[R-390] Re: UPS is Garbage

[Bill Keller]

Well, I said that I was not going to say anything about this episode =
again, but it just won't die.  So, one more time, I will state the facts =
as I know them from my end based on information given to me by UPS and =
Rick, and make it as plain as I can.=20

1.  UPS offered to send R-390A back to Rick for repair and pay =
transportation both ways plus pay Rick for the repair.  As Rick says, I =
was concerned about their ability to get it there and back without =
further damage, so I discussed it with Rick, and he told me about a =
special box that he could provide that would solve the problem.  I told =
UPS about the box, and they said they would pay for the box.  I told =
Rick that I wanted to go with the box, but for some reason, Rick was not =
able to get one of the boxes. =20

2.  Then, Rick told me that he would do the repairs only if I paid him =
up front for the work because he did not trust UPS to ever give him his =
money.  He plainly said that his experience with getting money from UPS =
was almost nil, and that he also had a big back-log of other work that =
he couldn't cut into right then to work on something that he was likely =
to never get paid for.  We both agreed that if that was the case it =
might be better if I tried to fix it up as well as I could from this =
end.  It was not my first choice, but I'll admit that I didn't want to =
pay Rick for the repairs myself and than have UPS never reimburse me as =
Rick, who dealt with the all the time, was so certain that they =
wouldn't. =20

3.  I told UPS that Rick had said that he preferred to not have the =
radio sent back.  I didn't mention all the negative stuff he had said =
about them.  They said it would be OK - that they would proceed with =
plans to reimburse me for the damage at this end subject, of course, to =
approval from Rick.  I told UPS to contact Rick and verify everything =
and go ahead with that plan.

4.  I called Rick and told him that UPS would be contacting him about =
verifying the repair cost, etc.  Rick asked me what I wanted him to tell =
them, and I told him tell them exactly what he had told me the repair =
costs would be, which was about $300.00, and that we had decided to =
settle it without sending it back. =20

5.  I called UPS again to verify that they were proceeding as planned, =
and they said that they thought the way Rick and I had decided to handle =
it was the best way overall for all three parties, and that they were =
going ahead with that plan.  There was a question in their minds about =
whether or not the radio had been shipped in the condition Rick said =
that it was, so I wrote them a letter saying that besides being a world =
class technical expert on this radio, Rick was a person of absolute =
honor and integrity, and that whatever he said about the condition of =
the radio and the repair costs should be accepted without question.  I =
don't remember my exact words, but I heaped a lot of praise on Rick. =20

6.  I called Rick again to discuss what I could do about fixing what =
could be fixed at this end.  At the time, in addition to the panel =
damage, the radio would not work on several bands.  We determined that =
in addition to replacing the rack handle, four of the crystals also =
needed to be replaced.  Rick agreed to send me one replacement rack =
handle and four crystals.  He also included a small (less than one once) =
bottle of touch-up paint to try to touch up the damaged panel.  We also =
discussed the best way to fill in the holes the broken rack handle had =
gouged out in the panel.  I asked Rick how much money he wanted me to =
send him for the items, and he said about $40.00 would cover it nicely.  =
And it was my understanding that I was to send him the $40.00 from the =
money collected from UPS settlement.

7.  I didn't bother Rick anymore, because every time I contacted UPS, =
they told that everything was going fine - that it just took a lot of =
time to handle the paperwork between them and Rick and all that.  =
Because I, too, had a job and couldn't spend all my time fooling with =
UPS, I would let months go by without contacting them.  I was dealing =
with the local UPS office, and they had a change of personnel that they =
said also slowed things up.  All my communication with them was verbal =
at this point. =20

8.  After I realized that a year had gone by, I wrote the local UPS =
office a letter and demanded to have some kind of an answer one way or =
another.  I got no response.   I didn't try to contact Rick again =
because I thought it was at that point totally between me and UPS and =
that Rick was not in the loop any longer.  I really did not feel that =
Rick had any more responsibility in the matter, and based on my previous =
conversation with Rick, I really did not think that he wanted to have =
any more to do with it after agreeing to have UPS settle with me.

9.  I called the UPS corporate headquarters to complain about the =
situation, and was told that the claim had been settled some six months =
earlier.  I said that couldn't be true because I was the person they =
were supposed to settle with and that the local UPS office was still =
giving me the run around.  They told me that it had been settled by =
paying Rick Mish $150.00.  At that time, it would have been stupid on my =
part to go ahead and send him another $40.00 for the rack handle and =
crystals on top of what he had already collected from UPS.=20

10.  So I wrote both UPS and Rick a letter telling them that I was not =
happy about the way the whole thing had gone.  I told them both that the =
only loser in the whole deal was me.  Minus a rack handle and four =
crystals, Rick had collected $150.00 more for his work than he was =
entitled to, and UPS had settled a claim for only one half what they =
were obligated to pay.  I put all that in the letter, but I don't =
remember the exact words I used.  I told UPS that if I could avoid it, I =
would never use them again. =20

11.  I also told Rick that he could keep the money as far as I was =
concerned but that he would not get anymore business from me, and that I =
would not recommend him to anyone else.  Since then, I have never =
discussed this matter with anyone until the UPS thing came up on the =
net.  Every time anyone had asked me about the quality of Rick's work, I =
have told them the truth, that it's outstanding - without ever =
mentioning the UPS situation.  So, I guess, in effect, I have been =
recommending him to people by praise for his expertise and quality of =
work.

12.  I have never told Rick that I would "poison him", as Barry reports, =
I only told him that I would not do business with him again and that I =
would not recommend him to anyone else.  But I have never made any =
attempt to not recommend him, either.  He does outstanding work, and =
that's a fact.  I don't know if the problems I had were my fault, Rick's =
fault, or the fault of UPS, where I have been putting most of the blame. =
 I have never said one word to anyone about Rick's character or =
integrity other than the letter to UPS praising it.  And I am not =
judging his character or integrity by the UPS incident.  It would take =
more than one such incident to make me tell people that he is not =
honest.  I originally just told what happened with UPS without =
mentioning Rick.  And, once again, I am truly sorry that I revealed his =
name when asked. =20

Now, for the people who keep using this whole thing to try to make it =
look like some kind of  vicious attack on Rick's character, you are not =
doing him any good keeping the story repeated on the net.  Everyone is =
entitled to their own opinion, and I have not passed judgment on his =
character one way or another.  I have only stated what happened between =
me, Rick and UPS without trying to analyze why anyone acted in what way =
or attaching motives, honest or not, to anyone's actions.  I have not =
called Rick a liar because he never told me directly that he was going =
to tell UPS to settle with me.  I just assumed that he was going to do =
that from our discussions.  I have no idea what he actually told UPS, so =
I can't judge him based on that.  But I do know what happened at my end =
and what was said to me, and I do know that UPS lied to me over and over =
for months on end just to keep from paying the full amount of a just =
claim.  And that's all I was trying to testify to when this subject came =
up on the net.
Bill Keller                                                   =20


--- StripMime Report -- processed MIME parts ---
multipart/alternative
  text/plain (text body -- kept)
  text/html
The reason this message is shown is because the post was in HTML
or had an attachment. Attachments are not allowed.
Please post in Plain-Text only.---