Sad, not funny...it happens...

blacknproud · 11-05-2007, 09:25 AM

Something we all should consider this would suck if it happened to you or I, although look at the way they cram those boxes in our hubs etc...

My toddlers Christmas ruined by Toys R Us, Amazon.com, United Parcel Service and Federal Express

My name is Dana McDermott, I am the mother of a 20 month old girl. On the 18th of December, my mother ordered my daughter a junior baby grand piano, in which Toys R Us was unable to make the order a Rexpress order due to the fact that they were using gift cards. They were transferred to Amazon.com to order this item and it was to be shipped UPS, and to arrive on the 21st. When I didn't receive the item I called Amazon.com the next day in order to get the tracking number. Once I received the Tracking number, I went to UPS.com to track the item. On the tracking page it told me that the package was received in Georgia on the 20th with nothing inside. I was devastated, and extremely angry. I called UPS back and spoke to a gentleman who told me that in his system it said that the item was damaged beyond repair and it was under investigation. I would like to know why you need to investigate the damage of an item, I don't believe it was damaged, I believe someone wanted a free gift for their child. This is not the half of it though, I then called Amazon.com back, I spoke to a very nice gentleman whom I will call JP. I am not going to disclose his name. When I spoke with JP he was able to set up another delivery of the same item free of charge that was to be shipped via overnight. He was extremely helpful and apologized profusely for the mishap. This item was shipped out on the 22nd, and was to arrive on the 23rd. When I did not receive it last night, I got worried. I was able to get the tracking number to track it and it was said to have been in Memphis TN on the 23rd at 1203 am. I then called Federal Express to find out why it had not reached my home yet. I was told by the representative that it had missed the flight and would be sent out promptly on the next flight. I am still wondering at this time how it could miss a flight to Florida when I am sure there is more than one per day. I then asked if he could have someone call me to let me know it had left the for its destination. At 1040 pm I received a call from 901-344-0401, this was FedEx calling me back. I had missed the call and tried to call it back. When I called it back the message told me that a FedEx representative was trying to reach me and was unsuccessful, and that they would be calling me back shortly. I have voice mail for a reason, but I guess they don't want to leave you a voice mail saying "I'm sorry that we have ruined your daughters Christmas, we cant seem to find the item that was shipped to her, we have the box but the item is not here". At this point I am hoping that someone can get to the bottom of this. It's not only bad that the item didn't get here the SECOND time. But now, my parents will have to wait 30 days for a refund and Christmas is tomorrow! And to top it all off, the package my mom sent out via FedEx on the 17th, still has not shown up and it was guaranteed by the 23rd. It is 930 pm and I am really angry and also to the point of crying. Please reply back if you can, I want to know that someone will take a closer look into this.

Last year, I believe...does it really matter when?
Ship early peak blows!!!

over9five · 11-05-2007, 09:37 AM

Sounds to me like the item is not packaged very well....

upsgrunt · 11-05-2007, 10:28 AM

Do you really think we are set up to transport baby grand pianos, plasma TV's, and furniture? These items are simply too big, too heavy, and get handled too many times for our system. I know I wouldn't want UPS to handle MY plasma TV!

traveler · 11-05-2007, 11:54 AM

I could be wrong but I seem to remember reading this exact story a year or two ago...

Cheryl, is there any way to check the archives with a search?

Does anyone else think it might be the mother who was deviststed, not the 20 month old toddler? :confused1

scratch · 11-05-2007, 12:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by traveler

Does anyone else think it might be the mother who was deviststed, not the 20 month old toddler? :confused1

Not only that, but why wait a week before Christmas to order something needed so bad? Every year somebody will post a similar story about how their Christmas was ruined because they waited till the last minute and didn't get it on time. Poor planning, they should take some responsibility.

outamyway · 11-05-2007, 12:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by upsgrunt

Do you really think we are set up to transport baby grand pianos, plasma TV's, and furniture? These items are simply too big, too heavy, and get handled too many times for our system. I know I wouldn't want UPS to handle MY plasma TV!

