UPS has slowed down

Chris Allen Burke · Post by **Chris Allen Burke** » 13 Jul 2006 5:21 am

Has anyone noticed that UPS has slowed down their delivery time. By this I mean, the number of days it takes to ship an item from point A to B. Recently I purchased several different items from e-bay. From the time they were dropped off at UPS there has been (one of the items so far), no less than 7 tranfers. By that I mean 7 times it has been scaned in and out of a hub station. And I still don't have it! I went to the web site and could follow the routing and saw it was being trucked all over the country in a zig zag pattern as it made it's way from CT to CA. What should take 4-5 days has been 7 (working days)thus far. I have another coming from SC and I originally planed to be at home for delivery but if it's looking like they are doing the same, "hand it to the next guy" type of motion. I'm heading on the road for a short while and thought I had plenty of time to recieve both of them before I left. Now it looks like the 2nd one will not make it in time before I leave.
I look at the traking history on their web site and the item scans in then goes 200 miles and gets scaned in somewhere else, then sits there for 12hrs and moves to another location 400 miles closer then transferd again, and so on. My guess is they have too many little hubs. The packages get shuffeled off in a direction then realizing it's going to the wrong location, gets turned back, ... sort of.
Any other stories like this?

Tony Prior · Post by **Tony Prior** » 13 Jul 2006 6:59 am

Chris, Ca. is tuff for some of the carriers.

IT's really hard to say what happens but many times if the incoming truck is late to a HUB, the outgoing truck may have already left.

My experience for UPS shipping to Ca from NC is generally 5 days, when all other packages , regardless of what State, arrive in usually 3 days.

t

Jack Francis · Post by **Jack Francis** » 13 Jul 2006 7:21 am

I figgert it out..They can't find Signal Hill.

Where is Signal Hill?

Jim Eaton · Post by **Jim Eaton** » 13 Jul 2006 7:23 am

My recently purchased SD-12PP made it from VA to CA in just 3 days........"made it to CA" being the catch 22 in this trip.
It must have looked really tired to the UPS driver, because he took it to Palm Springs for a one day detour at the Spa, before it made it to me. It was well rested and looked great!
LOL JE:-)>

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Emmons D10PP 8/4 -75'
Emmons SD-12PP 3/4
Zum SD-12 5/5 - 91'
76'Session 400
86'Nashville 400
06'Nashville 112 x 2

Chris Allen Burke · Post by **Chris Allen Burke** » 13 Jul 2006 8:07 am

Signal Hill is just a small town of 9,000 bullish oil workers, one steel player and his family surrounded by 850,000 Long Beach hip hop want-ta-bes with BOOM-BOOM cars.
Why do I live here? Chickens! I have a enough property to put some space between me n' the mess, have a peaceful yard and nobody comes near my house when they see my ball crunching dog. Mmmmm, maybe the UPS guy is on his list.

CAB

A. J. Schobert · Post by **A. J. Schobert** » 13 Jul 2006 9:39 am

Chris alot of ups stuff is shipped by rail, it may look like your package is going out of the way when it is really priority freight, by that I mean they may reroute the train, or it may take a longer route so it would be on a 60 mph main, and thus be on time that doesn't always work, there are alot of things that come into the picture, problems with the track(broken rail) crew changes, work limits, or slow orders,curfew's etc. and this will add considerable delay to your package.

Gary Steele · Post by **Gary Steele** » 13 Jul 2006 9:49 am

Several people has told me they dont pay for things they damage also.
Thats kinda scarry.

Mike Archer · Post by **Mike Archer** » 13 Jul 2006 9:58 am

thats funny Chris!!
i loved the part about hip=hop wantabes
i been using ups a good while
they so far have done very well for me
but they do alter times a lot
i tried fed-x but they are way bad
at least when i used um
once i had a package make 4 trips from
kingsport to knoxville before they got it to me ...so much for fed-x

Roger Rettig · Post by **Roger Rettig** » 13 Jul 2006 1:13 pm

When Bud Vanderberg shipped my Mullen to me a few weeks back, UPS quoted five business days from Bradenton, FL to Medora, North Dakota.

