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Allison Covan, Parkville MD - Warning!

Did this really need a BOI thread? This looks to be a misunderstanding, nothing more. Get over yourselves...
 
Okay, let me see if I have this straight. You expect Allison, or her dad, to argue with the UPS driver or complain to UPS management regarding a shipment they didn't set up in the first place.

There could have been better communication on Allison's part but IMO this was doomed from the start. It's not like Allison could leave it on the doorstop for the driver, so someone had to be there when the driver comes. For a $40 snake??? That fact that she tried to accommodate you at all is commendable. After the first missed shipment I probably would have said that I'd find a home locally.
 
SPJ said:
That could very well be what happened.
UPS does not have the same waiver for shipping as Fed Ex does.
Picking up a box labeled with the contents may cause them to refuse it.

Hell, I am approved thru Fed Ex and still had a problem 2 weeks ago. The snake made it all the way to the hub for delivery. The driver refused to take the package. They claimed they didn't have to since Fed Ex does not ship reptiles. They claimed to not be able to find my waiver in the system and my customer had to drive out to pick it up or the box would just sit at the hub.
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That sucks!! we need a dedicated reptile shipper....
 
UPS didn't make the first pickup and the driver refused to take the animal on the second pickup. It wouldn't be the first time something like this happened. People have an irrational fear of harmless snakes. Allison isn't UPS certified to ship snakes so what would you have had her do, scream at the driver that he has to take it or else?
 
jglass38 said:
Did this really need a BOI thread? This looks to be a misunderstanding, nothing more. Get over yourselves...
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You also forget that there was no contact made to me at all, even after i did paypal claims! this is why it is a BOI thread. And also seeing that the original posts on livejournal were deleted i had red flags going up. there is no negativity here, please refrain from it. I do not hate allison, but i did need to see some sort of response to this.
 
kmurphy said:
Okay, let me see if I have this straight. You expect Allison, or her dad, to argue with the UPS driver or complain to UPS management regarding a shipment they didn't set up in the first place.

There could have been better communication on Allison's part but IMO this was doomed from the start. It's not like Allison could leave it on the doorstop for the driver, so someone had to be there when the driver comes. For a $40 snake??? That fact that she tried to accommodate you at all is commendable. After the first missed shipment I probably would have said that I'd find a home locally.
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I dont think SaraEXPECTS them to argue with UPS, but to get in contact with me or sara would have been a better idea.
 
jglass38 said:
UPS didn't make the first pickup and the driver refused to take the animal on the second pickup. It wouldn't be the first time something like this happened. People have an irrational fear of harmless snakes. Allison isn't UPS certified to ship snakes so what would you have had her do, scream at the driver that he has to take it or else?
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You didnt read the thread correctly. The first pickup never happened, it was lost in the system or so UPS says. :thumbsup: Sorry if it wasnt SUPER clear on that bit, but i did my best to make this understandable :p
 
Interestingly enough I am not certified with anyone to ship reptiles and yet, by taking them to the hub, whether it be UPS or Fedex, I have shipped many packages this year all of which were labelled "live harmless reptiles."

There were a couple of times where the person working the counter said they did not ship reptiles at which time I informed them they did ship reptiles and a simple check with management would clarify that.

Maybe just going to the hub would take the driver out of the picture completely and make things easier in the future.
 
Wilomn said:
Interestingly enough I am not certified with anyone to ship reptiles and yet, by taking them to the hub, whether it be UPS or Fedex, I have shipped many packages this year all of which were labelled "live harmless reptiles."

There were a couple of times where the person working the counter said they did not ship reptiles at which time I informed them they did ship reptiles and a simple check with management would clarify that.

Maybe just going to the hub would take the driver out of the picture completely and make things easier in the future.
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Ive never heard of that before, but it sounds like an interesting idea. theyre completely okay with it when you do it that way?
 
Mooing Tricycle said:
Ive never heard of that before, but it sounds like an interesting idea. theyre completely okay with it when you do it that way?
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Perhaps it's just my winning smile and pleasant demeanor, but no, not a problem in many long times.
 
For what it is worth, UPS - by policy - does ship some reptiles...the specifics are posted many times in various threads here (sorry - I do not have the time at this moment to look for them...but snakes are NOT one of the shippable animals). I only attempted to ship a snake by UPS once, and that was an attempt to return an animal that had been delivered via UPS. I knew they were against policy; but that was how they were sent, and I was not FedEx certified yet. Everything was done right, the shipping paperwork listing "live harmless reptiles" as the box contents...they would not take the box until I stated what type of reptile, at which point they refused to accept it. No surprise.
We all know that some people ship snakes thru UPS, apparently with the company's blessings. Could be a money issue, could be a matter of individual hubs/employees being more lax than others. Doesn't matter WHY, the bottom line is that the policy is not enforced consistently. You can't fault the driver for not taking a package that is prohibited under company policy, regardless of how many times you might have used the company in the past.