If people knew some of the things that go on in some hubs, they would not take the chance. I certainly don't.

ja4079 · 11-05-2007, 12:37 PM

traveler you hit the nail on the head!

browniehound · 11-05-2007, 12:57 PM

I simply have no sympathy for someone's "Christmas being ruined by UPS" Forget the fact that Christmas is a spirtual holiday and the idea of it being ruined by the non-reciept of a material item blows my mind:confused1.

I would never allow the happiness of my child rest in the hands of a third party. Even if that third party is the company that will be making 20+ million people happy with the reciept of their packages on December 23rd.

If the company is delivering 20 million packages on December 23rd on time, there are going to be tens of thousands of people not recieving their package due to service failures. This is a small percentage that the company makes smaller each year.

So, to you bitter people(yes, I'm talking to you. the person that wrote 1000 words about their lost parcel???), that insist on sending junior his gift at the last minute, don't blame UPS, blame the person in the mirror. People make mistakes. UPS employs over 400,000 people. Those 400,000 people are going to make mistakes, especially around the Christmas rush.

I'm sorry if your parcel gets lost, but if you and your son's happiness at Christmas depends on the reciept of a material object you are missing the true meaning of Christmas.

I myself am not a religous person. I just love Christmas for the way it changes people's spirits. And that is what Chritmas is about.

Pollocknbrown · 11-05-2007, 01:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by browniehound

I simply have no sympathy for someone's "Christmas being ruined by UPS" Forget the fact that Christmas is a spirtual holiday and the idea of it being ruined by the non-reciept of a material item blows my mind:confused1.

I would never allow the happiness of my child rest in the hands of a third party. Even if that third party is the company that will be making 20+ million people happy with the reciept of their packages on December 23rd.

If the company is delivering 20 million packages on December 23rd on time, there are going to be tens of thousands of people not recieving their package due to service failures. This is a small percentage that the company makes smaller each year.

So, to you bitter people(yes, I'm talking to you. the person that wrote 1000 words about their lost parcel???), that insist on sending junior his gift at the last minute, don't blame UPS, blame the person in the mirror. People make mistakes. UPS employs over 400,000 people. Those 400,000 people are going to make mistakes, especially around the Christmas rush.

I'm sorry if your parcel gets lost, but if you and your son's happiness at Christmas depends on the reciept of a material object you are missing the true meaning of Christmas.

I myself am not a religous person. I just love Christmas for the way it changes people's spirits. And that is what Chritmas is about.

Amen

Harley Rider · 11-05-2007, 04:25 PM

This will be my 24th peak season to work and I have never understood why the biggest majority of people wait until the last week to send their stuff. Then they want to blame everyone else except the real culprit......... themselves.

One reason we have so many damages these days is this big heavy crap that UPS decided they needed the revenue from. But at the same time they have done little to fix our loading and unloading process to keep the damages down. Most of the buildings and machinery in use today were not built to handle the weight and size of the packages we are handling today.

Then you have the shippers that have absolutely no idea how to pack a package for cross country delivery. We get a ton of stuff from Office Depot of one truck every day. Lots of times they have to have someone just taping their packages when they come off the truck. I have never seen a shipper pack so poorly in all my years.

Jack4343 · 11-05-2007, 05:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blacknproud

I called UPS back and spoke to a gentleman who told me that in his system it said that the item was damaged beyond repair and it was under investigation. I would like to know why you need to investigate the damage of an item, I don't believe it was damaged, I believe someone wanted a free gift for their child.

