F-N UPS (not quite a rant)

I went to the UPS store today to surprise some-one with a delivery of homebrew. I rarely ship UPS, at least since shipping for Grainger in the eighties. So I was quite surprised at the price, $36. Well, I thought, it's a solid package going halfway across the country. But it bothered me.
When I got home and put on my reading glasses to read the receipt (I know). I saw that $12.95 was charged for "Packing". WTF? So I called them. I was told that they decided if the package needed more packing, and charged the fee. WTF? I used to ship professionally for a Fortune 500 company, I know how to pack. The g.-d. thing was already packed. I didn't ask for another box, in fact I told the kid it was already double-boxed, with the contents wrapped individually in paper. And $13 to put something in a box? What's that, 99c for the box and $700 per hour for the labor? The nice girl on the phone, at whom I did not rant, said the boxes had already shipped, but next time I could specify that I didn't want it repacked. I told her there wouldn't be a next time.
Okay, maybe that qualifies as a rant

Yep UPS stores bring the suck.

I too used to ship for a very successful company and one time took a package to the UPS store and before I left I looked at the receipt and caught the same type of charge. I turned right around and asked for my package back and my money back. When asked why I stated that I more than adequately packed and did not appreciate them deciding to charge me without asking my approval.

I took it to the UPS depot and it arrived in excellent shape for a portion of the cost.

I think UPS is better suited for commercial applications. They should get out of the home delivery business. If they deliver while you are away, which is almost always, and it happens to require a signature they refuse to adjust the delivery time forcing you to go pick the package up. In the same situation fedex will drop it off at a nearby fedex store for your convenience. Not ups, they drop back at the regional warehouse for you requiring a good bit if effort to get your package and if you hassle them on the phone they will offer to deliver to a nearby ups store for $5 charge. Yeah, needless to say I only use UPS when there are no other options on an order and I also request that the company make more options available. IME USPS is by far the best for home delivery, and that is saying something for me to prefer a government service over the private sector.

Yeah, OP's a rant.

Bensiff said:

I think UPS is better suited for commercial applications. They should get out of the home delivery business. If they deliver while you are away, which is almost always, and it happens to require a signature they refuse to adjust the delivery time forcing you to go pick the package up. In the same situation fedex will drop it off at a nearby fedex store for your convenience. Not ups, they drop back at the regional warehouse for you requiring a good bit if effort to get your package and if you hassle them on the phone they will offer to deliver to a nearby ups store for $5 charge. Yeah, needless to say I only use UPS when there are no other options on an order and I also request that the company make more options available. IME USPS is by far the best for home delivery, and that is saying something for me to prefer a government service over the private sector.

Click to expand...

Just make sure you don't ship your beer usps.

That is brutal. Might have been lucky to check the receipt when you were a good distance away to avoid any vicious attacks.

UPS Stores are franchises. UPS acquired Mailboxes Etc back in the day. As with all franchises, some are good and others not so much.

Thanks Mike, but I've learned to control my temper. But it does help that people don't always know it!
Mb, I know it. I'll find another.

Edited

Doctor_M said:

Just make sure you don't ship your beer usps.

Click to expand...

Absolutely not, I only ship quality olive oil via USPS

I went to a FedEx location in the city to ship some beer. They had to add another box (my box wasn't right) but it was a reasonable cost all around. I had a few things, but the lady was helpful and the space was nice.

The next day I went to a UPS store a few blocks away to drop off a prepaid package, and it was the crappiest thing ever. Very run down, one person working with minimal English, 4% transaction fee for credit cards, two forms of ID for every transaction. Absolutely terrible. Despite the fact that one shoddy location does not reflect an entire corporation, it's enough that I will never go to UPS again.

IL1kebeer said:

What the hell do you expect, the store to pack it for free? There should be no surprises there... getting something packaged costs money pretty much anywhere you go. I don't know how you could have assumed it wasn't included in the cost. Furthermore, $12.00 is reasonable for something fragile like full beer bottles. If you have a problem with paying $12.00 for packing then pack it yourself.

Click to expand...

The OP clearly stated that the shipment was adequately packed and was not informed prior to being charged for additional packing. What the hell I would expect is to be told that I was being charged extra and why, before it occurred.

JohnSand said:

...... I saw that $12.95 was charged for "Packing". WTF? So I called them. I was told that they decided if the package needed more packing, and charged the fee. WTF? I used to ship professionally for a Fortune 500 company, I know how to pack. The g.-d. thing was already packed. I didn't ask for another box, in fact I told the kid it was already double-boxed, with the contents wrapped individually in paper.....

Click to expand...

raouliii said:

The OP clearly stated that the shipment was adequately packed and was not informed prior to being charged for additional packing. What the hell I would expect is to be told that I was being charged extra and why, before it occurred.

Click to expand...

I meant to say "If you have a problem with paying $12.00 for packing then pack it correctly yourself".

Anyway. I was out of line to take a shot at the OP in the first place.

Go to UPS' website and pay and print your own packing label and just drop off the package at your closest depot. I do that all the time, never had an issue.

