correct rate and twice my charge card has not even been charged with the shipping. I only have two more large items to ship, hopefully they have a 1 bad in 6 rating!!
Have a nice week!
Jeanie
posted on July 31, 2001 09:35:37 AM
I recently had a FedEx Ground issue where the item never turned up. I contacted the seller and he started inquiring about it. The item was going from Florida to Pennsylvania. The last scan put it in Columbus, OH 5 days before. The seller contacted FedEx and they said they would look into it. The next day it was delivered. Hmmm. 7 days from Ohio to Pennsylvania and you have to call them to remind them to finish delivering it.
posted on July 31, 2001 10:53:19 AM
One thing that most people do not know about FEDEX ground, the drivers are not FEDEX employees. They are all independent contractors, who own their own trucks. This situation always leadss to inconsistant training & service from one region to another.
posted on July 31, 2001 11:07:05 AM
I'll never use them again at any cost!!!!!! Theynhavent a clue about what is going on from the CS reps to Account reps to the drivers, sad but true. Complete chaos there, stay away!
posted on July 31, 2001 11:13:57 AM
Wow do you mean when I quit working for FedEx I could have taken my truck with me when I left?? I also worked for UPS could I have brought home my package car from them as well??
posted on July 31, 2001 02:08:35 PM
No. FEDEX & FEDEX ground are two different operations. In this area at least(MA) FEDEX ground has independent contractors for drivers who have to own there own trucks.
posted on July 31, 2001 03:01:38 PM
USPS uses independent contractor truck drivers too.
I am really suprised about all the FedEx negativity in this thread and the thread I started a couple of days ago. I've been using FedEx Home Delivery for eight months without problems. Only time will tell...
posted on July 31, 2001 03:35:47 PM
I have been using FedEx Ground since they started the service. They have lost 4 out of 1000 packages but have been quick with the claims. They are rather slow for rural & cross country packages. But deliever overnight to neighboring states. Overall, I have had a positive experience with them.
posted on July 31, 2001 04:05:07 PM
Our USPS always has a sign on the door, "Person wanted to deliver mail, must have own car. 11.00 an hour"
Sometimes we receive a card in the mail saying the same thing.
I've never had a problem with any of my mailings, but I ofter get mail, not packages, that belong to someone else.
posted on July 31, 2001 04:35:17 PM
I have not used the FedEx Ground service yet (and after reading some of these posts, I'm seriously doubting I ever will) BUT when they first began the service, they were advertising in our local paper for drivers. Since my garage sale addiction has taught me the local area well, and I certainly know how to handle a package correctly, I gave 'em a call to check out the job specifics. They were payin' dirt. And I do mean dirt. Something like $1.00 per package delivered. For that wage, I'd be throwin' the packages out the van window, hopefully, on the block where it was to be delivered. You get what you pay for....The $11 an hour (which is more in my town) USPS is paying is a king's ransom compared to FedEX.
posted on July 31, 2001 06:08:14 PM"you get what you pay for" Oh yea, well I used to be a PMR at a local post office [and worked at large POs] and I could tell you plenty of USPS horror stories. And they DO NOT WORK FOR PEANUTS. There, take that!
You, you, you, USPS lovers! Anyhoo, I make profit on my shipping - take that.
posted on August 1, 2001 01:18:14 AM
Here is my opinions on Fedex Ground...
1. I was looking for a better alternative then the damage I was getting from UPS. - 1000+ packages & 10 months later, I have had 2 damage claims & 1 returned package from a rural address they could not find. Overall not too bad versus the 6% damage rate I was getting with UPS on boxes over 15 lbs.
2. Customer service is another story. I have seen the rep 1 time, and it was when I signed on to the service. Last I heard he was replaced by another rep and he too has been MIA. My Fedex driver is quite knowledgeable and has made up that. Phone reps are clueless, I haven't paid the first 4 months from when I started the service because they never sent me a detailed bill.
