Surge In Online Orders Overwhelms UPS Christmas Deliveries

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Surge In Online Orders Overwhelms UPS Christmas Deliveries

Posted by timothy on Thursday December 26, 2013 @05:02AM from the coordinating-unknowns-is-hard dept.

Hugh Pickens DOT Com writes "Reuters reports that the high volume of online orders of holiday packages overwhelmed shipping and logistics company UPS delaying the arrival of Christmas presents around the globe and sending angry consumers to social media to vent. The company projected 132 million deliveries last week "and obviously we exceeded that," said UPS spokeswoman Natalie Black without disclosing how many packages had been sent. "For now, UPS is really focused on delivering the remaining packages. You might not see trucks, but people are working." Asked why the company underestimated the volume of air packages it would receive, Black noted that previous severe weather in the Dallas area had already created a backlog. Then came "excess holiday volume" during a compressed time frame, since the period between Thanksgiving and Christmas was shorter than usual this year. Amazon.com responded with an email to affected customers offering shipping refunds and $20 gift cards to compensate. Packages shipped via UPS for Amazon.com by Prime customers, who pay $79 a year for two-day shipping, may be eligible for additional refunds. Amazon's stated policy for missed deliveries is to offer a free one-month extension of Prime. Frustrated consumers took to social media, with some complaining that gifts purchased for their children would not arrive in time to make it under the tree by Christmas morning. '"A lot of these employees keep saying 'It's the weather' or 'It's some kind of a backlog,' said Barry Tesh. 'Well then why, all the way up until the 23rd, were they offering next-day delivery? That guaranteed delivery was 80% of my decision to buy the gift."' However, others on social media urged shoppers to be more appreciative of the delivery company's work during the holiday season. 'While others take vacation and time off in December, remember we aren't allowed ever to be off in December. Ever,' said a 20-year veteran UPS driver on the UPS Facebook page. 'So when you see your family and complain that your package is held up, everyone who moves your package is working and doesn't get the Xmas experience you get, Be thankful for that.'"

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Understandable, but... by DoofusOfDeath · 2013-12-26 05:06 · Score: 5, Insightful

I can understand that UPS / Fedex failed to predict their full load. It's too bad, but part of life.
What really surprises me is that they didn't have a system in place that (a) detected when they were at risk of having too many order to keep their QoS commitments, and (b) warning prospective customers that they might not get a prospective order delivered by Christmas.
1. Re:Understandable, but... by Anonymous Coward · 2013-12-26 05:18 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  Actually, they did.
  My wife works for a relatively well-known shoe/clothing manufacturer that also does direct sales (website, catalog, etc.) FedEx was warning them several days before Christmas that they predicted a delivery problem due to late orders rising faster than they predicted. Her company has an overflow agreement with UPS, so they started witching some orders to them, but then both companies hit a wall in terms of delivery capacity.
  It sounds like this was one of those problems where they both saw it coming, but couldn't do anything about it. There have been more than a few articles about FedEx in particular cutting back its container plane fleet due to fuel costs and the overall drop in package deliveries relative to a few years ago. I can only assume UPS has done the same -- when you cut back capacity in order to remain profitable, it stands to reason that a sudden, unexpected and massive surge of packages in your system is going to cause problems. And because both UPS and FedEx are for-profit, public companies, it's ultimately probably cheeper for them to suffer the ill-will and make-goods required of an event like this than to have a lot of excess capacity sitting aorund unused.
2. Re:Understandable, but... by Kenja · 2013-12-26 05:37 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  I've been seeing commercials about a company that has solutions for this sort of thing... can't recall their name but they keep yammering on about "logistics'.
  