This story is unfortunate but it's obviously written by someone that really has no earthly idea on how things go down in our hubs. Sure, someone stole it. They took the rather large baby grand piano walked right out of the building without anyone saying a word about it. Walked right by security, many, many managers as well as employees. I felt badly for the lady until that line I quoted above. Items get seperated from their boxes many times on a daily basis in each and every hub in UPSland. Sometimes they get matched up, sometimes they don't. It happens. Usually because of poor packaging but sometimes from mishandling. I hear these kinds of stories every peak. If not here (I've only been here for a couple of years), then I hear it from our center manager to guilt us into being better employees. Don't even get me started on that crap. I care because I take pride in my job. That's just how I am. Don't try to guilt me into it. Ok, end rant.

scratch · 11-05-2007, 07:27 PM

I just watched on the news where a woman is very upset with UPS and has a real reason to be. For some reason she shipped her mother's cremated remains at a UPS Store and they are missing. UPS only stated that it is an "ongoing investigation". I didn't catch why in the world she was shipping an urn.......

DS · 11-05-2007, 07:32 PM

In my opinion,ups screwed up big time allowing up to 150 lbs per package.Its great if you are sending an engine block but far too often its a much more delicate item that gets shipped without its original packaging.I've been in one area a long time and I always make sure my customers know if there is any apparent damages .I once had an expensive keyboard that had been wrapped in bubble wrap with corrugated carboard on top of that .It weighed about 90 lbs and when I picked it up,broken pieces of toggle switches were falling out of the cracks...the driver that picked it up must have felt it was easier to just take it instead of refusing to pick it up just to save time.I really feel bad for customers that order things and we screw up.As far as waiting to the last minute goes,if we cant live up to our commitments and deliver what we promise,then we shouldn't be making promises,we can't keep,especially at Christmastime.Anything over 70 lbs should be sent ups freight and be on a skid.

Jack4343 · 11-06-2007, 03:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by scratch

I just watched on the news where a woman is very upset with UPS and has a real reason to be. For some reason she shipped her mother's cremated remains at a UPS Store and they are missing. UPS only stated that it is an "ongoing investigation". I didn't catch why in the world she was shipping an urn.......

Saw the same story on the news last night. Personally, I think there is more to this story than what is being reported. We'll probably never know what actually happened. Here's the online story from WSB-TV in Atlanta...

Woman: UPS Lost Mom's Ashes

POSTED: 5:00 pm EST November 5, 2007
UPDATED: 5:33 pm EST November 5, 2007

ATLANTA -- A daughter who shipped her mother’s ashes via UPS said that when the box arrived her mother’s remains were nowhere to be found. Rachelle McIntosh blames UPS but they are pointing the finger right back at her.
McIntosh said she shipped her mother’s remains via UPS but when the urn carrying the ashes never arrived, she decided to file a police report.
“We lost Granny September 1 and now we lost her again,” said McIntosh. She blames shipping giant UPS for losing her mother’s ashes. Actually, she doesn’t think Cornelia Quigley’s cremated remains were lost, she thinks someone stole them.
“The worst thing is to think there is an individual that would steal something like this,” said McIntosh.
After her 84-year-old mother died, McIntosh planned a funeral service in New Jersey. She said she was told she couldn’t bring the urn on her flight so she went to a UPS store to ship it. “It was hard to mail my mother but I had no alternative,” said McIntosh.
She said employees at the store admired the urn, packed it and then it was on its way. A couple of days later, she said her niece received the package.
“She opened the box and it wasn’t there,” said McIntosh.
The package was 16 pounds when it left the store. McIntosh said her niece weighed it and it was only 5 pounds. The store owner, who contracts with the shipping giant, said the package was 16 pounds when it left his store and went to UPS to be shipped. He believes she staged the disappearance to collect the $1,000 in insurance that she purchased. McIntosh was irate when Channel 2 told her that.
“I have been violated and I have been violated by one of the largest corporations in the United States,” said McIntosh.
Channel 2 placed a call to UPS’ corporate office and they haven’t heard back yet. The store owner said if it showed that someone stole the urn McIntosh will get the $1,000. She said she doesn’t want the money, she wants her mom back.

