I hate Fed-Ex

[midna]

Ordered some coral from Mr. Coral and to no fault of his the coral arrived late. It was an obvious Fed-Ex screw up and they even sent a guy out in a van to deliver after Mr. Coral called and yelled at them. Most of my corals made it but my acans (which made up about 40% of the order cost) did not. Did my best to save them, many emails back and forth with Mr. Coral. Anyways, Mr. Coral has said Fed-Ex is denying the claim now.

 

This is the second time they have screwed up delivering things to me. The first time the delivery guy just left a note in our mailbox saying he tried to deliver (bs, watched all day anticipating the order).

 

I'm extremely frustrated as money is short and if I wanted to order dead coral I'd just go get pretty white rocks to put in my tank. Is there anything I can do, could have done, can do in the future?

 

Just want to be clear, this is not Mr. Corals fault .

[travisurfer]

[Jakesaw]

Just want to be clear, this is not Mr. Corals fault .

 

I hear ya.

 

But as the Consumer - purchasing from any retailer that sells via Fed Ex - IMHO - ultimately it's up to the vendor ( aka Mr Coral ) to make right when he's got an honest customer who got a bad delivery from him. I'm not saying Mr. Coral did anything wrong in your delivery - but as a cost of doing business - I'd think he would make it right assuming that you weren't the one who caused your coral to die.

 

If you paid via credit card - your credit card company will agree and charge back the account. Maybe you can strike a deal taht both of you agree makes each party happy - but if I were the consumer - I wouldn't eat it from Fed Ex screwing up a delivery.

[Splumph]

If I order livestock, I try to get the seller to send it without a signature confirmation (especially UPS...they don't even knock) I know this puts the seller at risk, but I have never had them refuse. I might start having livestock shipped to my workplace however, when I start purchasing more expensive things.

[midna]

In this case Fed-Ex never attempted delivery. It even said that on the tracking notice I got, keep in mind the tracking information didn't arrive until hours after the package had arrived, which itself arrived late....

 

jakesaw: I do agree with you, and had expected such a response. But I cannot fault Mr. Coral for not doing this.

[pismo_reefer]

if i was mr. coral i would be sending you new acans....jmo.

 

 

 

...and fedex has screwed me sooo many times. 2 live packages that they "attempted" to deliver (jus like w/ midna, they bs'd it), a 250watt mh...when it arrived the box was completely open the bulb was missing, the reflector had shoe-prints on it, and ithad obviously been used as a stool...many,many times....im w/ midna...f**k fedex!

 

edit: the box the light arrived in wasnt even the original shipping box.

[smarsh]

If I order livestock, I try to get the seller to send it without a signature confirmation (especially UPS...they don't even knock) I know this puts the seller at risk, but I have never had them refuse. I might start having livestock shipped to my workplace however, when I start purchasing more expensive things.

 

I always take off work or have it delivered to my job. many times I have requested that a vendor make sure to leave without signature and Fed EX just sends it back to the sorting facility. I had Miguel from Fraggle Reef on the phone and pissed and they had someone drive it out to me. Fed Ex said" We have our own policies and if the driver feels that the package is at risk, they will NOT leave it at your door". So I trust no shipper at this point and always make sure I am there to sign.

 

Since you never got tracking at all before the package was delivered, I would say FedEx had an error on their side and they need to make up for it. It may be up to Mr. Coral to follow through on this.

[jayhawk27]

I hate Fred-Ex too

[Splumph]

I don't know whos worse...fed-ex or the United Pulverization Service. I didn't like USPS at first because everything ended up at the PO, but then I started thinking about how nothing I ever got from them was damaged.

[Nanoized]

I don't know whos worse...fed-ex or the United Pulverization Service. I didn't like USPS at first because everything ended up at the PO, but then I started thinking about how nothing I ever got from them was damaged.

 

Living in Canada I very much dislike UPS. Fed Ex seems the better option here.

 

Andreas

[jayhawk27]

Yea, the Ultimate Package Smashers are not much better.

 

I don't know whos worse...fed-ex or the United Pulverization Service. I didn't like USPS at first because everything ended up at the PO, but then I started thinking about how nothing I ever got from them was damaged.

