FedEx delivery next door...

[Bill Ashton]

Hesitate to start what could be along thread on this, but I just watched a FedEx delivery occur next door...FedEx extended-roof Mercedes Benz van pulls up in front of my house. Don't know if we are expecting anything or not. Watch guy come into cab from out of back of van and throw about a 12" x 12" x 12" box on the floor...then drives two doors down and parks. Gets out of truck with box, scans it, and then throws it up onto my neighbor's front porch...now, this would be just over head level if you are standing in the street. :shock: No doorbell ring or nothing. Drives away.

Well, I guess we won't be using them anytime soon. Called my neighbor to let them know it was on their front porch, told them I hoped it wasn't a glass vase! She laughed and said it wasn't (whew!).

I describe the truck, as we have a local lady a couple streets over that is a "contractor," I think she has her own Econoline van. Sweetheart. If no one is home, she'll see my wife at the public library to ask where to deliver...we don't know her from Adam other than through FedEx.

I guess all the transport companies have troubles. Funny, when my Huss & Dalton was coming back from the factory after a warranty bit, they called me and said it would be coming UPS. I turned white. Mrs Dalton assured me that had used them for 11 years or so and never had any problem, not to worry. Hot summer day, waited all day for delivery. Nada. Call UPS, explain to them this is an expensive guitar and I am worried about it living in the back of a truck, especially overnight. After some checking, the nice person on the phone says not to worry it would be delivered that day, but she just could not tell where the truck was on its route. Maybe half an hour later my guitar shows up. Driver gently takes it out of truck walks it up to me and hands it off, insuring I have a good grip...did someone talk to him? :lol: ...of course, she was just perfect (right, Wes?)

(Edit: Saw same truck and driver about an hour later, not far from our house. It was an MB, cannot believe a "contractor" would spring for a truck like that!)

 

[bdeclee]

Hah, you have opened Pandora's box for sure!

I just received my beautiful F65-CE via FedEx from Vietnam. I tracked the guitar as it made its way very quickly from Ho Chi Minh city to Saigon to Anchorage to Memphis to Newark. So far so good. Then the wonderful day - Out for Delivery!

My husband and I are home all day. We sit waiting for FedEx. We hear the FedEx truck come down the street at 12:25pm. He goes to my next door neighbor's house, then drives away. Feeling suspicious, I check the tracking information, and sure enough, the status is updated to "Attempted Delivery; nobody home."

HOWLING MAD, I called FedEx and demanded they contact the driver and have them return posthaste. Our house number is CLEARLY marked in two places on my property. The FedEx agent assures me she'll contact the driver and he'll come back. We sit and wait.

2 hours later I check back. Apparently the driver is going home for the day due to a personal emergency, and he's bringing my guitar back to the FedEx depot. Lucky for me, the depot is only about 4 minutes away. We rush over to the depot and tell the agent behind the desk to grab the driver the MINUTE he comes in and get my guitar. She says, "No problem! I'll send a message to his truck and have him bring the guitar up front as soon as he checks in." So we sit and wait. And wait.

30 minutes later I ask another agent if the driver had checked in yet. She looks up the record and says, "He's come and gone 30 minutes ago." I almost had a heart attack. But luckily, the guitar was in the bay and she brought it to me and thank God, it was in PERFECT condition. Of course, we had to wait several hours to open the case to find that out...

All of that comes down to incredible lack of communication and care on the part of the driver. But really, we all have horror stories from ALL the carriers we've chosen - UPS, USPS, FedEx, DHL... no one is exempt. I think it's our current culture of "get it done faster and cheaper." FEH!

Barbara

 

[Brad Little]

The only carrier I have had problems with is FedEx. One (new) guitar was dropped over the back fence, with "this side up" pointing down. Another was wedged under the back storm door handle so that if the door had been opened from inside it would have tumbled down three or four stairs. In another case, a package clearly marked signature needed was left on the porch. Somebody was home for all of these deliveries as well.
Brad

 

[FNG]

The best bet is to ship a guitar to an authorized FedEx retail center, and then go and pick it up. It's a lot cheaper, your guitar doesn't sit on a truck or on your front porch, and it avoids extra handling by some contract guy. Some of the store fronts which use FedEx are not real FedEx outfits, they just are a middleman of sorts, and they charge alot more.

 

[bluesypicky]

The best bet is to ship a guitar to an authorized FedEx retail center, and then go and pick it up.

Here ya go!
That's how I'm handling it, and I always request the seller to ship Fedex for that reason alone...
The latest one to get to me this way is my custom shop M70. She was nicely waiting for my loving arms to grab her in a comfortably air conditioned Fedex retail center (there's one 10mns from my home). Can't beat that.
And to top if off, it's free.... last time I checked UPS charged $10 for the same service!
Go Fedex!!! :mrgreen:

 

[geoguy]

The part we see is all about the specific driver who services our area, whether it is FedEx, FedEx Ground, or UPS.

Our FedEx drivers are fine, & our UPS driver is stellar, but our FedEx Ground drivers are really rough on packages. All of those companies use automated high-speed sorting machinery that can quickly destroy a package if it gets snagged on something. One is no better than another as far as that goes, though I have the most delivery/billing complaints with UPS.

Unlike UPS & FedEx, the FedEx Ground drivers are contractors (not company employees). They make money by completing deliveries as quickly as possible, so they are the ones I usually see throwing boxes around.

A US Postal Service delivery person came into my office one day with a guitar box perched up on his shoulder . . . yikes. I took it from him before he had the opportunity to drop it onto the floor.