The Brown Santa · 11-06-2007, 04:27 PM

TRU and Amazon use one piece of tape on the top seam, and don't put any packing material inside. It's a joke. :confused1

over9five · 11-07-2007, 08:40 AM

Listen, I have a wood stove...... I will be happy to Fedex her some ashes....

She never has to know the truth..........................

Pollocknbrown · 11-07-2007, 09:27 AM

That's mean, but hilarious, im tired of people blaming other people for their problems (a lost/ broken/ late delivered piano, missing ashes (who honestly does that), if the ashes meant that much to her she would have drove to NJ from GA. Hell i drove from buffalo the raleigh NC for a hockey game on a moments notice.....i think she can take some time to do that.

Griff · 11-07-2007, 06:17 PM

This isn't new and is very, very common. Last year I was accused to my face of this "ruining christmas" by several women. Amazon shipping retail boxes with huge pictures of what is inside, it made for some very unhappy mentally imbalanced mothers. One tracked me down in her enormous SUV and started complaining about how I ruined the surprise (delivered a ton of amazon stuff that was in retail boxes with pictures on the sides). This same woman told me, "more is coming, knock before you bring it out of the truck, ill let you know where to hide it and can you cover them with black trash bags?". My response to her led to a customer complaint, that's all I'm gonna say. It blows my mind how people can be so self-centered and clueless. Ya lady, this truck was sent out on Dec 21st specifically for you and yours, no other packages are on it and I certainly don't care when I get home. It's no mystery to me why so many outsiders hate Americans, we are far too gluttonous and materialistic.

Big Babooba · 11-07-2007, 06:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jack4343

Saw the same story on the news last night. Personally, I think there is more to this story than what is being reported. We'll probably never know what actually happened. Here's the online story from WSB-TV in Atlanta...

Woman: UPS Lost Mom's Ashes

POSTED: 5:00 pm EST November 5, 2007
UPDATED: 5:33 pm EST November 5, 2007

ATLANTA -- A daughter who shipped her mother’s ashes via UPS said that when the box arrived her mother’s remains were nowhere to be found. Rachelle McIntosh blames UPS but they are pointing the finger right back at her.
McIntosh said she shipped her mother’s remains via UPS but when the urn carrying the ashes never arrived, she decided to file a police report.
“We lost Granny September 1 and now we lost her again,” said McIntosh. She blames shipping giant UPS for losing her mother’s ashes. Actually, she doesn’t think Cornelia Quigley’s cremated remains were lost, she thinks someone stole them.
“The worst thing is to think there is an individual that would steal something like this,” said McIntosh.
After her 84-year-old mother died, McIntosh planned a funeral service in New Jersey. She said she was told she couldn’t bring the urn on her flight so she went to a UPS store to ship it. “It was hard to mail my mother but I had no alternative,” said McIntosh.
She said employees at the store admired the urn, packed it and then it was on its way. A couple of days later, she said her niece received the package.
“She opened the box and it wasn’t there,” said McIntosh.
The package was 16 pounds when it left the store. McIntosh said her niece weighed it and it was only 5 pounds. The store owner, who contracts with the shipping giant, said the package was 16 pounds when it left his store and went to UPS to be shipped. He believes she staged the disappearance to collect the $1,000 in insurance that she purchased. McIntosh was irate when Channel 2 told her that.
“I have been violated and I have been violated by one of the largest corporations in the United States,” said McIntosh.
Channel 2 placed a call to UPS’ corporate office and they haven’t heard back yet. The store owner said if it showed that someone stole the urn McIntosh will get the $1,000. She said she doesn’t want the money, she wants her mom back.

According to the UPS Tariff, human remains are prohibited. Are ashes considered remains? I had a friend who was a supervisor for the Postal Service. He told me that they had somebody's ashes spill out of a pkg one night.
They swept up the ashes and refilled the urn. He said that he thought that the urn didn't look full enough. Then a coworker lit a cigar.