Bensiff said:

Absolutely not, I only ship quality olive oil via USPS

Click to expand...

I wasn't really joking... isn't it a felony to do so? Your choice I suppose but I would not risk it.... not a felony count at least.

Bensiff said:

I think UPS is better suited for commercial applications. They should get out of the home delivery business. If they deliver while you are away, which is almost always, and it happens to require a signature they refuse to adjust the delivery time forcing you to go pick the package up. In the same situation fedex will drop it off at a nearby fedex store for your convenience. Not ups, they drop back at the regional warehouse for you requiring a good bit if effort to get your package and if you hassle them on the phone they will offer to deliver to a nearby ups store for $5 charge. Yeah, needless to say I only use UPS when there are no other options on an order and I also request that the company make more options available. IME USPS is by far the best for home delivery, and that is saying something for me to prefer a government service over the private sector.

Click to expand...

Really? Most of the time when I have something delivered, signature required, I find it sitting on my front doorstep, usually with the shippers name face front for all to see, exposed to the elements. Then when I go to check the tracking, it shows, "Delivered, MC Man" (which means, "met customer, man accepted")
Kind of awkward when a 4-foot by 2-foot by 1-foot box with "Gibson Guitars" prominently on the cardboard is sitting there.

Doctor_M said:

I wasn't really joking... isn't it a felony to do so? Your choice I suppose but I would not risk it.... not a felony count at least.

Click to expand...

They don't really care. A buddy of mine had a package of beer show up broken, so they knew very well what it was. They asked him to come get it. When he got there, they just told him that it wasn't legal and that most people are unaware of the fact. He took the loss on the spilled alcohol but that's about it. This isn't to say it's not a felony, but they don't seem to be too bothered by it (at least in this case).

DanH said:

They don't really care. A buddy of mine had a package of beer show up broken, so they knew very well what it was. They asked him to come get it. When he got there, they just told him that it wasn't legal and that most people are unaware of the fact. He took the loss on the spilled alcohol but that's about it. This isn't to say it's not a felony, but they don't seem to be too bothered by it (at least in this case).

Click to expand...

Ignorance is not a valid defense... I don't doubt most would turn the other way but a felony is a felony and not something I would be willing to risk. Just figured I'd mention it for anyone ignorant of the fact that it is a big no no. Shipping it via usps is breaking the law no matter how you want to look at it. Shipping it via ups or fedex is breaking their rules. There is a difference.

Doctor_M said:

I wasn't really joking... isn't it a felony to do so? Your choice I suppose but I would not risk it.... not a felony count at least.

Click to expand...

Smiley face meant I was joking. I never have shipped beer, I enter competitions that I can physically drop off because I'm too cheap to ship stuff and like the excuse to stay and have a beer when the drop off is at a brewery.

On the same note I don't know that it is a felony, that would be an absurdly high punishment...unless you are selling and then it may be tax evasion which is a different matter. Further, plenty of states say it is illegal to ship alcohol so in those states it is illegal no matter what carrier you use.

A lively thread, thanks for all the contributions. It made me feel better about the whole thing.

Yes, shipping costs inside the USA are very high...esp if you use a service like the UPS Store.

I import most of my ingredients to Guatemala and can ship cheaper from Miami to Guatemala than inside the USA (unless getting a special rate from a vendor like Amazon or Austin HBS.)

Like has been mentioned, the UPS stores are a franchise, they don't reflect on standard UPS practices. I work in a consulting engineering office, and as such, both UPS and FedEx stop at our office every day (UPS actually stops twice - once a little before noon, and again around 3:30) We print all of our own labels in-house, and do all of the packaging ourselves. The only "drawback" I have for personally shipping stuff through the office is you don't know exactly how much it's going to cost until UPS sends the bill for the entire account - then our accountant brings you the invoice for your package.

Of the delivery services shipping to my house, I prefer UPS over FedEx and USPS any day. A long time ago, on one of the little forms UPS sticks to your door when you miss a shipment, I was able to sign my name and then check a box for "Use this signature for all future deliveries", basically acknowledging that I'm rarely home when UPS comes, and to go ahead and leave the package. I have never had that option with FedEx, which leads to me printing out the package tracking page, circling the tracking number, and signing the bottom of the page with a note "Please use this signature for delivery of this package".

We have a regional option servicing a 7-state area (Dakotas, Nebraska, Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin) that is considerably cheaper, and FAST -- overnight most of the time. But the logic of their drivers leaves something to be desired sometimes. I used to be the chapter contact for our Pheasants Forever chapter, and on more than one occasion, came home from work to find our entire banquet merchandise order stacked neatly IN FRONT of my garage door. (Usually 7-8 boxes, each at least 2'x2'x2', some larger -- so the stack completely blocks the door) Or, if I left the walk-in door unlocked, stacked neatly just inside the door so you had to open the overhead door to get in.

Update: my beer arrived, some of it frozen! Not the shipper's fault, it's freakin' cold out there! I also got brew from my Secret Santa, and he included some world class craft brew!
Merry Christmas!