Stop using FedEx!

[wakejumper22]

Hopefully no one else has had as worst of luck as I have had from FedEx. I’m not sure why these online coral shops continue using them. In the dozens of orders I’ve had using FedEx, the shipment has been late or delayed every single time… Not once has the initial tracking been accurate..of course with livestock on board. UPS has been so much more reliable. Apparently FedEx uses third party vendors to deliver their packages where UPS uses their own dedicated drivers. Anyways… just venting here.. can these companies please stop using FedEx

 

[nautical_nathaniel]

It really depends on the area you're in and it also comes down to the individual delivery drivers sometimes.

Where I'm at UPS is the worse of the two.

 

[Reefer Matt]

It comes down to the discount rate they get for shipping multiple orders. They can usually use whatever carrier you want, but you may pay extra for shipping.

 

[Evil1]

It really depends on the area you're in and it also comes down to the individual delivery drivers sometimes.

Where I'm at UPS is the worse of the two.

Same for me FedEx is spot on! UPS and USPS

 

[JumboShrimp]

I have had them deliver to the Walgreens pharmacy near me-- they deliver there BEFORE they fan out into their local delivery territories. So it comes early, and to an air conditioned building. Give it a try. The internet will tell you which businesses are access points.

 

[mfinn]

FedEx is my preferred shipper hands down.
They have people who look for those live animal stickers on the boxes and put them as far towards the front of their routes as they can.

Now the local UPS guy must have a girlfriend about 2 miles from my house. When I'm tracking a local shipment his truck seems to be stationary at a certain location for an hour or more.

 

[Bear22]

Definitely regional based as to who is better where. I have lived in areas where FedEX was the worst. And other areas of the country where FedEX was the best hands-down.

Secondly, in many cases "saying stop using FedEX' isn't exactly pragmatic/practical advice as many vendors have their eggs fully in one basket and one basket only (e.g., either FedEX or UPS, but not both).

Finally, there is also the situation where FedEX might be crappy at the shipper (regional location), but great in the delivery region. I'v run across this situation with certain well known vendors here on R2R, that I have quit using because of shipping issues, not because the vendor is bad, but rather FedEX is bad in their region.

 

[tautog83]

It can be frustrating. Right now i have 2 packages coming from fedex ..one a $150 coral order and one a $500 fish order. Both shipped to same facility location and arrived on time . Can you guess which one is loaded on the truck and out for delivery and which one is chilling there ?

 

[serval]

It really depends on the area you're in and it also comes down to the individual delivery drivers sometimes.

Where I'm at UPS is the worse of the two.

Same here. UPS is less reliable where I am.

 

[Cornelia_Reefer]

Hopefully no one else has had as worst of luck as I have had from FedEx. I’m not sure why these online coral shops continue using them. In the dozens of orders I’ve had using FedEx, the shipment has been late or delayed every single time… Not once has the initial tracking been accurate..of course with livestock on board. UPS has been so much more reliable. Apparently FedEx uses third party vendors to deliver their packages where UPS uses their own dedicated drivers. Anyways… just venting here.. can these companies please stop using FedEx

At my old apartment the FedEx guy would save time by just putting the “you weren’t home” sticker up without attempting delivery. Which was hilarious because I wfh. I would literally keep an eye out the window to try to catch him.

 

[mfinn]

Definitely regional based as to who is better where. I have lived in areas where FedEX was the worst. And other areas of the country where FedEX was the best hands-down.

Secondly, in many cases "saying stop using FedEX' isn't exactly pragmatic/practical advice as many vendors have their eggs fully in one basket and one basket only (e.g., either FedEX or UPS, but not both).

Exactly.
It is region based, also based on staff in each location.
Then there are the contracts our vendors use for their shipping.
It may be based on many things, but I know it has to be convenient for them.
Rarely do we get a choice in shipper.

I have to say Amazon has truly spoiled us with this free and very reliable overnight shipping
I order some Rolled Gold prezetel sticks yesterday afternoon and they arrived about an hour ago.

