Hey All,
I don't normally hand out in the Lounge...but wanted to vent!

After waiting several days in anticipation for my new CRKT knife to arrive...and seeing online that it had been delivered to my door...I couldn't wait to get home and open it up.

I got home...and looked around....NO PACKAGE?
I called UPS, and they directed me to the seller (Amazon.com) and they promptly took great care of me!

They are sending me another knife, no charge, with express shipping!

I went door to door (apartment complex) knocking, just to question people and see the look on their face (built-in lie detector ), but of course, the primary suspect (dirt-bag doper) wouldn't answer the door (nice loud tv in the background)...probably playing with his new knife!

I hate a thief, but at least Amazon.com took care of me....
Now if I could ever find out who took it......

I hope this low-life cuts himself with it!

I haven't lost anything yet, but I hate the way that UPS and Fed Ex drivers leave packages and run. Sometimes, they take off before I can reach the door.

One jerk from Fed Ex threw a coat from L.L. Bean onto my balcony and never left a note. I found the package three weeks later when I happened to open the blinds and look out onto that balcony...

If it even got delivered to your door. I have a serious problem in that I don't trust much of anybody. A few years ago my wife was awaiting a shipment of stained glass. As in rushing home each day to get it. But after about a week, she called the shipper. Both them and us then took the shipment number out to the web site. It shows the package delivered about a week earlier. Then it took about another week to get the driver involved. He was just lazy, and thought it was for a guy 5 houses away. So we went to ask. Yep, the crooked guy finally went inside and brought it out. At least he didn't open it. Even when they require a signature its no guarantee, it just improves your chances to better than 50-50. Its something the big shippers, UPS and FedEx will need to address over the next few years.

Things like the flat screen monitor getting pitched over the fence at Christmas does little to improve confidence. For online buying to grow much more, the problem will need to be solved.

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Dick Burg

Several years ago, I had a case of Wolf Match 22 ordered. Waited 4 months for the backorder to ship, then UPS showed it as delivered. Asked all the neighbors and nothing. Checked with UPS to verify delivery- they assured me it was delivered. Filed a police report and the next week, daughter hears the doorbell and discovers the case of ammo. She didn't get to the door in time to see who delivered it. I still don't know what went on.

At least they use UPS as carrier

FedEx Guy Throwing My Computer Monitor - YouTube

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Jorge

Dang, that is just pathetic. Horrible.

Try living on 10th street when the next street is 10th street terrace! We are always exchanging mail. I think my mailman doesn't care anymore.

I pay about $100 a year to have a post office box. Many shippers don't have any problem shipping via USPS, and to me this is the most secure way.

The shippers who only ship UPS are just lazy, so I don't sweat it if their package is stolen en-route, they can replace it. ( I know, ORMD products can't go mail).

Of course, thefts do occur with USPS. I had some gold coins come up missing once. The new Postmaster couldn't care less. I contacted my Congressman, and the coins mysteriously appeared 3 weeks later.

All in all, shipping will have to become more secure as mentioned, else online sales will get more expensive (due to theft), and not be worth the hassle.

I have anything worth more than 100.00 sent to my work address. Someone is always there to receive and or sign. Also, the carriers seem to be a little more respectful of commercial or corporate customers.

Likewise.

We live in a rural area and often as not, the drivers will leave the package at the end of our lane (next to the road) rather than bring it to our door.

Nothing worst than a thief !
Recon i've been lucky through the years as i've never had that type bad experience.
UPS has been here to many times, the drivers most likely can come here blind folded. Only once years back I was waiting for one of my Hofner basses to arrive. I check UPS tracking and it showed for that evenings delivery. The later it got I started wondering, so I called our local UPS and the lady said that the box was there and my address on the box was wrong. So I drove there to pick it up. Got in my truck and looked at the shipping label. It HAD the correct address, so I figure the driver didn't want to drive all the way out here in the country that late and wanted to get back to go home !



Ernie

I have seen a number of videos lately of UPS and other delivery service drivers tossing packages over fences, walls, etc. Surprising that with the unemployment rate as high as it is that some people have a very lackadaisacal attitude towards their work.