I'm happy to report that it arrived - in perfect condition - a day early!

RR

Bill Hatcher · Post by **Bill Hatcher** » 13 Jul 2006 1:18 pm

FedEx.

John Daugherty · Post by **John Daugherty** » 14 Jul 2006 4:36 am

U.P.S. gives excellent service to my business. Fedex is slower than a Mule here. I had a package sceduled to arrive by Fedex last friday. It was delivered the next tuesday. This is normal for fedex in my locale.. only 4 days late.

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www.home.earthlink.net/~johnd37

John Daugherty · Post by **John Daugherty** » 14 Jul 2006 4:40 am

U.P.S. gives excellent service to my business. Fedex is slower than a Mule here. I had a package scheduled to arrive by Fedex last friday. It was delivered the next tuesday. This is normal for fedex in my locale.. only 4 days late.

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www.home.earthlink.net/~johnd37

Jack Francis · Post by **Jack Francis** » 14 Jul 2006 6:00 am

Thanx for the info on Signal Hill..i think those guy's brothers live here in Mesa...The other day I was at a stoplight and the guy next to me had that crap up so loud, my van was vibrating..I looked over expecting to see a "Gangsta" lookin; dude, and there sat a 16/17 year old pimply faced white kid that could'nt have weighed more than a hunnert lbs..he had a "DO-Rag' on and a baseball cap on top of that, pulled to the side and a look on his face that said "I'm the BADDEST dude in this here ghetto!" Ghettos of Mesa??

Chris Allen Burke · Post by **Chris Allen Burke** » 14 Jul 2006 8:27 am

I guess it's a reigonal thang. I had a UPS guy for 10 years and there was hardly ever an issue. He brought treats for my dogs and he was the only delivery to do so. That way my dogs were as happy to see him as I was.
I get great service from FedEx and in fact have an account with them for my biz. Rates are a little cheaper as well for the biz acct. However their billing dept. has got to be somewhere in another country. I always have issues. It's something I've resigned myself to just make regular calls and straighten out.
CAB

Curt Langston · Post by **Curt Langston** » 14 Jul 2006 8:40 am

When you take into account the millions of deliveries the four big shippers(UPS,DHL,FEDEX and USPS)do, it is nothing short of miraculous. It is when one of the few mistakes happen to our prized guitars, that we get ticked off.

Chris House · Post by **Chris House** » 14 Jul 2006 8:49 am

Hey Jack - I think I was behind you guys at that light! By the way that van was shakin', I just figured you were rockin' out with him. Been seeing him and a bunch of his wannabe buddies a lot more around our quaint little berg.....

Jim Sliff · Post by **Jim Sliff** » 14 Jul 2006 12:19 pm

"Several people has told me they dont pay for things they damage also.
Thats kinda scarry."

It's also wrong. If you package your item well you won't run into any problems with claims. It's packaging issues that cause every damage claim dispute I've ever read about. That includes INTERIOR parts of the packaging as well, not just padding the OUTSIDE - things like securing speakers, tubes, transformers etc.in amps.

Damage claims are a pain with every shipper if the packaging isn't done very carefully - and with the millions of packages all of them handle, it's a wonder there are not more claims!

Jon Zimmerman · Post by **Jon Zimmerman** » 16 Jul 2006 3:18 pm

I'm convinced they could damage an ANVIL no matter how well-packed --too many places for packages to go CLUNK in the night

Tony Prior · Post by **Tony Prior** » 17 Jul 2006 7:31 am

IF you take the time and have the awareness to pack items so that they will not get damaged, they won't.

I am convinced that if you let someone else ( UPS Store or one of those MAIL service stores) do the packing, you are in for big trouble.

Peanuts settle, probably to about 60% level in the box, but they started at 100%. It's more important to pack correctly inside the box than outside the box.

Most shippers, UPS included, do have a disclaimer on Electronics . DOUBLE boxed is the written rule.

Like Jim, I have never heard of a refused claim, but I do know that they will investigate large $$$ claims. I recall being told by one of the reps that years back, folks would ship a damaged item across town, claim that it was damaged in transit and file a claim for payment. Not a bad scam.

