I am fairly certain that we all have horror stories regarding customer service but this one is a little bit different. It is different because I was trying to help someone else who failed to receive their package from UPS. That is due to the fact that the package was left at my front door in error. I thought that this should be a reasonably simple problem to solve but I was so wrong! The assistance that I thought would be helpful was also time sensitive as the package was 19 pounds of Omaha Steaks and was perishable.
It was Friday afternoon before the Labor Day holiday when I saw a large white Styrofoam cooler package on my front porch. The delivery person must have been in stealth mode because I heard nothing to indicate a delivery. Upon investigation the package was for a woman at another address than mine but there was some good news. Her name, address, and phone number was on the shipping label along with the tracking number. Good luck that the phone number was there so this should be a one- phone call intervention. Two hours later I had a different opinion. The following is mostly paraphrased so no quotations are necessary.
I called the telephone number and received that wonderful message that the mailbox was full, Goodbye! I tried several times and the name on the message was correct so it seemed that the best resolution was to contact UPS. That should be easy. Once again, I had discovered that this assumption was wrong. Now, bear in mind that I live within 10 miles of a UPS distribution center and several UPS stores and drop boxes. So, I called the distribution center and described the problem and an annoyed receptionist told me that they don’t do deliveries. Now, I have seen this facility and there are trucks being loaded 24/7 but they don’t do deliveries! She then terminated the call. Thanks!
So, I found a customer service number online at 1-800 PICKUPS and waited in a queue for 10 minutes. A laughing woman who almost spoke English answered while several other women in the background were apparently having a party and laughing as well. And, I had to wait for 10 minutes for my call to be answered. She asked me to read all of the information on the label and then simply said that she could not provide any information but that someone would call me within an hour! Tick, tick, tick!
About 45 minutes later a man called from UPS and repeated all of the information that I had already provided and advised that all of the drivers were done for the day and they could do nothing to pick up the package. So, I asked about either a courier service or a UPS employee to take up the slack. He countered with what about me delivering the package? I reminded him that I don’t work for UPS and that if I delivered the package I would be taking responsible for the contents. If it was spoiled or had been tampered with UPS was not involved with the delivery. I declined to take that responsibility! His response was that since Monday was a holiday the package would be picked up on Tuesday and returned to Omaha Steaks.
It is now Labor Day and the package is still here, probably spoiled, and the woman has most likely received an email saying that the package was delivered. If UPS failed to notify her she is probably a bit confused.
Now I am not necessarily calling out UPS for its unwillingness to remedy the problem in a timely way, but for the prices that it charges for shipping, I would have expected a better response. But this seems to be the strategy for many large companies and I guess that I should have expected what I received. But it is a sad commentary. I was just following Ellen’s closing comment, “be kind to one another”! I suspect that many companies have not seen the Ellen show…
It was Friday afternoon before the Labor Day holiday when I saw a large white Styrofoam cooler package on my front porch. The delivery person must have been in stealth mode because I heard nothing to indicate a delivery. Upon investigation the package was for a woman at another address than mine but there was some good news. Her name, address, and phone number was on the shipping label along with the tracking number. Good luck that the phone number was there so this should be a one- phone call intervention. Two hours later I had a different opinion. The following is mostly paraphrased so no quotations are necessary.
I called the telephone number and received that wonderful message that the mailbox was full, Goodbye! I tried several times and the name on the message was correct so it seemed that the best resolution was to contact UPS. That should be easy. Once again, I had discovered that this assumption was wrong. Now, bear in mind that I live within 10 miles of a UPS distribution center and several UPS stores and drop boxes. So, I called the distribution center and described the problem and an annoyed receptionist told me that they don’t do deliveries. Now, I have seen this facility and there are trucks being loaded 24/7 but they don’t do deliveries! She then terminated the call. Thanks!
So, I found a customer service number online at 1-800 PICKUPS and waited in a queue for 10 minutes. A laughing woman who almost spoke English answered while several other women in the background were apparently having a party and laughing as well. And, I had to wait for 10 minutes for my call to be answered. She asked me to read all of the information on the label and then simply said that she could not provide any information but that someone would call me within an hour! Tick, tick, tick!
About 45 minutes later a man called from UPS and repeated all of the information that I had already provided and advised that all of the drivers were done for the day and they could do nothing to pick up the package. So, I asked about either a courier service or a UPS employee to take up the slack. He countered with what about me delivering the package? I reminded him that I don’t work for UPS and that if I delivered the package I would be taking responsible for the contents. If it was spoiled or had been tampered with UPS was not involved with the delivery. I declined to take that responsibility! His response was that since Monday was a holiday the package would be picked up on Tuesday and returned to Omaha Steaks.
It is now Labor Day and the package is still here, probably spoiled, and the woman has most likely received an email saying that the package was delivered. If UPS failed to notify her she is probably a bit confused.
Now I am not necessarily calling out UPS for its unwillingness to remedy the problem in a timely way, but for the prices that it charges for shipping, I would have expected a better response. But this seems to be the strategy for many large companies and I guess that I should have expected what I received. But it is a sad commentary. I was just following Ellen’s closing comment, “be kind to one another”! I suspect that many companies have not seen the Ellen show…
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