ArcherUTR
Well-Known Member
Can someone please explain brokerage fees to me?
Customers that tick you off when it comes to COD
- Thread starter Scuderia1
- Start date
Can someone please explain brokerage fees to me?
soberups
Pees in the brown Koolaid
If the discrepancy is less than.99 then the COD will go thru anyway without being corrected and it is pointless to make the customer get a new money order. Same thing if its off by more than .99 but in the shipper's favor. It isnt worth our time to be making 2nd attempts on small discrepancies.
oldngray
nowhere special
Not really. Its complicated but all you really should need to explain to the customer that its a fee to a division of UPS acting as a customs broker that does the paperwork and handles the import fees. Mostly the charge is import fees plus a service charge to UPS. That money is above the amount the customer paid for the merchandise so they get confused about it. The shipper usually won't know the exact amount until after shipment when the fees are calculated at the country it is imported to. Most shippers have an account number that can be billed so the package won't be COD, but not always.
Johney
Well-Known Member
If that's what they tell you to do I guess that works, however that wouldn't fly around here. Here it's deliver the 9, NM1,2,3 the COD then still no check? RTS. I just think adding a COD to a package when one wasn't there is asking for problems(for the shipper)later. Funny, different area, different procedure.
oldngray
nowhere special
I agree. Adding that bogus COD on the other packages might lead to a billing correction charging the customer a COD fee for every package. And it doesn't matter if a package says 1 of 1 or 1 of 10, all that the system sees as a COD is the package with a COD tag. If the customer wants to make them all COD then put a COD tag on everything and pay UPS the charges for doing so.
soberups
Pees in the brown Koolaid
Sounds crazy but COD's were actually easier when we accepted cash. I used to deliver to a couple of "tienda" Mexican stores that got a lot of COD's, and by the time I had the boxes wheeled in the owners would have a pile of cash and a calculator on the counter, ready to do business. Even the language barrier was no problem. They didnt order stuff until they had cash on hand to pay for it, never argued about price, just added everything up and paid for it. I could be in and out of there in under 5 minutes with 7 or 8 COD's and $2k in cash in hand.
oldngray
nowhere special
That reminds me of some of the Asian stores that would always have thousands of dollars in cash stuffed into paper sacks under the counter.
728ups
All Trash No Trailer
I had the same type of Customer . I spoke no Spanish but very quickly learned how to say Hundred or Thousand in spanish
Johney
Well-Known Member
I always hated CASH for COD's. Early in my career delivering to the flea markets in the not so good area's and being handed a pile of cash from a customer in front of some shady characters. Wondering if I'd make it out the door and back to the truck. Asking the Po-Po standing by the entrance to please make sure I at least get to the truck and leave.
oldngray
nowhere special
There always be a-holes you couldn't trust who who try to shortchange you. And any shortage came out of your pocket. What are the odds of you ending up with too much cash at end of day vs short? And even though I counted money on route it might take 5 or 10 minutes counting money when you were doing check in if you had a lot of small bills.
soberups
Pees in the brown Koolaid
My customer just had a calculator on the counter. I would peel off the tags, line them up, add up the amounts with the calculator and show her the total. She would then do the same thing and if our totals matched she peeled off the cash and I was outta there with no haggling or arguing. Her English was poor, my Spanish was worse, but we both did math just fine.
upschuck
Well-Known Member
To the best of my knowledge, those are fees for getting the package through customs. A shipper can request adifferent brokerage house to clear customs, and we wouldn't charge anything. UPS also pays any taxes on the shipment, which is also included in the amount owed.
728ups
All Trash No Trailer
When the Fair came to town the Carnies were bad about wanting to pay COD's with bags of change,and me being young and dumb would count out $200 worth of quarters to make sure the money was right instead of insisting i get paid in paper
I also had a few customers that would pay me,then call a complaint saying I had over charged them and they wanted me to come back and "make things right" . Cash was nothing more than a big PITA
I wouldn't do that because it changes your time allowance for the stop, ie, stealing time
CHALLY9TX
Well-Known Member
CHALLY9TX
Well-Known Member
oldngray
nowhere special
That is correct. Less than a dollar difference you are supposed to take the check/money order. Its not worth UPS' time to make another attempt for that small a difference.
oldngray
nowhere special
And the COD check can be any amount over - not just a dollar. The customer just won't get change. Sometimes the shipper will give the customer a credit on their next order, but if the customer says take the check even knowing they may be over paying, you take the check. The check can't be more than a dollar under though.
Johney
Well-Known Member
I have turned in M/O & Cert check a few times that were a $1 or less off and never heard a word about it.
soberups
Pees in the brown Koolaid
I could never get the hang of numbers but my customer wound up teaching me a little "UPS survival Spanish" that comes in really handy sometimes, I can ask for a signature and ask soneone what their last name is and say please, thank you, have a nice day etc.
When we stopped taking cash this customer would have checks already made out to the shipper with the numerical amount, but her English wasnt good enough to spell out the entire amount so she would leave that line blank and I would fill it in for her. Nice lady, she ran a good little business and was a lot easier to deal with than most other COD customers.
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