UPS sucks canal water

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BearBio

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Received an inheritance and gave the wife a kitchen makeover for Christmas and birthday, combined. We're talking a complete gut job, down to the studs. Oak floors (hardwood, not laminate), new cabinets, granite counters,all new appliances.
We made our best estimate on cabinets and ordered them from RTACabinets.com (NOT RTA Company=be careful 'cuz the latter sucks-different story). Cabinets were excellent but we had to allow some leeway. Ended up we needed three additional cabinets to finish things up. Therein lies the rub.

RTA Cabinets sent them via UPS. They left the east coast and sat somewhere in Pennsylvania for over a week, due to "an incident". OK, snow? Truck in ditch? No explanation but, OK. Things happen. Shows a delivery date of January 30th (yesterday) before COB. Since I have to be here to inspect the package(s), I take the day off Thursday. Next posting is that it arrived in Portland on Thursday AM. It takes them a full day to move it 3 hrs to Yakima. Arrives at 11 AM, goes out at 3:30 AM, arrives in Yakima at 6 AM. They don't post the Portland arrival until the PM. So, one day lost. I take Friday off. Site still shows expected delivery on Thursday, 1/30/2014 (remember,it's now Friday, 1/31). So, I call. Get somebody back east I can't understand (or, maybe it was India, I don't know). Leave my number. Some girl calls me back and asks what's the problem. Since we are "rural" (I live in the downtown area of Wenatchee, on the Columbia River, major city on 2 east-west routes=a combined population of 50,000 with East Wenatchee, 3rd largest city in eastern Washington), she said " we don't go there every day"==B.S. We have several ski resorts, Leavenworth is just up the road, we have Lowe's, Home Depot, Fred Meyer, several national market chains, etc.

Upshot: My cabinets will have sat for a week in UPS warehouse 2 hours from here and 10 days 5 hours from here.
 
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You're being nice by saying "canal water". What a nightmare. Hopefully, your cabinets won't be messed up when they get there.

It sure seems that when companies like UPS screw something up, it's a comedy of errors.

Good luck with the cabinets.
 
That sucks. I'll bet this is UPS Freight, not UPS small package, right? Most people dont realize that the only connection between the two companies is the name. There are UPS package delivery vehicles in your town every day, but the big Freight trucks probably only come there from Yakima (the nearest Freight terminal) a couple if times a week. Freight is supposed to call you the day before they schedule your delivery since they only do a run once or twice a week.
 
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I believe that this will vary depending upon the region involved. In my area UPS is the BEST. FedEx on the other hand is 100% UNreliable. And I know that in other locations UPS is the goat and FedEx is the star.

For all the time FedEx has been in business they have never ever gotten anything to me on time. On 4 occasions the item never made it to me. Still out there somewhere floatin' around looking for a place to lite. :rolleyes:

for a birthday one year my daughter sent me some LIVE lobsters and clams to be sent from Maine. They used FedEx and it was suppose to be next day because these were packed in dry ice and still alive. When they arrived 6 DAYS later I asked the driver if he knew or cared what was in the package. He didn't.

I told him that 6 DAYS ago contained live lobsters and clams and that by now it was probably best described as mush. He asked me if I wanted the package or not.

INCREDIBLE

I suggested he leave and never darken my doorway again.

Two other occasions my nephew is manager of a West Marine store in the Dallas area. He tried to send me a new fishing reel. Neither one ever made it.

Couple of other incidences but you get the idea. Oh I did have one thing come in on time. When I called the company in Maine I explained what happened and the lady was very sympathetic and apologetic and nice. She offered to reship the order at no cost. I asked if she was going to use FedEx again and she said yes. I told her that it'd be a waste of time and sea food because it would never get here on time.

She said that FedEx was VERY good up there. I told her that they were super extra lousy down here. I don't know if the drivers sit in a beer joint all day or what but down here it is awful. Could you please send it using ANY OTHER carrier.

No sir but I'll assure you that this one will arrive on time. And it did too. She must have lit a fire under someone high up at FedEx. But it was a flash in the pan. Since then NOTHING else has ever arrived on time if at all.

Seems like the company would do a better job of having good service in ALL of the areas it serves. But....that's the way the pickle squirts.