Somebody should have been paying attention to what was going on AND communicating with the other people involved. I had a failed shipment a couple months ago (was it that long ago, Alicia?) - the box just didn't leave FedEx. I checked the tracking info, and when it came up with no info, I communicated that to the customer first thing; then started trying to sort out and resolve the problem. If things transpired as stated, the seller should have communicated the problem to Alicia immediately (she could have called Sara, too, but it was the customer that should have been her priority). The seller also seems to have dropped the ball by not responding when the snake did not arrive as planned.
Sara, it said you were able to verify that the package was in the system...did you have a tracking number that you could have given to Alicia? (admittedly, I don't know how 3rd party shipping works with UPS, but as the account that set up the shipment, I would think that you could access that info)
 
hhmoore said:
Sara, it said you were able to verify that the package was in the system...did you have a tracking number that you could have given to Alicia? (admittedly, I don't know how 3rd party shipping works with UPS, but as the account that set up the shipment, I would think that you could access that info)
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Regretably, i cannot. I do not have enough going out to warrant a daily pickup, therefore i setup 'one time pickups'. All the tracking info is printed out and stuck on the box, and a slip with the tracking number given.
 
UPS.com

Accepted / Prohibited Live Animals
Accepted Live Animals

This is a comprehensive list of live animals accepted for transportation. Shippers are prohibited from shipping any animal not listed here, and all other live animals will not be accepted for transportation. The following live animals are accepted for transportation unless poisonous, venomous, and/or a Threatened or Endangered Species.

* Amphibians (All): Examples: frogs, salamanders, toads
* Crustaceans (All): Examples: crabs, crawfish, lobsters, shrimp
* Fish (All)
* Insects (Limited to beneficial insects only): Examples: bees, butterflies, crickets, lady bugs
* Mollusks (All): Examples: clams, mussels, snails
* Reptiles (Limited to the following):
- Lizards: Examples: chameleons, geckos, iguanas, monitors, flying dragons
- Turtles: freshwater turtles (except: snapping turtles), land tortoises, sea turtles
* Worms (All)


Prohibited Live Animals

Live Animals that are prohibited from being shipped and are not accepted for transportation include, but are not limited to:

* Any poisonous, venomous or threatening animal
* Any Threatened or Endangered species
* Arachnids (All): Examples: mites, scorpions, spiders, ticks
* Birds (All)
* Crocodiles (All): Examples: alligators, caimans, gavials
* Mammals (All)
* Obnoxious Insects: Examples: flies, locusts, mosquitoes, roaches, termites, weevils
* Snakes (All): venomous and non-venomous
 
I still do not understand these idiotic policies.

They will accept a croc monitor for shipment but not a corn snake. Doesn't make any sense.
 
SPJ said:
I still do not understand these idiotic policies.

They will accept a croc monitor for shipment but not a corn snake. Doesn't make any sense.
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i know... they need somone in there with some actual experience on what these reptiles are and are actually capable of. the day you find a post where a ball python, ratsnake, cornsnake killed/ seriously injured a human you let me know! :p :p
 
Mooing Tricycle said:
the day you find a post where a ball python, ratsnake, cornsnake killed/ seriously injured a human you let me know! :p :p
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Does seeing a cornsnake and then turning and running in a fear driven panic into the street and getting hit by a truck count?
:)
 
:iagree: . Not only the fear-factor of the sight of a snake, but the added lack of knowledge behind the first question: "Is it poisonous". We cannot expect any shipper to be able to independently determine that. Snakes are also much better at escaping than are lizards. I know there are exceptions to every rule, but statistics do not lie.

UPS does have shipping arrangements to ship snakes from shippers they have approved. While not the same as what you see regarding the FAA status of being an "Approved Shipper" (or whichever agency oversees it now), they do have some sort of internal procedure to put the seal of approval on certain folks. Dare I say it, but I think UPS recognizes that the larger shippers are also consistently more responsible than some of the less-frequent shippers.

Here's an added way to negotiate using an account other than the actual shipper, whether second or third party. Have the account holder use their on-line account to print the shipping label, using the appropriate tabs to indicating where the package is being sent from, and then to whom. Print out the pre-paid label. Mail it to the actual shipper. Then have the actual shipper drop it off at a UPS Service Center. How you label it is up to you, but the idea of it all is to stay lower on the radar, and reduce the opportunities for something to go wrong.

Lastly, shipping anything "live" on a Thursday for Friday delivery is inviting trouble. Many of us will not ship past Wednesday. If something goes wrong, and it is delayed, you are now faced with a Monday delivery in most cases, and a dead animal. To add to the woes, any shipping company employee will tell you that the holiday season will see a huge increase in mistakes made by them. Higher volume and a flood of temporary employees, and all the more reason to avoid Thursday shipping. Take it for what its worth.
 
shrap said:
Does seeing a cornsnake and then turning and running in a fear driven panic into the street and getting hit by a truck count?
:)
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haha i suppose but indirectly. they should still be taught basic stuff about reptiles though if theyre to allow them to go through their shipment process at all... so if there ever was an escapee they would know what they were dealing with, and how to handle the situation.
 
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