As of right now UPS has lost three of my packages...

[cableguy]

Shipped out three receivers to ebay buyers on friday and as of right now the idiots at upms have no idea where they are. Fucking driver never scanned them at pick up. So happy joy, there are three very nice vintage recievers floating around in upms limbo. What makes this really suck is that one of the buyers is freaking out because there is no real tracking information, only "billing information recieved". The guy called me a liar and told me that I hadn't even dropped them off. As of yesterday he has emailed me 7 times, in a panic, freaking out. Dosn't matter that I have 100% feedback as a seller and have a shit-ton of great seller feedback for items just like what he bought. I have to say that I am done with upms for good, and I may be considering dropping selling on ebay for good as well; tired of the bullshit......
rant over....

[ozmoid]

Call UPS Customer Service. Get as far as you can with the schlepp that answers the phone, and ask for a supervisor. Get as far as you can, and move up another notch. Ask them to talk to the local manager over the driver that missed the scans.

Keep your temper. Don't relent. Don't let them "call you back", stay on the line. Be firm, let them know you have a buyer freaking out, let them know what you're going through. Keep your temper. Don't relent.

So far, this technique has worked for me. I've only had to go through this twice, but I got results both times. Very important to keep your temper and be relentless. Make them feel like you will never go away or let them off the hook for this until they resolve it. Don't get off the line, even if it takes hours. So many people just roll over and take it, or blow up at them and then drop it out of guilt or embarrasment or whatever, they don't know how to deal with you if you are nice but firm, and don't give up.

Did I say keep your temper and be relentless?

[Mr. Snoid]

Ozmoid offers great advise, in fact that tack should be used in a lot of life's situations (just wish I could execute it better myself...I most always get pissed or piss someone off) ...Bill, sorry to hear the bad luck but hopefully it will turn out ok...a

[cableguy]

update....after following Ozmoid's advice I spent several, yes several hours on the phone speaking with various UPS carbon units, supersvisors ect... To make a long story short, they claim to have never picked the packages up on friday. HMMMMMMM.....So, I heads down to the shipper and tell her the UPS answer. She of course gets upset, and tells me yes they did pick it up. I put them on the phone with one another and the conclusion is the same. At this point I know someone is not being honest, plus I'm pretty well fed up with everyone at this point. I leave, go to the office, call the Police, file a stolen property complaint, and notify both UPS amd the shipper of what I have done.............Within one hour all three of my packages magically appear in Winston Salem at a FedEx shipping center. The shipper had "tracked them down" for me and went ahead and had FedEx ship them to the proper destinations for me. She gives me the tracking numbers and hangs up the phone......whew!!!! what a relief :banana:
But......here's the fun part. (after checking the tracking numbers)Someone, a mystery person began the shipping process from FedEx YESTERDAY at 3 pm......This morning no one knew where they were, yet someone had them being shipped by FedEx yesterday.
Heres what I think, the shipper was going to keep the packages, knowing that I dealt in vintage Hi Fi(it's a very small town). Sell them whatever, who knows. Would then put the whole blame all to UPS thinking that I would be re-embersed by UPS for the losses. The packages may have even been heading to different destinations, and being a shipper, it would be pretty easy to re-rout them. This was a close, close call. I almost lost the revinue, and the product all in one shot....

[Andyman]

Nice work!!
Surprising what can happen once you sic the boys in blue on them.

FWIW, you should let UPS know that their "shipper" sent their business to Fedex and not ever use that "shipper" again

[ozmoid]

Nice work, cableguy! I'll keep that stolen property angle in my playbook, that was a good one! Thank goodness I've never had one get that far - but it pays to be prepared! :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :thmbsp:

[cableguy]

Yes, the Police involvement really expidited the recovery. But I could see where this was heading and didn't want to take it sitting down. :nono:

[gonzp]

:finger: Martha Fockers :finger:

[ozmoid]

Yes, the Police involvement really expidited the recovery. But I could see where this was heading and didn't want to take it sitting down. :nono:I never like to take it sitting down. :nono: I much prefer... Oh sorry, that's for another thread.... :D

[whyaskit]

Yes, the Police involvement really expidited the recovery. But I could see where this was heading and didn't want to take it sitting down. :nono:



Very interesting! Last year I sent an Ipod to Apple because it came an was not working. I sent it Fed Ex (Apples choice) and droped at a shipping store. After almost a week I tried to see if it had arrived (Apple would not refund untill they recieved that Ipod) and there was no record of shippment. After a couple of long chats with Fed Ex and driving to the shippers office and being told to F- Off. I tried to talk to the Police. They told me that there wasn't anything they could or would do about it.

