chimblysweep

please do not use FedEx to ship a bike, ever.
they do not deliver it, ever.
they hold it hostage and have very unpleasant people who will tell you they can do nothing to help you.
their tracking will tell you it's coming and it will never come.
then they will tell you you can pick it up in five days from their location in the far-suburbs that is not transit accessible.
then they will reschedule delivery and promise you it will come, but it won't.

you will spend weeks looking longingly at the FedEx truck that could be carrying your bike. but none will deliver it.

*sob*

they are most un-awesome.
they are even more disappointing and less dependable than tink and his i'mgoingtomakeyoudinnertonight deal.

jrowe

That's too bad. I've shipped with fedex three times in the last month with no problems, and always for between $18 and $24. UPS wanted over $100.

chimblysweep

let's just say that the tracking doesn't even have a freaking delivery date for it any more.

jrowe

Hmm, that's a drag. Why can't you pick it up at the FedEx center on New York Ave? I've picked stuff up there before.

Actually, I've shipped four times this month, not three.

chimblysweep

they say it is at a location on baltimore ave. in beltsville.
and that this location is only open tuesday through saturday.
and that there is nobody with whom i can inquire until tuesday.

no, really, i'm trying *very* hard.
and i've been really super patient.
but i'm running out...

jrowe

I guess I would inquire on Tuesday whether they could either a) redeliver, but to your office or the bike shop, or b) take it to NY Ave. Seems pretty ******** stupid to have it out in Beltsville. Who the hell goes out to Beltsville?

roadfix

never had a problem with FedEx

schwinnbikelove

Me either, in the three years I've worked for them.

juvi-kyle

FedEx is the horrifically terrible worst stupid piece of garbage ever.
Hey the Mods made me say it.

jim-bob

FedEx proper has never boned me too bad.

FedEx Ground? Oh man, don't get me started.

juvi-kyle

true true

spud

FedEx is lame, i'm joining the FedEx boycott

tlupfer

i've had the same problem. they fake a couple delivery attempts (usually not even three) and then shuffle it to a sorting facility that i'm unable to get the address to until several days later when i get a postcard telling me to call a phone number that no one will answer. i google it, show up and demand my bicycle that is now hanging three quarters out of the ripped, torn, and battered box. strangely there are never notices of "delivery attempts" and i have been home during most of them. i've received a few small packages without incident, but it seems that they save on shipping by not delivering large packages. a rather curious business model.

chimblysweep

i am partial to UPS because they're union, and FedEx is nonunion, but this one seals the deal.

i'm rather terrified that the actual reason it hasn't gotten here is because they've mangled it and don't want to admit it.

sashae

FedEx Ground != FedEx. FedEx Ground is the bought-out remnant of Roadway Package Service (RPS) who are completely and utterly useless. They may be cheaper than UPS, but they treat packages worse, lose things, and generally suck. A friend of mine's dad works in logistics at FedEx corporate in Memphis, and says that the absorption of RPS has really taken a toll on their on-time/undamaged performance.

It's weird, but the quality of delivery depends on your area. When I lived in LA, UPS delivery was unbelievably awful -- I almost never got boxes. FedEx was great. Pretty much the reverse here in NYC, but I live only a few avenues away from FedEx's depot..

treechunk

I use UPS without question because the delivery guy for our shop is amazing. He's on top of his ****, he goes the extra mile to get stuff done right, and he hangs out with us and parties sometimes on the weekends ya know?

So I use them, 'cuz the face of UPS that I see is awesome, and I know that he will fix things if they're wrong. I sometimes use the post office, especially if it's something small, but our FedEx guys are so crappy that I just don't have ANY confidence that things are gonna get done right.

shants

every shipping company that i have used more than a handful of times has disappointed me to some degree or another. USPS has lost packages, UPS has obliterated one, FedEx has lost, found, and then obliterated another, etc. waiting on packages annoys the **** out of me and having them not arrive drives me crazier. i think everyone damns the carrier when they want something and have to wait for it. but, i realize that i am taking a risk whenever i ship anything and make sure that my ass is covered if anything stupid happens. the logistics of shipping are insane and making sure that employees treat packages (that they could give a damn about) well is extremely difficult, too.

i have a feeling that if you were to reliably generate statistics based on problems across shippers, based on the number of packages shipped, that you would probably see little variation in the end. i hear people dog usps all of the time when it turns out that they've had 2 problems out of 2000 packages, who then go on the praise ups or fedex for the 3 shipments of theirs that've had no problems. the same stories are true for the other shippers.

i get super pissed when things go wrong, but, when i think about it, i really don't fool myself into supposing that some other shipper is going be much better than any other (for the same speed/type of service). union or not, people are going to jack your packages, beat them around like the wives that they abuse, and, yes, people are going to steal things off of your porch.

ostro

good call shants, i think poeple should really apply this logic to most things in life. One negative experience does not mean that the business is bad perse, its just another form of stereotyping.

eddiebrannan

i thought this was going to be another pie

genericbikedude

me too. FWIW, I like USPS.

MLPROJECT

shants, i can agree with that, but the only thing we can all agree on is that USPS sucks the biggest dick of all. i have had more stuff lost, lost then sent back to me 3-4 months later mangled, dissapear, etc. even when i get delivery confirmation to cover my ass on the paypal front, stuff will hang in the balances for weeks when sent priority mail.

Fugazi Dave

They've all messed up stuff for me, but UPS far more than anything else. If I get photo gear shipped, I usually go FedEx. I go FedEx without question if I'm ordering film or other consumables in the summertime, as things get unacceptably hot inside the brown trucks but not inside the white ones. Ultimately, it just seems like a crap shoot sometimes, regardless of who you ship with.

na975

fedex blows.

eddiebrannan

interesting point about the truck color. never considered that

tink20seven

oh my ******!


what? you think you're getting dinner now?
ha! you can forget about it.
cookies my ass.

~ the lips.