ive never had any problem with ups delivering the package on time or losing a package however when they managed to break metal pieces off of a b16 head i shipped, it was 8 long weeks before they finally admited fault and sent the check. (im sure some of you heard of this drama in one of the many threads my self or robstunner made)

getting that check was no easy feat and in the future, if i am shipping anything heavy or breakable, i am going to overlook UPS and take my package to FedEX, im told their claims department is much better and they break less shit.

for all of the trouble i went through shipping that head, i could have driven it the 13 hours to chicago and personally delivered it. had the claim been for less than 100$, instead of the $431 it was, i would have likely cut the check from my own acct, and told ups to fk off. unfortunately, that is probably exactly what they wanted me to do.

ive been told by somebody that works at UPS that they are told to not worry about anything but moving that package along quickly. he told me that if the box breaks open, pick up as much of the contents as you can and retape the box, sending it along. he said they arent told to be cautious or gentle with the boxes. hearing that, i was pretty disgusted.

 

That is not true. at least at our HUB. Every employee is told to handle the package properly as if it were their own possible package. And to go Hand to surface with each package. That means no throwing, tossing, dropping. Of course there is the exception who doesnt care what the rules are.
As far as packages that break open, we tell everyone to Grab as much as they can and put it in a tote. After going in a tote we send the tote to Rewrap to Tape the box up as best as possible. Alot of times it is impossible to grab everything that could have come out of a package. Companies ship catalogs, blank paper, Nuts and bolts, Huge Boxes of Pens and other items that are impossible to get every piece of. WE cant stop 75,000 plus packages in order to pick up tiny items.
Again many of these problems are caused due to poor packing Jobs by the shipper.

 

That really does not explain why some nob sucker stole shit from my shipment. a Fork that is nearly 30 inches long MIA im sure someone ran back to a locker with it other items in tow

 

For the first and third packages, they may be on a train, on the way to City of Industry CA, or Oakland CA. The trains don't move on weekends AFAIK, and it usually takes a few days to go cross-country on a train. If time is an issue, you may want to choose to expidite the package. Three day doesn't cost that much more. For the second packages, IDK if it was packed correctly, but more than 90% of damages like that are caused by poor packaging. Like somebody already said, that box is going to be traveling on conveyor belts, slides and chutes with boxes up to 70 lbs. The goods should be packed accordingly. Poor packaging will lead to goods being lost in belts/chutes/slides. Your best bet is to file a claim with UPS. It's most likely sitting in "overgoods" (unknown shipper/shipee, damages, lost items, etc) storage right now. If you file a claim, the package is traced to whatever centers/hubs it went thru and they look for it there.

Trust me, nobody wants to steal your 30" fork, let alone know what your 30" fork is for. Even if they did want to steal it, they couldn't get past the metal detector on the way out. Anything electronic or mechanical has to be cleared by security and management before it can leave the premisis. For this reason, we can't even bring cell phones, radios, etc into work.

 

the only shipping problems ive ever had are through fedex. sometimes the computer cases i receive are damaged/dented etc. luckily the damage is not enough to matter but still...

 

So very true. If anything should come from this thread, it's that people really need to learn how to properly package items they ship out. It's almost always the poorly packaged stuff that causes issues.
The same anti-theft measures were in place at the Oakland hub I worked at. Guard shack, metal detectors, no cell phones, checks going into and out of the building and all. Yet, a former coworker at my other job told me that her friends who work at UPS "steal hella shit". I didn't want to press further but unfortunately I wouldn't be surprised if there are ways that people are getting around the system. That said, I do think it's unprobable that they took the MTB fork and tires along with the other parts. Good luck with the claim though. I can understand how frustrating it can be.

 

You should tell them your USPS story. :chuckles:

 

i do tech support for DHL. i've done quite a bit of shipping with them too. as far as overseas, DHL > every other...but their domestic needs some improvement.

DHL has been around for as long as UPS, but they were only doing International. Couple years ago, they bought out Airborne Express. Airborne did only Domestic, so now DHL is learning the ropes. Given time, i think DHL will be used twice as much as UPS is today. The company is growing extremely fast.

 

I have never used DHL, but shoot I really don't have a problem with a shipping company as long as my stuff ain't broken or stolen. :happysad:

 

I prefer DHL. With DHL orders are arriving earlier then they are suppose to which is a plus. But they charge $1.75 for residential delivery and $1.75 for over size packages which I don't like.