UPS Ruined Father's Day

As a UPS driver with over 30 years of service I feel qualified to
answer his complaint. First off, we can't be at everybodys home to
deliver after 6pm! As far as the signature required, there are 3 types
of signature required deliveries. 1. you can sign a notice to release
the package at your front door 2. Signature required in PERSON.No
notes or signed notices allowed. These are where the SHIPPER (not UPS)
requests (and pays extra $$)for it to be signed in person. 3 Adult
Signature Required. These are usually alcohol,(wine mostly) or
presription drugs. As other people have mentioned we also "will call"
where if we are notified in time we can pull your package to be picked
up at your convenience. The customer service counter at the center I
deliver out of is open from 8:30am-8:00pm.

My typical day of deliveries consists of 130=140 deliveries with
about 75% of them being residential. It's impossible to deliver to
everyone after they got home from work.

I don't expect UPS to be adding Saturday delivery.

They already plan their routes to try and eliminate left hand turns to
save money/gas.

Adding another day will do nothing but drive prices up for them amd us
in turn.

Companies are looking for ways to save money. I just heard yesterday
that the City employees of Birmingham Alabama are going to a 4 day
work week to help employees save gas money.

I would not personally care if the US post office did away with their
Saturday delivery. If it helps keep postage down and it would save a
lot of gas.

In my opinion, your father day was not ruined. If you and your husband
were together and good health then how could it be ruined? As long as
I'm with my Dad on Father's day then everything's fine. I hate how
materialistic some people can be.

I have packages delivered from UPS all the time, and we never have to
sign for them. Even if we are home, they ring the bell, and by the
time I get to the door, they are already back in their truck, having
left the package at the door. Can't you request from the sender that
they not require a signature at delivery time?

As a former UPS employee I would just like to say grow up and take
responsiblity for your father's day being ruined. UPS isn't all
responsible.

Are YOU going to go deliver all the "saturday" packages for them? Do
you realize that these drivers work from EARLY hours in the morning
until LATE hours at night just to get packages to people who are
waiting for them?

Do you realize these people are HUMAN and ARE allowed to make
mistakes? If it was THAT important that you recieve your packages and
you have had issues with UPS before how about you come prepared and
order them before hand so they are there the week BEFORE you need them
instead of rushing around on the last day.

Also driving 6 miles isn't that far. So if you NEEDED your package
that badly you could have CALLED 800 pick ups and requested to PICK IT
UP at the center. They do NOT close at 6pm bt don't expect a drivr
to come ALL the way over to your house to deliver it to you. Drive
yourself out there and ring the buzzer, an unloader will answer and
gladly get your package for you.

a similiar thing happened to me,all you have to do is talk to your
driver and let him know that you will have a package coming and leave
a paper with your signature for him and he can leave the package,but
you have to talk to him personally,not on the phone,then he can leave
your package.people do make mistakes,maybe your package got mixed up
in the shuffle,from it being missed a couple of times.they run on a
scheduele and have a route to run and usually are delivering in the
same areas at the same time,unless busy.they do work with you,just
communicate with the right one.the driver.

"We do, however, have a nice box in front of our house for packages
that the U.S. postal service and FedEx are both quite happy to use."

I'm assuming you're talking about your mailbox. Isn't it illegal for
FedEx/UPS to put things in your mail box?

I haven't read all the replies yet, but I would like to give a little
perspective. My half sister's husband was just killed in a car
accident trying to get home from work to see his wife and five
children. Now I know that this wasn't on fathers day, but it was only
four days after, and I can guarantee you that their fathers day for
the rest of their lives will be ruined. To say that UPS could
actually ruin fathers day and what it's really there for then you
obviously have no idea what truly matters.

A. The UPS in my city delivers on Saturdays

B. You dont need to take an entire day off of work to get a package.
Lets be smart, go in late or leave early and swing by the distribution
center and pick it up quick.

C. 1) 6 miles is not that far to drive
I live on a military base and we have to drive 15 JUST to get
into town...
2) if 6 miles is TOO far for you, move closer to the UPS
distribution center since apparently you spend enough of your time
hassling with them that you have to post how horrible they are....

I once had a package being delivered that I had to sign
for...unfortuanatly I was not home when they delivered it and left the
note on my door... One of the options on that note was to sign it and
leave it on my door this way the UPS driver could leave it at my
doorstep. It was simple. Did you even read the paper they left on your
door?

"I decided to take a day off of work specifically for the purpose of
receiving the packages."