  --
  
  "Have you ever thought about just turning off the TV, sitting down with your kids, and hitting them?"
3. Re:Understandable, but... by Anonymous Coward · 2013-12-26 05:37 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  If anyone would have bothered to read either UPS's or FedEx's website, they would have seen around the 19th of December they had NO guarenteed delivery date deals. Those promises were purely from the retailers at that point. It's a shame though of course the curriers are the ones who catch the flack.
  Not to mention if people WOULDN'T WAIT UNTIL THE LAST DAMN MINUTE or get out of the house and VISIT A STORE, much of this could have been avoided. I'll admit, I ordered a few small things on the 23rd with the gift wrap and next day option from Amazon more as a test.. and all 4 items arrived by noon on the 24th. (They were shipped from an amazon DC in the same state so that surely helped).
  Hell my wife's gift from my brother didn't arrive before Chrismast (and he didn't expect it to).. no big deal. For the people who waited to order *everything* in the last few days before christmas and all of it via online.. well maybe you should have grabbed a few from the store or have done the "Ship to store" or "instore pickup" option instead. Or at the very least do what we've done before and print a picture and wrap that and just tell the person it wasn't going to arrive in time.
  Maybe I'm getting more bitter as I age but this 'I wanted it tomorrow and it didn't make it, I don't give a shit about the massive volume of items from other procrastinators like myself or the ice storms and other weather, I WANT MY SHIT IT'S THE CARRIERS FAULT!' mentality is just so damn annoying.
  Lastly, it's not always as it appears either. Over the summer I ordered an RC heliocopter for my son and did 1 day delivery so it would arrive in time for our trip to the beach. All indications on Amazon were it was in UPS's hands later that night. It didn't arrive the next day, and I kept checking the tracking info and it still appeared to be stuck in the intial location in the hands of UPS. After 3 days I called Amazon to find out what was going on, and the agent figured out UPS never had the item as THEY didn't have it either. Here the 3rd party seller or whatever that Amazon did the fulfillment and what not for (for prime and all) hadn't sent them any stock or something along those lines (could have been a complete BS store and Amazon just never packed my stuff). Either way, while the tracking info made it look like it was UPS holding up the show, it was in fact the retailer Amazon that had fucked up. It makes me wonder how many other online retailers didn't have the capacity to fill orders fast enough or were out of stock while the website still listed stock so they had to wait for more before they could box and ship, YET the shipping information was already entered into the system creating a tracking number for UPS or FedEx, which made it LOOK like the delay was on the shipping company used.
4. Re:Understandable, but... by Runaway1956 · 2013-12-26 05:39 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  At least part of the problem is, not that UPS or other delivery companies promise you, the customer, delivery on time for Christmas. It is Amazon* and other bulk suppliers who are making these promises.
  As AC states below, UPS and Fedex were making warnings to those retail suppliers. Amazon, or whoever, didn't pass those warnings on to you, the end user.
  Do we expect that Amazon is going to make a public apology to all those children who had to wait until the day after Christmas for their presents? I don't think so. Amazon has your money, and they are going to keep as much of it as they think they can. They'll pass out a few gift certificates, and refund some shipping fees, but they are going to keep as much money as possible.
  All of my shipments came in on time.
  There IS a shipment which UPS intends to deliver today. Comparing notes, no one in the family seems to have any outstanding orders. Maybe it's a gift from one of the grandparents from several years ago? A gift from the afterlife? Oooohhh - a supernatural gift! More importantly, UPS is going a little extra to deliver whatever the package might be, by calling the house to see if anyone will be available to receive it. We have never before been contacted prior to delivery.
  Bottom line here - if you wait until the last minute to place an order, you can expect to be disappointed. Any adult should understand that. Any adult should be ready to explain it to a child. Life is life, and stuff happens. I've had late deliveries in off-peak seasons, after all.
  * I am using Amazon here as an example - replace Amazon with your motor sports supplier, or whatever.
  
  --
  "Windows is like the faint smell of piss in a subway: it's there, and there's nothing you can do about it." - Charlie Br
5. Re:Understandable, but... by stonebit · 2013-12-26 05:46 · Score: 2
  
  They do warn, but the wholesellers decide whether to pass on the communication or not. UPS store and the Customer Service Centers will tell you. The risk of not keeping TnT (Time In Transit) is always there. There are frequent surges, depending on where you are... conventions, rodeos, tech shows, college students ordering books at large unis in small towns, bad weather, fires (like the ones we have every summer in many states in the west), and general accidents such as train derailments and hub fires. There's something going on every month to delay your package somewhere. It's just easier to hide if it just a few hubs. The unions jack up a lot too. They determine how much you get paid (yes, they do). There is a negotiated pool of regular salary, then the union decides who gets what portion. The unloaders, sorters, and loaders in the hubs are crapped on majorly. Drivers get a much better wage, but still not amazing. The haulers (big rigs, trailer runners (to and from the rail yard)) get the lion's share. Teamsters considers these lower class employees. The big truckers are well respected. If the pay was better, they'd get more people to show up and we wouldn't have this problem. I worked at UPS for many years. They hire 100% of people who apply and can show up every day. The training lasts weeks too. It's really not easy to take an ordinary person and get them into shape, learn to use the equipment well enough, and get them to learn the sort (sorting is nearly always by memory, zip -> binX). Holliday temps are a joke. They don't know how to use the equipment and they don't know ANY of the sorts. So they become okay temporary muscle, usually not lasting the entire peak season (Thanksgiving to Christmas). During peak, always add a day or two to your TnT and be suprised when it arrives early. And by the way, package priority is: Early AM > Next Day Air > 2nd day > air freight > 3rd / ground.
6. Re:Understandable, but... by plopez · 2013-12-26 05:47 · Score: 2
  
  Part of what you are talking about is mean capacity covering 90% ish of the cases and surge capacity which covers the unusual volume or weather cases. Surge capacity is expensive and hard to prove of value. So the bean counters don't like it. But they could have I think, for a nominal fee, booked more charter flights, contractors etc. on stand by in case of need. This is a management failure, surges happen and storms happen. Where was the fall back plan?
  On a side note, a friend of mine is an ER worker. She said lack of ER and hospital surge capacity is her nightmare. Anytime there is a major event; e.g. large car pile up, plane crash etc.; the lack of capacity creates a nightmare for hospital staff and patients.
  