I am thinking those days are pretty much over, I hope so...

t

John Bechtel · Post by **John Bechtel** » 20 Jul 2006 10:56 pm

I just shipped a HUGE carton via. UPS measuring 48”x30”x8” & 14# from Nashville to Va. by regular~ground, on 07/18/06 & rec'd notice that it was delivered to it's destination on the afternoon of 07/20/06. Now that's FAST! It was only checked in, in Nashville after 2 pm. on 07/18!
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“Big John”
a.k.a. {Keoni Nui}
Current Equipment
[This message was edited by John Bechtel on 21 July 2006 at 12:00 AM.]

Jim Sliff · Post by **Jim Sliff** » 21 Jul 2006 4:08 am

"Most shippers, UPS included, do have a disclaimer on Electronics . DOUBLE boxed is the written rule."

Yep. Like Tony says there ARE packing rules, and also guidelines. Most people never read the stuff, pack an amp or heavy guitar in a box with peanuts or wrkled-up newspaper, write "this side up" on the box..and wonder why a corner was damaged, a speaker broke loose, etc.

Just for the heck of it, the list (again) of things to remember:

There is no "up". There is no "fragile". The machines that do 90% of the work can't read.

Assume your package will fall 6' onto hard concrete. Think of everything that could come loose, use hard foam in alll corners and pack assuming this WILL happen.

Double-box anything worth over $100.

With expensive items, package it but leave a flap open. Take it to the shipper's counter, pay the fees, and have them examine the packaging. They will sign off that it's Ok - of tell you if it's not.

Your local delivery person is wonderful, hides your stuff for you, takes special care, etc. Assume nobody else does, ever.

Do not leave handles exposed - you end up with far too little protection on that side (which will foul any insurance claims) and the handles often cause package jams on lines, with somebody's stuff taking a fall. Drivers like it, but everyone else hates it...and it will immediately negate any claims.

All this stuff is true with any of the shippers - UPS, FedEx, FedEx Ground (a different company than FedEx), Airborne, DHL, even the postal service.

Sidebar - The UPS Store does a terrible (and expensive) packing job as a rule...BUT, since they are a branch of UPS, if they do the packing they pay any resulting claims like a lucky slot machine. Personally, I won't use them - but if you're more worried about insurance than the item, use them.

Jerry Malvern · Post by **Jerry Malvern** » 21 Jul 2006 8:11 am

When shipping your guitar, it is best to leave the handle exposed, but wrap the handle in cardboard. It will not negate any claim. When I ship a guitar, I worry about the guitar, the handle, and UPS's conveyor system....in that order.

Mike Pace · Post by **Mike Pace** » 21 Jul 2006 5:50 pm

Actually, I shipped a guitar UPS ground from Connecticut to New Jersey 11:00 Thursday, and was pleasantly surprised to hear that it was in it's new owner's hands early Friday afternoon!!!!! That's unheard of!!!!!!

Jim Sliff · Post by **Jim Sliff** » 21 Jul 2006 6:48 pm

"It will not negate any claim."

If there's any damage to the side where the handle is exposed, they will justifiably claim that there was insufficient packing material in that location - which is required if the handle will be exposed. Your insurance claim is dead.

I've reviewed this thoroughly with UPS and FedEx. Tthey know a lot of people recommend it - but THEY don't, and for the reasons given. Obviously, some people don't believe it - fine, but I'm just trying to help you avoid known problems. Oddly, it's another one of those issues that was put to bed a ong time ago in the 6-sring world, but for some reason the myth still exists in the steel world.

Guys - pack the HOLE case - handle included. the only one who wants an exposed handle is the driver - and he's the LEAST of your worries![This message was edited by Jim Sliff on 21 July 2006 at 07:50 PM.]

Jerry Malvern · Post by **Jerry Malvern** » 22 Jul 2006 10:06 am

Having worked in the transportation industry for over 32 yearsm and the last two with UPS, and I can agree there are a lot of myths out there. Carriers will not knowingly pick up a potential claim, and instruct the drivers to deny service if the package appears not to be properly packaged. There is nothing in the UPS tariff to support Jims claim, but they do recommend using road cases as proper packing, exposed handles and all.