 

[twocorgis]

Nothing scientific about this at all, but I've had far better luck with FedEx than either the USPS or UPS. In fact, UPS just completely lost the Voyage Air guitar that I ordered on New Year's Eve. It arrived at Secaucus NJ on the 4th, and just disappeared into the ether.

First time for everything I guess though...

 

[davismanLV]

Nothing scientific about this at all, but I've had far better luck with FedEx than either the USPS or UPS. In fact, UPS just completely lost the Voyage Air guitar that I ordered on New Year's Eve. It arrived at Secaucus NJ on the 4th, and just disappeared into the ether.

First time for everything I guess though...

Apparently a "travel guitar" that just decided to keep on traveling, Sandy?? :lol:

 

[taabru45]

They don't Call it a Voyage guitar for no reason. :lol: Steffan
Give us a rundown when it decides to settle down!

 

[twocorgis]

They don't Call it a Voyage guitar for no reason. :lol: Steffan
Give us a rundown when it decides to settle down!

I don't expect to see it anytime soon Steffan, or anytime at all, for that matter.

Next!

 

[geoguy]

A common cause of that type of disappearance, is when an old airbill is left on a package.

That errant guitar may have been scanned into the NJ facility on your airbill . . . but sent out to someplace other than its intended destination, after someone else subsequently scanned an old airbill on another side of the box.

And yes, that has happened to me. At least twice that I can recall, though both times were with FedEx and not UPS.

 

[adorshki]

I think it's our current culture of "get it done faster and cheaper." FEH!
Barbara

You forgot that the part about "Faster and cheaper on a mobile app"
:evil:

 

[Scratch]

I was a FedEx fan until two years ago. IMO, something has changed for the worst in terms of their business practices. It could well be that they've gone to contract drivers now; that would make sense in terms of accountability. All I know is that I've noticed a distinct change in their service. These days, I'd charcterize FexEx as as late, careless and impersonal. Never thought I'd say this, but I'd choose UPS or USPS any day.

 

[chazmo]

Hey, Sandy, did you ever see the Voyage Air guys on "Shark Tank?"

 

[twocorgis]

Hey, Sandy, did you ever see the Voyage Air guys on "Shark Tank?"

Never did, Chaz. Might have to see if I can find it somewhere!

 

[adorshki]

I was a FedEx fan until two years ago. IMO, something has changed for the worst in terms of their business practices. It could well be that they've gone to contract drivers now; that would make sense in terms of accountability. All I know is that I've noticed a distinct change in their service. These days, I'd charcterize FexEx as as late, careless and impersonal. Never thought I'd say this, but I'd choose UPS or USPS any day.

I don't think they're all contract drivers, I think we're seeing a difference in standards between the fed-ex owned fleet and the "franchised" outlets.
This link gives some insights, essentially it appears that "FedEx" is all company owned and "FedEx Ground" are franchisees:
https://smallbusinessonlinecommunity.ba ... read/20850
It sounds like the problems are coming from the franchisees, a common issue in that kind of business model.
Franchisees are all too often tempted to cut corners at the expense of the coporate reputation. The irony is that it's precisely that reputation which gives their franchise any value at all and which they're paying for to display the logo.
Basically a franchisor has to prove breach of contract somwhere to yank a franchise.
Read between those lines.
Let alone the union issues brought up in that link. :wink:

 

[FNG]

I was a FedEx fan until two years ago. IMO, something has changed for the worst in terms of their business practices. It could well be that they've gone to contract drivers now; that would make sense in terms of accountability. All I know is that I've noticed a distinct change in their service. These days, I'd charcterize FexEx as as late, careless and impersonal. Never thought I'd say this, but I'd choose UPS or USPS any day.

FedEx has had to go with contract drivers to hold off the Teamsters and to avoid falling under certain labor law similar to UPS.

I've had real good luck with their store front retail centers.

Edit...looks like adorski beat me to it.

 

[killdeer43]

The best bet is to ship a guitar to an authorized FedEx retail center, and then go and pick it up. It's a lot cheaper, your guitar doesn't sit on a truck or on your front porch, and it avoids extra handling by some contract guy.

That's what I do with a shipment that has any value (maybe a Guild guitar!), regardless of the carrier.
I was away when the D25 came in just recently, but it was held at FedEx until I could get it. Only way to go, IMO. :wink:

Joe

 

[bluesypicky]

The best bet is to ship a guitar to an authorized FedEx retail center, and then go and pick it up. It's a lot cheaper, your guitar doesn't sit on a truck or on your front porch, and it avoids extra handling by some contract guy.

That's what I do with a shipment that has any value (maybe a Guild guitar!), regardless of the carrier.
I was away when the D25 came in just recently, but it was held at FedEx until I could get it. Only way to go, IMO. :wink: Joe

Here ya go!
That's how I'm handling it, and I always request the seller to ship Fedex for that reason alone...
The latest one to get to me this way is my custom shop M70. She was nicely waiting for my loving arms to grab her in a comfortably air conditioned Fedex retail center (there's one 10mns from my home). Can't beat that.
And to top if off, it's free.... last time I checked UPS charged $10 for the same service!
Go Fedex!!! :mrgreen:

Next topic! :lol:

 

[Scratch]

The best bet is to ship a guitar to an authorized FedEx retail center, and then go and pick it up. It's a lot cheaper, your guitar doesn't sit on a truck or on your front porch, and it avoids extra handling by some contract guy.

That's what I do with a shipment that has any value (maybe a Guild guitar!), regardless of the carrier.
I was away when the D25 came in just recently, but it was held at FedEx until I could get it. Only way to go, IMO. :wink:

Joe

I'd probably use that option if I lived closer to an authorized center, but that would be a 100 mile round trip. Probably worth it; however, if it was a nice guitar or a high value item...