Why not just go in late one morning, like 9:00 or 10:00am and pick it
up at the distribution center? You can call and request they leave it
there. 6 miles is nothing. I bet you could have even picked it up
during lunch one day and ate a burger in your car.
If you know the difficulties ahead of time, it's not that hard to make
an effor to get the package and you do not need to take a whole day
off.

What kind of "box" do you have in front of your house? Is it your
mailbox? Because if it is only the USPS is allowed to use it and
although your FedEx guy is using it UPS could get into trouble for
putting stuff in your mailbox. If however it is a special box used
only for delivering packages (not regular mail letters) maybe you
should consider driving the 6 miles and talking to the UPS center
about the special box you purchased for packages. If you clear it up
for them you might stop having problems. You may want to check to be
sure there isn't a signature required as others have suggested. If
this package was of a high value UPS requires a signature.
I don't know what city you're in but UPS has a Saturday delivery
service. It is quite a bit more but it can be an option if you aren't
available on weekdays. I've never had a problem with UPS leaving
packages at my door I have had a problem with FedEx not leaving
packages so I don't think either company is perfect.

Why dont you have them deliver it to your work? That is what I do. I
think our UPS delivers on Saturdays here.

I am sure your husband's day wasnt ruined.

First of all I take these "titles" like yours with "a grain of salt".
I don't care what the title states because those who receive these
letters don't see it. The titles are strictly for the PFB website. I
know because I've been on the receiving end of a letter from PFB to my
place of work (it was forwarded by a photo district supervisor).

Anyway, yours is a good letter and voices my frustration with UPS. If
I go online to order something and UPS is the only option I don't
order it and I make a mention of it to the online company.

My father is dead. That ruined Father's Day for me.

While I agree that sometimes UPS seems to go out of their way to make
things inconvenient, I really don't like your choice of words.
Nothing was RUINED. Inconvenienced, yes. Postponed...maybe.
Ruined...NO!
Also, this begs the question. If the UPS driver had released the
package to your doorstep or box without a signature and then someone
stole it, would you have written a letter saying that they should have
required a signature?
Poop happens.

I've tried leaving a note for UPS to waive the signature requiement,
but have been told by them that this is not allowed.

Having said that, I think it's ridiculous to say this "ruined"
Father's Day. If a gift determines whether or not the day is a
success, it does not speak well to the relationship with the "father"
in question! In addition, 6 miles is not that far to go to the local
distribution center. I've had to drive over 30 in the past.

Yes, USP could have handled this better, as others have stated.

However, yet again, we have a company "ruining" a holiday. Are we
truly THAT materialistic?

At least the OP still has a father here on earth.

How about those who have lost their fathers during the current war? Or
to early heart attacks, cancers, etc?

What about children who have lost their father to a drunk driver?

Dear OP, Father's Day was NOT ruined. Go, now,....hug your husband,
tell him you love and appreicate what he has done as a father.

The day was NOT ruined. yes, you have a gripe with a company. But,
you have your husband, and your children have their father. Please
spend some time thinking about those who do not.

I jsut really wish folks would not claim a holiday is "ruined" over
something material.

UPS ruined it. FTD ruined Mother's Day, and USPS ruined Christmas.
Somebody ruined Thanksgiving, I'm sure. It is getting to be so there
isn't a holiday that some business hasn't ruined.

Maybe Flag Day.

Several commenters have stated they just leave a signed note giving
UPS permission to leave the package. This will not work if whoever
sends the package requires a signature for delivery. I have gone round
and rounf with UPS on this. ONLY the sender can change the delivery
requirements.

If I order something and know it will be sent UPS, I ask the sender to
not require a signature.

In my experience, there seems to be two different types of signatures
that can be required. I often run into the same situation as the OP
because no one is home during the day. For some packages, they will
leave a "we were here" slip on my door that says I can sign the back
of the slip and leave it for the next day and the package will be
delivered. Other times, it says that someone must sign in person.

I think it depends on the sender has requested/paid for. The ones
where I usually have to sign in person are bigger ticket items such as
a laptop or phones where the sender wants to have documentation that
the item was delivered and receieved, and not just left on the front
porch. I've heard cases where packages were stolen from front porches
or people clamed that the never receive that package, when it was
likey that they did and are trying to scam. However, I totally
understand the OPS frustration as I have drove an hour round trip to
pick up may packages from the distribution center after work many
times.

How was "Fathers Day" ruined? Perhaps your day was shot having to go
rebuy a gift after you thought the original gift would arrive on-time
or whatever? I had a GREAT Fathers day! My wife allowed me to pick
out and purchased my own gift YEA!!!!! I ordered it through Amazon
and guess what? It won't be here til tommorrow! Didn't ruin my day
AT ALL! My Daughter came for a visit, cooked us a wonderful meal, we
did some shopping, saw a movie, and thanked God for having another day
with which to share our love and spend together. I'm sorry your
Fathers Day was ruined over a material object...I sure hope it gets
there soon! Dang....stuff happens huh?!

