Live Stock UPS shipping rant….

UMALUM

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Sep 7, 2023
Messages
1,024
Reaction score
1,289
Location
Fl.
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
That's weird. I gave mine $100 on Christmas Eve and routinely meet him at the truck. He takes care of me. But I don't expect him to drive 12 miles out of his way to come to my place first lol. Now he did drive back to the hub 15 miles to get one of my packages a couple weeks ago because he realized it was livestock that had missed the truck.
I think he also appreciates what's in the box as he's been in to see the system. He probably doesn't mind staring at the wife either. :zany-face:
 

Rollnwthdatide

Community Member
View Badges
Joined
May 25, 2015
Messages
73
Reaction score
96
Location
Tennessee
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Like others have suggested, I highly recommend have it being delivered to a UPS Access location. They always go to businesses pretty early and it will be inside a building. This is what I do almost exclusively now.
 

Tamberav

10K Club member
View Badges
Joined
Jul 4, 2014
Messages
11,754
Reaction score
17,856
Location
Duluth, MN
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Get My Choice Premium and schedule a delivery window. Or have it held at the UPS store closest to you. Our drivers don't start until 9am and are usually leaving the hub around 945. They drop at the 3 UPS stores in my area by 1030. My house is the last block on the route so it can be 9pm before I get packages.

What does the premium do?

I am dumb but also moved somewhere rural and found out the hard way packages come at 9pm even if I pay extra. I guess I need to have them go to a UPS hub but I asked about that and they said it won't get there any early... that don't seem right since they never show up before 7pm at my place.
 
OP
OP
winxp_man

winxp_man

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Dec 23, 2024
Messages
174
Reaction score
255
Location
Sacramento
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Like others have suggested, I highly recommend have it being delivered to a UPS Access location. They always go to businesses pretty early and it will be inside a building. This is what I do almost exclusively now.

Have tried this in the past, still no guarantee. I will work on having them hold it at the hub being it’s there to start off with. Used to be a regular thing but lines got too big I guess for all kinds of packages. But for live stock I think I can’t convince them to hold it there. Faster pick up.
 

littlefoxx

7500 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Dec 25, 2022
Messages
9,255
Reaction score
9,275
Location
Denver
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
So have a delivery today of two Nems from Aqua SD. The UPS truck was literally about 2 min from my house only to take his clown truck about 15 min away and making routes in the area he is in now!!!!! My tick off with crap like this is its live stock and do they not understand that it’s time sensitive? My local USPS office calls me first thing 8am that I have live animals being shipped. They ask if I want to come in, or send an individual to my house. I get that I’m number 1 million in a day route! But come on UPS get a live stock delivery center because enough is being shipped that would make sense. My old driver before retiring would make it his duty to bring me live stock right away!

There rant over haha!
Oh dont even get me started on UPS!!! They are awful with live creatures!!!
 

braaap

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Jul 16, 2015
Messages
1,798
Reaction score
1,798
Location
Montana
Rating - 100%
3   0   0
What does the premium do?

I am dumb but also moved somewhere rural and found out the hard way packages come at 9pm even if I pay extra. I guess I need to have them go to a UPS hub but I asked about that and they said it won't get there any early... that don't seem right since they never show up before 7pm at my place.
It used to be better when surepost was a thing. It automatically upgraded them to ground. But now you get unlimited address changes and 2 free scheduled deliveries. Address changes also mean like to a family or friend or to an ups store etc.
 
OP
OP
winxp_man

winxp_man

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Dec 23, 2024
Messages
174
Reaction score
255
Location
Sacramento
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Welp, got the nems earlier today. Not looking good. But we will see what happens. Have to put them in a QT tank to make sure they’re not gonna have a toxic war on their way out. I called UPS to intersect the truck, the guys tells me oh he is six stops away. Turned to 1 1/2 hours later. Water was in the 60* easily. Next time I will check my account to hold for pickup at the HQ. I don’t even want to hear oh they will drop it off at a center. That will turn into a he’s almost there and 2 hours later….!

My brother lost a fish this summer waiting on them. Then told them next time I’m picking up early I don’t care or want to hear any of it! They agreed!
 

Dr. D

Non-Playable Character
View Badges
Joined
Dec 1, 2024
Messages
283
Reaction score
403
Location
Upstate NY
Rating - 100%
1   0   0
I’m convinced that UPS vs FedEx vs whomever else depends largely on your local system and personnel. In my relatively rural area I’d rank UPS first by a mile, but due to a misunderstanding a live fish order of mine was recently delivered to a neighbor. The good news is the fish are fine, and I’ve discovered a reefer neighbor.
 

