So the basic scenario here was maybe a bit unusual. I'd ordered a product, and found out after the fact that it was shipping to my house with a signature required, yet no one was going to be home to receive it on the day it was to arrive. Seems like a simple enough problem right? Just call the shipper and have them redirect it, or just pick it up at the store. Well that's what you'd think anyway.
FedEx
I'm going in the order this happened, so let's start with FedEx. It was past time for a new coffee maker in my house, so after reading lots of reviews I settled on the Braun KF590 Impressions Digital 10-Cup Programmable Coffeemaker
which was being offered by Beach Camera. So into the cart it went, and a few days later I expected to come home and find my new coffee maker. Instead I found a sticker telling me it couldn't be delivered without a signature. After thinking "you have to be joking me", I called FedEx and ask them to either deliver it without a signature, deliver it to my work, or let me pick it up at the FedEx facility which happens to be on my way home from work. The CSR insisted that the only thing I could do was contact the shipper and have them instruct FedEx to make any of these changes. Sigh.So having success with Beach Camera in the past, I contacted them. Without going into too much frustrating detail (yet), let's just say rather than simply calling FedEx and redirecting the shipment, they preferred to let the item be returned after 3 failed deliveries, eat the shipping costs, and let me re-order the item. Seriously! By now I'm ready to spit nails. I decided on the spot I wasn't re-ordering anything from them - sheer stupidity and laziness does not earn my business. We'll come back to Beach Camera at the end of this post.
So after another failed delivery from FedEx, I decided on one last desperate measure. I signed a sticky note along with a request to leave the package on the doorstep, and put it outside my door for the delivery person. And to my amazement it worked! That evening I had my coffee maker.
So FedEx is getting a dual rating - corporate customer service - BAD. My local delivery person who saved the day however - GOOD.
UPS
About a week later I finally pulled the trigger on a Nikon D60 10.2MP Digital SLR
I've been eyeballing for a year now. Once again Amazon had a good deal going so in the order went, along with a few accessories. And again I failed to redirect my shipment to work - you'd think I'd have learned. You would be wrong.Again the order ships, and this time I figured out it was going to be going the wrong direction. After it was in the area I called UPS and told Brown what they could do for me - hold my package for pickup. To my pleasant surprise they immediately said yes! All I had to do was show my ID on pickup. The person on the phone said I would receive a call from the local facility once they'd confirmed they would grab my package, and they would tell me when I could stop by to get it. Sure enough about 45 minutes later I got a call and was told they had the pacakage to stop by anytime after 6:30pm. I stopped by at 7 and after a short wait walked out with my camera. Rock on!
UPS gets a big ups (ha!) and a huge GOOD rating on this. Not only were they cheerful and totally efficient, but obviously very customer service oriented. I will not forget that.
Beach Camera
Finally, a little bonus rating on Beach Camera, or more specifically their "customer service" people, and one "ibahary" in particular. First issue was there was no notice that the package would be shipped signature required. Secondly we're talking about a $50 coffee maker here, not diamond jewelry. So as much as I think FedEx did a poor job (especially compared with UPS in a similar situation), they have a policy and they followed their policy. But Beach Camera took their BAD rating to a new level. After my asking them to call FedEx as instructed, and them telling me to let it fail and reorder, I emailed back with this:
You have to be kidding me. A simple phone call to FedEx solves this problem, rather than requesting a refund and then reordering the same bloody thing.
Ibahary then accuses FedEx of lying about their own policy:
I apologize for the inconvenience, but unfortunately this is not true. Please note that we are loosing money on the shipping by you refusing this and we would be more than glad to have Fedex remove the signature requirement if it only took a few minute phone call.As I said in my reply to Ibahary, "I can't believe we're going through all this for a coffee maker..."
Had similar experiences with any of these guys? Drop them into the comments.
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