Tuesday, December 05, 2006

I !HATE! UPS

OMG - where to even begin on this nightmare!!! I have been having the worst time with receiving shipments from corporate. Incompetent drivers. The worst customer service. No one to help. None of them care.

Things seem to go fine for a while. I get shipments on time, according to their "tracking" system. The boxes arrive in beautiful condition.

Then it all goes to HELL!! This is what I have been dealing with lately. Boxes that don't show up when they are supposed to - and when you call their 800 number, they have to "send a message" to the distribution center and then "someone will call you back within 60 minutes". YEAH RIGHT!! Never happens. I have been known to sit on the phone for HOURS waiting for someone with half a brain to get me information on a package. Does it ever happen? NOPE!!

I love it when the tracking system says that the package has been delivered and signed for - yet - I HAVE NO PACKAGE IN MY HANDS. How is that even possible? "Well, I'm sorry, but there's nothing more that we can do for you, as it clearly indicates that the package has been delivered and signed for. We no longer have any liability for the shipment." Are you KIDDING me?!?!? I HAVE NO PACKAGE.

So, to try and solve the issue with the terrible drivers, I start having my packages held at the distribution center. This will be much easier. I will just go and pick up the packages and circumvent the drivers all together. WHATEVER!! I had the tracking information indicating that the box was in the same building as I was standing. Yet, the box couldn't be found. I was there for over an HOUR, trying to reason with people. They made me call the 800 number, FROM THE DISTRIBUTION CENTER, so that then I could be placed ON HOLD, while they called the exact same place where I was standing!!!! I'm not even remotely kidding - I was on hold on one side of the room, while one of the employees was on the phone with the customer service center on the other side of the room. HOLY CRAP!!! But, they still couldn't find the stupid box. WHY? Because no one was willing to just go look for the stupid thing!! They kept just looking at their computers. And saying that there was nothing that could be done.

I FINALLY convinced the kid working the counter to go and find someone who would just LOOK AROUND for it. He came back up to the front and said that the dock manager was just getting out of a meeting and to give him 10 minutes to look around the warehouse.

Well - what do you know - about 15 minutes later, here comes the dock manager. WITH MY BOX. Now, why couldn't someone else have just looked around the place an hour ago? WHY? WHY? WHY?

I don't even have a choice in using them - SP is the one that contracts with the shipper. Oh, and while I was at the distribution center, the kid behind the counter let it slip that UPS uses FedEX for its own shipping!! They don't even trust themselves enough to get things where they are supposed to be!!

Here's the kicker - I was venting to my dad and he reminded me that my cousin has worked for UPS for about 25 years and that he is a high-level manager at corporate. Guess who's getting an email from me tonight? Yep. If nothing else, he can give me options on how to handle this situation going forward. Whether he can actually do anything specific for me, I have no idea. But it's certainly worth sending him a little electronic hello!

I !HATE! UPS