BeanAnimal

5000 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Jul 16, 2009
Messages
6,046
Reaction score
10,365
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I sympathize with the frustrations but you have to temper your expectations.

Good driver or not - millions of packages are delivered per day. Just because your street is 11 feet from another street that is earlier on the route does not mean that they can, will, or have the means to single your "live package" out and adjust that route to accommodate you on that day. Look at the big picture logistics.

I am not defending any of them, they can be terrible even in regard to doing what they are actually supposed to do, but there are reasonable expectations and unreasonable expectations.

If you got your way, and they guy on the route 11 feet from your street got skipped because your driver took a detour, he is going to be upset that he didn't get whatever it was that he was waiting on when he saw the truck deviate from the normal path.

Add it up for all cases and all deliveries and it is mayhem.. so instead of mayhem, they use planned routes and as unfortunate as it is, for most rate services, that does not take into consideration the perishable or live animal sticker on the side of the box.
 
OP
OP
winxp_man

winxp_man

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Dec 23, 2024
Messages
174
Reaction score
255
Location
Sacramento
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I’m convinced that UPS vs FedEx vs whomever else depends largely on your local system and personnel. In my relatively rural area I’d rank UPS first by a mile, but due to a misunderstanding a live fish order of mine was recently delivered to a neighbor. The good news is the fish are fine, and I’ve discovered a reefer neighbor.

They all have the ups and downs! The screw ups or doing it right. Mine came in almost dead. I think they will be okay in the end. Scary when you spend $200 but that’s a sale price, other wise it would have been a $300-350 order! No matter the cost I’m not in the business to lose animals. At least if the box was not labeled live animals! Then it would be like well they didn’t know.
 

ChiCity

5000 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Sep 18, 2016
Messages
5,116
Reaction score
5,803
Location
funky town
Rating - 100%
7   0   0
Most reputable shippers use priority overnight which delivers by 12:00 Noon. If they are not shipping priority I won't buy from them as you don't know how long it will be on the truck. It is an option for both Fedex and UPS. Shipments from Battlecorals and Sunnyside Corals both used priority last week.

yeah… no.
while it is offered, it doesn’t mean it’s fulfilled.

i live one mile from ups’ main distribution center in the 3rd largest proper “city” in america….
(10th on the list of alpha world cities)
and they’re always late, like literally, always!

fedex and usps do a better job,
ups is hot garbage
(like a week old trash in the hot July sun!)
 
OP
OP
winxp_man

winxp_man

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Dec 23, 2024
Messages
174
Reaction score
255
Location
Sacramento
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I sympathize with the frustrations but you have to temper your expectations.

Good driver or not - millions of packages are delivered per day. Just because your street is 11 feet from another street that is earlier on the route does not mean that they can, will, or have the means to single your "live package" out and adjust that route to accommodate you on that day. Look at the big picture logistics.

I am not defending any of them, they can be terrible even in regard to doing what they are actually supposed to do, but there are reasonable expectations and unreasonable expectations.

If you got your way, and they guy on the route 11 feet from your street got skipped because your driver took a detour, he is going to be upset that he didn't get whatever it was that he was waiting on when he saw the truck deviate from the normal path.

Add it up for all cases and all deliveries and it is mayhem.. so instead of mayhem, they use planned routes and as unfortunate as it is, for most rate services, that does not take into consideration the perishable or live animal sticker on the side of the box.

I get that… BUT in a company that makes billions and live animals are shipped on a regular even labeled LIVE ANIMALS… you would think hey let’s make this part a bit better so that way animals are not arriving dead. I could care less about another other shipment have had plenty in the world of delays with all shipping companies. Have had plenty lost.

My point is in live animal shipping. Make it a thing to email for hub pickup. This could be done pretty easy through the website structure. They would not even have a need to get someone to call or email. The website could do it itself. If the package option live animals is selected the person gets a notification that hey you can come pick it up if you click the link.

