Is UPS the cheapest courier? Because they f'n suck!

[Azxster]

Honestly, why do companies elect to use UPS? In my opinion, they are the worst to deal with and only have 1 location in Toronto to pickup.

I called in UPS as soon as I received confirmation that the shipment has been shipped. CSR told me it would be delivered on Friday, so I asked her to deliver it elsewhere. She said she cannot do that until the first attempt was made. I was not home on Friday and I received my 1st attempt at 10:30, my 2nd attempt at 3pm. I called UPS on Saturday at 1:15 and their office is closed for the holidays.

What is up with that?

[/rant]

[Whitedart]

Honestly, why do companies elect to use UPS?


For business customers, they provide a high level of service. Residential deliveries have a higher shipping cost because of failed deliveries, and I am sure the company finds them annoying, but provides the service for shippers.


In my opinion, they are the worst to deal with and only have 1 location in Toronto to pickup.
I called in UPS as soon as I received confirmation that the shipment has been shipped. CSR told me it would be delivered on Friday, so I asked her to deliver it elsewhere.

Why not have the package redirected when ordered from the seller? It saves a lot of shipping confusion.


She said she cannot do that until the first attempt was made. I was not home on Friday and I received my 1st attempt at 10:30, my 2nd attempt at 3pm. I called UPS on Saturday at 1:15 and their office is closed for the holidays.

What is up with that?

They are closed on weekends, and always have been.

[N_Raged]

I gather UPS is meant for businesses who operate during business hours (not just a coincidence). With the post office at least if you miss something you can pick it up at the nearest outlet. I never use UPS for shipments to my home. If I miss one then I'm screwed because of inconvenient outlets.

The UPS deliveryman are even too damn lazy to look up my apartment lobby door buzzer code on the wall, so he left a waybill there saying I was not home because my buzz code was not in my ship-to address. I hate using couriers.

[bubble.tea]

UPS usually provides the cheapest quote from ottawa to GTA. Next is Purolator.

FedEx is the most expensive (by a few dollars from UPS lol).

I love them all. No problems with any. Maybe in the big cities they get pissy, but Ottawa/Surroundings, A+ all the way!

[i6s1]

I used to work for UPS, so I know how much they suck. I hated working there and I felt sorry for our customers on many occasions.

But OP, I think you're asking too much. Do you know how much work it is to intercept a single package midway? Once it returns to the depot, the evening crew can pull it off the truck. Being closed on Saturdays is a normal thing for couriers. If you wanted it sent to a different address, you should have had it sent there from the beginning. If you wanted the address changed when it was halfway to it's destination, you need to understand that it's already extra work for people to do, and that even Canada Post doesn't deliver on the weekend. UPS does deliver on Saturday in some areas, but it costs extra.

I'm surprised that UPS doesn't charge a fee for having the address changed, cause that is an extra cost for them. Which is an extra cost for everyone, including people that don't cause extra work.

[jp06]

For business customers, they provide a high level of service. Residential deliveries have a higher shipping cost because of failed deliveries, and I am sure the company finds them annoying, but provides the service for shippers.


the higher cost is not because of failed deliveries. It's because if you're not shipping high volumes regularly then you don't get any discount. A residential customer can get good rates if they open an account and ship alot. In terms of priority, of course businesses will have higher priority, but you will get your package early if it's along the courier's way to deliver to a business.

[i6s1]

Also, having worked in a couple of different shipping departments at other companies, the couriers are far more convienient then Canada Post.

[IronMac]

I used to work for UPS, so I know how much they suck. I hated working there and I felt sorry for our customers on many occasions.

I'm surprised that UPS doesn't charge a fee for having the address changed, cause that is an extra cost for them. Which is an extra cost for everyone, including people that don't cause extra work.

I used to work for UPS too and I loved it there! :)

The charge for changing addresses may apply only to certain levels of service and I know that other couriers will charge too on the same basis.

I think this time around it's a case of OP error.

[Atheral]

I think there have been a few threads on this topic before.

Most agree that UPS really sucks and is probably the worst of all the carriers.

[Rekognize]

The awful truth about UPS (http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=63b_1217200759)

[mlerner]

UPS is only used so much because they give good discounts. Based on my experiences I always opt for FedEx even if it's $15 more.

[Rekognize]

Someone mentioned discounts...

Sign-up for for e-shipper:
http://www.redflagdeals.com/deals/main.php/alldeals/comments/eshipper_discount_shipping_new_tools_for_ecommerce


As a RedFlagDeals.com exclusive offer, the $19.95 setup fee will be waived when you sign up. That's not all though, sign-ups through RedFlagDeals.com will receive an additional 5% off the standard eShipper rates. So, you can sign up for free, and enjoy even more savings.

[mlerner]

Someone mentioned discounts...

Sign-up for for e-shipper:
http://www.redflagdeals.com/deals/main.php/alldeals/comments/eshipper_discount_shipping_new_tools_for_ecommerce

That's nice but the big companies will only ship with UPS which is the issue here.