Thats really frustrating. But its weird to me because where I live
they leave packages between the front door and the screen door. They
dont even knock or ring the bell! They are so fast about it our dog,
who ALWAYS knows when someone is near our door, never knows they are
there! They dont even try to see if anyone is home. They just put it
between the doors or even just leave it on the porch.

A frustrating experience to be sure...HOWEVER, "now I have to spend
all day today finding another gift."??? You HAVE to spend all day
finding another gift for your husband? Really?? Is this truly what
we've become? It seems to me awfully materialistic to have to have a
gift on the exact day it was intended. Yes, it would be nice if
things always worked out that way, but life happens. Your husband is
an adult and should be able to handle the fact that he has to wait an
additional day or two for his gifts.

My hubby a UPS driver and says he understands your frustration and
when they tell you the package is on the truck, it should be on that
truck. The new packages system identifies all packages loaded into
the vehicles, but unfortunately, humans load those vehicles. If the
package is loaded into the wrong vehicle (which does happen all the
time) and the destination address is too far, then the driver is not
required to deliver it. Then it becomes a "missed package" and it's a
service failure, which the company absolutely does not like and the
customer is then refunded the shipping.

He was also going to recommend having it redirected to your work
address, however, that is part of the problem too.

Saturdays would be wonderful but the company does not want to do that
so far.

I avoid UPS like the plague. When I lived on Ft. Stewart, GA a few
years ago, I ordered a Dell computer. I had been checking the website
to find out what the delivey time was going to be, I called to
confirm. It was suposed to be delivered on a day I had to work, so I
left a note on both doors to my home that said they could leave it at
my neighbors home (we lived in Townhouse type housing).

I get home around 8pm that night and on my car port is my Brand New
Dell computer and monitor and printer! UPS left it outside on the
carport despite the notes I left. I was sooo very upset. The next
day I called UPS and asked why they left the computer outside instead
of leaving it where I asked, her response: "The driver has the
descrition to leave or not leave packages at the door based on the
type of area" What? Sure I lived on post, sure most military persons
are honest, but what about the ones that are not honest?

I ended up calling Dell and telling them what happned. They
appologised - something UPS did not do - and asked if I got everyhing
I ordered. Luckly I did. So from that point foward I make sure that
I either send by FedEX or DHL.

This is why when I know something is going to be delivered by UPS, I
leave a note on my door, on the scheduled delivery date,that they have
my permission to leave the package. Problem solved.

I have the sames issue with UPS. They are totally inflexible and
don't care that we might have a time sensitive delivery. I travel a
lot during the week, don't have a car (I live in a city but the
station - which they insist is the ONLY place I can get the package -
is not in the city). When I have had issues with UPS I make sure to
let the vendors I bought from know it and know how inflexible they
were - hopefully some of them will stop using UPS.

unless you let it.

My distribution center is open from very early to very late. When I
worked, I had no trouble getting there on a weekday. I used to use
them a lot, but switched to house delivery when I found out how
reliable it is in my area.

I don't know how you call UPS and request delivery a certain day. The
way I have always used UPS is I use their tracking once the item has
been picked up/dropped off for shipping. I have never had the arrival
date be wrong, and when it says it is "On truck for delivery" it is.

Thus I do not share in any bashing of UPS. In the old days (around
1988) I had trouble with them, but from the early 90's on I have found
them to be almost flawless.

That really stinks and I agree they handled it badly. However, I
really hate when people be overdramatic by saying Father's Day was
ruined. Days are only ruined when you allow them to be ruined. Make
lemonade out of lemons and salvage what you can. If the present
doesn't come by father's day, you can still take him out to dinner and
give him a card. Promise him a present later when it arrives. However,
I do agree with you, UPS should be more reliable.

I totally feel your pain. I live in a small apartment complex (8
apartments). There are two people who work from home, one retiree, one
on a medical disability and the owner and his wife who are often on
the premises. All in all there is always someone home.
Once upon a time the UPS people would try one other doorbell to leave
a package for me (I work away from home)but no longer.
I realize they are trying to save as much time as possible these days
and I suppose they feel they don't have the time to do this any
longer. Also we don't have the same familiar delivery guys who know
who was home and who was not like the USPS people do. But I would hope
there would be a compromise somewhere.
I like the idea of either giving a stay at home neighbor a delivery
address or having them deliver it to one of their smaller offices
nearby. Their main office is way on an industrial island and I don't
drive.
This is a well written letter although I wouldn't mention the
situation ruined your Father's Day celebration. I am sure your husband
understood and I think when one brings personal comments like this it
diminishes the cause a bit.

