More UPS and USPS woes....

Having been a victim several times of rough handled mail one of the things I do now is use plastic containers. The basic kind with a clear plastic square or oblong shape and a simple push on lid are ideal. They are cheap and range in size from matchbox to quite large. I pack the item in bubble wrap etc, put it in the plastic container and then pack the container into a slightly larger box with foam chips or similar taking up the space. It doesn’t add much to the overall weight and adds a lot to the protection of the item.
Also the cardboard boxes that pushbikes come in are excellent. They are usually made of quite substantial cardboard. I either modify them to suit or in some cases open them out and start again making a box to suit. Use a straight edge to form the creases, remember to allow overlaps on the joins, and wallah, custom made heavy duty cardboard box.
All they cost me is the packing tape and a few beers for the bike shop at Christmas to keep me at the top of the list.

I've had problems with FedEx and USPS but luckily UPS has been pretty good.
Last year, I had a FedEx driver lie and say that he tried to deliver a plane but that "I refused it"! Turns out the driver went to the wrong house because he was confused on the address. I had to wait for the plane to get sent back and then re-shipped!  And back in '08 the USPS misplaced a $795.00 money order that I sent insured with signature delivery. Well it was supposed to be signed for upon delivery!! I ordered an engine from Troy Built Models and when the tracking number said the M.O. was delivered, I called Troy Built to confirm they got it because there was no signature and they said they never got it!  
So I called their Post Office and I was told that they delivered it to the "Gardener" So I called Troy Built back and told them what the guy at the Post Office told me and they said that the Gardiner never got it. So I called the Post Office again and another postal worker said it was delivered to the office. So I called T.B.M. and nope it wasn't delivered to the office either. So I contacted their Post Master and he said it was given to a secretary. Wrong again! I asked the Post Master why it wasn't signed for and he said "Uh well sometimes mistakes are made" The next day when I was getting ready to file a lost M.O. claim, I got a call from Troy Built saying that the USPS driver was new and that she dropped the money order into their Outgoing mail slot instead of the Incoming mail slot! They shipped my engine via UPS and it was here in 2 days no problems!



Shawn

Mistakes are perfectly okay. It happens. Lying, on the other hand, is trashy and dishonest and exposes the liar's character. And it's so unnecessary. I've tried both over the course of my life, so I know. I'm an incompetent liar, so I have to be honest. Besides, I quickly found it wastes way more nervous energy to lie than it does to just admit a mistake.
Rusty... The righteous Rusty Lol

If a seller on eBay only uses UPS I don't even bid, everything I ever had shipped by them has been smashed. UPS treats the workers like crap, I think they smash on purpose.
By far the best for no damage has been USPS.

Well the damaged boat didn't make me half as angry as this missing bell crank. The boat was insured and fixable, the bell crank is neither it's just gone.

The caption says "Received unsealed" at my local post office. Looks like it was chewed and ripped at a sorting site. I think the bell crank is residing in some dumpster somewhere or on the floor. My best hope is that it jammed the heck out of the sorter.







I had been following the tracking number as I need that to continue work on my model. Somehow it got sent to Baltimore Md. way past us in WV rather than being routed to our local sorting PO in Cumberland.

The replacement is in the mail now. Fingers crossed. The $3.00 crank will wind up costing me over eleven bucks by the time it gets here.

rsv1cox wrote:
The $3.00 crank will wind up costing me over eleven bucks by the time it gets here.

That's B.S.! You should not have to pay for the USPS's incompetence!!

Shawn

sdjjadk wrote:

rsv1cox wrote:
The $3.00 crank will wind up costing me over eleven bucks by the time it gets here.

That's B.S.! You should not have to pay for the USPS's incompetence!!
Shawn

Shawn's right, you definitely have a case.
How much your time is worth, is another matter though.
Bob