(no subject)

[hatman]

Went to send a package to a friend in Europe a few days ago. Figured I'd use FedEx because I needed to go to Kinko's anyway, and they're open late. It was literally the middle of the night, and I wasn't sure when or if I'd be able to get to the post office.

So I printed stuff out, boxed it up, and asked the guy how much shipping would be. "I don't know. I can't tell you. You'll just have to send it and see. But I don't think it should be too much more than $25."

Sounded a bit much, but it was going overseas. I nodded and let him take it.

Checked my credit card the next day. Pending charge for something like $86.

Checked FedEx.com for shipping rates. Got an estimate of something like $90 plus an estimated "fuel surcharge" of $25, for a total of $115 or so.

Called FedEx. Got bounced around through at least three different departments before I got someone who could actually answer my questions. She said that it's just a test charge. An estimate with some leeway, so that they know the account is actually good to handle the actual charges.

That's a fairly common practice. It's what most restaurants do, so that you can pay the bill and leave the tip on your card.

Said she wasn'tt sure what the actual charges would be, but figured it'd be in the neighborhood of $75.

Meantime, I logged on to usps.com and checked their rates. To send the same package to the same place and have it arrive in 4-6 days (FedEx's original delivery estimate was also "about 4 days") would have cost me $16.

Told her that I'd gotten a much lower estimate, and that if I'd known it was going to be that much, I'd have gone to the post office. She put a note in the file. They'll call me when the package is delivered, and we'll talk. I'm not expecting much, but that's good, at least.

So now I'm tracking the package. I handed it over the night of the 26th. It went to the regional collection center that morning. Before noon, it was in Newark, NJ. Which is the state collection center. And also the city with the giant international airport where FedEx has their own private terminal.

Great. Well on its way. Might even get there early.

Next morning at 10am, it leaves Newark. Less than an hour later, it arrives at its next checkpoint... in Memphis, TN.

The package is supposed to be going East by Northeast. Across the Atlantic to the East and somewhat to the north.

Memphis, from Newark, is about 1000 miles Southwest. South and inland.

I shrug. Maybe they've got some international routing system I'm not familliar with. Maybe from Memphis it'll be forwarded on to some other place where there's an international airport with flights to Europe.

Turns out I'm right. That night, at 4am, it leaves Memphis. It arrives the following morning (almost exactly 24 hours after its arrival in Memphis) at a city with a large international airport with flights to Europe. Newark, NJ.

*headdesk*

Midnight tonight, the day I was hoping it would arrive at its destination, found it in Paris. Which is definite progress.

They're currently estimating its arrival on October 4th, 8 days after I dropped it off.

If I'd sent it at the post office, it would probably have arrived tomorrow, and would have cost me $16.

I will be telling them that when they call.

I will also be telling them that I refuse to pay a "fuel surcharge" for the privilge of having my package shipped 1000 miles in the wrong direction, only to be sent back the following day.

I mean, last year, when I sent a package with them from one part of NJ to another, they kind of did the same thing. It went to the regional collection center in Edison, where it was read as being destined for someplace in NJ. It was forwarded to the NJ collection center in Newark, where it was routed to its correct regional center for distribution: the one in Edison.

It seemed a little wasteful, but I could sort of understand it. You have a universal system designed to handle probably millions of packages. Everything is a little simpler if you standardize it. Pick up package, route to state collection center (via the local collection center), move to destination state collection center, route to local distribution center, deliver.

Still, I took the time then to write into them. To suggest that maybe, if the destination is in the same region, it would be easier to move the package to the other side of the building rather than having to send it through the state collection center every time. They ignored me, I'm sure, but it was worth trying.

This time, though... That's just rediculous. I'm sure it's the same principle, but... really. *shakes head*

From now on, I'm sticking to USPS.

Comments

[annabtg.livejournal.com]

*headdesk*

Sure, standardization helps in the operation of such large companies, but this is just stupid. It's amazing how common sense can escape too many people.

See ya,
Anna.

[beansideirae.livejournal.com]

wowza.

[kb91.livejournal.com]

Ridiculous! I can't believe they can't give you a quote before you send it though ... that sounds really, really weird to me, to the point of impossibility. I've never sent anything FedEx overseas, but I don't recall ever not knowing the price before I sent something within the US before!

Definitely call when the package arrives and tell them you were quoted $25 ... that's crazy.

[pgwfolc.livejournal.com]

The guy had a very casual attitude about stuff. Which was nice in the middle of the night. And which helped me get stuff done on the printing side. Rather than having me tie up an employee printing stuff out for me, he gave me an employee card, let me print on the good paper from one of the rental workstations, and then charged me purely for the printing costs (rather than the cost of comp time, etc). So that was nice.

But when I asked for a quote, he said that it's hard to say with international shipping. That there can be customs fees and stuff. He had me put my credit card info on the packing slip and said they wouldn't know for sure how much it'd be until it got there.

I should have pushed him on it, but he had a sort of casual firmness to him. Kind of an "I don't know, but it's not a big deal, so don't push me" tone. Something like that. I should have, anyway, but... too late now.

I'll deal with it when the thing arrives.

And I'm planning to make a fuss over the fuel thing, too. There's no excuse for a 2000 mile detour, and I'm not paying for their inefficiency.