UPS issues

[musaabi]

I’m so angry with UPS. I’ve ordered a fish that was supposed to be delivered before noon via UPS next day air. Package doesn’t arrive until 5 PM and fish is already dead when i finally receive it. Ordered a replacement fish and same thing! Does UPS not see the box labeled “live tropical fish” and think to prioritize a living animal get delivered asap? Instead the driver loads the box at 8 am and it sits in a bouncy cold truck for over 8 hours!

After those 2 attempts, we tried a third time. Waited for after the holiday rush. Package was supposed to be delivered yesterday. We changed it to be delivered at a UPS access point since they’re delivered earlier. Shipper drops off the package as 5:01 PM. Origin scan at 10:47 PM. I get a notification at 10:48 that UPS received the package past its “cut off time” and couldn’t guarantee the arrival of the package on the date it was supposed to be received. They hold the package for over 28 hours before shipping it! Over $1000 in fish that will prob now arrive dead so all in all $3000 in fish lost. UPS takes no responsibility saying the shipper missed the drop off time by 1 minute. Why not tell the shipper that when dropping off so they can take the fish back and try again? This wasn’t weather related. Why not reach out to the shipper to let them know the package was held up and if they wanted to pick up the package and try to deliver it the next day? USPS doesn’t handle live animals because they can’t guarantee they’ll be treated humanly but UPS has no issue with live animals, but they have no process in place to ensure these animals are in humane conditions. Do they not assume responsibility of the package when it’s in their care?

I’m so angry with their lack of procedure. If you can’t guarantee the living breathing animals will be handled with care then don’t accept shipping them. Theyre now saying to file a claim and the max they can pay back for their error is $100. Screw the money. 4 living animals have suffocated to death due to your negligence and lack of procedure and they need to be held responsible. All these guarantees are nothing more than false advertisement. Insurance covers the cost of the package should it be damaged or lost, it doesn’t cover the life of fish. I’m tempted to gather complaints and open a class action against UPS for animal abuse as well as false advertisement. Maybe I’m just being crazy

 

[Reefer Matt]

Yeah, I’ve had that happen with all of the shippers myself. They don’t seem to adjust their route to accommodate live shipments. There is no penalty for them other than reimbursing through an insurance claim. Sorry this happened. I suggest having a lfs order fish for you, and picking up in person.

 

[exnisstech]

I stopped ordering fish online for this very reason. I always got overnight UPS before I noon. My last order arrived at 7pm. Fortunately it wasn't fish but coral and and half survived. I'm afraid it's a sign of things go come.

 

[Malcontent]

See if any vendors offer air cargo (typically Delta) as an option. I ordered some large expensive FW fish and air cargo was the only option. Surprisingly, it was cheaper than overnight UPS/FedEx and the fish only spent a few hours in transit.

 

[Gill the 3rd]

I still order online, but I have noticed the delivery times are slipping. I used to get overnight deliveries to my house before 10:30 AM. Now it seems they arrive between noon and 2:30 pm.

 

[musaabi]

Yeah, I’ve had that happen with all of the shippers myself. They don’t seem to adjust their route to accommodate live shipments. There is no penalty for them other than reimbursing through an insurance claim. Sorry this happened. I suggest having a lfs order fish for you, and picking up in person.

It gets harder with rarer fish as they’re not readily available to my LFS.

 

[musaabi]

See if any vendors offer air cargo (typically Delta) as an option. I ordered some large expensive FW fish and air cargo was the only option. Surprisingly, it was cheaper than overnight UPS/FedEx and the fish only spent a few hours in transit.

After the first time I asked the shipper to send thru air and he said he offered that but idk why it was sent again using UPS. Fortunately the seller took the L again and sent a third replacement today but at this point I don’t think he’s going to be nice enough to offer credit, even though I asked to use FedEx (they drop off on time for me it seems when I ordered thru WWC) or air.

 

[Roadkillstewie]

I hate them all, unfortunately it's buy online or drive 120+ for a decently stocked LFS...

I ordered a Nem, nextday air from CA to AR... somehow, after getting to the hub in KY, it got routed to Ontario Ca... AFTER it arrived in Ontario UPS then claimed a "weather delay". Didn't ship out until 8pm that night... I then got a notice that my address was not eligible for nextday air and that they changed the service. Found out later they even changed the label showing point of origin as being canada.

Got it a day late, vendor keeps claiming UPS won't pony up for the shipping fees.

 

[19Mateo83]

I don’t mean to sound like a prick here but it sounds like you should stop having fish shipped via ups. After the first failed attempt you ordered MORE fish expecting a different outcome…. Kinda your fault too.

 

[fish farmer]

Sad. I generally have better luck with UPS, but most of my overnight with them doesn't leave the North East.

Fed Ex is just as bad, I feel if it makes it through Memphis it's arriving on time. I shipped trout eggs down to Wytheville, VA this week, Wednesday....foggy everywhere down there, but made it to Blountville, TN which is literally an hour away from destination, got held up another night and they got it at 4 pm Friday, hopefully the package was still cool and wet.

 

[musaabi]

I hate them all, unfortunately it's buy online or drive 120+ for a decently stocked LFS...

I ordered a Nem, nextday air from CA to AR... somehow, after getting to the hub in KY, it got routed to Ontario Ca... AFTER it arrived in Ontario UPS then claimed a "weather delay". Didn't ship out until 8pm that night... I then got a notice that my address was not eligible for nextday air and that they changed the service. Found out later they even changed the label showing point of origin as being canada.

