I have only shipped once. I have received many live animals.
Where I live UPS does not deliver to me until after 4pm. Regardless of whether the sender pays for earlier delivery or not. I have received packages from UPS as late a 6:30pm. For this reason I always ask that UPS not be used to ship to me. Also, the UPS driver told me that he didn't think UPS accepted live animals.
There was a case in San Francisco where the UPS delivery person turned in the recipient of the packages of live snakes to authorities. The recipient had most of his snakes confiscated and was arrested and fined.
I have experienced the best and most reliable service from DHL and FedEX. DHL would be first and FedEx second for reliability. Both carriers have gotten my packages to me before 1pm. Oftentimes before noon. That is the best I can hope for where I live.
I never accept USPS as a carrier because 3 times out of 5 they are late by
days or lose the package all together.
All this applies to shipments of
live animals and feeders.
So, from my perspective, the quality of customer service for the
recipient of the packages should weigh more heavily than that for the sender. After all, as the buyer I lose all my money and end up with no animal if the carrier loses or fails to deliver live. The seller still has my money. JMO