How do The Shipping companies work

[James Dio]

Being a reader of Ak for more than a year,
I know many of you wonder how
the postal companies like UPS and Fedex can
be so damned efficient in trashing your precioso shipments.

Working in the freight forwarding industry myself, I have a fairly good idea why you need to spend so much energy in packing
the stuff right...as Wardsweb has pointed out so well in his thread. And believe me, its' needed.

Let's follow an international shipment;let's say from
Key west/Florida to Recklinghausen/Gemany.

First of all the box is picked up by a local driver.
Your Box gets tossed in the van. On it goes to a local
ground centralisation center. Box gets tossed out of
the van gain. Onward to a gateway. Box gets again tossed into/out of another van . Then onwards to a major hub near a major airport.Box gets manipulated x-times again.

If it's not containerized by now it will be processed through a sorting hub; where your package gets manipulated onto high speed conveyor belts to be sorted to its correct destination . This step alone guarantees your humble shipments a topsy turvy - upside down- race thru the sorting facility.

If you only have used peanuts in your box, be sure them peanuts
wil be PULVERISED by now. If you have not bagged the gear
properly, allt his dust will creep into the airvents,soiling your
precious baby.


By now your shpmnt wil be airlifted to Europe.
Unloaded in a major sorting hub probably in Brussels
or Cologne. Here,your shpmnt once more will be zipped
on a hi speed conveyor belt to get sorted
to another airlift destination. Again it will get
tossed into/out of containers a good few times before
going of to the german gateway. Where it will be unloaded,
probably transferred to a van to a local ground delivery station....
Where it will be unloaded and loaded again to a van for (phew)
local delivery.

If you have not used grade A packing materials - no matter
how gentle/ungentle al those people manipulating your box
have been - it will probably be a very sad fish thats
gonna come out of these boxes , dudes.

[spkrman57]

Of the packages that I have had shipped to me, only the "ill-packed" ones suffered damage. While many cringe when I send something out(through a friend of mine who is very good at this), I tell them the packing is overkill and I won't ship it out any other way.
Ron

[Just JP]

I also work for one of the shipping companies. Please don't hate me. :pistols:

It doesn't matter which company you use they're all pretty much all the same. There is a commercial that aired a long time ago for Samsonite luggage that featured a gorilla taking the place of the baggage handler. Think along those lines.

To demonstrate my feelings on shipping the amps and receivers we all love, I *NEVER* do it. If I can't drive and pick it up, I don't buy it. I don't mean to scare you but you can't imagine the carnage I've seen.

Just remember you might get lucky, then again you might not.

Jim

[merrylander]

Guess that I may have been lucky then. At my age I am not about to lug 40 - 50 pound recievers out to the UPS store, so I established an account with them. I think I pack things well and so far everything I have shipped with them has arrived at its destination intact.

Maybe it is their regard for senior citizens, but one time when they did not pick up as promised (they were having computer problems with regard to the local center) and Florence called to ask if they planned to pick up the package, they apologized, said they had not gotten the notification, but sent a driver around (7PM) to get the package. The next day a lovely arrangement of flowers arrived with a note of apology. So I am kind of biased toward UPS.

Rob

[James Dio]

I guess,the bottom line is this : If you make
a poor package,you're gonna need all the luck in the
world to get it there in one piece;while if you go
the xtra mile in packing,you just get the luck out of the
equasion... need no luck at all...

Makes you wonder why Ebay doesn't give more attention to 'packing for sellers', caus it seems essential info in my eye.

[mobydud]

Excuse this if it's a rant..but I have had it with shipping FedEx.

I realize no one is perfect, but when someone either a person or a business starts developing a "track record"..then it's time to switch.

Heavy duty packing is essential no matter who you use..but what about actually getting the damn thing delivered??

I have used FE for my last 5 shipping experiences. 3 out of the 5 times now..I have watched the tracking info as my package either went out or came in..the carton was "on vehicle for delivery"...and suddenly..."DELIVERY EXCEPTION".."NOT AVAILABLE"..even when I was sitting right **@!!**@ HERE WAITING FOR IT.

I sent two cartons to Michigan a month ago. One of them was delivered right on schedule..the other box couldn't be found on the truck. Recipeient said the driver looked for 15 mins and shrugged his shoulders and left. 5 days later I'm on the phone trying to find the box. FE claims it was a wrong address..EVEN THOUGH IT HAD THE SAME ADDRESS AS THE FIRST BOX THAT WAS DELIVERED ON TIME .

Finally showed up while I was emailing the recipient..NO EXPLANATION AS TO WHERE IT HAD BEEN OR WHY IT WAS LISTED WRONG ADDRESS..JUST HERE U GO.

#@?<!! FEDEX


I feel better now.

[merrylander]

Maybe it is because I have an account with UPS, but they always ring the bell and either wait on the porch for us to answer the door, or at least leave the package on the porch out of the weather. FedEx and USPS just drop packages in front of the garage door and run. I put in a remote doorbell by the garage door and a sign asking that they please ring the bell - guess their drivers can't read. So whenever I am expecting anything I always check the garage door at 5:00 PM.

