UPS gives me a headache

I only use UPS when the seller does not give me another choice.  This happened years back when I ordered something and the shipment was artificially held at their Seacaucus location.  There were two arrival scans and two departure scans.

Prior to January 1, 2017, I had a shipment on the way, and they did what they could to delay it and then, didn't put it on the truck the morning it was supposed to be delivered.  I mentioned something on Twitter, asked if I could pick it up.  I got a call from another office in the area, but not where the shipment was sitting, that it was still on time and that I was mistaken.

A few days ago, I placed an order that was split between FedEx and UPS, both for Wednesday, March 15, 2017.  Over the weekend, UPS decided to change it to a later date--4 days for their 3 Day Select shipping.

A little while ago, I put the screenshot on Twitter with an unhappy message for them.  Someone looked at the shipment and fixed it, putting it back to Wednesday instead of Thursday.  UPS support replied to me as if I was a moron that shipping does not include Saturday or Sunday--duh.  It shows that the change was made almost exactly after my Tweet.  Hmm...

I can appreciate that they don't want to give away the business--that they want to make money.  I'm not against that.  Why artificially hold back shipments?  Fedex often gets shipments to me ahead of time.

Here is a new one.  They've made sure that I won't get it on the originally scheduled day.  They got confused when sorting.

Update 2018.12.08: I've had a few packages shipped using UPS.  Their information is still inconsistent and I never know whether I'll get the package when they say--if they've set a date.  This week, I waited for a package that was supposedly not delivered to UPS for several days.  Then, suddenly, it had been delivered to my address.

Why doesn't FedEx have this problem?  Even the U.S. Postal Service seems more reliable than UPS.

Update 2024.12.07: What a rotten week for shipping, and there are 18 days until Christmas.

I have an order that was supposed to be delivered Wednesday, Dec. 4th. The shipping label was created.  It's either sitting at the store waiting to be received by OnTrac or OnTrac hasn't scanned it and it's on the way.

I ordered two items that were supposed to arrive together on Thursday, since I can't use them separately. They were both in the same facility about seven miles away, one arrived 12 hours later in the day than the other. One arrived on time Thursday the 5th, and the other is sitting, apparently until the 10th. I placed an order with Amazon to have a functional but inferior item to be delivered tomorrow, even though rushing the order cost me about one third extra for the shipping.  What I saved on the item sitting at UPS is about what I spent on the other item arriving today.

I placed an order for some Korean groceries over the weekend and they're supposed to be here yesterday, but I got a notification about 45 minutes ago that they're going to be here yesterday, and the time suggested that they would be here before the notification was sent.

First world problems are the worst!!! 😆

Why is the United States Postal Service so messed up?

I ordered a new Ballstic SG MAXX case for my iPhone 5c.  I'm still finding the Otterbox Defender case with its sizable gap between the display and the screen protector to be a problem.

The "Processed at USPS Origin Sort Facility" was the first item to show up.  Just today, the other two were added, even though the Electronic Shipping Info Received" should have been the first thing, and the "Accepted at USPS Origin Sort Facility" would have happened before the "Processed at USPS Origin Sort Facility" activity.

It seems that the government are using the haphazard method that UPS uses.  FedEx never seems to have any problem, and packages can even arrive early without extra cost.

Considering that they already had the package last night, shouldn't it already be en route to me, rather than likely sitting in the facility still?  Maybe, it is, and they just haven't updated its activities.

I wonder how much damage is involved with USPS, UPS, and FedEx.  I know that UPS hires many part-time workers and I've heard stories of flinging boxes when people are bored.  I've heard plenty about USPS workers who are too busy to be bothered by work.  Is it only the people behind FedEx who care?  I've never had a problem with them--the extra money always seems worth it.

Shipping during the holidays is crazy, because so many people are doing it.  I'm sure the local post office is crowded during their open hours.  Gift cards may be the majority of the gifts, but even those are usually sent.

 As of the 13th, things started to change again, though there never was a departure activity from Florida.

It seems odd to me that they delivered the package on the 14th, even though it was just a day later than expected.  I've never seen them wait so late to put a package on the route to be delivered.  Usually, it should be on the route before 6:30, but perhaps, the logged activity was done separately from the physical activity.  However, being that it was Saturday and the holidays, maybe they have a more lenient schedule, especially with the bad weather lately.

By the way, isn't it odd that England's Royal Mail delivers the post and the United States Postal Service delivers the mail?

Also, beware of companies "helping" you to submit a change of address.  It's free, and some will show up in a web search ahead of the USPS, and they charge.

Update 2013.12.16: Saw the USPS TV advertisement with "up to 11 scans" and thought "in which order?" after having this experience.  They may be more modern, but they still have too many Sand Crabs.

Update 2013.12.18: Amazing that UPS, usually problematic for me, can move when necessary.  I have a package from Amazon.com with 3-5 day shipping, arriving the next day.

Of course, had this not been the holiday season, it would have been sitting in one of their depots for 4 days, until they felt like delivering it.

Update 2013.12.29: I guess UPS really messed up.  So many packages scheduled to arrive before Christmas day just didn't make it.  When I was watching the news video, I was somewhat shocked that UPS had zero problem with letting their workers damage packages while they were being filmed.  It just didn't seem that anyone cared, which is probably UPS' biggest problem.

Update 2016.05.01: I've got to say that I'm sadly amused again.  I ordered a couple of items on Sunday and they were said to be shipped late Monday.  Naturally, it takes a while for the information to be available to the receiver of the package.

On Wednesday, I left a message for the seller that the USPS did not acknowledge the tracking number at all.  On Thursday, the seller's status showed "Completed" rather than "Shipped" and I thought that there was a mix up.  Friday morning, there was a knock at the door and the packaged had been delivered.

3 Day = 1 Day of activity?

When I checked, the tracking information was available, but apparently, it was all done when the package arrived at the local post office.  No scans had been done prior to its arrival.