  --
  putting the 'B' in LGBTQ+
7. Re:Understandable, but... by Anonymous Coward · 2013-12-26 06:10 · Score: 5, Informative
  
  Surge capacity is expensive and hard to prove of value. So the bean counters don't like it. But they could have I think, for a nominal fee, booked more charter flights, contractors etc. on stand by in case of need.
  Oh hey guys, look, another armchair quarterback on the internet who is absolutely certain that FedEx and UPS, with their multi-billion dollar operations, missed some obvious, easy, and cheap solution to this problem! Color me shocked.
  The reason bean counters don't like paying for "surge capacity" is because "surge capacity" is often left unused, because it is insurance for the rare-to-never case where things completely shit the bed. FedEx and UPS *have* surge capacity built in - what happened this year is that their surge capacity wasn't able to keep up with the actual volume of packages funneling through their systems. Three days before Christmas is a bit too late to begin arranging 'surge capacity' for the holiday season - there's not much volume available for hire at that point, and the planes are frequently not where you want them to be, too, which means they'd have to scramble to fly pilots around to the planes all over the country (or world) where they're parked, fly them to their destination to pick up their cargo, and do this in the space of 12-24 hours in order to get the capacity in place to make a difference for holiday shipments. Then they also need the capacity on the ground in their receiving facilities and delivery trucks to be able to ship everything on time, as well.
  When your business is built-on "just in time" delivery, a late surge and weather-based delays can really fuck up your transportation chain no matter how hard you plan. In most cases, it's better to eat some penalties and freebies to angry customers receiving late packages than it is to spend millions or billions scrambling at the last minute to get every last package there on time.
8. Re:Understandable, but... by torkus · 2013-12-26 06:31 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  So just to use your own point...if emergency rooms (i.e. critically necessary medical services largely funded by the gov't) can't provide capacity necessary for the exception-circumstance...how is it reasonable to expect FedEx or UPS to do even more? Getting a beanie boo before xmas isn't quite as important as pushing saline for a trauma victim with low BP. (though if you read the FB page for FedEx or UPS you might get the impression otherwise)
  I think the vendors deserve much of the blame here if the delivery companies were communicating with them. Heck, if Amazon posted that orders are surging this year and deliveries may be delayed for last second orders...so order RIGHT NOW. just like they do with the silly (but effective) timer for when you can last order something to get it by X day.
  What I find truly ironic - people are blaming FedEx and UPS for 'failing to plan ahead properly' when *they're* the ones ordering things at the very last second. UPS should include a small, complimentary mirror with each of these delayed packages when they're delivered.
  
  --
  You can get rich if you own a politician, but you have to be rich to buy one in the first place.
9. Re:Understandable, but... by geoskd · 2013-12-26 06:50 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  "But they could have I think, for a nominal fee, booked more charter flights"
  I'm afraid that extra flights, contractors, etc are just not available.
  You are entirely correct that it is a management failure. Management should have their own extra equipment, and they should have sufficient personnel already hired to operate the equipment. But, you're simply not going to find a lot of planes, trucks, and temporary personnel to contract right at Christmas.
  That extra capacity comes with a price. Are you willing to pay an extra $8 shipping on every order all year long to pay for the equipment that sits idle for 11 months out of the year?
  
  --
  I wish I had a good sig, but all the good ones are copyrighted
10. Re:Understandable, but... by plover · 2013-12-26 06:55 · Score: 2
  
  "Brown stands for the quality of our service".
  Actually, this is all part of Jeff Bezos' master plan. They wanted to place a lot of blame on the couriers today, so that the FAA will have no choice but to approve Amazon's request to fly drones next year.
  It's a conspiracy, I tell you! Soylent Brown is slow people!! ;-)
  
  --
  John
11. Re:Understandable, but... by ultranova · 2013-12-26 07:16 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  So just to use your own point...if emergency rooms (i.e. critically necessary medical services largely funded by the gov't) can't provide capacity necessary for the exception-circumstance...how is it reasonable to expect FedEx or UPS to do even more?
  
  It seems unlikely that half of FedEx and UPS board of directors are actively trying to sabotage their company for ideological reasons. The same is not true of federal government - and sadly, this sickness seems to be spreading as well as the rest of American culture.
  
  --
  Forget magic. Any technology distinguishable from divine power is insufficiently advanced.
12. Re:Understandable, but... by Runaway1956 · 2013-12-26 07:28 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  That extra capacity carries with it some benefits, as well as a price.
  I've some experience in trucking. I know that some companies only have enough trucks to meet commitments. Other companies have a few extra trucks sitting around the yard. I don't mean 30 or 50 percent extra capacity - but maybe 10 or 15 percent.
  What good are those trucks? Well - a driver who is coming through the yard with a truck that is due (or overdue) for maintenance can bail out of his truck, and take one of the spares to complete his run. Preventive maintenance, done on schedule, can prevent breakdowns and accidents.
  That extra 10% of vehicles can pay for itself in fairly short order, really. And, when you DO have a surge, all you need is to pick up a few temporary people to put those trucks on the road, to meet the surge. I've seen it done. We had a contract come up that required tens of thousands of tons of rebar to be moved, and all those extra trucks were put on a dedicated run to help meet the deadline.
  BTW - those extra trucks are usually older, nearly worn out vehicles that have already paid for themselves, many times over. They are still roadworthy, they are paid off, they are still insured, they still pass inspection - why get rid of them? Keep a few around for whatever emergencies might happen. They've already been depreciated, so on the books they are valueless, and cost next to nothing.
  
