About one if five of my UPS shipping experiences have gone awry. Yet, I must confess, even though I've sworn not to use them again, I do end up using them because the pricing typically comes out a bit cheaper. I'm thinking of really giving them up now though, following a recent debacle with them. I think one way to get back at UPS is to include the term "Will not ship UPS" in our Audiogon advertisements when we are listing an item for sale. If enough of us do this, we will likely help create a deserved perception of UPS ineptness. I mean UPS losing us as customers really has no impact on them and they couldn't care less, but if we share that perception to a wider audience then it's really embarassing for them and may be a wake-up call.
My recent UPS Oops experiences:
(1) A pair of heavy speaker cables dematerialized from their shipping box during transit - going from a weight of 10lb to an opened, empty box. (dealer had to go through the laborious claim process, but sent me replacements immediately).
(2) 6,000 two box CD player shipped to me through UPS and only one box arrived - the power supply. Had to wait in limbo for three weeks before other box showed up. Box that was in limbo did not show up on tracking and customer service got around to calling me about a week after I had received the second box (about a month after the incident).
(3) I moved about 20 boxes from NYC to Chicago - one of the boxes was all but destroyed, and I also received someone elses box. Insurance I purchased through them never came through.
(4) CD player I sent from my old address to new address was damaged and no longer worked - this can happen, and is a risk of shipping generally, however again, the insurance never came through.
I'm probably forgetting a few other incidents. Still, UPS is not the only one - last week I sent payment via USPS to a seller here for a pair of Bybee filters. Two days later, I got a letter from USPS with my check returned and a flyer saying 'sorry, your letter got damaged, this rarely happens.....' - they should have at least included a replacement stamp.
My recent UPS Oops experiences:
(1) A pair of heavy speaker cables dematerialized from their shipping box during transit - going from a weight of 10lb to an opened, empty box. (dealer had to go through the laborious claim process, but sent me replacements immediately).
(2) 6,000 two box CD player shipped to me through UPS and only one box arrived - the power supply. Had to wait in limbo for three weeks before other box showed up. Box that was in limbo did not show up on tracking and customer service got around to calling me about a week after I had received the second box (about a month after the incident).
(3) I moved about 20 boxes from NYC to Chicago - one of the boxes was all but destroyed, and I also received someone elses box. Insurance I purchased through them never came through.
(4) CD player I sent from my old address to new address was damaged and no longer worked - this can happen, and is a risk of shipping generally, however again, the insurance never came through.
I'm probably forgetting a few other incidents. Still, UPS is not the only one - last week I sent payment via USPS to a seller here for a pair of Bybee filters. Two days later, I got a letter from USPS with my check returned and a flyer saying 'sorry, your letter got damaged, this rarely happens.....' - they should have at least included a replacement stamp.