Got my K 22 back from Chicoines; wonderful work they do. Got a phone call from FedEx threatening fire and damnation if I wasn't there to PERSONALLY sign for it. So I stayed home. After supper the doorbell rang. When I opened the door, the FedEx truck was driving away and the box was on my doorstep. I wonder whose signature is on the receipt?

..........MORON!!!!??????, that came up with a similar street variation like that? If I were the mailman there, I'd find a way to get the names changed. I'd help the people living there get so sick of getting others mail, that they would flock down on the mayor or city ombudsman until the "situation" was corrected. I'd bet the mailman that delivers there is not amused with the stupidity in naming those streets. JMO

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Go big or stay home

Summer before last the UPS driver delivered a package to the same house number three blocks over. I was a couple days into starting to wonder where my package was when the unknown neighbor walked over one day and gave me the package. It came as no surprise because all the north-south streets around here start with Q. I'm surprised it doesn't happen more often.

I'm currently waiting for a box of 100 bubble mailers that I purchased from a seller on ebay. Paid $8.99 for shipping, got a FEDEX tracking number, said estimated delivery between 12/30/11 and 01/06/12. It's the 12th now and the Fedex tracking has shown it "in transit" in the small town that I live in for three days now, still no box. Finally got a rep in live chat on their website, she tells me "It was sent using Smartship, your local postal service should be delivering it in the next few days." So basically the box came from California to Missouri via Fedex, then they stopped in at the local post office that is ten blocks from me and mailed it???? I REFUSE to ship anything with them, and I've informed the person I purchased the mailers from that I won't be using them again for my business given my present experience.

The last two large deliveries that I had from Fedex were both damaged, one was a horizontal band saw from Harbor Freight that had been dropped on both ends, bending the motor plate on one end and shattering the blade tension adjustment knob on the other. The other was a 3500 watt gas powered generator, and somehow they managed to drop it or drop something on it just wide enough to fit inside the guards and smash the top of the fuel tank in and shatter the air cleaner cover on the side.

I've had no problems with UPS, the guy will come back and check to see if I'm in the shop if no answer at the front door, and if not he'll leave the package on the back porch inside the fence, he cleared that with me prior to.

I send anything that's large, valuable, or likely to be stolen to my wife's office. There's someone there from 8:00 AM to 7:00 PM Monday through Friday. Sometimes if it's heavy I'm kind enough to come carry it down to the car for her.

My wife and daughter, however, just send everything to the house. It gets left on the stoop or behind a planter and often gets wet. One would think they would learn after the fourth or fifth time.

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Insert short witty words here

The last time we had anything delivered to the home address was about 15 years ago.

The 6 month old black lab chewed the package and contents to shreads.

I've had mostly good results with UPS over the years (I order a LOT of stuff) but I did have one leave a new upper unit for an AR-15 on my deck one day, I chewed him pretty good for it the next day and he apologized. My latest UPS driver (I call him Sienna Claus) refers to me as his Exercise Program, because most of my packages are 50 pounds or more. Excellent service, polite as he can be, very sharp. I'll tell him when packages are expected, and how to handle delivery. Sometimes he'll slip it in the unlocked front hallway, then lock the door behind him, other times he'll hide it in a big bush by the front door. Despite all the foot traffic, nothing has ever walked away. Might be all the NRA stickers on the windows, the door, and the car...........

FedEx is a large company with several divisions, e.g., FedEx Express, FedEx Ground, FedEx Home Delivery, et. al. If you look at the signage on the truck/van that delivers to your house, you'll see which division you're dealing with.

The FedEx Express driver is an employee, while the Ground and Home Delivery persons are contractors who provide their own trucks, fuel, insurance, uniforms, etc. under the FedEx brand.

The UPS driver is an employee.

Presumably, you may get better service from an employee but that is not always the case. During peak delivery periods such as the Christmas holidays, in many geographies, UPS hires temporary workers to assist in the delivery. 2 people per van to speed up each delivery and generally, the driver stays at the van while the temporary worker is the one who walks the package to your door. I've had packages laid against one of my garage doors (instead of the usual front door delivery) that could've been run over by an exiting vehicle.