  --
  "Windows is like the faint smell of piss in a subway: it's there, and there's nothing you can do about it." - Charlie Br
13. Re:Understandable, but... by Anonymous Coward · 2013-12-26 07:47 · Score: 3, Interesting
  
  That extra capacity carries with it some benefits, as well as a price.
  I've some experience in trucking. I know that some companies only have enough trucks to meet commitments. Other companies have a few extra trucks sitting around the yard. I don't mean 30 or 50 percent extra capacity - but maybe 10 or 15 percent.
  What good are those trucks? Well - a driver who is coming through the yard with a truck that is due (or overdue) for maintenance can bail out of his truck, and take one of the spares to complete his run. Preventive maintenance, done on schedule, can prevent breakdowns and accidents.
  That extra 10% of vehicles can pay for itself in fairly short order, really. And, when you DO have a surge, all you need is to pick up a few temporary people to put those trucks on the road, to meet the surge. I've seen it done. We had a contract come up that required tens of thousands of tons of rebar to be moved, and all those extra trucks were put on a dedicated run to help meet the deadline.
  BTW - those extra trucks are usually older, nearly worn out vehicles that have already paid for themselves, many times over. They are still roadworthy, they are paid off, they are still insured, they still pass inspection - why get rid of them? Keep a few around for whatever emergencies might happen. They've already been depreciated, so on the books they are valueless, and cost next to nothing.
  That's great, but FedEx and UPS already do that. What happened here is that they overran their 15 percent. Most companies don't have surge capacity on their surge capacity.
  The other tricky thing here is the logistics -- I'm pretty sure UPS had at least almost enough trucks and feet on the ground to do pickups and deliveries -- the problem comes from having more volume than their processing plants can process and more air deliveries than they can charter flights for. The big one is really their processing hubs, which can only scale up to max capacity -- you can't go any further, period.
14. Re:Understandable, but... by Dragonslicer · 2013-12-26 08:08 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  I ordered a toy for my nephew 5 days before Christmas, with Amazon Prime 2-day GUARANTEED shipping. Right on the item page, Amazon GUARANTEED that it would arrive by Christmas. I don't hold UPS responsible. I hold responsible the vendor that made the claim. I spent my Christmas Eve driving to a Toys-R-Us 3 towns over, instead of sipping egg nog and decorating the tree.
  Congratulations on teaching a child the true meaning of Christmas.
15. Re:Understandable, but... by UnknowingFool · 2013-12-26 08:08 · Score: 2
  
  What I find truly ironic - people are blaming FedEx and UPS for 'failing to plan ahead properly' when *they're* the ones ordering things at the very last second. UPS should include a small, complimentary mirror with each of these delayed packages when they're delivered.
  Well from the stories I've read and anecdotally, not everyone was "very last second". I know of at least two people whose packages were shipped two weeks before Christmas and still have not gotten them yet. There's also stories that the packages have sat in UPS facilities for a week without being moved or delivered.
  
  --
  Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
16. Re:Understandable, but... by Rich0 · 2013-12-26 15:48 · Score: 2
  
  Which is why UPS should have, oh, went public with the information and told the press that Amazon and others were lying?
  UPS telling their customers (which is Amazon, not you) what the deal is makes their customers happy. UPS embarrassing their customers by calling them out to the press doesn't make their customers happy. Which strategy do you think will be better for business?
  UPS is going to lose zero business because of these delays. Everybody who actually pays them money knew about them in advance and chose to use them anyway. Anybody other than a retail shipper doesn't care since normal businesses don't ship tons of stuff out the day before Christmas.
  UPS didn't promise anybody that their package would be there on time. Amazon may very well have, and that's where the fault lies. Amazon doesn't even let customers pick the courier anyway - they just pick the delivery timeline and Amazon picks the courier. So, even if UPS went on the radio saying that they'd spend a million dollars a package getting stuff there on time if that was what it took there would be no way to buy something from Amazon and be assured that they'd use UPS anyway. And the only way UPS is going to spend a million dollars getting you a package is if somebody paid them a $1.1M to do it.
17. Re:Understandable, but... by jedinite · 2013-12-26 16:44 · Score: 2
  
  I was one of these customers.
  I ordered a mSata SSD that via Prime 2-day was scheduled for delivery on xmas eve. I got a notification that day (from Amazon) that UPS was overwhelmed and the package wouldn't be delivered on the "guaranteed" date.
  On xmas day I received a (totally unsolicited) $20 gift card credit email from Amazon, that let me know $20 would be waiting in my Amazon account, no code necessary.
  On xmas +1 the SSD arrived (and I ordered something else, taking full advantage of the gift card).
  Result? At least in this regard, 100% satisfied customer...
  