Rob

[twintwelve1484]

Excuse this if it's a rant..but I have had it with shipping FedEx.



A few years ago, we ordered some live lobsters from Nova Scotia for our New Years Eve celebration. We had done so the previous year, and had a great time.

This particular year, however, was an exception. To make a long story short, the Fed Ex driver STOLE our lobsters and claimed that we weren't home. Since they were perishable, there was nothing we could do. I was there the whole time, expecting the Fed Ex guy. We have a well marked, easy to find, but lengthy driveway and it was snowing. There were NO tracks in the snow.

I won't ship with Fed Ex, and if I have a choice, won't receive goods from them either. They suck.

[Rockmonton]

yep i've caught the bastard purolator and fedex gys just fill out the not home slip and tag it to the door, no knocking or anything, and when i ask where the fuck my package is they have no explanation and usually just ignore me, its also usually a different guy every time so bitching doesent do much

[piece-it pete]

Just FYI, Fedex ground drivers are private contractors driving their own trucks (maybe rented like a cab?), vs UPSs' company owned/employee driven fleet.

I've never had a problem with fedex but always keep this in the back of my mind.

Pete

[mobydud]

Just FYI, Fedex ground drivers are private contractors driving their own trucks (maybe rented like a cab?), vs UPSs' company owned/employee driven fleet.

Pete

That's an interesting tidbit Pete. It might very well explain a lot..if the driver don't feel like delivering today..so what?? Claim they weren't home and come back tomorrow..what the hell eh?

I had that exact same experience once before..I stayed home all day waiting for a package. I left one hour for an errand..put a note on my door telling them where to leave the box if they came while I was gone,,etc.

Note was there, no door tag from FE..no box..nadda. Tracking info on website says he came while I WAS SITTING HERE WAITING AND EXPECTING HIM.

Came the next morning and looked in his logbook says "Ummhh I was umm here...uuUmmm no one home."

Ya..uh huh. #@*& FEDEX.

UPS from now on..no exceptions.

[EchoWars]

Just FYI, Fedex ground drivers are private contractors driving their own trucks (maybe rented like a cab?), vs UPSs' company owned/employee driven fleet.

I've never had a problem with fedex but always keep this in the back of my mind.

PeteHere in KC, only if private contractors love to paint huge 'FedEx' logo's on their truck, and wear shirts with 'FedEx' embroidered on them. Hell, I'd bet it even says 'FedEx' on their paycheck. ;)

Perhaps they contract out in your neck of the woods, but not here.

(and no, I wouldn't defend them any more than I'd defend Satan himself, but all shipping companies suck and are just disasters waiting to happen...manage your risks with insurance and superb packing)

[Vintage TX]

I have been lucky, only one package lost shipped with UPS but they paid the insured amount and shipping cost with no hassel. :yes:
Fed Ex ground and those contractors can be slow, but for Air-Mail they do a great job.
But compare the prices between UPS and Fed Ex here in US, :yikes:
UPS is expensive and even take longer time for delivery.
I stick with Fed Ex. :thmbsp:

[Don C]

FedEx drivers do own their own trucks. Just like Snap-On and Matco dealers own their own trucks.

[radiolee]

I was in the courier game for 20 years(definitely a younger man's job) as an independent for various firms,including a stint with Roadway Package Service which morphed into RPS then FedEx Ground. My last job in the biz was as a courier with FedEx Express. Often joked with others that I would eventually succumb to CIS-Cardboard Inhalation Syndrome.

Yes, FedEx Ground are independent contractors, UPS and FedEx Express are company drivers. FedEx bought RPS so they could follow the trend in the industry toward owner operators. These guys have to bust their butts to deliver as many packages as possible as they have to maintain their own vehicles, pay for fuel, insurance, workmen's comp, health insurance, social security, everything, the whole enchilada. Their ads for drivers will say that you will make 70 grand/year but unless you do vehicle maintenance yourself, you'll probably net more like 30.

If you want Cadillac service, use FedEx Express. Each package is scanned every time it changes location, vehicle, container, aircraft, until it is delivered. The tracking you see on their website is only a fraction of the actual scans. The in house system has every scan done and this info is available to the customer service people if you press them for it. They can tell exactly where a package is at any point as long as the driver "dumps" his tracker into the "DADS" system in his vehicle regularly. As far as I know, no other carrier can match this level of tracking.

The best insurance is good packing. Truth be told, as a driver it's hard to give a s--t about any one package when you shovel thousands every day. If you're not in a huge hurry, packages get handled very carefully. When the pressure's on, all bets are off. Big heavy packages always end up on the bottom, lighter ones on top. Worst situation is small heavy packages. They will end up on top of small light packages, which lose the battle.

They all smash packages once in a while so, to me, the real issue is how they handle claims. UPS sat on a claim for a Pioneer SX-1250 they busted the glass on until my buyer got tire of waiting for an inspection and had it repaired. To keep him happy, I reimbursed him 100.00. When I asked UPS for the status of the claim, they informed me they would not pay because the unit had been repaired before they could inspect it. WTF?? When I wanted to press the issue and asked to speak to a supervisor I was told no and hung up on. Real professional. Needless to say I am shifting my business to other carriers.

Lee