[Rocket]

Hey don't hate on fedex. If you have something fragile its best to send it Fedex. I'll break it if you ship it through UPS.

 

With that said. I still think Fedex is at fault. Any package handler is very protective of the packages they deal with. They have to be. It is not their stuff, it belongs to their customer. Their policies are to protect the package, not what is inside the package.

[revaltion131]

I agree with Rocket. Everybody rightly follows the CYA (cover your arse) policy for business ventures, even if they lie at times; I can't tell you how many times some of the people I work with lie to me about having done something they should have. That being said, I haven't had a bad experience with FedEx yet, and hopefully won't have one. If a company ships exclusively with FedEx, I would request that they have it held at their local holding facility, if there is one near you. That way, you can pick it up when its best for you and there's less risk of problems that might occur on the van to you. I can strap a package into the seatbelt in my passenger seat, the van driver's can't.

[creacom]

In Canada, at least in my experience, UPS will either lose or break your package. The few items that have been shipped up here by UPS (for me) from the States also come with an extra charge. I am not certain if that is for the effort they spent to break the contents without messing up the packaging, or if it is just random. I have had them ask $40 "brokerage fee" for a $30 item. Fed-Ex has always been on time, unharmed, and without extra fees. USPS and Canada Post have also been quite quick and reliable and again, no extra fees.

 

The one thing you can do with Fed-Ex is, once you have the tracking number, is phone your nearest depot and ask them to hold the package. I have done that a few times and they won't even attempt to deliver it but I can pick it up at the depot. The reason this is better is that, for example, they may try to deliver it at 13:00 when I am not home, but it won't return to the depot until after they close. You cannot pick it up until the next day if that happens. If they know I will pick it up, it just stays at the depot and I can get there before they close.

[IMaNoob]

I hear ya.

 

But as the Consumer - purchasing from any retailer that sells via Fed Ex - IMHO - ultimately it's up to the vendor ( aka Mr Coral ) to make right when he's got an honest customer who got a bad delivery from him. I'm not saying Mr. Coral did anything wrong in your delivery - but as a cost of doing business - I'd think he would make it right assuming that you weren't the one who caused your coral to die.

 

If you paid via credit card - your credit card company will agree and charge back the account. Maybe you can strike a deal taht both of you agree makes each party happy - but if I were the consumer - I wouldn't eat it from Fed Ex screwing up a delivery.

 

 

FYI do not do a charge back. For all of you whom do not own a business please understand what you are doing 1st. Talk w/ Mr. coral and see what you can work out. Businesses get hit w/ fees when customers dont care and just do a charge back before talking w/ owner 1st ....

[Rocket]

I used to work at UPS's main HUB - Harvey Distribution center. I can tell you the word Fragile does not apply. Speed is key. 1 person handles over 2000 packages an hour, and that package will travel on 62 miles of automated belts with flapper paddles to "shift" the package to where it needs to go. These paddles can develop up to 100 lbs of pushing force. They fall down Shoots (slides) up to 2 stories high and stop when they ram into another package.

 

Foam is your only hope if you want it to survive. I have seen people use wood frames in the interior of the box. That makes it worse. The wood breaks and shreds the box, spilling your contents on the belt.

 

 

I have tons more stories of package annihilation. I just wait for these shipping topics to come up to tell my story.

[Hungriee]

i hate FEDEX too.

 

I've been waiting on my octopus extreme skimmer which was suppose to be delivered last Friday. They keep attempting but B***SH***T, been home everyday waiting on it.

 

FEDEX sucks and can't deliver anything at all, I called each day to yell at the manager and hopefully they will deliver tomorrow with my street to street directions.

[Phullbrick]

Shipping living stuff is always very risky and not covered by policy, most of the shipping companies do not want it indeed.

 

I suggest you check the "Signature Release" option with you local FDX office and give them a permanent delivery without signature authorization (no POD required anymore). Link : http://www.fedex.com/us/customersupport/ex...tracking.html#5

 

Or may call FDX when you get the AWB details and arrange a delivery.

 

Finally, you can request a HAL, Hold at Location and get your package yourself at the nearest FDX station.