  --
  
  ---------
  There is no try at jedinite.com
Procrastination is not someone else's problem by Anonymous Coward · 2013-12-26 05:08 · Score: 2, Interesting

How about you don't wait until the 22nd or 23rd to order your gift and expect there to be 0 shipping/fulfillment issues? Yes, this is a service that has a "guaranteed" delivery date, but any common sense will tell you it's a best guess. Yes, it may be right 99% of the time, but obviously no one can predict weather, plane/truck issues, wrong inventory counts (Only 1 left in Stock!), etc.
Are these folks idolators? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-12-26 05:11 · Score: 3, Insightful

It seems to me, they worship physical objects, and not their Creator. Give the U.S.P.S. a break if there's a snowstorm. I can't believe that a holiday these folks allege to be a Religious one can be "ruined" because stuff they want (that has nothing to do with the religious observance) is a day late.
1. Re:Are these folks idolators? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-12-26 05:30 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  How do you know physical objects are not The Creator? For all you know, the universe could be run by Kindle Fire HDXs, and they only chose now to manifest themselves in reality.
2. Re:Are these folks idolators? by LordLimecat · 2013-12-26 07:08 · Score: 2
  
  Heres a hint: Christmas is not a religious celebration for the majority of people who observe it.
Fucking WAAAA. by CanHasDIY · 2013-12-26 05:18 · Score: 2, Informative

'While others take vacation and time off in December, remember we aren't allowed ever to be off in December. Ever,' said a 20-year veteran UPS driver on the UPS Facebook page. 'So when you see your family and complain that your package is held up, everyone who moves your package is working and doesn't get the Xmas experience you get, Be thankful for that.'"
Hey, fuck you, buddy. They told you that shit about not taking time off during the busiest shipping season of the year when you took the job 20 fucking years ago, and probably reminded you every year since, so don't try to play the fucking victim here. Plus, "Dur, I had to work" is a really, really piss-poor excuse for failing to meet your work obligations, now isn't it?
I don't really get to take a lot of time off, period, but you don't see me using that as an excuse to suck at my job.
Side note: My wife ordered me a new watch on Dec. 4, shipped via UPS.
The current arrival date is sometime after Jan. 4.

--
An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
1. Re:Fucking WAAAA. by kcmastrpc · 2013-12-26 05:21 · Score: 2
  
  Side note: My wife ordered me a new watch on Dec. 4, shipped via UPS.
  The current arrival date is sometime after Jan. 4.
  Something tells me this has something to do with the fulfillment and not the shipper. You don't want to/can't wait for a package? Go to the store.
2. Re:Fucking WAAAA. by Anonymous Coward · 2013-12-26 05:35 · Score: 3, Funny
  
  That's because it was destroyed. A bunch of thieves broke into a UPS factory and destroyed it. The UPS workers fought with their lives to protect your package and others, and 32 workers fell in the battle. How many lives must be lost before you are satisfied? You're still getting your watch, but remember who died to get it to you.
3. Re:Fucking WAAAA. by plopez · 2013-12-26 05:52 · Score: 2
  
  When anything bad happens it is never management's fault. They are, however, responsible for everything good that happens.
  
  --
  putting the 'B' in LGBTQ+
4. Re:Fucking WAAAA. by krakelohm · 2013-12-26 06:12 · Score: 2
  
  Woah.... Who shit your Cheerios? Chill out man.
  
  --
  You are all a bunch of idots.
5. Re:Fucking WAAAA. by CanHasDIY · 2013-12-26 07:07 · Score: 2
  
  So if you wanted it earlier you should have paid for expedited shipping.
  Didn't bother to RTFS, did you? Even those who did pay for expedited shipping got screwed. Says so right there, at the top of this page.
  
  --
  An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
6. Re:Fucking WAAAA. by CanHasDIY · 2013-12-26 07:16 · Score: 2, Interesting
  
  Woah.... Who shit your Cheerios? Chill out man.
  You know, that sort of attitude is why our economy is so fucked, and why corporations get away with murder.
  A company took people's money in exchange for a promise of service, and subsequently failed to provide the service those people paid for. Why wouldn't we be pissed? Corporate America is sticking it to us again, and people are making fucking excuses for it!
  Idiots advocating against their own best interest just sticks in my craw, I guess.
  
  --
  An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
7. Re:Fucking WAAAA. by ultranova · 2013-12-26 08:13 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  Maybe; I was raised in a capitalist society, after all...
  
  Well then, what are you complaining about? The company has decided that its current level of effort maximizes its expected profits. Sucks for you, but that's usually the outcome for the weaker party to a deal in a capitalist society (or any society, for that matter).
  
  --
  Forget magic. Any technology distinguishable from divine power is insufficiently advanced.
I just hate delays by twocows · 2013-12-26 05:22 · Score: 2

I get that there can be high load during holidays, and I'm not upset that I didn't get my purchase by the 25th (I wasn't expecting to), but when they miss my delivery date by as much as they're predicting they're going to, I should be compensated to some degree. I paid for 3-5 day shipping and it doesn't look like it's going to be 3-5 business days (I ordered Thursday and the estimate was this Thursday, they're now estimating it won't get here until next week). It has nothing to do with procrastination, the thing I ordered wasn't even a Christmas present, it was a replacement graphics card for my desktop (the current one failed about two weeks ago). The issue is that I paid for a particular service and I expect it to be completed as advertised. If it's not, then they should reasonably compensate me for the difference between advertised and delivered. Don't advertise "3-5 day shipping" if it's not 3-5 day shipping.
1. Re:I just hate delays by Runaway1956 · 2013-12-26 06:02 · Score: 2
  
  I would go with the flip side of that. They shouldn't be advertising 3-5 business day shipping this close to Christmas. Instead of making empty promises for fast shipping, they should be stressing the fact that the longer you wait to order, the more likely it is to be late.
  
