United Parcel Service eliminates competition

17-Nov-2001 | wwjdn

[wwjdn]

The United Parcel Service (UPS) has found a new way to eliminate competition, they are now making you pay double if you make a mistake on a package and send through a third party vendor (i.e. Mail Boxes Etc.).

I recently tried to send a birthday present to my daughter, so I mailed the box full of presents from Mail Boxes Etc. Little did I know this would cost me more than I bargained for. It seems that I made a mistake on the zip code for the parcel. All other fields were correct.

UPS noticed my mistake the next day and was kind enough to return the package to Mail Boxes Etc. for me free of charge. Therein lies the problem. The cost for returning a package at no charge ends up costing me double the original cost, because they refuse to ship the parcel now.

My costs have now doubled because if I wish to send my daughter a present I have to re-address the parcel and re-send it through UPS. When I contacted UPS to see of this was a mistake I was informed the following:

Thank you for your inquiry. Commercial Counters and Authorized Shipping Outlets are independently owned shipping outlets that provide service to customers shipping packages. They are not UPS owned facilities. Please note, the Authorized Shipping Outlet is responsible for all aspects of the shipment transaction; you do not deal directly with UPS. Thank you for using UPS Internet Services.

In my simple understanding of this message I am now to understand that had I used UPS directly without using an inferior second rate service, this would not have cost me double.

How do the rest of you feel about this? I am quite simply outraged. I will never use UPS again. There are plenty of "customer friendly" companies out there that care about the customer and some even allow for a simple mistake in addressing occasionally.

Please let me know your thoughts and pass the word that if you like UPS, then don't use a second rate intermediary.

[buickmackane]

Hey, I can empathize with you, kylaka!

I'm in Massachusetts and get interstate child support checks from my daughter's father who lives in New Jersey. Not to imply that the guy pays me with any regularity, mind you. So when he finally did send me some money about a month ago, I was rejoicing -- until I found out that the check was part of a batch of 8,000 sent from -- uh, oh -- Trenton. Just my luck; the check's history. I finally asked for a stop payment order, but still haven't gotten a replacement check. Even without anthrax, the money takes a long and annoying route from the local county probation department to Trenton to the Massachusetts Department of Revenue before it ultimately reaches me.

Someone flamed me for mentioning this on another thread, minimizing what he referred to as a "temporary inconvenience." Hey, kylaka, I'll bet that loss of interest was a lot more than a "temporary inconvenience" to you, just as it's been to me and 7,999 other people who depend on their income from the State of New Jersey. The same facility that lost my check also processes state disability and unemployment payments -- can you imagine the repercussions statewide?

You and I both know firsthand that there were a lot more casualties of this anthrax catastrophe than the victims who actually died or became seriously ill and their families. Thousands of completely unrelated people have had their lives and livelihoods disrupted as well due to postal misrouting.

God, would I love a piece of whomever's responsible for this nightmare!

[Pete-R-Bilt]

“ How do the rest of you feel about this? I am quite simply outraged. I will never use UPS again. There are plenty of "customer friendly" companies out there that care about the customer and some even allow for a simple mistake in addressing occasionally. “

Good for you! I‘ve hated UPS for a long time! They have 165,000 pieces of
equipment nationwide and have set the rules for teamster contracts for over 10
years. So they think their s don‘t stink. For what its worth, my recommendation,
Fed Ex, since UPS’ last strike Fed Ex found out there was a market for home parcel
delivery so they bought a half dozen LTL truckig companies and set up a owner operator
based home delivery van fleet, that’s right the guy who picks up or delivers to
your house owns his truck. Can you think of a better motivation for good service!!

Oh ya by the way Dale Jarret sucks too!!!

[Fresh Wind]

In spite of the badmouthing USPS gets for being a quasi-governmental organization, I have had virtually no trouble with them at all. They are very helpful and courteous at the counter, and their service has been excellent. I even had a letter carrier knock at my door once in the pouring rain to inform me that another delivery service had left a package at a side door of my house that I rarely use, and I hadn't noticed it. I hear endless horror stories about UPS (Universal Parcel Smashers). The big brown trucks park anywhere they damn please, and will run you off the road given the chance. USPS rates are reasonable, and are by far the best for overseas shipments. Post offices are everywhere, but I have to drive a good distance to find a UPS facility, since I refuse to pay the extra fees that Mailboxes, Etc. charge.

[Old Student]

UPS gets gouged continually by corporate customers.

Earlier this year I ordered a desk and file cabinet through AAFES. They were shipped from the manufacturer. They arrived broken. The desk was something I could fix, and AAFES offered me a discount on it and I settled for that. The file cabinet was hopeless. The problem was that it had been incorrectly made AND inadequately packed. I went through five file cabinets before AAFES finally decided they just wouldn't charge me for any of them--donate them to charity, throw them out, whatever. I found out later that UPS was picking up the costs of the whole thing!!!! There was no way any of this was UPS's fault. The boxes weren't strong enough and the packing inadequate to protect a product that wasn't made right anyway. (The drawer glides, for example, were't put on straight, pieces didn't fit together at all, and even the strongest pieces arrived with cracks.)

I'm not surprised that UPS gouges little customers in an attempt to cater to and protect their big customers--this is a Worm Ouroboros situation. Mailboxes Etc is only useful when you have something very valuable and fragile to ship. I've sold some valuable china canisters and an antique accordion on Ebay and I told the buyers upfront that they would have to pay for packing and shipping by Mailboxes Etc. If you're shipping books or anything not breakable, you'd be crazy to go there and pay extra.

[Pete-R-Bilt]

You're exactly right about the USPS, for gov'ment workers they go alot farther to satisfy. O and did you know who is contracted to carry their parcels? Thats right Fed Ex... if you‘re interested

[ßuddaßudd]

You truly are funny.

For someone with an IQ you seem to want to brag about, it is hard to believe your perception of the events you created.

Thanks for making me laugh today!

ßß

[TopQuark]

I freely admitted making a mistake. I missed that, sorry.

[max61]

Why is UPS at fault when you screwed up the zip code?. Why should UPS incur the cost of YOUR mistake?. The problem and the solution are self evident if you look in the mirror.

---max

[George Smiley]

They're not exactly friends of the Second Amendment, either.

[GregoryFul]

Nonsense, when the customer deals with the service company for UPS, in this case Mailboxes, Etc., the service company prepares and address label for the customer, taking the information and entering it into a computer - a discrepancy between zip code and address should inform the clerk at the time of label preparation that there is a problem - and it should have been cleared up at that moment. The zip code is merely an encoded address, not an augmentation.