[Hallicrafters] UPS

[Todd, KA1KAQ]

On Wed, May 21, 2008 at 1:24 PM, Magoo <magoo at isp.ca> wrote:
> A tech who worked for me worked weekend nights at UPS in Toronto while he
> was attending school.  He told me that some of the loaders would play
> "football" with smaller parcels when the shift boss was away from the
> loading area and would often roll big ones down the loading chutes.  I asked
> him if these ever fell off the chute; he said "all the time".  Drop to the
> floor was apparently about 8 ft or more!
>
> I bet things have not changed at UPS since the late 80s when this fellow
> worked there;  I guess people will do anything to relieve the boredom.

No different Bill, and probably worse today with the higher volume and
'no accountability' of the P.C. folks.

I'd also had very good luck over the years with no damage, even on
items poorly packed. Last year I had a 35 lb. modulation transformer
rewound in Maine, two states and a couple hundred miles away from me.
I dropped it off with Gary WZ1M at NEAR-Fest I last May. When he
shipped it back to me in August - bolted to a piece of wood,
double-boxed with think foam sheets betweeen - FedEx managed to handle
it so badly that they broke one of the cast iron frames clean through.
It arrived with a hole in one side, looking more like a soccer ball
than a cube. Guess it was my turn.

WA2PJP had similar issues with FedEx for the same transformer, except
his was bolted inside of a wooden crate. It arrived hanging out the
bottom of the container, fortunately no serious damage. His
conversations with former employees who worked for FedEx on L.I.
revealed that some of the workers detested heavy packages and wanted
to make anyone foolish enough to ship them sorry that they ever did.
The would slide them off the counter, then kick/roll the boxes with
their feet to the shipping area.

I'd always had good luck with UPS (still haven't received anything
damaged) but other folks insisted FedEx was better. Clearly no one is
better or worse in the long run, it's just a case of playing the odds.
When it's your turn, regardless of how well-packed an item is, it will
get trashed. I recently purchased a nice RCA AR-88 from a list member
who had it expertly packed then crated at a UPS store (the owner does
wood crating on the side). It disappeared and was later found with the
cover unscrewed and contents missing. UPS wanted to claim it was
improperly packed. Only problem is - their store did it. Not sure how
the seller made out with them, he did issue me a complete refund,
though I would've preferred the radio. It was to be a gift for a
friend.

With the greed and stupidity of epay's new policies and the
ever-present threat of shipping damage (not to mention the hassles and
time involved generally), it's just much easier to deal with folks at
hamfests, swap meets, and privately. The next time I do send something
large, I'm going to try the Greyhound Bus suggestion.

Anytime you ship, you roll the dice. And just because you haven't
gotten nailed yet, doesn't mean you won't. It took over a decade in my
case. Be patient. (o:

~ Todd,  KA1KAQ