So if anyone wants to send me anything PLEASE send it via UPS. I may not have the time left to wait on FedEx. :p :D
 
Could it possibly be the freaky nasty weather that has Interstates jammed and people trapped in their cars due to snow and Ice.?

I have a package last tracked in ORLANDO but says no further tracking due to adverse weather?? but I have package on time that tracked in Jacksonville?? Now there was snow and Ice in the Panhandle and Georgia but Orlando is so far South of that??

We are way South of all that.
 
Have sold and installed cabinets for 40 years. Very seldom do I ever have a ASAP order show up on time and/or not damaged. An "incident" in shipping generally means damage. Many times damaged packages get kicked out to be repackaged and/or opened to see how much damage and if they still need to be shipped. Sometimes the shipper is contacted first and asked, sometimes the recipient is. If its my fault in the first place because I forgot or mis-ordered, shame on me. Seems these are the ones that take forever to get. Hopefully they're not base units and the granite guys are not waitin' on 'em.
 
Walkin' Jack said:
I believe that this will vary depending upon the region involved. In my area UPS is the BEST. FedEx on the other hand is 100% UNreliable. And I know that in other locations UPS is the goat and FedEx is the star.

For all the time FedEx has been in business they have never ever gotten anything to me on time. On 4 occasions the item never made it to me. Still out there somewhere floatin' around looking for a place to lite. :rolleyes:

for a birthday one year my daughter sent me some LIVE lobsters and clams to be sent from Maine. They used FedEx and it was suppose to be next day because these were packed in dry ice and still alive. When they arrived 6 DAYS later I asked the driver if he knew or cared what was in the package. He didn't.

I told him that 6 DAYS ago contained live lobsters and clams and that by now it was probably best described as mush. He asked me if I wanted the package or not.

INCREDIBLE

I suggested he leave and never darken my doorway again.

Two other occasions my nephew is manager of a West Marine store in the Dallas area. He tried to send me a new fishing reel. Neither one ever made it.

Couple of other incidences but you get the idea. Oh I did have one thing come in on time. When I called the company in Maine I explained what happened and the lady was very sympathetic and apologetic and nice. She offered to reship the order at no cost. I asked if she was going to use FedEx again and she said yes. I told her that it'd be a waste of time and sea food because it would never get here on time.

She said that FedEx was VERY good up there. I told her that they were super extra lousy down here. I don't know if the drivers sit in a beer joint all day or what but down here it is awful. Could you please send it using ANY OTHER carrier.

No sir but I'll assure you that this one will arrive on time. And it did too. She must have lit a fire under someone high up at FedEx. But it was a flash in the pan. Since then NOTHING else has ever arrived on time if at all.

Seems like the company would do a better job of having good service in ALL of the areas it serves. But....that's the way the pickle squirts.

So if anyone wants to send me anything PLEASE send it via UPS. I may not have the time left to wait on FedEx. :p :D
Click to expand...
UPS and FedEX have totally different problems. FedEx delivery drivers are independent contractors, and the company cannot tell them how to go about delivering the packages. So how good your service is in your area depends very much on the luck of the draw in terms of who holds the contract.

UPS problem is more due to the sheer quantity of packages that they deliver - several times the number that FedEx delivers. Getting and keeping enough good, qualified people to process, load, and deliver several million packages every day is their biggest challenge. The other big challenge is doing it with union employees at union wages - and still keeping their rates competitive with companies using non-union contractors.
 
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Fortunately, these are upper cabinets and everything is in except the microwave and backsplash behind stove (The last of the granite, waiting on the microwave to go in)

I doubt they only come to Wenatchee once or twice a week. Been to Yakima, lately? The "Palm Springs of Washington" resembles Compton more than Palm Springs. The only thing good there was Grant's Brewery and it's gone now. BTW, better go armed!

I don't have a problem with the Pennsylvania Delay. It likely was the storms. However, ten days to go five hours? If I had known, I would have driven to Yakima and pick them up myself. That's only 2 hours from here. Snowstorm? We just had our first significant snowfall Wed. Only 4" and it'll all be melted by tomorrow. We've been getting temps in the 40's, 50's and 60's all winter. Normally at or below freezing from Thanksgiving, if not Halloween.

Thanks, feel better now!
 
