MDC_Ophiuchus
StudentoftheReptile
UPDATE: This is the most recent reply from UPS:
....and my response:
Vicky,
Thank you for the reply. To be perfectly honest, given the service I've received thus far, I had given up on any further response from UPS at this point.
In light of all the information I have received, I feel that if this is the type of service one is going to receive from UPS, then the company needs to a little more upfront with the possibility delays and extra charges.
For starters, if there are going to be additional charges, the UPS employee booking the package should notify the customer this is taking place, and why.
UPS needs to make more accurate records of when, where, how, and why delays occur. If adverse weather is an issue in Kentucky, it needs to have that exceptional data recorded WHILE IT IS IN Kentucky...not California. The fact that you cannot pinpoint exactly where the weather delay occurred is unsatisfactory. A company as large as UPS should keep better records than that.
During the holiday season with the high volume of packages being shipped across the country, perhaps UPS needs to put better effort making customers aware that delays will occur. In my personal situation, I have YET to receive an explanation as to why my package was still delayed a day and half AFTER the weather delay occurred, and personally feel that UPS did not make an adequate effort to get the package delivered A.S.A.P. With all the vague answers I keep receiving (poor record keeping, perhaps? see above), I don't think I'll be getting one either.
It seems to me that UPS does not keep accurate records of the packages they ship, and rumor has it that employees will often just put down "adverse weather" when the package was actually delayed because of a human error (of course, UPS would never admit to this behavior, but I'm just letting you know perhaps you guys need to straighten up and make sure you're doing everything you can for the customer. There's a lot of "one-time" customers who feel this way!).
Additionally, I was not properly notified of additional charges to my package. It almost felt like UPS decided to take advantage of everyone's hectic schedule and slap on extra charges at the last minute, knowing that most people would not protest during the holidays.
Just for future reference, Vicky, here are some responses that a good customer service rep should have made during the corrospondence:
"Mr. Crabtree, I do not why you received extra charges on your package. If you can give me the location where the package was booked, perhaps I can try and find out why and possibly if the extra fees were applied in error." [Leaving the investigative work up to the customer = bad]
"Mr. Crabtree, I apologize for the weather delay in your package's transit. If you would like, I can try and find out exactly when the adverse weather conditions occurred. While unlikely, it is possible the package was unneccessarily delayed after the foul weather was experienced, and if so, perhaps we can offer you a partial refund." [Recited and rehearsed replies with vague answers (i.e. "I don't know..., etc") don't cut it. At least TRY and make it look like you're doing something!]
...or something to that effect. Of course, any sort of response like the examples cited above would imply that your company perhaps made a mistake. Apparently, you would not want to admit such a thing, and it just seems more convenient to blame it on the weather.
Understand, Vicky, that at this point, I'm not upset that I am not receiving a refund from UPS (although I still feel at least a partial refund is not unreasonable). I am now upset because it appears that you did not even TRY to help me get to the bottom of this matter. Was it just too much work to ask of you? What have I learned from this experience is:
UPS = fail
Sincerely,
Michael Crabtree
--------
....and my response:
Vicky,
Thank you for the reply. To be perfectly honest, given the service I've received thus far, I had given up on any further response from UPS at this point.
In light of all the information I have received, I feel that if this is the type of service one is going to receive from UPS, then the company needs to a little more upfront with the possibility delays and extra charges.
For starters, if there are going to be additional charges, the UPS employee booking the package should notify the customer this is taking place, and why.
UPS needs to make more accurate records of when, where, how, and why delays occur. If adverse weather is an issue in Kentucky, it needs to have that exceptional data recorded WHILE IT IS IN Kentucky...not California. The fact that you cannot pinpoint exactly where the weather delay occurred is unsatisfactory. A company as large as UPS should keep better records than that.
During the holiday season with the high volume of packages being shipped across the country, perhaps UPS needs to put better effort making customers aware that delays will occur. In my personal situation, I have YET to receive an explanation as to why my package was still delayed a day and half AFTER the weather delay occurred, and personally feel that UPS did not make an adequate effort to get the package delivered A.S.A.P. With all the vague answers I keep receiving (poor record keeping, perhaps? see above), I don't think I'll be getting one either.
It seems to me that UPS does not keep accurate records of the packages they ship, and rumor has it that employees will often just put down "adverse weather" when the package was actually delayed because of a human error (of course, UPS would never admit to this behavior, but I'm just letting you know perhaps you guys need to straighten up and make sure you're doing everything you can for the customer. There's a lot of "one-time" customers who feel this way!).
Additionally, I was not properly notified of additional charges to my package. It almost felt like UPS decided to take advantage of everyone's hectic schedule and slap on extra charges at the last minute, knowing that most people would not protest during the holidays.
Just for future reference, Vicky, here are some responses that a good customer service rep should have made during the corrospondence:
"Mr. Crabtree, I do not why you received extra charges on your package. If you can give me the location where the package was booked, perhaps I can try and find out why and possibly if the extra fees were applied in error." [Leaving the investigative work up to the customer = bad]
"Mr. Crabtree, I apologize for the weather delay in your package's transit. If you would like, I can try and find out exactly when the adverse weather conditions occurred. While unlikely, it is possible the package was unneccessarily delayed after the foul weather was experienced, and if so, perhaps we can offer you a partial refund." [Recited and rehearsed replies with vague answers (i.e. "I don't know..., etc") don't cut it. At least TRY and make it look like you're doing something!]
...or something to that effect. Of course, any sort of response like the examples cited above would imply that your company perhaps made a mistake. Apparently, you would not want to admit such a thing, and it just seems more convenient to blame it on the weather.
Understand, Vicky, that at this point, I'm not upset that I am not receiving a refund from UPS (although I still feel at least a partial refund is not unreasonable). I am now upset because it appears that you did not even TRY to help me get to the bottom of this matter. Was it just too much work to ask of you? What have I learned from this experience is:
- UPS does not keep accurate records of individual packages.
- UPS does not seem to care if they meet a deadline or not.
- UPS does not have good customer service.
UPS = fail
Sincerely,
Michael Crabtree