I also wondered why this garage door bounced back up after I drove off (Yes, I always check that it's closed). As soon as the door opened, the package fell beneath the door, whose safety mechanism made it re-open when I attempted to close it. If it wasn't a UPS package, it would seem like the kind of trick that a nefarious person would use: homeowner drives off assuming that the garage door was going to close but because of this "Trojan horse," the garage door bounces back up, allowing the perpetrator to enter.

Could be worse. In Newfoundland in the USAF, my roomie and I had the same first and last names; only our middle initials differed! How likely is that, and it's not really a common name.

But because we were in the same room in the barracks, if one got something for the other in his mailbox, he'd just leave it on the other fellow's dresser or hand it to him.

Yeah, it's a conundrum alright. Once at my place, a package with almost $2000 worth of cymbals was left in my front bushes with "Sabian" (the manufacturer)'s name in HUGE black letters on the 22-inch wide box. And I was home at the time with the front door open to show the driver he could knock. (Guess I'm lucky I don't endorse a more commonly known cymbal company, eh?)

-Edited to add- In all fairness, I should also point out that in 2002, I'd been waiting for shipment from a manufacturer whose shipping procedures were lackadaisical to the point of comedy. On Christmas Eve of that year, there was a knock on my door from a UPS driver who'd asked me if I'd been waiting for a shipment from the XXXX company.

After replying to the affirmative, he said that this was his third and last attempt to deliver (turns out the manufacturer had mis-addressed it) and the driver went along the block, knocking on all the doors with a similar address until he'd found the right one. My hat's off to that gentleman and I called UPS and talked to the superviser to make sure he knew what a quality employee they had in that guy.

LennyLames brought up the many facets of FedEx and reminded me of a problem I had with FedEx Ground. I ordered an RV air conditioner for the truck that weighed well over 100# with packaging. The first one was delivered to the middle of the driveway with a huge dent in the corner of the box where it had obviously been dropped. I was home at the time and he never rang the doorbell. The shipper was great and issued a pickup order for the damaged unit but wouldn't ship a new one until the old one came back. I can understand that. It took several days for the driver's schedule to mesh with mine, but we finally got it shipped. I gave him my cell number and told him that I was expecting another one soon, and to give me a call when he had it. Not only did he not call me, but since the replacement required a signature on delivery, he delivered it to an older, female neighbor. Fortunately, I got home within a few minutes and got it out of her way. There was no way she could have moved it if it had been in her way.

I've said it before: Employers should take advantage of the current unemployment rate and replace those employees that don't really want to do their jobs with some that will.

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Insert short witty words here

I just yesterday had UPS deliver (return from repair) a 23" Samsung monitor and I knew it was being delivered that day due to tracking number. I waited home for it, and when I went out to get my mail I found it by my door, they didn't even ring the doorbell. I could have left it out there all day if I hadn't seen the mailman go by. Just in plain sight with a picture on the front of the box for all to see what it was. Luckily I live in a pretty crime free area.

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H Richard
SWCA1967 SWHF244

Sorry about your loss and trouble. Amazon takes care of its buyers, they are not always the best price but they usually have the best service. They seem to keep pretty tight control on 3rd party sellers too. I like Amazon.

years ago when i was in the business,including class 3, i had two uzi subguns left on my back porch for several hours. couldn't believe it. and that was before the big ups strike and things were much better than these days. wonder of anyone got chewed out over this as i chewed on the ups manager for a while.

You are correct: Amazon took great care of me! They immediately shipped out another knife to me...overnight shipping!
Today, I made sure that I was home to receive the package, and was successful. Now I am the proud owner of a CRKT Hissatsu folder knife, and Amazon made me a believer in good customer service!
I wrote to them, to let them know how appreciated this was.

I mailed an "I" frame grip adapter to a forum member in North Carolina from Tennesse (just over the mountain) on 11/23/11. It never arrived. I sent a refund. The package arrived on 1/12/12. At least the grip adapter had an interesting trip.

I wonder if part of the problem isn't the schedule these drivers are put on. The current "do more with less" attitude of companies may be forcing them to take "short cuts" to meet a quota. I'm not sure how else to explain this.

Karma ALWAYS comes back.

