ExoticEmporium
Cold-Blooded Carnival
I thought I should share this experience with all of you:
A couple weeks ago I signed up at Reptiles Express. I had some internet problems while signing up so I sent Debbie an email making sure everything went through. She responded VERY quickly and helped me get everything in order. Right off the bat I was impressed with their customer service.
On Tuesday (8/10) I was ready to ship my first package using Reptiles Express. I printed out the label, packaged everything up, and made my way to the nearest UPS drop off. When I got to the UPS store they told me that they wouldn't take my package. I showed them the letter Reptiles Express suggested I keep with me. The letter is signed by UPS's Director of Dangerous Goods and basically states that UPS agrees to ship live non-venomous reptiles through Reptiles Express. They UPS employees still refused to take my package.
I called Debbie and she spent the next 20 minutes making phone calls. about 35-40 minutes later everyone tells me that I have to drive to the St. Louis UPS hub and drop it off there. They said that they are expecting me over at the hub and that they will take the package.
So I make the drive out to the hub and when I get there - they refuse. More then just refusing they were all being pretty rude about it. I even heard some of the employees joking about killing the snake!!!! So I get back on the phone with Debbie and she spends the next 30-45 minutes making more phone calls. Apparently someone Debbie had spoken with was supposed to call the hub to let them know they could take the package, but the call was never made and when Debbie tried calling this person back she couldn't get a hold of her. I was really impressed with Debbie's effort. It felt great knowing I had someone fighting for me.
About an hour later UPS calls in one of their lost prevention employees. She comes in and takes a look at the letter from Reptiles Express. She asks me a lot of questions and then goes to make some phone calls. After about 20 minutes later she comes out and tells me that it was all cleared up and that I was allowed to ship the package! This lady was the only UPS employee that treated me with any kind of respect that day. She made sure that all the employees knew that they had to accept packages from me and Reptiles Express. She was very helpful!
So I finally send my package out. The next morning they arrive at their destination healthy! ...End of story? I wish it was...
The next day I receive a phone call from the helpful lost prevention lady at UPS. She tells me that the letter was fake and that the signature was copy and pasted. She says that Reptiles Express had a temporary pilot program that allowed them to ship animals but that it didn't work out. She informed me that the customers of Reptiles Express had no way of knowing any of this so none of the customers are held responsible but Reptiles Express is in a lot of trouble.
Now, UPS has really gone all over the place with their position. They went from telling me it was ok to ship to no it's not ok back to everything is fine and then back again to it's not ok. I'm really not sure what to believe here. I sent Reptiles Express an email explaining the phone call I received and Debbie emailed me back saying that she forwarded the email to the owners and that she hoped everything would be worked out soon.
I'm not sure what to think of all this. I did want to share it with all of you to get your opinions.
A couple weeks ago I signed up at Reptiles Express. I had some internet problems while signing up so I sent Debbie an email making sure everything went through. She responded VERY quickly and helped me get everything in order. Right off the bat I was impressed with their customer service.
On Tuesday (8/10) I was ready to ship my first package using Reptiles Express. I printed out the label, packaged everything up, and made my way to the nearest UPS drop off. When I got to the UPS store they told me that they wouldn't take my package. I showed them the letter Reptiles Express suggested I keep with me. The letter is signed by UPS's Director of Dangerous Goods and basically states that UPS agrees to ship live non-venomous reptiles through Reptiles Express. They UPS employees still refused to take my package.
I called Debbie and she spent the next 20 minutes making phone calls. about 35-40 minutes later everyone tells me that I have to drive to the St. Louis UPS hub and drop it off there. They said that they are expecting me over at the hub and that they will take the package.
So I make the drive out to the hub and when I get there - they refuse. More then just refusing they were all being pretty rude about it. I even heard some of the employees joking about killing the snake!!!! So I get back on the phone with Debbie and she spends the next 30-45 minutes making more phone calls. Apparently someone Debbie had spoken with was supposed to call the hub to let them know they could take the package, but the call was never made and when Debbie tried calling this person back she couldn't get a hold of her. I was really impressed with Debbie's effort. It felt great knowing I had someone fighting for me.
About an hour later UPS calls in one of their lost prevention employees. She comes in and takes a look at the letter from Reptiles Express. She asks me a lot of questions and then goes to make some phone calls. After about 20 minutes later she comes out and tells me that it was all cleared up and that I was allowed to ship the package! This lady was the only UPS employee that treated me with any kind of respect that day. She made sure that all the employees knew that they had to accept packages from me and Reptiles Express. She was very helpful!
So I finally send my package out. The next morning they arrive at their destination healthy! ...End of story? I wish it was...
The next day I receive a phone call from the helpful lost prevention lady at UPS. She tells me that the letter was fake and that the signature was copy and pasted. She says that Reptiles Express had a temporary pilot program that allowed them to ship animals but that it didn't work out. She informed me that the customers of Reptiles Express had no way of knowing any of this so none of the customers are held responsible but Reptiles Express is in a lot of trouble.
Now, UPS has really gone all over the place with their position. They went from telling me it was ok to ship to no it's not ok back to everything is fine and then back again to it's not ok. I'm really not sure what to believe here. I sent Reptiles Express an email explaining the phone call I received and Debbie emailed me back saying that she forwarded the email to the owners and that she hoped everything would be worked out soon.
I'm not sure what to think of all this. I did want to share it with all of you to get your opinions.
