UPS Delivery

[kerlin.livejournal.com]

Has anyone else had problems with UPS delivery?

We're in Winter Hill, and for the last few weeks UPS has been refusing to deliver *any* package without a signature in person. Given that my boyfriend and I both have full time jobs, and can't sit around all day waiting for packages to arrive, this means that some packages have been returned to the sellers.

We've tried calling UPS and giving explicit instructions to leave packages at the back, private door to our apartment; leaving notes (the most recent UPS slip was left on TOP of our note saying to leave the package at the back door); calling shippers and having them designate the package as no signature necessary.

The driver is leaving slips in which he crosses out the area on the back where we can sign, and where it says "the sender required a signature at the time of delivery" he's crossed out "the sender" and written "UPS." He's also underlined "at the time of delivery," and scribbled over the spot where we can check where to leave the package.

I've just called UPS AGAIN and in theory the Somerville distribution center will be calling me back at some point today. With our schedules it is extremely difficult to drive to the out-of-the-way distribution center and pick the packages up directly, but I'm going to reschedule some things and try to go in person tonight to explain to them in small words that they are in the business of delivering packages.

Does anyone else have any ideas? suggestions? similar problems?

(For the record FedEx delivers quite happily to the back door with a 100% success rate so far.)

Comments

[jadia.livejournal.com]

If none of this works, you can try getting deliveries at work instead.

[kerlin.livejournal.com]

Unfortunately, it's against company policy to have anything delivered at work. :(

[thetathx1138.livejournal.com]

If they leave the little sticker, I just sign it anyway and leave it up.

Odds are good some packages have been stolen in your neighborhood; we're getting to that time of year.

[talonvaki.livejournal.com]

It's against policy at both your companies?

Do you have a friend to whom the packages could be sent?

[kerlin.livejournal.com]

It is, yes. I just called and double checked with our shipping department, and the boyfriend has already checked with his.

I can get it sent elsewhere, but then I'd still have to drive and pick it up, which rather defeats the purpose of getting things delivered, and which I can't do until 10pm at the earliest most nights.

[ron_newman]

Any possibility that they rang the wrong bell, maybe because they couldn't read which bell belonged to which occupants? (I've done that plenty of times myself.)

[kerlin.livejournal.com]

He's completely scribbled out that area so that any signature we write in there would be illegible.

Maybe some things have been stolen, but our building is set up from the street, the front door is heavily shielded by bushes, and they are also ignoring instructions to bring things to the back door, where they could tuck it between the screen and storm door.

Don't get me started on UPS!

[miss-chance.livejournal.com]

As I understand it, UPS policy is that if a package goes missing the *driver* is held [to some degree?] liable. This is why a driver can opt not to leave a package regardless of what the sender or receiver want. If a lot of packages have been stolen in an area a driver has to protect him or herself from losing a paycheck or more.

I can see how this policy protects UPS from drivers keeping/selling boxes that look valuable, but it's mostly a case of placing the cost of business losses on the lowest, most vulnerable rung of the company ladder. (If they had this policy and also didn't allow the driver to decide when to leave the package or not, it would be even worse!)

UPS certainly deserves your ire, cranky-grams to the company, and refusal to do business with them whenever there is another option, but just to be clear, the driver is in a really screwed position here.

Really all you can do is get them to hold your package at the facility over on First Street (behind the Holiday Inn behind Union Square) and go over there sometime that's incredibly inconvenient. The hours of their customer-pick-up-window are something horrible like 7am to 9am and 3pm to 5pm; but it's really hard to get the actual hours out of them because they won't give you the direct phone-number of any location. It sucks.

For future issues, there are many retail-store that will act as delivery locations. Tags in Porter doesn't sound convenient to Winter Hill... maybe the Davis UPS store isn't so very bad for you? You can set up a delivery account with them and they receive your packages for you and you can pick them up during business hours. That won't help with the one that's currently on the lam, but I'd suggest finding a location for that for future UPS shipments for a while.

I'm pretty sure UPS believes themselves to be in the business of collecting money from people who have packages to ship. They do this by *usually* delivering packages, but not bothering to try to be too reliable when it's too inconvenient to them.

[ask me about "virtual tracking" some time. No wait, it's the Internet! I'll just rant now because I feel like it! Turns out they don't really "scan" your packages into and out of locations at all. They do what they call a "virtual scan" which means they put into the tracking system where your package would be if it had moved as planned. It would be like if you had three connecting flights and they said you were on the next plane when clearly you had missed it. You can watch the tracking of a package that's allegedly moving across the country only to discover a week later after a *lot* of phone calls, that it's still in a warehouse in North Dakota.]

[pierceheart.livejournal.com]

No possibility - the note was attached to my mail box, right below my bell, and the printed name plate.

He walked up slapped the note on the box, and left.

I started using FedEx after that, or having stuff delivered to work.

[redcolumbine.livejournal.com]

I think UPS in general has changed policy recently. I have a box at the UPS Store, and when I got a package that didn't fit, they used to just put a slip in the box that I had an oversize package; if I called ahead of time they'd put a key in my box for one of the overnight drop boxes (I pay extra for 24/7 access).

Now, however, they put a slip requesting a signature. I pointed out to them that I'm not going to sign for a package I haven't got yet (I don't think they pay very much) so now they just put the signature slip in the drop box with the package, if I remember to call.

