shipping is not a hobby. It has a purpose. It's part of selling stuff. I.e. if the buyer is not receiving it, they didn't fulfill the contract.
Some companies are good at locating shipments. USPS isn't. This shipment is gone in the wind...
Package Has Disappeared in USPS System
I recently purchased a modestly expensive audio product over the Internet, paid for by credit card, to be shipped to me via the USPS Priority Mail system, with tracking and insurance. The vendor, who will go unnamed at the moment out of respect for past good service, emailed me that the package shipped on 20 December, although the package did not show up in the USPS system until about 27 December. Being a patient guy, I figured that the USPS is slow in keeping up with demand over Christmas. On about 28 December, the USPS tracking system said the package had been received, had been sent to a regional distribution center, and had been shipped on from there. However, and now it gets "interesting," on 31 December, the USPS tracking system said that the label had been created but that the package was not in the system. In other words, the package had "disappeared" from the USPS system. At several points in this saga, I contacted the vendor to express my concern, especially after the package disappeared from the USPS system; their response was that I should be patient and await further developments..
On 2 January,I contact the vendor, suggesting they initiate a missing package complaint, file an insurance claim, and requested that they send me a replacement product, assuring them that I would promptly return the first item if it ever showed up. (Coincidentally, on the same date I read a reputably-sourced news item about rampant theft by employees in the USPS system--hardly reassuring.)
The vendor's response again was that I should be patient--in spite of my pointing out that the USPS had obviously lost the package--and await further developments.
However, in spite of normally being a very patient guy, I think, with two weeks having passed and the USPS tracking system now saying they haven't received the package that they previously acknowledged having, it is time for the vendor to send me a replacement item.
I will never use the USPS system for product shipment if there is any other viable alternative.
Several questions come to mind:
1) How long is reasonable to wait for a package that should have been delivered in one to three days?
2) At what point should a vendor realize that good customer service means providing the customer with a product they shipped with tracking and insurance?
3) Would it unreasonable for me to tell the vendor that if they cannot provide a replacement product within a few days, I would like my money refunded? (I am prepared to contest the charge on my credit card for non-performance.
4) Am I being unreasonable?
Showing 8 responses by grislybutter
call your credit card company now. This isn't going to get better. USPS is useless in finding packages. I could write a book of horror stories I had with them. The vendor is being unfair to you. Their response should have been: the package is insured, we'll send you a replacement ASAP, and we'll track down the UPS stuff. You are in the paying for stuff and receiving business, they are in the receiving money and shipping stuff business. Leave it to them. |
@builder3 this is a futile back and forth. No serious seller ships expensive items with USPS. After 3 lost shipments with them and 50+ hours on the phone with their claim department, and all claims denied despite the insurance, I will never use them. |
@hgeifman it does not take 90 days. It usually takes 7 to 14 days. and if I would rate those 3, for big, expensive packages: USPS -1, UPS - 2, FedEx -4 on a scale of 1 to 5, 5 being the best. UPS is better at tracking and delivering, but their customer service is the worst. My last 10 UPS packages were all late, 7 to 10 days instead of 3. With USPS I could only pray that they would arrive, they would lose 1 out of my 3 packages. Fedex has been on time, 1 day late maybe, about 20% of the time. Therefore I have no knowledge of their customer service, never had to contact them. I could add Amazon to the list, they have deteriorated lately, especially the customer service, but still somewhere between UPS and FedEx |
@devinplombier sellers are responsible to get the stuff to your door. And NO, we don't need to chill. When my delivery is late to my client, they rip me a new one and I can just hope to keep the contract We should expect exactly what it says in the contract. 2 days or 20 days - should exactly be that. Don't be in the shipping business of you can't stick to what YOU THE SHIPPER promised We need to hold these corporations responsible if we don't want to turn into a third world country |