For these billion dollar companies that is what makes me laugh.
 

mrnicebug

Community Member
View Badges
Joined
Jul 30, 2023
Messages
61
Reaction score
19
Location
four oaks
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
So have a delivery today of two Nems from Aqua SD. The UPS truck was literally about 2 min from my house only to take his clown truck about 15 min away and making routes in the area he is in now!!!!! My tick off with crap like this is its live stock and do they not understand that it’s time sensitive? My local USPS office calls me first thing 8am that I have live animals being shipped. They ask if I want to come in, or send an individual to my house. I get that I’m number 1 million in a day route! But come on UPS get a live stock delivery center because enough is being shipped that would make sense. My old driver before retiring would make it his duty to bring me live stock right away!

There rant over haha!
UPS will actually answer a phone, FEDEX will NOT. I have the cellphone of my local driver, tip him and meet him- I get my things by 10 am
 

BeanAnimal

5000 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Jul 16, 2009
Messages
6,046
Reaction score
10,365
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I get that… BUT in a company that makes billions and live animals are shipped on a regular even labeled LIVE ANIMALS… you would think hey let’s make this part a bit better so that way animals are not arriving dead. I could care less about another other shipment have had plenty in the world of delays with all shipping companies. Have had plenty lost.

My point is in live animal shipping. Make it a thing to email for hub pickup. This could be done pretty easy through the website structure. They would not even have a need to get someone to call or email. The website could do it itself. If the package option live animals is selected the person gets a notification that hey you can come pick it up if you click the link.

For these billion dollar companies that is what makes me laugh.

There are other shipping options that may be better suited. They cost more money and your vendor (for good reason) does not offer them.

What you are demanding these “billion dollar” companies do is cater to your niche. The issue is that it is a tiny fraction of their business and you (collective) don’t want to pay what it would cost to implement and provide.

I get the frustration, but it is what it is.
 

fish farmer

2500 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Nov 13, 2017
Messages
3,966
Reaction score
5,846
Location
Brandon, VT
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I get that… BUT in a company that makes billions and live animals are shipped on a regular even labeled LIVE ANIMALS… you would think hey let’s make this part a bit better so that way animals are not arriving dead. I could care less about another other shipment have had plenty in the world of delays with all shipping companies. Have had plenty lost.

My point is in live animal shipping. Make it a thing to email for hub pickup. This could be done pretty easy through the website structure. They would not even have a need to get someone to call or email. The website could do it itself. If the package option live animals is selected the person gets a notification that hey you can come pick it up if you click the link.

For these billion dollar companies that is what makes me laugh.
I agree shipping live stuff can be a gamble, but why make the shipping company demand hub pick up....why not demand the coral buyer/seller to pick that option at check out?

I've considered that at times. I orchestrated a multiple box trout egg shipment to Vermont the week of Christmas. 4 boxes going through three different local hubs, the most rural address got their box on time, while the busy city airport hub got stuck in transit, we actually had to hunt it down on the truck. If I ever had to coordinate a similar shipment, they would all go to my local hub and I would pick them up and distribute.

Of course we shouldn't be paying door delivery service if we have to hub pickup....but we will.
 
OP
OP
winxp_man

winxp_man

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Dec 23, 2024
Messages
174
Reaction score
255
Location
Sacramento
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
There are other shipping options that may be better suited. They cost more money and your vendor (for good reason) does not offer them.

What you are demanding these “billion dollar” companies do is cater to your niche. The issue is that it is a tiny fraction of their business and you (collective) don’t want to pay what it would cost to implement and provide.

I get the frustration, but it is what it is.

It’s not even an option. Or they would. Again still on the shipping company. And it’s not a small niche, or they would not be doing it if it didn’t produce them money. It’s how business works. If it’s not producing money it’s done away with.
 

BeanAnimal

5000 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Jul 16, 2009
Messages
6,046
Reaction score
10,365
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
It’s not even an option. Or they would. Again still on the shipping company. And it’s not a small niche, or they would not be doing it if it didn’t produce them money. It’s how business works. If it’s not producing money it’s done away with.

You are countering your own point :)

Let me explain in detail

1 - there are other shipping options. Be they private delivery via, car, courier, jet, helicopter, escorted hand delivery from end to end (buy an exotic parrot, and their breeder will likely personally fly the bird to you, never leaving it out of their site), etc. These options are not offered by your vendor, because they are unreasonable in context. The cost would be prohibitive.

2- the couriers that do offer reasonable price service (in context) do so within their cost structure based on the volume of that type of business. So in this case, "live fish" is an insignificantly small portion of their shipping business and they are not going to spend the time or money to build logistics around it.