[midna]

I'm not going to do a charge back, I wouldn't feel right about doing that. I can almost understand denying the claim if Fed-Ex had even "attempted" delivery. But they didn't even attempt to deliver the package. Said right on the tracking thing that I got later "Delivery Not Attempted"...WTF was the point for paying for overnight than?! On the box it said that someone had forgot to scan it in. How can they deny it's their fault!?

 

It's true though, UPS destroys everything. My father got some lighting fixtures and they were smashed to bits, through about 4 layers of bubble wrap. Frickin sumo wrestlers must be hired to jump on the packages there.

 

USPS may be slow but I've also found everything arrives intact and on time. Hmmm.

 

I might start requesting that everyone just hold the packages at the local centers and I'll go pick them up. That seems like a great plan. I'll have to see how far away the centers are.

[Jakesaw]

jakesaw: I do agree with you, and had expected such a response. But I cannot fault Mr. Coral for not doing this.

 

Agreed,

 

It's not his fault - OR - your fault. It's Fed-Ex's fault. Since Fed Ex isn't honoring it's obligation - it falls on you or Mr Coral. Mr. Coral has to expect a certain percentage of his deliveries will fall in this category and factor it in his pricing model to decide if he wants to sell online. He is the one who selected Fed Ex - and it's his responsibility to get the funds from them when they screw up.

 

That's just one man's opinion. If I had a business that I wanted to survive - and relied on repeat business - I'd make sure to make it right. If I couldn't afford to do so - my prices are either too low - OR - I'm in the wrong business.

[Kigs]

How late did they deliver the package? I can't see the corals getting too affected over couple of hours, unless we're talking about several days here. Was it priority overnight or standard overnight?

 

FedEx has been pretty reliable for me with zero losses compared to UPS and USPS. Don't even get me started on DHL...sheesh.

[BustytheSnowMaam]

If the missed delivery wasn't due to weather, then Mr. Coral should be able to be credited by Fed-Ex for the shipping charges (livestock wouldn't be guaranteed). Fed-Ex does not guarantee on-time delivery in the event of bad weather. If you have evidence of a mis-scan though, they should credit back for the shipping fees. This is IME .

[Jakesaw]

FYI do not do a charge back. For all of you whom do not own a business please understand what you are doing 1st. Talk w/ Mr. coral and see what you can work out. Businesses get hit w/ fees when customers dont care and just do a charge back before talking w/ owner 1st ....

 

Thanks for the heads up - I didn't know that - and will make sure to use it judiciously in the future.

 

With that in mind though - it does give the customer leverage in resolving prickly issues. I have a friend who works at a credit processor - and it's my understanding that the benefit of the doubt almost always goes to the card holder.

[Sergeant-G]

I bought a large amount of coral from fraggle reef about two weeks ago and I was waiting on the package and thought to myself "they are never this late" so i got online and checked its status and it said delivered. I called fedex and they tracked it down, come to findout it was left on a porch a street over in 32 degree weather. When I told the lady on the phone what was in the package and how much it cost she hit the roof, needless to say my package was at my house an hour later but the driver dropped it on the porch knocked on the door,rang the doorbell and ran. All the corals lived and are growing but IMHO fedex cant be trusted

[midna]

It was shipped 11/10/2008 supposed to arrive by I think three the next day. Didn't arrive. Me and Mr. Coral were both confused as there was no notice from Fed-Ex. Got ahold of them and they said it would be there by 10 the day after... didn't happen. He finally called them again and this guy rushed out in a van and gave it to me that afternoon. The problem was that it was VERY cold overnight and that next day. Everything was extremely pissed off but it all came back except for the acans. One of the favia is still regrowing over the skeleton after it had receded from the ordeal, and I had to treat most of my zoas that contracted a fungus after this had happened probably due to stress since I got 2 frags of zoas in that order, lost one of my smaller frags since I didn't catch it quick enough.

 

Other than cold the weather was fine. I explained that the note about not being scanned in was written on the box, and I still have the box just in case, but apparently that doesn't make a difference. IDK.

 

Was it priority overnight or standard overnight?

not sure tbh, can't remember precisely which.

 

Seargant-G that really sucks, glad everything made it ok though.