I need to vent about how stupid FedEx is. And how stupid I am…
I sent a large box of Christmas presents to DS and his GF last Wednesday FedEx Ground. They charged me a pretty penny for the service but I used to trust FedEx. The box was supposed to be delivered today. No box.
I was shredding receipts this weekend and stupidly shredded the FedEx receipt with the tracking number on it. No problem I thought, I’ll call FedEx. I’m sure they can do a simple query on delivery address. I should add I shipped this package directly at a FedEx (not affiliate) office.
The 800# told me that they can’t do a search without a tracking number. Bull. I’ve designed databases for corporations - they can do it. I asked to be escalated to a supervisor. He said he tried but there was no package scheduled for the delivery address and he could do nothing for me without the tracking number. I asked for options. He said to go to the FedEx office from where I shipped the package and they can pull the receipt.
So off I went tonight with a bad cold in 10 degree weather to FedEx office. They said they had no access to the receipt and could not help me. I asked why the 800# directed me to them. The FedEx employee said “they do that sometimes just to get you off the phone”. Wonderful. I asked for options. The guy gave the number for the main FedEx shipping center for the state. “They will be able to help you”. You can’t call them? “No”. I was the only customer at the counter.
You can guess what happened next. I called the number the guy gave me. “We have absolutely no way of tracking the package with the number” Why can’t you query the database for shipping zip and receiving zip and get a list of shipments on 12/14? “No, we can’t do that”.
This company has NO customer service. Awful!
I called my credit card company to put a hold on the charge. The CSR asked why and I told her. She asked me to hold and said she would contact FedEx. They magically were able to query their non-existent database for her and gave her the tracking number! The package should be delivered tomorrow, it was delayed by weather.
Amazing that FedEx swears that helping the paying customer is impossible, but when the credit card company calls the story changes!
Yes, my stupidity for losing the tracking number. But shame on FedEx for repeatedly lying! And kudos to Chase for sticking up for a customer and going the extra mile!!!
It took pure luck that I was able to reroute a package that was sent to My Town, WA and ended up in Washington DC as FedEx was trying to deliver it to My Town, Washington DC and could not find the place. Mind you that the address was correctly entered by the sender! And the agents kept asking me if the address in DC was correct even though WA was on the package.
I had another episode with FedEx a number of years back, different set of facts, similar level of stupidity …so I closed my FedEx account and haven’t used them since. Basic gist was that some company in some midwestern state was mistakenly entering my FedEx account number to make regular shipments to some other company in another state that I don’t live anywhere near, and I kept getting billed for it. FedEx would remove the items from the bill on request, but they wouldn’t do anything to rectify the problem (you know, like contact the customer who was making the error again and again, or changing my assigned account number). I even remember running into problems when I asked them to close my account. I remember at some point manually changed my billing address with FedEx to the FedEx corporate address, so when they mailed me a paper bill it went back to them-- but don’t remember exactly why I needed to do that.
If you used a FedEx account number for delivery, I believe they can track it that way. Just an address–I doubt it. Perhaps the credit card company had more information than you did.
FedEx Express, you will almost always get your package on time. FedEx Ground…no. There’s a reason why it’s so much cheaper. I wouldn’t be overly concerned if a FedEx Ground package was late.
I always take a picture with my cell phone, of the package and the receipt when I send things, that way if I lose the tracking information, it’s still on my phone. Life is about avoiding hassles.
Glad your (maddeningly frustrating) experience has a happy ending. But I do find Chase’s ability to “magically” get your tracking number when several regular channels failed somewhat suspicious. Could it be everyone simply blew you off?
Anyway, glad the packages has been located and will be delivered. Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year. During which you’re certain to never lose a FedEx receipt again
I don’t use fed ex. I sent a package from the UPS store…they took my email as part of the paperwork I filled out. They emailed me everything I needed to track the package, and even sent me an email when it was delivered.
FedEx has the same service, and will email you ad nauseam. You do, however, have to give them your email. Not everyone chooses to do that.