  --
  "Windows is like the faint smell of piss in a subway: it's there, and there's nothing you can do about it." - Charlie Br
Re: hey, seems like all my US Postal Service packa by Anonymous Coward · 2013-12-26 05:35 · Score: 2, Informative

True story: UPS has handed off a lot of its last-leg delivery to the USPS, especially in rural areas. Those routes were never profitable for UPS so now they only deliver as far as the local post office, which doesn't exactly put a priority on delivering someone else's packages, so they may sit for a while before getting loaded on the USPS trucks for final delivery.
This happened to us 2 years ago - we'd ordered some stuff that would not arrive before we went to visit relatives, so (with their permission) we had it shipped to their house. According to the online tracking, it sat in their post office for two days before USPS deigned to deliver it. Fortunately, the packages were still "on time" that time, but we did have some worries over it.
Re:Thankful by damicatz · 2013-12-26 05:35 · Score: 5, Insightful

UPS and FedEx drivers have been working 10-12+ hour days 6-7 days a week since Thanksgiving.
Your Christmas will not be ruined because of a late package unless you value some item or trinket over spending time with your family. First world problems indeed.
Re:What a load of BS by Deadstick · 2013-12-26 05:36 · Score: 5, Insightful

That being said, having your gifts arrive a little late falls in the First World Problems category. Get over it.
True, but so is a corn futures contract. If you sell me one and the corn doesn't show up at the warehouse, I'm not gonna let you off the hook because you had a dry year...and Fedex/UPS should be expected to compensate their customers some way. It won't kill them to knock something off the next shipping bill.
Re:hey, seems like all my US Postal Service packag by zlives · 2013-12-26 05:37 · Score: 2

+1
sent mine using USPS and everything got in time.
Re:Members of Amazon Prime can request one free mo by Sarten-X · 2013-12-26 05:38 · Score: 3, Insightful

The libertarian thing to do, then, is to order many individual packages during December, with careful attention paid to the origin and destination so as to maximize the expected profit.
The invisible hand of the free market will finally serve the consumer!

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You do not have a moral or legal right to do absolutely anything you want.
Re:oh fucking cry about it. by Anonymous Coward · 2013-12-26 05:39 · Score: 2, Insightful

they didn't. The RETAILERS did. As of the 19th both FedEx and UPS said there was NO guarentee for a "By the 24th" delivery date, yet the retails kept that promise. The blame is getting passed onto the wrong parties
Re:oh fucking cry about it. by SJHillman · 2013-12-26 05:41 · Score: 2

When I pick a political candidate to vote for, I know he won't keep all of his campaign promises so I apply common sense to weed out the more farfetched ones.
Likewise, when a company promises something that seems a bit farfetched (like making last minute deliveries just before Christmas), I know there's a good chance they'll fall short. It may not be ideal for the consumer, but it's how the world works.
Surprisingly, USPS delivered all of our Christmas cards by the 23rd in spite of us not getting them out until the 21st, which was after their "Will deliver by Christmas" deadline.
Re:What a load of BS by Desler · 2013-12-26 05:45 · Score: 2

As others have said above, UPS and Fedex were both stating close to a week before Christmas that they couldn't guarantee shipment times. If you were given such a guarantee even after that point it was because the retailers were lying to you.
Narcissistic Society says by Anonymous Coward · 2013-12-26 05:47 · Score: 5, Insightful

"'I wanted it tomorrow and it didn't make it, I don't give a shit about the massive volume of items from other procrastinators like myself or the ice storms and other weather, I WANT MY SHIT IT'S THE CARRIERS FAULT!' mentality is just so damn annoying."
Society is increasingly narcissistic. The person to whom this is a reply is correct in the statement quoted above as he explains the instant-gratification mentality he observes.
Re:Winter Weather by jedidiah · 2013-12-26 05:49 · Score: 2

Many places don't expect "winter weather" in winter and are ill equipped to handle it when it actually happens.
Pretty much the bottom half of the country...

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A Pirate and a Puritan look the same on a balance sheet.
Re:oh fucking cry about it. by lgw · 2013-12-26 05:52 · Score: 3, Informative

UPS stopped making any promises mid-December, as did FedEx. They knew, and were honest and upfront about it. What more can you ask of them? You should be asking why Amazon was still making promises they knew they couldn't stand behind.

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Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.
Re:No sympathy here by Runaway1956 · 2013-12-26 05:53 · Score: 2

Sure you can believe them. Retards are allowed to believe any damned thing they like. Children are allowed to believe any thing their parents encourage them to believe. Fools can believe in Utopia. Progressives can believe that they are evolved. And, you can believe that your Christmas order, placed on December 22nd, will be personally, and lovingly handled by a Christmas elf so that will arrive at the stroke of midnight on Christmas day.