Long story short. I finally found a lady at Fed Ex who busted ass (the shippers) and told them that they would cancel accounts ect. if this package was not found or compensated for. She also made them install cameras in the pickup room (they had a seperate room where they stored stuff untill the drivers could pickup the packages) as anyone (it was unlocked) could walk in and take packages .

The package showed up the next day safe and sound. I think that somebody there figured out what it was nad was attempting to score. Bastards!

[tomwil]

But......here's the fun part. (after checking the tracking numbers)Someone, a mystery person began the shipping process from FedEx YESTERDAY at 3 pm......This morning no one knew where they were, yet someone had them being shipped by FedEx yesterday.

Maybe I am dense, but I do not fully understand how the shipper was intending to keep the packages. Apparently Cableguy had made the complaints and police report on Wed, May 17th. If the packages had mysteriously shown up at FedEx on the 17th (after the complaining), then I would think the shipper was attempting something fraudulently. However, FedEx's system shows the packages entering their system on the 16th ... the day before all of the complaining, so the shipper appears not to have intended to keep the packages.

Please correct me if I am wrong ... I really do want to learn how to notice and handle a similar situation if it occurs. Thanks!

[ozmoid]

Maybe I am dense, but I do not fully understand how the shipper was intending to keep the packages. Apparently Cableguy had made the complaints and police report on Wed, May 17th. If the packages had mysteriously shown up at FedEx on the 17th (after the complaining), then I would think the shipper was attempting something fraudulently. However, FedEx's system shows the packages entering their system on the 16th ... the day before all of the complaining, so the shipper appears not to have intended to keep the packages.

Please correct me if I am wrong ... I really do want to learn how to notice and handle a similar situation if it occurs. Thanks!
The assumption here is that the packages were not headed to their original destinations. But it is just an assumption. (probably a good one, IMHO.)

[fotno]

Oz has dealt with shippers more than anybody I know. When he said to be relentless, and keep your temper, he speaks the truth, and practices it too.

I've heard him do it live and in person, and it is a sight (and sound) to behold. Long periods of silence followed by Oz speaking in slow, casual, yet insistant and somehow irritating tones (like a fly you can't quite swat)... I'm very happy to have never been on the receiving end of one of his "demonstrations of Job-like patience". I have a feeling there are shippers who tried to shaft him, currently recovering from Oz induced nervous breakdowns even as I write this.

[SPL db]

Excellent news cableguy! :yes:

Score one for the good guys! :thmbsp:

Scott

[GordonW]

This is why I ONLY ship out from the FedEx or UPS DEPOT... not a shipping center. Plenty of cameras in the depot, PLUS it AUTOMATICALLY goes into the system, as soon as they take my money for the shipping cost. Can't generate an invoice, without generating a tag!

F*ck ALL pack-and-ship joints...

Regards,
Gordon.

[Andyman]

Yep, I used Fedex Ground and have them come and pick it up. That way there's no BS middlemen. They've signed my book and scanned it in; if there's any issues they either find it or pay me.

[markthefixer]

I take my outbound packages to the official company shipping counter, there is a "drop off counter" for packages with pre-paid labels, but I wait until a counter person attends to me. The first few times I waited until I could HAND the packages to someone, they would say: "you can just leave it there..." and my response was: " and what stops someone else from walking out with it before you scan it??" to which I got some VERY thoughtful looks....

But I'm lucky, as they are nearby due to the proximity of O'Hare airport.