Short version - I suspect they've had too many packages disappear in general, and aren't handing anything over without a signature.

[miss-chance.livejournal.com]

The UPS Store is a semi-autonomous franchise. The guy who owned the Davis one had been looking to sell since last January; maybe he found a buyer and this is the new owner's policy.

[emcicle.livejournal.com]

I have had this happen many times as well, here in Davis. (not recently, but in the past few years for sure)

[pierceheart.livejournal.com]

and aren't handing anything over without a signature.

If so, they need to change the options they allows shippers to choose between - tell shippers and receivers, flat out - NO delivery without signature at time of delivery.

Change their webpage, change their slips.

Announce the policy.

[kerlin.livejournal.com]

Short version - I suspect they've had too many packages disappear in general, and aren't handing anything over without a signature.

So basically, they've given up on being a delivery service? Because honestly, what percentage of the world can afford to sit around for 12 hours keeping an eagle eye on the front door, repeatedly, for every package they order online?

If they would pay attention to our notes WITH signatures that say to leave the packages, this wouldn't be a problem, but they're ignoring those, too.

[closetalker11.livejournal.com]

In short, UPS sucks. Encourage folks to use FedEx and the USPS. I avoid UPS at all costs, myself.

Re: Don't get me started on UPS!

[kerlin.livejournal.com]

None of the pickup locations are convenient to me. I have a full time job, am in grad school, and I drive to Rhode Island most nights to ride my horse. I don't get home before 9pm at the earliest on weekdays, usually closer to 10. Ordering things online and having them delivered to me is the ONLY way I can buy 95% of the things in my life.

It's gone beyond frustrating into the realm of absurdity.

[perspicuity.livejournal.com]

i've had the frequently happen with late [substitute] drivers who need to make up time ... and then went and chased the guy down on foot or bicycle while he was still in range "uhm, hi, i was sitting on the second story porch waiting for you and you didn't ring the buzzer" -- "yes i did" -- "sure. gimme." call the main office is a great way to get a new driver fast :P

my regular guy KNOWS what to do, and worst case, will leave it with "the ladies" at least.

biggest hassles are with the USPS folx, who sometimes don't want to be hauling too many boxes ;) [go pick'em up you punk]

#

[lizzielizzie.livejournal.com]

Does your building have multiple units and a common front door? I was told by UPS that they would not leave a package w/o signature (even on the slip) in such a building. Thankfully for me I lived in the same town as the distro center and they had late pickup hours.

Sounds like you'll have to resort to USPS or FedEx in the future. :-(

[skate97.livejournal.com]

Nah, they do this a lot. My in-laws live in a building where there's a channel they can watch on tv that shows the front door, so you can see when visitors are coming. My brother in law works from home, and watches to see when UPS comes with packages, because they come, put up notices that they attempted delivery on every mailbox that has a package, don't ring any bells, then leave. Because they find it annoying to ring multiple bells in an apartment complex to deliver packages. Not that that's their job or anything.

[kerlin.livejournal.com]

It does, but the killer is things got delivered just fine to the back (private) door until about three weeks ago. They switched drivers, apparently, and the new one has decided to be an asshole and ignore our instructions to go to that back door.

Love the UPS man

[smoterh.livejournal.com]

Treating others nicely that make my life a little difficult is often against my very nature but I often found that when you develop a relationship with someone by doing unusually nice things, people respond and eventually reciprocate.

[skate97.livejournal.com]

I'm glad they brought your stuff back. This happens to my in-laws all the time, in their apartment complex. The driver always says he attempts but never rings the bell, and when they call UPS to complain, they always say the driver says he rang the bell and that he can't go back because it will mess up the schedule. Even though they can WATCH THE FRONT DOOR on tv and know he never rings the bell.

We use them for work deliveries a lot, and they get really upset when we have an event and need to ship a lot of packages. Meh.

[badseed1980.livejournal.com]

Same here. UPS nearly drove me to a nervous breakdown one fateful New Year's Eve because they fucked up a delivery for my evil boss that need to be there that day OR ELSE.

[icecreamempress.livejournal.com]

You might hire someone to receive packages for you through a service like TaskRabbit.com or Tillingers.com?

[chumbolly.livejournal.com]

Before you assume your new driver is an asshole, consider the following: a few years back just before my wife and I got married, we'd receive a pretty constant stream of gifts via UPS. Our very nice driver told us that if we'd leave a signed note asking him to leave all packages he would do that, saving us the trouble of having to go pick up missed packages at the distribution center or the wait for re-delivery. Turned out, this nice driver was fired specifically for doing this--I know because the driver wrote to us asking for help getting his job back and I found out UPS had taken pictures of the packages left at our house. Incidentally, I wrote to UPS and the driver got his job back.

The fact is a large number of packages are stolen in Somerville (my yard has collected several UPS boxes that have been torn open and emptied, or the contents left strewn in our yard if they are not easily Craigslist-able), and it very well may be the case that your prior driver had too high of a loss rate, was investigated, and was fired; hence, your new driver, and his or her refusal to leave packages. My guess (just a guess) is that the new driver is not an asshole but rather UPS has decided that under no circumstances will it leave an unattended package in your neighborhood, and the driver would like to stay employed. Thank the petty criminal meth-heads for this state of affairs.