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"Windows is like the faint smell of piss in a subway: it's there, and there's nothing you can do about it." - Charlie Br
Meh... by mythosaz · 2013-12-26 05:55 · Score: 5, Informative

First, The UPS "guaranteed on-schedule delivery" already includes the following:

The guarantee does not apply to UPS shipments that are delayed due to causes beyond UPS's control, including, but not limited to, the following:
[SNIPPED some basic things, strikes, acts of god, government, customs, etc.]
disruptions in air or ground transportation networks, such as weather phenomena; and natural disasters.
The guarantee does not apply to UPS 2nd Day Air A.M., UPS 2nd Day Air, UPS 3 Day Select, and UPS Ground shipments that are picked up or scheduled to be delivered between December 12 and December 25.
http://www.ups.com/media/en/terms_service_us.pdf
Can you read that? Christmas is excluded. The whole Christmas season is excluded. ...and they're still offering compensation.
Good guy UPS.
1. Re:Meh... by mythosaz · 2013-12-26 08:25 · Score: 2
  
  USPS has a money-back guarantee for Priority Mail Express (in most markets), but charges more for holiday delivery.
  https://www.usps.com/ship/priority-mail-express.htm
  So, like any consumer, you choose the shipper that best meets your needs based on their well documented service offers.
First world problems by symbolset · 2013-12-26 05:56 · Score: 4, Insightful

If you ordered a gift at the last possible second, the problem is not UPS. It's you.

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Help stamp out iliturcy.
Re:Thankful by anglico · 2013-12-26 06:03 · Score: 5, Interesting

When I was a driver (~2000) we could only be on the road for 12 hours (13 with lunch) if I remember correctly, so whether we were finished or not, we had to be back at the building within that time frame. Every Christmas I worked as a driver we were taking packages on the way home in our cars, on our own time, to make sure people got their presents.
Logistic is complicated by ThePhilips · 2013-12-26 06:24 · Score: 2

Logistic is complicated. That's why for so many years now I have a rule: never order any shipment in three last weeks of December and first two weeks of January.
I had anecdotal experience when a parcel from Amazon ordered first week of January came to me sooner than a parcel I have ordered a week before Xmas.
So for the sake of the inner calm, I have simply stopped ordering on-line during this time.

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All hope abandon ye who enter here.
Re:Thankful by Salgak1 · 2013-12-26 06:25 · Score: 3, Insightful

. . .except, of course, that it was NOT UPS (or FedEx, or DHL. . . ) that promised the 2-day shipping. The MERCHANTS did. And that's who the medium-large can'o'whoop@ss should be opened on. . .
Re:oh fucking cry about it. by torkus · 2013-12-26 06:39 · Score: 3, Insightful

The problem is the vast majority of people sending things aren't interacting with UPS or FedEx other than selecting shipping speed through xyzshopping.com
They were told 'last day to order for xmas eve delivery is 11:59PM on Dec 23rd (or whatever) by the retailer.
Last second shopping? Go to a freaking store people. :)

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You can get rich if you own a politician, but you have to be rich to buy one in the first place.
True, but not really the point either! by King_TJ · 2013-12-26 06:40 · Score: 2

Any attempts to place blame on the employees working 10+ hour days for the carriers and not getting any vacation time is uncalled for. But the problem does lie at the feet of upper management!
As others said, it's not like they should have been taken by surprise that they had a pending problem, if there was a backlog of undelivered packages due to bad weather., just ahead of the holiday rush.
Every online merchant I visited promised "guaranteed delivery before Xmas" if I placed an order by a certain cutoff date (and paid the heavy markup on shipping costs required to upgrade to overnight delivery).
It was irresponsible of the carriers to let everyone believe those commitments would still be met, if they had a backlog in the pipeline.
It might be in the "spirit of the holiday" to say we should just forgive and not get worried about this. But this was a corporation charging you good money based on a promise they literally failed to deliver on. I'm sure some people spent nearly as much as the merchandise itself cost to ensure it arrived someplace before Christmas. They certainly deserve refunds.
Re:oh fucking cry about it. by geoskd · 2013-12-26 07:00 · Score: 2

Which means that if Amazon was promising it when their shipping providers weren't making that promise, Amazon should have been looking for alternative shipping methods that could meet the promise.
I'll give you a hint: There aren't any.
Why do you think Amazon has been making noises about starting their own delivery services. They are sick of the results they have been getting from *all* of the existing delivery companies. To Amazon I say, "Good Luck", let me know how that works out for you...

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I wish I had a good sig, but all the good ones are copyrighted
Re:Thankful by Anonymous Coward · 2013-12-26 07:04 · Score: 4, Insightful

Thanks.
Re:USPS Where are you?? by unitron · 2013-12-26 07:04 · Score: 2

I'm gathering you haven't heard about the "Murder the Post Office in Slow Motion" law passed in 2006?

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I see even classic Slashdot is now pretty much unusable on dial up anymore.
Shop Early by LMariachi · 2013-12-26 07:07 · Score: 2

In the early 20th century there was a movement encouraging people to shop early, so as to be considerate of retail and delivery employees’ health and sanity.