Don't you know it!
I cannot stand a thief, and although I never wish harm on anyone (other than those who pose an immediate threat to me)...I sometimes picture that the guy who stole this package does suffer some calamity while playing with this nice, new, sharp knife!

The delivery people are human and often have their own problems/get fed up and are sometimes non-motivated (underpaid) and really do not care if you get your stuff. They are required to make all the deliveries that are loaded before they go home to their significant others or partying friends, so rather than take a few items left at the end of the day back to the warehouse and risk being sent back out, when they are running late and there is a "big party" or time sensitive fun event, they forge the receipts and dump the goods, or drop it off at a place of convenience.

I'm not sure how to read your post, you seem to be calling for some understanding of the deliveryman's plight? What plight? It's a job! With responsibilities like any other job. Sometimes ya gotta work late, sometimes you miss parties because of it, sometimes one's got a real bad attitude and just doesn't want to do those last 2 work items before going home...SO WHAT?!?! Buck up and do the flippin' job you agreed to do. Have some pride in yourself!

I'm not speaking directly at you HOUSTON RICK, like I said, I'm not certain exactly what you were getting at with your post. I'm just speaking of the prevailing trend among some workers today to throw their responsibilities out the door come "quitting time" regardless of what they signed up for, or how it affects the client or employer.

I just can't stand a thief, sorry this happened to you and glad to see Amazon is taking care of you. A few years ago rented out a PO Box and i'm worry free( I think).

Hope you enjoy your CRKT, i have two myself my EDC Ripple(Ken Onion) and a M16 Carson design, they are great knives.

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COTEP

There were a few incidents around here of people following delivery trucks and stealing the packages.

This is funny, though:

Lousy FedEx Delivery Guys - Conan on TBS - YouTube

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This...is my BOOMSTICK

I'm in disagreement with the opinion that UPS and Fedex drivers are lazy and don't care about their jobs. My son is a manager at a UPS hub, and I've gotten to know several local drivers and I can tell you they are very serious about their jobs. They also make excellent pay and don't want to do anything to jeopardize their positions.

My own solution to the problem of late deliveries and packages left without signatures was to rent a box at a local mail box store. They receive and hold packages for me, and provide a safe delivery location for those times I can't be home or I'm away from home for a few days. The cost is minimal and I know my packages are always safe and waiting for me.

By the way I'd also suggest that you consider giving your local UPS or Fedex driver a nice cash gift at Christmas. I've done this for many years, and I get excellent service from both drivers.

About 20 years ago a class 3 dealer I knew was exspecting a full-auto M-60 to be delivered to his house, which was also his licensed place of business. The machine gun went missing for at least two weeks. The gun had a required signature form, and the driver insisted he had dropped it off properly. The ATF was informed about the missing gun including all other local legal authorities. The dealer later found the gun under some bushes that ran along the back of the house where the driver dumped it. The driver later admitted he put it there thinking the owner would have noticed it. This back when it was a $5000 gun, not $25,000 like today. Nice.

ANYTHING is suspect…..when humans are involved.

It's funny how the UPS vs FedEx thing flip flops depending on where you live. Here FedEx is king and deliveries by UPS used to be classed as miracles, but they have got better over the last couple of years.

it seems simple to me.If you want packages left at your door,then provide something to hide it behind or a container to put it in.

If you don't want something left at your door ,let it be known and a note will be left for you to go pick it up.

put all the last names in your mailbox so the mailman has an idea of who lives there,if you forget a last name,i:e,maiden names ,kids, then who's fault is it?

if you are the guy on the street with the only mailbox on the house ,don't complain about stamp prices,it takes alot longer stop everything to get out to put ur magizine in the box.

if you have a fence around ur house with dog signs,be prepared to come pick up ur packages.pitbull or poodle,if they guess wrong,it could be life or death.

mailman have 700 to 900 stops daily,no one is perfect.If they returned all the wrong,numbered,zipcode,names,street spellings,no apt or suite num.etc.you wouldnt get any mail.

if your yard looks like a junk yard,then you most likely don't care about alot,including del.people in ur yard,not into getting shot at by someone who thinks we want ur junk .be prepared to come pick up ur packages.

if you think it 's cute to let the kids put the flag up on ur mailbox with no mail in it everyday,then when u do have aletter in it,if it does'nt go,who gets blamed,thought so.

people with no numbers on thier house,i could go on and on.....but it's the delivery fellas fault.......