 

[commod0re]

FedEx is on my **** list and has been for many years. They are terrible. Not every time, but bad outcomes are both more frequent and worse than with the alternatives. They’re not unionized, and many of the workers are contractors, so they have about the least incentive of any delivery company (except maybe amazon logistics), to care about doing even a decent job let alone a good one

UPS and DHL are unionized and imo that’s a big part of why they’re so much better on average. Unfortunately they’re also more expensive, and not many online aquarium vendors even offer a choice, so knowing all of this is of little value most of the time

 

[commod0re]

I have to say Amazon has truly spoiled us with this free and very reliable overnight shipping
I order some Rolled Gold prezetel sticks yesterday afternoon and they arrived about an hour ago.

Careful ordering food items off amazon, they flagrantly do not follow, and routinely actively disregard, FDA regulations around what can be safely stored in proximity to food

> Employees describe packing boxes where toxic liquids leak onto grocery items, or toxic spillages on warehouse bins that contaminate nearby food packaging

 

[RobynR]

Hopefully no one else has had as worst of luck as I have had from FedEx. I’m not sure why these online coral shops continue using them. In the dozens of orders I’ve had using FedEx, the shipment has been late or delayed every single time… Not once has the initial tracking been accurate..of course with livestock on board. UPS has been so much more reliable. Apparently FedEx uses third party vendors to deliver their packages where UPS uses their own dedicated drivers. Anyways… just venting here.. can these companies please stop using FedEx

At my old apartment the FedEx guy would save time by just putting the “you weren’t home” sticker up without attempting delivery. Which was hilarious because I wfh. I would literally keep an eye out the window to try to catch him.

I’ve watched them walk up to the door of my building pop the sticker on the lobby door and walk away without even buzzing a unit. It’s even happened to me, I work in the offices below where I live and the normal delivery people know to just bring it into my office, but the random temporary ones just put a sicker up with zero attempt at delivery. I am in the building 100% of the time during normal delivery hours, it’s infuriating to see that sticker.

 

[wakejumper22]

Glad I’m not alone… for those saying it’s regionally based, I’m about 30 minutes from Ohare airport.. I’m not sure how much better of a location I could be lol

 

[DmitryB]

It really depends on the area you're in and it also comes down to the individual delivery drivers sometimes.

Where I'm at UPS is the worse of the two.

Yeah for sure, it's area specific. I have had UPS damage a box at least ten times over the past 3-5 months. Sometimes so damaged they return it themselves without even attempting delivery. I'm not exaggerating. It's driving me crazy. Two days ago, in fact, I had an air pump and magnetic stirrers delivery cancelled because they returned it to Amazon. This was the third time I've tried to get magnetic stirrers delivered. I'm now going for four!

 

[DmitryB]

FedEx is my preferred shipper hands down.
They have people who look for those live animal stickers on the boxes and put them as far towards the front of their routes as they can.

Now the local UPS guy must have a girlfriend about 2 miles from my house. When I'm tracking a local shipment his truck seems to be stationary at a certain location for an hour or more.

Don't get me started on boxes with "Live Animal" and "This Way Up" stickers. Both FedEx and UPS, it's almost like they deliberately place it upside down or sideways. Either they don't know what "Up" means or they don't give a crap or they do it deliberately. Like... I literally can't even!

 

[get-salty]

I have to say that its all depends on your local Fedex and on who is running that facility.

 

[exnisstech]

It's definitely area specific who is good and who is not. Unless you include USPS, they're terrible Nationwide. I think their system is just broken. I live in Northern Ohio and USPS picked a package up in Cincinnati then it was scanned near Columbus then proceeded to make it's way to salt lake City Utah and eventually made it's way back to Ohio. Often they play ping pong with packages bouncing them back and forth between the sane depots
UPS here is great and FedEx is hit or miss. Ive had FedEx pull the you weren't home crap also. My daughter who lives 2 hours away says UPS sucks and FedEx is great.

 

[BriDroid]

It really depends on the area you're in and it also comes down to the individual delivery drivers sometimes.

Where I'm at UPS is the worse of the two.

Where I am at, UPS is the worst. Even a priority overnight is guaranteed by 8pm. I’ve had corals ride around all day in a truck only to reach 8pm and be returned to the hub for delivery the next day. FedEx priority is here before noon. Because of that I always ask for FedEx.

UPS also has no climate control in their trucks where the FedEx priority vans have A/C. In Texas that makes a huge difference too!