Core to "Shop Early" was the notion that "the crowding of the shops by late purchasers of Christmas gifts is a crude and obvious denial of the Christmas spirit," as a 1913 editorial in the The Outlook magazine put it. "It is dishonoring the day to cause thousands upon thousands of girls and women to dread its approach."
The "Shop Early" ethos was around for decades, though it faded along with the political star of the progressives who popularized it. Today, some people still try to shop early, but the ethos is dead. Every opportunity for consumer convenience is extolled.
Source article.
UPS and Amazon Are Winning by the+eric+conspiracy · 2013-12-26 07:08 · Score: 2, Insightful

The real war on Christmas.
The day after the birthday of the Savior what do we have as news? UPS couldn't deliver packages full of meaningless crap.
This is so wrong.
Re:Tough choices... by geoskd · 2013-12-26 07:12 · Score: 4, Insightful

'While others take vacation and time off in December, remember we aren't allowed ever to be off in December. Ever,' said a 20-year veteran UPS driver on the UPS Facebook page.
As somone in a similar position (not career, but limited vacation-time availability), that's a career choice each person must make. If you aren't happy with it, change careers.
And just what career do you think that a delivery driver (who I might add is not qualified to do anything requiring more than a high school diploma) is supposed to switch to? Remember, half of the people in the world have an IQ below 100 by definition. Should we just relegate all of these people to 2nd class citizen status with poverty level jobs (if any job at all)? Most of these people dont have any other options that offer any chance of paying enough to allow them to raise a family. Or is it your considered opinion that these people exist only to serve you? People like you invented slavery, and would have us return to it in the name of capitalism.

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I wish I had a good sig, but all the good ones are copyrighted
Re: hey, seems like all my US Postal Service packa by geoskd · 2013-12-26 07:17 · Score: 2

True story: UPS has handed off a lot of its last-leg delivery to the USPS, especially in rural areas. Those routes were never profitable for UPS so now they only deliver as far as the local post office, which doesn't exactly put a priority on delivering someone else's packages, so they may sit for a while before getting loaded on the USPS trucks for final delivery. This happened to us 2 years ago - we'd ordered some stuff that would not arrive before we went to visit relatives, so (with their permission) we had it shipped to their house. According to the online tracking, it sat in their post office for two days before USPS deigned to deliver it. Fortunately, the packages were still "on time" that time, but we did have some worries over it.
What you are referring to is a specific cut rate service level that UPS offers to shippers. It is called Surepost, and FedEx has their own version of it. You can avoid this by ensuring that the shipper sends your package by ground, or one of the air variants. If the shipper is offering free shipping, or just says UPS shipping, then it is most likely the above mentioned shipping option. Neither UPS nor FedEx will ever downgrade any other shipment type to the USPS, so unless you are only paying for the cut rate shipping, your package will be delivered to you by UPS or FedEx.

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I wish I had a good sig, but all the good ones are copyrighted
Re:USPS Where are you?? by CanHasDIY · 2013-12-26 07:29 · Score: 4, Informative

All this revenue that could be pulled by the one time largest shipper in the US, but for some reason, they keep losing billions a year.
No, they aren't "losing billions a year."
It just looks that way, because the USPS is the only government body that's required (thanks to Congressional legislation) to fund ALL retirements and pensions through the next decade.
If it were allowed to be ran like any other government agency, the Post Office would actually be doing OK.

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An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
Re:Smallest Violin by CanHasDIY · 2013-12-26 07:31 · Score: 2

You're foolish or lazy enough to cut ordering gifts that close and have the unmitigated gall to whine when the dice you rolled came up snake-eyes? Eff right off.
I've read reports of people who ordered stuff on Black Friday and are still waiting on UPS to find and deliver their packages.
Where are you folks getting the idea that this fiasco only affected last-minute orders?

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An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
Re:'merica by mrclisdue · 2013-12-26 07:36 · Score: 2

#hipster
Re:What a load of BS by CanHasDIY · 2013-12-26 07:37 · Score: 2

In UPS's defense, I will point out that every other package they shipped this year was delivered on time, to the right address.
Still, I've had entirely too many issues with that company in the past to ever voluntarily trust a delivery to them.

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An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
Re:Thankful by anglico · 2013-12-26 08:29 · Score: 2

By the time you become a driver you have spent at least 5 years with the company, so if there were any doubts about your integrity, it would normally have surfaced before you then while you were a part time loader or unloader. Each driver had also written down addresses of the 4-5 pkgs we took, so if there were any questions, the company knew right where to go, and we used paper records to get signatures.
Most of the time they were packages for your customers on your normal route that had arrived after you left the building in the morning, so these were your friends you would be stealing from, so just not worth it. No package was worth losing a good salary and benefits for what you may think is in the box. I worked for them for ten years and never witnessed or heard of a driver stealing, ever. I hope that answers your question.
Re:oh fucking cry about it. by sgt+scrub · 2013-12-26 16:33 · Score: 2

The USPS is the only one of the two that does do guarantees. Still they get ragged on no matter what. I wonder what the people that preach "the USPS sucks because they are a bloated government agency" would say if this was the USPS. All my gifts got to where they were supposed to be by the time they were supposed to be there. "But private sector is so much more efficient than the government... bla bla bla". Now that UPS and FedEx are getting into the amount of packages handled by the USPS they are showing how difficult the job really is.

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Having to work for a living is the root of all evil.