UPS is the WORST SHIPPER EVER!

Okay, I try to be positive even when I'm being negative, like the wild horse slaughter post. After today's events, fuhgeddaboudit. We all used to make fun of the US Postal Service and say UPS gets it right, but that's in the past for me. The USPS and FedEx rule, and here's why.

I used to be in the computer business and it was common for UPS shipments to come in trashed. Some months, as many as one out of every five or six shipments had damaged parcels. One parcel came in with a hole as big as my fist. The driver said, "Well, nothin' fell out, so it's probably okay." I finally quit using them for anything and moved to FedEx. It cost a bit more but, in the long run, it was cheaper due to the time savings (after all, time is money and damage claims take time). That was years ago and, sadly, it hasn't changed.

I recently bought a beautiful Sigma 70-200mm f2.8 lens from a fellow in Kansas City. When UPS delivered it, the autofocus mechanism didn't work; I tried everything to revive it but, alas, 'twas not to be. After talking with a Sigma dealer and a couple of other folks, it was obvious that blunt force trauma was the culprit. It was well packed, but the box showed obvious abuse. The seller, being exceedingly helpful and responsive, said, "It's dead. I've contacted UPS and they'll call you about a damage claim." He gave me the claim number and, being one who doesn't like to let his money lay there, called UPS myself. (As a note, mine was one of four shipments he made that day and all four are on damage claims. Good work UPS!!!)

They said, "Just take it to the customer service center and drop it off. They'll have this claim number and will know what to do there. They'll send it to a claims rep and you'll be done." They did NOT know what to do. After fifteen minutes of watching the CSRs scratch their heads, make phone calls and, finally, shrug their shoulders, I had an ominous feeling that this wasn't going to go well. (Sometimes, I hate it when I'm right.)

Thinking I'm done with the Sigma, the next day (Wed.) I run an errand and find a yellow and brown UPS "InfoNotice" sticky note on my door - I'd missed a delivery. Same thing the next day, so I call and tell them to hold it at the depot as I'll pick it up. I go the next day (Friday) and they can't find it in their system. "Hmm, not sure what the story is. Our phones are dead and our system is acting funny. I'm pretty sure it's on the truck, but we can't contact the driver. You'll have to come back Monday if it's not delivered today." Well, UPS does come by the house, but it's for another shipment that has nothing to do with this situation. The box in question is still missing.

Monday: I drive across town for the third time in a week to UPS, walk in, show them my notice and, lo and behold, here comes the damaged box I dropped off in the first place!!!! Unbelievable! What makes it worse is that I'd already spent fifteen minutes of quality time with this same guy dropping it off! I tell him it's the one to be returned, it was dropped off the previous Tuesday, and he looks at me and says, "No, this box is for you." The little smirk on his face as he said it would have caused a lot of folks to go ballistic and I have no idea how I didn't ... well, not totally.

There is sooo much more to this story including their seeming inability to help, poor internal communication (how many times do you have to explain something before it's lodged in their computers?), the five hours of wasted time, the gasoline, the mileage, the frustration, the rank disappointment, the money that's still tied up, much less how UPS has diminished my hope for America (if these guys are the norm, we're screwed).

In my opinion, UPS has become a joke and a company to be avoided. Their ads featuring the guy with what Saturday Night Live dubbed "the lady hair" make my skin crawl. Call their 800-numbers and folks whose voices drip with sympathy cannot reach out and shape up the misbehaviors of the folks in the field. Given how many times I explained this situation to their 800-number people - often in succession on the same call - and they could not get it straight makes me believe that the company is in a downward spiral. Perhaps they thought intelligence or efficiency was too expensive and believed they had to cut back.

My opinion is that UPS is the worst in the business and, if I were you, would never use them again. Time is irreplaceable and they have wasted hours of mine that I could've been using to make money - that's unforgivable. Oh, and the dealer in KC? He's opening a FedEx account.