So to your point about how business is done and producing money. Creating extra logistic complications or options to accommodate an insanely tiny portion of their business would A) either make doing so unprofitable for them (my original point) or B) cause the associated shipping rates to be higher than most people are willing to spend, and therefore not being a popular option. That brings us back to your points of how business works and not doing things that don't make money. There is a reason that, for the rate you are paying, this is the service you are getting. It is a case study in that very point.

So again. I sympathize with the frustration, but you need to temper your expectations. There are other options, they are just not economically reasonable in context to residential hobby fish and coral delivery.
 
OP
OP
winxp_man

winxp_man

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Dec 23, 2024
Messages
174
Reaction score
255
Location
Sacramento
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
You are countering your own point :)

Let me explain in detail

1 - there are other shipping options. Be they private delivery via, car, courier, jet, helicopter, escorted hand delivery from end to end (buy an exotic parrot, and their breeder will likely personally fly the bird to you, never leaving it out of their site), etc. These options are not offered by your vendor, because they are unreasonable in context. The cost would be prohibitive.

2- the couriers that do offer reasonable price service (in context) do so within their cost structure based on the volume of that type of business. So in this case, "live fish" is an insignificantly small portion of their shipping business and they are not going to spend the time or money to build logistics around it.

So to your point about how business is done and producing money. Creating extra logistic complications or options to accommodate an insanely tiny portion of their business would A) either make doing so unprofitable for them (my original point) or B) cause the associated shipping rates to be higher than most people are willing to spend, and therefore not being a popular option. That brings us back to your points of how business works and not doing things that don't make money. There is a reason that, for the rate you are paying, this is the service you are getting. It is a case study in that very point.

So again. I sympathize with the frustration, but you need to temper your expectations. There are other options, they are just not economically reasonable in context to residential hobby fish and coral delivery.


Your post is an example of beyond the call of duty, or ready further into a thread more that need be. All I asked is that they add a feature in for pick up at the hub. My local USPS does that when they get live animals. And I do understand that a local USPS office is smaller. And why I stated add a feature in the website or app to allow once again for hub pick up. Instead they wait for a call. Then they pull of off the truck if you can intercept.

For the amount of money these shipping companies make they should have a simple option as I stated. Why it’s hard from some to understand, is beyond me.

And let’s be real anyone that ships live stock of any sort would be willing to do a hub pickup most of the time. Am not talking about restructuring a whole company for live stock shipments. But adding a simple feature.
 

BeanAnimal

5000 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Jul 16, 2009
Messages
6,046
Reaction score
10,365
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Hi - Don't make me out to be the bad guy because I have engaged in a conversation with you or don't wholly agree with your understanding of the shipping industry. You posted a rant in a public forum. I am responding in hopes of helping you to understand. Consider it my way of showing empathy.

To that end, "pickup at the hub" that was not your only complaint, context or response but even if we just consider that...

Most carriers do have means to arrange a pickup at the hub but not as a service class option, likely for numerous reasons.

To make that a selectable option at the time of shipping means reworking their entire logistics flow and policies to accommodate that package option. It is not a "small" change or thing and given that it does not exist, logic dictates that there is not enough to demand to make it worth their trouble to design and deploy.

To add it now means end-to-end expenditure on design and support of such a feature. Everything from training, form redesign, software redesign, personal to man the extra demand at hubs, people to train all of those people and process, the actual training materials, help desk personnel training and scripts and internal escalation options, customer facing call center scripts, tracking system changes... countless endpoints would need to be touched and adjusted... It is literally defining another class of service and everything that goes along with it. Back to business sense, if there is a demand or a business case to cover all that, they would do it. There is not, or it would be an option already.

So if we are playing "what is beyond me" it is that you don't appear to understand what your "simple" feature request means on the scale that they do business, or understanding that they don't offer such an option because it makes no sense in their price structure or the the context of the bulk of their shipping business.

So again, I truly sympathize with the frustration, but you need to temper your expectations to match the reality of the scale and economics in context to what is being shipped. Otherwise, it is screaming at the sky, and that does nothing but elevate your heart rate.
 

TOP 10 Trending Threads

IS THERE A FISH THAT YOU SWEAR YOU WILL NEVER OWN AGAIN?

  • Yes! I can think of at least one fish that I will never own again.

    Votes: 121 66.5%
  • No. I like all my fish!

    Votes: 41 22.5%
  • Maybe, but I think would give the fish one more chance.

    Votes: 16 8.8%
  • Other (please explain).

    Votes: 4 2.2%
Back
Top