Welcome to "How Brown Let Me Down". I assure you that your experience
is neither unique or infrequent. My condolences.

I have had issues with UPS in the past, but for packages that they are
shipping to me, I track them online, and the day that they are
scheduled to arrive, I leave a signed note on my door, asking them to
leave it in a particular spot on my porch. It has always worked for
me, though age-restricted items would be a problem.

In regards to the "local" distribution center being a whole 6 miles
away....I would LOVE it if they were only 6 miles from me. The
nearest distribution center is 25 miles from my home, and they service
the entire corner of my state, meaning some people may be a hundred
miles from the 'local' facility.

I agree. It's frustrating to order something and then not be able to
receive it because you're not home.

One solution, I've found, is to leave a signed note on the door that
waives a signature requirement. The downside is that if the package
goes missing, you have little recourse. But I've done this.

The problem with your letter is that UPS has been in business for a
long time. For whatever reason, many companies still use them as
their shipper. As such, you boycotting them (even if for great
reasons) will punish only you because you won't be able to buy from
the merchants that ship via UPS. As you've pointed out, sometimes
what you want can only be sent UPS.

Your suggestion for Saturday pick-up is a good one, except that this
means that they need to have staff. Which means higher prices. Which
means that they'll lose customers. Which means that they'll drop this
service (or something else) in order to bring their prices back down.

In any case, the fact that they told you it would be delivered and
then it wasn't... well, that's not right.

Last thing, in the DC area, 6 miles is nothing. I drive further than
that to get to work (and, compared to my co-workers, I live fairly
close). I've driven 6 miles to take my kid to school, to go to a
particular grocery store, or to shop at Wal-Mart. Heck, the mall is
more than 6 miles from here. As a DC resident, I'm guessing you
either don't drive much (in which case 6 miles may be haul) or you do
actually drive 6 miles on a regular basis to get to things that are in
Virginia or Maryland.

This doesn't minimize your complaint, but... really... you make 6
miles sound like that's a major ordeal. Let me tell you about the
time I drove from Arlington to Chantilly to pickup from Fedex to get a
guaranteed delivery package that they couldn't deliver because they
couldn't find my office building.

Do you have UPS stores closer to your home or business? I have
arrange in my city to pick up packages at the UPS store a couple of
times. Not the distribution center but the small shipping stores in
strip malls.

Just something you might check into for the future..just in case this
helps you.

I get lots of packages and have only one package that did not drop off
the truck as scheduled at my home out of years of packages. I always
track mine online to see what day they are coming and if they make the
truck that day. I had five like items on day last week. 4 came ..1
showed it was on the truck, but it was not. It came the following
day.

Also our drivers are pretty much like clock work. You know if it is
shipped overnight you get it either by 10 am or noon. The regular
shipments come later in the evening.

If they didn't realize your package was missing on the truck that day
they probably could not have found it at the distribution center.

I would think your Husband would be happy to get his package whatever
day it arrived next week ...instead of you having to run and find a
replacement gift! That sounds a bit dramatic that his fathers day is
ruined, especially since you are replacing the gift!

Also very few of my packages from UPS require signatures. The drivers
that work my community are all very frindly and sometimes even sign
for packages for me that require signatures,(even a few times
restricted signatures). I don't mind it helps me out. They then take
time to carry packages a lot of the time to the rear of my house and
put them inside my back gate next to my back door.

Most drivers have set routes. If you have not done this next time you
wait around for the driver ask him if it would be a problem to use the
box you mentioned. If you do it nicely I bet he would consider it.

You have every right to be frustrated and upset with their service
especially since they agreed to deliver on a specific day when you
would be available and then failed to do so.

Your suggestions are more than reasonable and, hopefully, they'll take
them to heart and provide more options for customers in your
situation.

Thanks for using PlanetFeedback!

If your husband is only concerned about getting gifts on Father's Day,
then yes, it would be ruined. However, if that were true, that would
be the least of your worries.

Why not choose to have the packages delivered to where you work?

And so far as having a day ruined -- a day that hasn't even happened
yet -- you lose me (and others) when you go over the top with that.

I currently live in an apartment, and my building has a central place
where packages are delivered.

But when I used to have packages delivered directly to my door, I had
luck with leaving instructinos for UPS as to how to handle packages.
Yes, there's the downside that a note on your door tips off everyone
else that you're not home, but it's a gamble I was willing to make.

Does UPS not accept signed notes asking them to just leave the package
any more?