[Milsurplus] Fedex Shipping...Cheap, and you get what you pay for.

[Bruce Lane]

Good day, Mike,

*********** REPLY SEPARATOR  ***********

On 19-Jun-05 at 12:22 Mike Morrow wrote:

>>evilplace does not ofer fedex ground quotes by the way, but it is
>>much cheaper than ups or usps.
>
>Do you think their prices are low out of simple kindness and goodness and
>concern for the customer?  Only the "concern for the customer"
>qualification has any ring of truth, since Fedex doe NOT consider the recipient to be
>their customer.
>
>
>Fedex may be great for the shipper, but it is hell for the recipient who
>actually wants some assurance of delivery, especially if the recipient
>lives in an apartment, condo complex, or some other type of close housing
>community.  Fedex will leave packages on or near doorsteps unattended where
>anything can happen to it before the intended recipient gets home.  Several
>times I've found my Fedex packages behind the shrubs on the side of the
>complex well away from my door.  On one occassion, the package had been
>there for three days!  Of course, no delivery notice was left at the door
>saying a package had been left anywhere.

	<snippety>

	Looks like I'm going to be the one to disagree this time. My experiences with FedEx, over the last several years, have been directly the OPPOSITE on just about every count you bring up. They are, in fact, my preferred shipper over UPS because, unlike UPS, they have never lied to me, admitted they're lying outright, and then refused to do anything about it.

	I've been shipping (and receiving) with FedEx Ground since before there WAS a FedEx Ground (it was then Roadway Package Express). EVERYthing I've shipped so far has arrived intact, in excellent condition, and (with only two exceptions over the past six or so years) in a timely manner.

	Part of what you say is true -- Unless you explicity specify, on ground packages, that a signature is required for delivery the package will indeed be left at the delivery location in whatever spot the driver thinks is best suited for it. HOWEVER -- Specify signature service, and the package will NOT be released without a signature.

	The only gripe I have is that, on Home Delivery only, 'Signature Service' is an extra charge of $2.00. I think it should be included no matter what.

	On pickups at the local depot: Again, I've never had any trouble. FedEx has always, upon request, flagged a package to be held at the local depot AND told me where and how to find said depot. In one case, they were even nice enough to direct me to the main ground terminal center in my area. No questions, no arguments. Just solid service.

	On Delivery Notices: Never had one left that DIDN'T have a tracking number, and a contact phone number, clearly imprinted. I can only conclude that your troubles may be due to a specific negligent driver. In short, it may be one bad apple spoiling the bunch.

>Most shippers who use Fedex do it for their own personal convenience, with
>absolutely no concern for the recipient.

	Again, I beg to differ. I ship via FedEx specifically because I care about my recipients, and because I don't trust UPS. I stopped using UPS because, if they lied to me about rates and billing, what else are they going to lie to me about?

	I have my own account with FedEx, and I also have the software and label printer required to originate shipments straight from my desktop. They've never given me any hassles, and their tech support folk have been exceptionally helpful with the few problems I did have.

>Can there really be ANY wonder why Fedex shipping prices are the lowest?
>Hint:  It's not out of kindness and goodness and concern for the recipient.
>You never get what you do not pay for.

	I think they're lower because they're running a more efficient operation. Then again, that's just me.

	Keep the peace(es).


-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Bruce Lane, Owner & Head Hardware Heavy,
Blue Feather Technologies -- http://www.bluefeathertech.com
kyrrin (at) bluefeathertech do/t c=o=m
"If Salvador Dali had owned a computer, would it have been equipped with surreal ports?"