Wow.............I think somebody just went Postal on us!

lol........... just an observation. i'm sure everyone in all these postings,in thier chosen profession have perfect employees,and co-workers.

common sense and the ability to reason goes a long way,to bad it's becoming a lost art.

Common Sense? Good Grief, Man..................it's 2012! That's a totally outdated concept!

A few years ago, around Christmas, the courier company I worked for at the time, took on a contract to help Airborne Express, I think it was deliver packages. My wife and I got some of that work, and we enjoyed it. No rush, and they were all out of town in rural areas, and small towns.

But let me tell you, the above is right. You want it delivered right? MARK YOUR HOUSE. You'd be surprised how many houses don't even have an address on the mailbox. Don't tell me the law says...I'm telling you what the world does. Especially in a rural area. In town, I can usually count down and figure out where an address should be, but out in the country, numbers might skip around all over. We won't even talk about trying to find a RFD PO Box address. I don't know how many of these there still are, but I've had to try to find them within the last few years.

You want the package put in a safe place? Provide a safe place. Sorry, I can't take the time to build a shed for you. And I forgot my hammer.

If you're expecting a package and you don't see it. LOOK for it. Think...If I had to hide a package, where would I put it where it's out of sight?

You want it out of the rain? Provide a place out of the rain.

Check the "other door." I got a call from the dispatcher on the way home once. Where's the package? Inside the front door...."Oh...the customer didn't look there, they use the side door." How am I supposed to know that?

Dogs? I promise you, I'm not going to fight your dog for your front porch. Yea...Yea...I know. "He doesn't bite." He's got teeth...he bites.

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John 3:16 .

yea,what cajunbass said !!! and replace ur mailbox that should have been replaced year's ago,if ur mail blows out or gets wet,,,,well just blame the mailman,it's the american way.And I could go on and on........like the guy who hides the box in bushes,or always blocks it w/ the car or trash can's or cut's a hole in the garage door and calls it a mailbox......and wonders why the mailman did'nt know that...lol......k.i'm done now.maybe !

A couple of years ago a package went missing from USPS. I live in an apartment building and packages are left in keyed delivery boxes. The key is left in your mailbox which then used to open up the keyed delivery boxes. Once open, only the USPS driver may pull key out. I had delivery confirmation the package was delivered but no key was left in my mailbox. I called the USPS driver who swore she left there but examination, the key was already in the delivery box. There was no recourse. Nothing I could do to get reimbursed. It became my word vs delivery driver's word.

Today, I've been anxiously waiting on a package (an ebook reader/tablet PC) which was delivered by the same delivery driver. I got confirmation it was delivered earlier but checking my mailbox I found no key. I'm hoping the complex office has it but they are closed for now. I will explode if they don't.

Unfortunately, I'm more concerned about our legislature banning online sales. Living in NY State, I won't have the privilege of worrying about some of my online purchase deliveries much longer.

I am a partner in a CPA firm. We regularly use UPS, particulary after a time sensitive F##Ex package bound for Orange County, California ended up in Shanghai, China (really!). "Sir, we have no idea how that happened. It is impossible under our system for international deliveries."

I encourage personal packges be sent to our office. We have a regular driver who knows us and even things mislabeled seem to make it to us. Yes, we also take care of him at the holidays.

I would rather have employees send personal packages to the office than have them aggravated, upset and unproductive while they try to resolve delivery problems. As an employer, I come out way ahead. If appropriate in your circumstances, your place of work might/should be amenable to personal deliveries.

To the OP: If your complex has a business/ rental office see if they'll receive your packages. I lived in a rental complex after my divorce and that place was happy to receive stuff. Currently I had a package go AWOL a couple months ago. I had ordered some boots and they were supposed to have been delivered. My next door neighbor came over with the opened box and handed it to me. Fortunately along with his small brain he has small feet and the boots didn't fit him or his girl friend.

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SOS USA