FedEx Ground has suspended their money back guarantee due to holiday shipping until Dec 24th. If there has been significant weather in the US (and obviously there has), it is very possible that your package may not be delivered on the day you were expecting.
Of course, who knows? If the OP called and was angry that his or her unidentified package wasn’t delivered by the afternoon it was scheduled, and told them to track all packages going from zip code X to zip code Y…yeah, I can understand why they would just want to get off the phone. If the credit card company called and gave them specific information that they were privy to, obviously they were able to track it that way. Sometimes it’s not “the story changing”, but how you treat people and what information you give them. Certainly there’s a difference between a customer calling and asking why isn’t it here right now, and a credit card company escalating it and calling for a cancellation of service.
Just like any company, FedEx has great people and people who can’t get their head out of the box. I despised the guy who was delivering my packages… never failed to drop them just outside the covered porch - in a puddle. Now we have a great delivery dude who handles the packages with care. Very often, the customer service folks hide behind the invisibility of the phone line just hoping the annoying customer would go away.
@IronMaiden…when I have had experiences like this in the past, I have sometimes called the local office and asked for a regional manager’s name and contact info. I encourage you to do the same, and tell the manager that you are now confident he/she is the only one who would want to know about a customer service issue with FedEx AND who can help you. Then recount your experience to him/her. Explain that you’ve already posted the experience in a message board and that you can back up your story with cell phone records if he/she is incredulous.
Reiterate that obviously the information you tried so many times to get was available, AND then at the end of the conversation, ask him/her how (not if) you will be compensated for your time and frustration. (Be prepared with a reasonable answer if you are asked what you have in mind). I only do this when I have had an especially ridiculous experience, but more often than not, I have been pleasantly surprised at whatever was offered with only an additional 10 minutes of my time.
I could give you several examples, but my most recent awful customer service experience involved an egregious bait and switch scam by a mortgage officer. I couldn’t get in touch with a manager until I posted details of my experience with one star reviews on 5 websites. Next morning I got a call from a supervisor at 7:30 am my time asking what it would take for me to remove the reviews. Long story short–I negotiated a “deal” $4304 better than the one I originally agreed to and made my removing the reviews contingent on the loan closing as agreed and on time.
If more people took the time to report experiences like mine and yours, I believe we would all be at the mercy of customer service reps much less often.
I don’t particularly like FedEx because of something that happened during my paperchase for each of my daughters (both born in China). We had to send our passports to the Chinese consulate in NYC to get our visa stamps. At that time, we had just a week or two to pull this all together … you go when they tell you to go.
Of course, NYC experienced a bad snowstorm each time.
The USPS delivered that day. UPS delivered that day. FedEx decided it was a weather exemption and did not. My fellow travel companions gave FedEx a new nickname that day - F***Ex.
Years later we can laugh about it. But we all still call FedEx by our special nickname
I don’t know if Columbia U still does this…They used to send out acceptances letter by express mail and rejection letters by regular mail the night before the decision date. Some applicants figured it out that they could call the carrier (and FedEx was one of them) to see if they had a delivery from Columbia (zip code) to their zip code. If they were getting a package then they knew they were accepted. Some customer service people found out what was going on, they were congratulating some students over the phone.
I am surprised FedEx couldn’t help OP out in this case. I also reach out to my CC when merchants were being unhelpful.
Amazon sent a package to me using UPS. Once it arrived in my town it was handed off to the USPS. One week later I called the original company and they are shipping me another package today with a prepaid return receipt should I get both packages. It’s not clear where the first package is. I would have gladly picked FEDEX to deliver this to me if I had the chance.
If it was a hippopotamus I’m sure the USPS wouldn’t have lost it!
@scubasue, that sounds like a technique that could be very useful in certain situations. However, in this one…calling the manager and explaining that you were calling on one of the busiest shipping days a year, asking them to pull up a shipping list by zip code and search through potentially thousands of people, though your package was not yet late…
You might get an apology (because managers will often do that just to placate a customer), but I can’t imagine what else one would think they deserved.
