[ARC5] OT: UPS Ground Insanity

[millerke6f at aol.com]

Some years back I shipped a Swan 600T/600R and power supply by UPS  ground from Sacramento to the East coast.  I had UPS pack the units in their (UPS) foam in place system at my expense to "Ensure" the stuff made it in one piece.  I insured them for the purchase price and off they went.  A week later I got an email from the buyer saying that the units arrived in horrible condition and that he refused to accept the shipment and that UPS was sending the gear back and that he wanted the stuff repaired and re-shipped or a full refund.  A week later the stuff landed on my porch, just a clutter off stuff in what remained of the three pieces with the remnants of the "In Foam" packing here and there.  I put a claim into the UPS system and which was denied because UPS said that the equipment was not packed properly.  Seems they always refuse the first claim.  Even though I made it clear that they, UPS, had packed the items using their, UPS, foam in place system and their containers, they still refused to settle the claim!!  It took a few letters and a complaint to their corporate HQ to get them to move on the complaint.  Even then I had to submit repair estimates on the three items as they refused to pay off on a total loss.  I was lucky in that a local ham had the spare parts and metal work to bring the Swan Twins back from the brink along with a bunch of tubes.  His bill was close to the insured amount and at that point with a few more letters and calls to UPS I was able to pack up the stuff myself and ship it again in three boxes (double boxed) with lots of foam plates and crumple. Success at last.   But the total man hours were huge on my part not to mention the  patience of the fellow waiting on the completion.  I went to FEDEX at that point or the USPS both of which have given me excellent service over the years.  It makes you wonder how UPS stays in business?


7 3
Bob, ke6f

-----Original Message-----
From: Richard Knoppow <1oldlens1 at ix.netcom.com>
To: Ronnie Hull <w5sum at comcast.net>; milsurplus <milsurplus at mailman.qth.net>; arc5 <arc5 at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Thu, Nov 29, 2012 10:35 am
Subject: Re: [ARC5] OT: UPS Ground Insanity



----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Ronnie Hull" <w5sum at comcast.net>
To: <milsurplus at mailman.qth.net>; <arc5 at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Thursday, November 29, 2012 5:01 AM
Subject: Re: [ARC5] OT: UPS Ground Insanity


> Applicant:   Is UPS Hiring?
>
> UPS HR Rep: Can  you destroy a titanium anvil in less that 
> 5 minutes?
>
> Applicant:  Sure Can !!
>
> UPS HR Rep:  Your hired.. when can you start?

    I think the problem with Unmitigated Package Smashers 
and FedUp is mainly that items are not packed well.  It is 
not trivial to package something so that it withstands being 
hit with a fork lift or dropped from a truck bed.  Some 
items are just not going to survive but nonetheless one can 
do better than a thin layer of bubble pack or (the worst) 
plastic peanuts.
    Mainly the idea is to keep the item away from the walls 
of the box and to use fairly rigid padding so it can't move 
around a lot.  Heavy stuff really needs to be crated.
    I've had my share of stuff damaged by both of the above 
but none of it was packaged at all well.


--
Richard Knoppow
Los Angeles
WB6KBL
dickburk at ix.netcom.com 

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