3. There are 2 different types of accounts - Home Delivery & Ground. They are basically the same but all packages (residential or business) with a ground account get the straight ground rate. This is what makes them more competitive with both UPS and USPS.
4. If you're shipping enough boxes to justify the $10.50 per week pick-up fee, it will be in your best interests to check them out. Especially if you use Paypal or similar service because if your customer claims the items hasn't arrived you have proof via the Fedex website as well as on your hardcopy billing from Fedex. My bogus claims are now ZERO.
5. If you crunch the numbers Fedex Ground versus Priority Mail + Delivery Confirmation + Insurance. Fedex will win almost every time and 75% of the time when it's Priority Mail with none of the extra services.
6. My driver was a holdover from RPS, he doesn't own his truck nor does any of the drivers out of his terminal. Not that it would or should make a difference to anyone.
7. If every package Fedex Ground shipped was indicative of this thread, I would probably never of inquired about the service. My experience hasn't been perfect, but close enough to spend my time to write this post.
[ edited by auctionjoe on Aug 1, 2001 01:21 AM ]
posted on August 1, 2001 08:43:15 AM
I was told by a clerk at the main FedEx depot here in Columbus, OH that FedEx Ground shipments were "just a courtesy" and that FedEx was "mainly an express company". They don't use computers when figuring ground shipment amounts.
Of the last two 17" computer monitors I shipped with them: one was DOA, the other worked but the customer said it looked like they "kicked it from Ohio to Nevada".
I know a buddy that has lost two $1000 21" monitors to FedEx ground in as many months.
posted on August 1, 2001 10:04:01 AM
my package going from waco, texas to salt lake was supposed to be delivered on 7/30/01. right now it is in portland ore.
that's a big detour.
any refund for the delay???
posted on August 1, 2001 09:19:50 PM
I am hoping for your experience auctionjoe.
I can not imagine them being worse than UPS. Lately, the driver takes our packages, scans, signs...and they never show up in the UPS system again. Where do they go???
Other times they are broken, smashed, etc.
Our UPS sales rep evidently passed away over a year ago and they don't know it yet.
One thing that my NEW Fed-Ex rep pointed out is that every cardboard box has a "burst test" weight on the bottom in a circle. (I never noticed that!) Any item that weighs more than the burst test rating for that box will not be covered by insurance. As long as it is under that weight, any old liquor store box is fine.
Good thing to know.
Our Fed-Ex rep gave us his work and home phone, plus his personal e-mail address.
The UPS guy EVER gave us the MAIN UPS TOLL FREE NUMBER and said "leave a message". So far Fed-Ex looks good. AND the Fed-Ex guy's wife is an ebay seller! (I like that!)
T
If you have the same success with them, I'm sure you will be as satisfied as we are.
Again, they do have their shortcomings. Example: The website says they offer ground service to Mexico. Well, the price was the best I could find for a 13lb package. But... They quit offering ground service to Mexico a few months ago. Yet it was still showing up on their website.
Fedex Ground took over RPS around a year ago. My driver tells me that most of the RPS organizational framework is still there and is a big reason for the chaos. From what I heard they only started to incorporate the Ground service into the Overnight in April. Before that they ran them as 2 separate companies.
They have many kinks to work out before they give UPS a run for their money but Fedex is a world class operation and once they get their stuff together it will be a viable competitor.
I don't really believe all the negative in this thread. Unless, it's me & my customers that are the only ones happy. I can say that I'm making enough money on my handling per pkg. with Fedex Ground to cover the weekly surcharge, packing material and the portion of my office lease that I use to package/ship/storage of supplies.
We sell many items that are in excess of 10lbs. Shipping Priority Mail has occasionally brought an email from a customer who questioned the excessive shipping cost. Because Fedex Ground is less on almost every pkg. versus Priority Mail, I have customers questioning the LOWER shipping cost asking me if I figured correctly! This has been a win/win situation for both me & the customer.
Opinions anyone? (Yes, I know I just opened up a big can of worms 
)