Has FedEx always been this bad?
 

Currently 3/3 on delayed packages via FedEx. This ranges from 4-7 days late and led to rescheduling two shop appointments (bookings are two weeks out).

I fully understand the utter demolishment of supply chains under COVID and the crazy demand on logistics, but how come UPS has been spot on and USPS has even been EARLY multiple times (thought they were bankrupt)?

Not sure if it is just my location in the PNW and packages seem to always come from PA.

Anyone else have experiences? Can I request vendors use alternative couriers?

Okay, done bittching.

I moved about two months ago and a lot of furniture stuff like bed frame and mattress came via FedEx. It was all on time but the delivery person wouldn't carry any of it up the eight short steps to my unit on the second floor, but was fine doing it for the half pound package of linens lol.

I think it's just a YMMV thing.

Fedex is much worse then UPS. Small package and freight. They are much cheaper then UPS though so quite a few online retailers like to use them.

You’re right. I have a feeling they are the cheapest and have some sweet contracts for vendors that can then offer free shipping.

When I was in the San Jose area I had 5 FDX packages go from the Sacramento hub to San Jose and then back to Sacramento before coming back to San Jose and then getting delivered two days later. Another package from Dallas to San Jose went to Oklahoma for no apparent reason and sat there for 11 days. One more example from a PA vendor that made it all the way to Chicago before turning back and going through and being 'stuck' in WVA for 6 days. The most frustrating part of it all is that they won't really help you as an individual and all of these delays only popped back up and continued their journey when I was able to get the vendor to call their account rep and get it sorted.

Everyone has their own antidotal stories and to be fair a friend of mine in ABQ has the exact opposite experiences with FDX but does have similar stories with UPS there. They're all a mess and I've chalked it up to two things beyond the obvious CV19 issues. The region one resides in (my FDX frustrations followed me to Reno) and the biggest consensus I've heard from companies I deal with is that the FDX frustrations are partly based on them having franchises intertwined with corporate owned entities throughout their system but that's just a theory.

To answer your question, I have been successful in requesting UPS as the shipper with a few vendors that don't list UPS as an option. Trick is to get up early for the east coast vendors and try to be the first caller in the morning. That worked about 75% of the time as companies usually have accounts with both but seem to prefer one over the other.

And I have honestly picked one vendor over another, and paid more, based on the shipping company listed on their site. If FDX is their only option, and they won't change by phone, and it's available elsewhere via UPS, I go with the vendor that ships UPS. My buddy in ABQ does the same but in the reverse and opts for companies that ship FDX.

Fedex has been trying to get us to switch over for years. Their small package rep in my area is this super cute little blonde, but I flat told her their service is terrible. She had the NW region sales manager try to contact me for a meeting and I told him he would be wasting his time and sent him a half dozen tracking numbers for inbound shipments of ours that were late. We need reliable transit times, and as you are experiencing, they are pretty bad at it.

I think it was a few weeks ago I posted a picture of Fedex freights sign for their local dock which I can see from my office window in RT. Our shipment arrived there overnight and it didn't deliver, tracking showed it was delayed due to weather even though it was a sunny 65 degrees :bonk:

I ship a lot of orchids and would choose fedex for live plant arrival. USPS doesn’t give a shit about anything. If your package disappears, tough shit.

YMMV

Used to use only UPS at my old job, but then gained a client in Arizona, and anything we shipped to them via UPS got damaged, looking like it got drop-kicked off a 4 story building in front of a moving train.

Switched to fed-ex just for that customer and they suddenly stopped calling us angry about damage.

USPS normally likes to send my packages to tour the rest of the country before I get them. Scenic route and all.

Fex Ex is the worst:

$900. of new tires left on a front porch on a Sunday, iffy neighborhood, with no call to me...and not my front porch.

Flowers for myself simply left on top of two mailboxes in the sun, no call.

Yes, I hope to be able to tell sellers in the future to not use Fed Ex.

I haven't had any bad experiences with FedEx in my area, but I've had the worst with USPS. USP for me has been mostly positive, but there have been acceptations.

Haha at least none of the three are DHL.

^ Beat me to it.

I've had the worst service from FedEx. USPS is the second worst. UPS is the best service in my area. I've even written letters within my company to encourage the use of UPS over Fed-Up-Ex.

This just proves that there are lazy-ass, entitled Americans that don't give a shit about their jobs, regardless of which company they work for, all across the country.

And calling the service provider is pointless as you get lost in their automated "self help" system, or end up waiting for a very long time to speak with an actual person whom is located abroad and you can't even understand what they're saying most of the time due to the language barrier, then end up so frustrated that you hang up on them and have gotten nowhere.

Rant over......

....NEXT!!

We use DHL for international and they have been pretty good. I don't recall more then a few issues :iono: