OT - do NOT use FedEx

[rwhite692]

Our co. uses all of the major carriers (FedEx, DHL, UPS being the top three that we use) and in my experience, for air shipments, FedEx screws up the least of these.

FedEx air rates are the highest and they have been able to continue to charge the most, because their service level is consistently the best in the industry. No other carrier has close to the amount of infrastructure dedicated to the overnight / air service market.

Now, FedEx Ground is a different story, can be thought of like a different company, really. Their performance is not as good in the ground market, as UPS.

Obviously, even the guy with the best level of service is never going to be perfect.

Just my $.02

Rob

[byndbad914]

my real gripe here is how in the world does a company charge $128 to a credit card the day after a claim is filed, and NOBODY there can confirm what that charge is for???? That is what is killing me. Then tell me I have to file a claim with the credit card company for their charge!!

[OneTonK5]

Be grateful your not shipping anything perishable/living.

[rich-allen]

According to the fedex guy who delivers to my office everyday; If you use anything other than fedex overnight your looking for trouble.

Fedex ground is not actually fedex, ground services are subcontracted through different companies in each state.


That explains a lot.


Rich

[sledge33]

I worked for Fed Ex ground for 7 years and have seen it all.I havnt worked for
them for about 6 years.RPS was bought out by Fed EX about 10 years ago.That is how it is Fed Ex ground and Fed Ex express are really two seperate companies.They work together to go get business to have a ground and air service.Fed Ex ground drivers are independant contractors who own there own trucks and routes and Fed Ex contracts them.When i first started they were a very small company and couldnt keep up with packages very well but now from what im told every package is scanned anytime someone touches it but when i did work there i seen packages sit on the dock for days even months that nobody had a clue why or where it was supposed to go because of a lost label.

[va72mlibu]

Originally Posted by Garage Dog 65

Steve, that might be a good topic for a magazine since we ship/receive stuff all the time (little stuff all the way to engines, frames and entire cars). Types of shipping and some stats on performance, insurance, claims, that kinda stuff.

And Racer already gave you the lead in ....

I seriously doubt they could do that story. You're just asking for litigation by running that.

[Garage Dog 65]

Originally Posted by va72mlibu

I seriously doubt they could do that story. You're just asking for litigation by running that.

Wasn't suggesting Racers specific situation - just something generic like a 'shipping parts 101' kinda story. I don't ship stuff, and have always wondered what it would take to ship something like a full frame or a car, - and what the process would be if something got damaged. I received a C5 diff once that was damaged in shipping - but it was packed poorly by the shipper and was only packed in wads of newspaper. Broke 3 of the cooling fins off the bottom. Shipper wouldn't fix it stating rough handling by UPS - and UPS wouldn't fix it stating improper packing. I got to eat it ....

[byndbad914]

Originally Posted by sledge33

I worked for Fed Ex ground for 7 years and have seen it all.I havnt worked for
them for about 6 years.RPS was bought out by Fed EX about 10 years ago.That is how it is Fed Ex ground and Fed Ex express are really two seperate companies.They work together to go get business to have a ground and air service.Fed Ex ground drivers are independant contractors who own there own trucks and routes and Fed Ex contracts them.When i first started they were a very small company and couldnt keep up with packages very well but now from what im told every package is scanned anytime someone touches it but when i did work there i seen packages sit on the dock for days even months that nobody had a clue why or where it was supposed to go because of a lost label.

Rich and sledge both hit the topic about FE ground. I used RPS and UPS almost exclusively at one point at the hot rod shop, and used FE air only for international shipments. FE bought RPS and everything really fell apart then, so I only used UPS. It was FE Ground that lost the cylinder head I mention in the following text. BTW, these wheels were FE Air, Int'l Shipment from Canada, so FE Air can suck as well.

I copied from another thread describing my shipping experiences over the years FWIW to you guys...

strange circumstances. the reciept, with tracking number, should note the payment, method of, and the responsible party. they should be able to tell what shipment the extra charge you've incurred has been applied to.

Exactly... so the fact that five different departments now cannot tell me what that charge is (each dept sends me another cuz they must have levied the charge) tells me what a joke FedEx is.

Lose a part and can't tell me where it is... well, ya, cuz it is lost. Not be able to tell me why they billed my credit card money 2 weeks after the shipment but surprisingly enough the DAY AFTER my claim filing... BS. FedEx has and always will be a joke when they F up. I had them claim I must not have packaged the targa top right on the last claim! They lost it, basically never saw it, but claim I must not have packaged it well. I didn't realize packaging a certain way kept losses down That is why I swore them off before and why I wish I had asked Kodiak how they were shipping...

NEVER opt for just the basic insurance value. note what you consider the TRUE value of the item is. i usually pad the value a bit and note exactly what is in the box. "porsche 914 stainlesss steel heat exchangers" as an example. i tape the hell out of the boxes. they have to work at it if someone is going to get into them. buyer should (IS) be responsible for the added insurance costs. if something goes south, you're on the hook for YOUR part. not the buyer. i NEVER discard the bill of lading until i hear from the recipient. i NEVER use a generic drop/ship point. thay add on to the actual shipping on their end. i drive the extra distance and ship directly from a fedex wherehouse. this takes me an hour+ there and back. i've only had 1 item broken, 0 lost. the breakage was prob my fault due to what turned out to be insufficient packing on a rather delicate item.

This was also a problem on the targa roof. I insured the roof for an approximate replacement value. They wanted me to "prove" what it was worth, not just what I sold it to the guy for!!! If I sold it to someone, then guess what it was worth! And show me the catalogs with a price for a used targa roof. Took months of arguing and they gave me less than I sold it to the guy for. Screw FedEx, they suck arse and those who say they are great, your day is coming! They do a great job until they really screw up, but when they really screw up, it will take you months to get a sh!t sandwich in the end.

At the plywood company I worked for from 1989-1994 we only used UPS cuz FedEx sucked. Only used FedEx if the customer was dumb enough to request them. Couple years later between 1996-2000 at the hot rod shop, used both UPS and FedEx, had claims with both (that is inevitable) but FedEx F'd a claim all up that then cost us $2000 (one full race cylinder head full CNC ported LOST, but somehow became our fault apparently as we ended up not collecting the insurance we paid for). So forget them.

Sounds like Chicken Little, but I promise, use them long enough and your day will come. And no amount of insurance THAT YOU PAY FOR will fix it. Without stating hourly income, suffice it to say I have spent more than $128 in hours on the phone with those bass turds. That is what they want tho', they want you to give up. that is what FedEx does best... wear you down. They are far better at that than explaining where your money went, that is for sure.