androidandy
Sr Member
Re: Pulse Rifle - DESTROYED BY UPS!!! 5/15 UPDATE- UPS CAN'T FIND IT! post 64
I work for FedEx and they have a policy that if it claim could have been prevented by the Store, Driver, or other worker, they can be fined, or even have the total claim taken out of the stores budget. It is probably why we have seen a lot of UPS customers coming to us more and more. FedEx even raised their minimum liability on a lot of stuff to $1000 from $100 for ground delivery, and $500 to $1000 on express.
The Ground drivers are all contractors, which means they can lose all their profit for one mistake. of course some of these guys work for a larger trucking agency, and there are slackers everywhere, but UPS drivers jobs are protected by union and they could often care less what happens to a package.
Both UPS and FedEx drivers are also under huge time pressures, and have had much of their workforce cut to the bone, so mistakes are happening more and more as a result. The same goes for the post office.
I would say if you ship a large fragile item always over pack it to the extreme, even with they extra costs. You can pick up a cheap rigid guncase and over pack it in a box. Packing peanuts are pretty much useless because stuff will shift to the side of the box and can then get both shock and puncture damage. You need to make sure the item is protected itself with bubble wrap or a case and then suspended in the center of the larger box to absorb any impacts. Crumpled paper works great for that and then peanuts can be used to fill the voids and help keep the box rigid because other boxes WILL be stacked on top of it.
I am sure the pack and ship at the UPS store will do a good job because of the material at hand and they might also share in the liability more than the drivers. Same goes for the FedEx pack and ship and other packing services.
I have seen expensive antiques packed in plastic bags loose in a small box and expected to be safe because they wrote fragile on the box. Remember these will be handled by machines that can't read. The only way to get true packaging "insurance" on an item is through a rider on homeowners or business insurance. What the shipping companies offer is their own kind of claims liability, which in a time of recession, is more likely to be looked at with suspicion to keep the money in the company. Penny pinching is the way of the day now.
Good luck, I hope it makes it out much safer next time around.
Andy
I work for FedEx and they have a policy that if it claim could have been prevented by the Store, Driver, or other worker, they can be fined, or even have the total claim taken out of the stores budget. It is probably why we have seen a lot of UPS customers coming to us more and more. FedEx even raised their minimum liability on a lot of stuff to $1000 from $100 for ground delivery, and $500 to $1000 on express.
The Ground drivers are all contractors, which means they can lose all their profit for one mistake. of course some of these guys work for a larger trucking agency, and there are slackers everywhere, but UPS drivers jobs are protected by union and they could often care less what happens to a package.
Both UPS and FedEx drivers are also under huge time pressures, and have had much of their workforce cut to the bone, so mistakes are happening more and more as a result. The same goes for the post office.
I would say if you ship a large fragile item always over pack it to the extreme, even with they extra costs. You can pick up a cheap rigid guncase and over pack it in a box. Packing peanuts are pretty much useless because stuff will shift to the side of the box and can then get both shock and puncture damage. You need to make sure the item is protected itself with bubble wrap or a case and then suspended in the center of the larger box to absorb any impacts. Crumpled paper works great for that and then peanuts can be used to fill the voids and help keep the box rigid because other boxes WILL be stacked on top of it.
I am sure the pack and ship at the UPS store will do a good job because of the material at hand and they might also share in the liability more than the drivers. Same goes for the FedEx pack and ship and other packing services.
I have seen expensive antiques packed in plastic bags loose in a small box and expected to be safe because they wrote fragile on the box. Remember these will be handled by machines that can't read. The only way to get true packaging "insurance" on an item is through a rider on homeowners or business insurance. What the shipping companies offer is their own kind of claims liability, which in a time of recession, is more likely to be looked at with suspicion to keep the money in the company. Penny pinching is the way of the day now.
Good luck, I hope it makes it out much safer next time around.
Andy