And, FWIW, UPS treats its road drivers like slaves. They are not allowed to refuse to leave the yard due to crud weather, but if they pile it up, they're hosed. Considering they are usually driving lightly loaded twin 28' trailers (aka "wiggle wagons") behind a cabover tractor (at least in the east, although they are getting more conventionals), that's scary. However, the weather, while unpleasant in the east, was not nearly bad enough to explain more than a day or so of delay. I used to truck out there, and even though PA is the most primitive of the states in the snow belt at taking care of their roads, 2 days of delay would require a lot more snow than they got.

Fedex Ground, what used to be Roadway Package? They delivered something to my house by error a few years ago a package which by its nature was suspicious) and by the time it was all done I had a lovely record in their corporate HQ about all their drivers and other employees being trespassed for life from my property. Dirty, filthy animals. I would not contaminate my liquid excretia by donating it to them if the only alternative was wetting my pants.
 
BC38 said:
UPS and FedEX have totally different problems. FedEx delivery drivers are independent contractors, and the company cannot tell them how to go about delivering the packages. So how good your service is in your area depends very much on the luck of the draw in terms of who holds the contract.

UPS problem is more due to the sheer quantity of packages that they deliver - several times the number that FedEx delivers. Getting and keeping enough good, qualified people to process, load, and deliver several million packages every day is their biggest challenge. The other big challenge is doing it with union employees at union wages - and still keeping their rates competitive with companies using non-union contractors.
Click to expand...

Thanks a lot. This is some good information and explains a lot.
 
BearBio said:
Fortunately, these are upper cabinets and everything is in except the microwave and backsplash behind stove (The last of the granite, waiting on the microwave to go in)


Thanks, feel better now!
Click to expand...

But now you are out of synch. Upper cabinets always go in before lowers!:D I am sorry you are having delivery problems, holds up a nice job.

UPS drivers here in this area have 180 to 200 stops per day regardless of the number of packages! I give them lots of credit, they bust butt, usually very nice and I have had no serious issues with then or Fed EX. Both guys in my area are gun guys also so we always talk about delivered stuff.

The young women who does the Fed Ex Express pick ups , well lets just say I find reasons to send guns back!:D;)
 
"But now you are out of synch. Upper cabinets always go in before lowers! I am sorry you are having delivery problems, holds up a nice job."

But, if we did that, the stove and frig wouldn't be in because the floor wouldn't, no counters and thus, no sink and I'd still be eating McDonald's and Taco Bell! which gets old after 3 weeks
 
Well, the USPS isn't doing me any favors right now, either.

I mailed a 2-day priority mail package on the 28th, with delivery scheduled for the 30th. THe last update available is it leaving the sort facility.

Granted, it's path was to be through Atlanta to Birmingham to a suburb there, so it's likely whacked out somewhere because of the weather.

However, when I call, it is impossible to talk to anyone. Literally. It says that info is up to date and customer service is not avaialble to help.

Dafuq?
 
BearBio said:
"But now you are out of synch. Upper cabinets always go in before lowers! I am sorry you are having delivery problems, holds up a nice job."

But, if we did that, the stove and frig wouldn't be in because the floor wouldn't, no counters and thus, no sink and I'd still be eating McDonald's and Taco Bell! which gets old after 3 weeks
Click to expand...

No, Taco Bell and Ronalds would be old after one trip:eek:

We did the whole kitchen thing, washing dishes in the bathroom just didn't feel right.

Just keep thinking how nice it will be when done!:)
 
I was waiting for a rifle to be returned to me from the factory for a minor flaw. On the day it was to be delivered the tracking numbered said "cannot be delivered" with no explanation. Checked the tracking number next two days, same thing. I live on a dirt road that was quite muddy but certainly passable. On the fourth day I called UPS and told them if I did not have that package in 24 hrs I would call the police and report it stolen.
The next day I got it, might be a coincidence but a little pep talk never hurts.
 
All three suck for one reason or another.

I bought a car off ebay. Ordered shipping to ship from bay area, Cali to Spoketto, WA.
The day the car was picked up the seller over nighted the title, using usps. Because they only wanted $12 versus the $32 FedEx and UPS wanted.

The car showed up before the title did. Took calling a lot of people for them to find my lost title... in the original post office it was sent from. A careless worker set my package down and left it there.

I feel your pain.. UPS is so back logged that they are using contracted carriers of questionable safety rating moving their trailers..

They also ship a lot by rail.
 
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