I think I would try to "sting" that shipper in some way that they could be prosecuted, otherwise perhaps a "whispering campaign" might curtail their business enough to hurt...

[cableguy]

I will of course never use that shipper again. I hate to speculate, but what if say only once every six months or so something like this takes place. I would bet that it has happened before and with very simular circumstances. The packages become "lost" and the shipping company gets left holding the bag....
I was on this like a pit bull and was not going to let go. Thanks to ozmoids advice I did not relent nor did I lose my temper, which if you know me is a miracle in it's self. If this was a UPS error than police involvment would not have rendered this type of recovery. I mean these babies showed up remarkably fast when the Detective got involved. This all took place on Friday, I usally ship FedEx but, the FedEx computer software was "down"......plus as many of you know, any packages shipped UPS on a Friday afternoon will not start to really track untill Monday.
Like I said I hate to speculate but,...... :scratch2:
I'm glad it worked out.

[SPL db]

On a side note, but related just the same...

Has anyone used any of those Ebay drop off places only to have their stuff "disappear"? :scratch2:

Scott

[andy]

Speaking of UPS losing things, I just had my neighbor knocking on my door. He introduces me to a lady from 2 blocks down the street who was looking for me. It turns out a package I was expecting today had just been delivered to her by UPS. She figured out it wasn't hers when she opened it. She said she called UPS and they told her it would be a week before they could pick it up. Upon hearing that, she decided to try to find me. I thanked her and drove over to her house to pick up the box.

It looks like everything arrived intact, but there's no excuse for this. I checked the address label and it was correct. They delivered it to 611 instead of 812 APT C. I live in a quiet neighborhood with clearly marked addresses on the houses.

I'm glad I have honest neighbors!

[Brad Muller]

I do the same as Gordon. I don't do my own pre printed shipping labels/ tracking numbers from home. I take my packages to Kinkos, fill out the forms, pay the shipping, and get a receipt along with tracking numbers. Fed Ex pays claims also, which is nice when items get broken, although they seldom do. Wherever there is money, someone finds a way to try and steal it. Great story, Brad :yes:

[pustelniakr]

UPS has trashed 3 PL-630s coming to me recently. It just breaks your heart (not to mention the wallet). Anything coming via UPS has evidenced sriously rough handling lately.

For me, its Fedex drop-offs at Kinkos, with tracking number and receipt. So far, they have never damaged anything in shipping, that I have had anything to do with. I could also print shipping labels, but that way I won't know the actual cost till it shows up on my ccard statement. Nope. Better to have evidence of receipt by the shipping company.

Enjoy,
Rich P

[goldear]

Wow, that's an amazing story! Pretty scary though...

[mike0565]

hi cableguy,
I am a ups driver for 23 yrs. We as drivers don't have to scan all are packages at our pick-up accounts. All packages are scanned at the local ups building before being loaded into the trailers.Then the trailer is scanned and thats how you track the package. That package isn't individually scanned again until it is loaded into the delivery truck at your local ups. hope that was a help.

[fujifrontier]

I never like to take it sitting down. :nono: I much prefer... Oh sorry, that's for another thread.... :D
a PM maybe :shifty:



:thmbsp:

[OMI]

Hmmmmmmmmmmm

Better wait till ALL 3 packages arrive to see if they had what you packed in them and if so that they arrive in one piece and not switched with junk...

Sounds REAL STRANGE...

[oicdn]

Well, you're not much better off with FedEx. On 2 seperateoccasions, I had empty boxes arrive on the doorsteps of recipients. That's right, EMPTY BOXES.

I was in the same predicament as you, only they didn't get lost, in that, I had 100% positive feedback and empty boxes show up on doorsteps. Wtf?

The 1st transaction went smoothly, but still an empty box showed up on somebody's doorstep.

And to make things worse, of the insured amount, they only paid what he actually paid for the item. I gave a friend a good deal on it as a bro-deal. When the empty box showed up, they didn't reimbruse me for what it was worth....what a load of crap. I paid for the higher amount of insurance, that went down the drain. Never use FedEx. EVER.