Got it a day late, vendor keeps claiming UPS won't pony up for the shipping fees.

Trash. I just ordered some snowboard stuff. 3 packages supposed to arrive weds thurs Friday. Wed and Thursday go delayed due to “weather” even though there is not bad weather and it’s at my UPS facility. Weds package and Friday package arrived yesterday but Thursday package still says delayed due to weather again. Of course I can’t change it to pickup so ruined my weekend plans. I just keep calling and filing complaints at this point.

 

[musaabi]

I don’t mean to sound like a prick here but it sounds like you should stop having fish shipped via ups. After the first failed attempt you ordered MORE fish expecting a different outcome…. Kinda your fault too.

Me? Did you not see that I asked the seller to use a different method but he kept using UPS…?

 

[Terry Le]

My 2 fish and an anemone ship out Thursday night for Friday delivery. UPS tracking say sorry your package delay and not going to be delivery till Monday. Four days later? These are live fish now

 

[littlefoxx]

I’m so angry with UPS. I’ve ordered a fish that was supposed to be delivered before noon via UPS next day air. Package doesn’t arrive until 5 PM and fish is already dead when i finally receive it. Ordered a replacement fish and same thing! Does UPS not see the box labeled “live tropical fish” and think to prioritize a living animal get delivered asap? Instead the driver loads the box at 8 am and it sits in a bouncy cold truck for over 8 hours!

After those 2 attempts, we tried a third time. Waited for after the holiday rush. Package was supposed to be delivered yesterday. We changed it to be delivered at a UPS access point since they’re delivered earlier. Shipper drops off the package as 5:01 PM. Origin scan at 10:47 PM. I get a notification at 10:48 that UPS received the package past its “cut off time” and couldn’t guarantee the arrival of the package on the date it was supposed to be received. They hold the package for over 28 hours before shipping it! Over $1000 in fish that will prob now arrive dead so all in all $3000 in fish lost. UPS takes no responsibility saying the shipper missed the drop off time by 1 minute. Why not tell the shipper that when dropping off so they can take the fish back and try again? This wasn’t weather related. Why not reach out to the shipper to let them know the package was held up and if they wanted to pick up the package and try to deliver it the next day? USPS doesn’t handle live animals because they can’t guarantee they’ll be treated humanly but UPS has no issue with live animals, but they have no process in place to ensure these animals are in humane conditions. Do they not assume responsibility of the package when it’s in their care?

I’m so angry with their lack of procedure. If you can’t guarantee the living breathing animals will be handled with care then don’t accept shipping them. Theyre now saying to file a claim and the max they can pay back for their error is $100. Screw the money. 4 living animals have suffocated to death due to your negligence and lack of procedure and they need to be held responsible. All these guarantees are nothing more than false advertisement. Insurance covers the cost of the package should it be damaged or lost, it doesn’t cover the life of fish. I’m tempted to gather complaints and open a class action against UPS for animal abuse as well as false advertisement. Maybe I’m just being crazy

Yeah Ive yelled at their customer service reps before because they always blame you or the shipper and are so unhelpful. Also they dont understand overnight service. Ive not ordered from any place that ships UPS for live animals anymore because of this. Lost a good amount of money in fish, but not about the money its about their lack of care for live animals. They make me so mad. Im not one to yell at customer service people but they just dont care and are unwilling to help. Ill only do Fedex at this point.

Edit:
Yep Ill join a class action. 100%. And they never even responded to my claims either.

 

[Big E]

Here are some personal tips on what I do--

--Don't order any corals or fish between at least Nov. 15th to Jan. 15.
Discounts on corals and fish are greatly exaggerated at this time. You can get deals anytime of the year.

--- Weather is a problem in causing delays. It's on you to check to make sure there is a clear path. Do what you can to minimize this on dates you receive livestock.

--Have all your orders go to a main hub(where delivery trucks are loaded) and you pick up there. Most of the time the package is ready to pick up by 9-10am.

This totally eliminates the driver out of the equation as well as poor scheduling. Scheduling is based on $ costs for them, not on if you have a perishable product. They now deem by 6pm or so as on time.

---- When possible use hobbyists or small vendors for corals. You'll most likely are going to be able to directly communicate with the owner. There is almost no coral you can't get through this avenue. You're also going to get better pricing.

---- Avoid chop shop corals and these type of vendors.

 

[fish farmer]

Here are some personal tips on what I do--

--Don't order any corals or fish between at least Nov. 15th to Jan. 15.
Discounts on corals and fish are greatly exaggerated at this time. You can get deals anytime of the year.

--- Weather is a problem in causing delays. It's on you to check to make sure there is a clear path. Do what you can to minimize this on dates you receive livestock.

--Have all your orders go to a main hub(where delivery trucks are loaded) and you pick up there. Most of the time the package is ready to pick up by 9-10am.

This totally eliminates the driver out of the equation as well as poor scheduling. Scheduling is based on $ costs for them, not on if you have a perishable product. They now deem by 6pm or so as on time.

---- When possible use hobbyists or small vendors for corals. You'll most likely are going to be able to directly communicate with the owner. There is almost no coral you can't get through this avenue. You're also going to get better pricing.

---- Avoid chop shop corals and these type of vendors.

I feel like this should be a PSA, don't buy livestock in the winter if it is cold where you are. I had no problem getting corals two days in the mail, Ohio to Vermont (preCovid), but it was late spring. One of the main snails vendors doesn't ship to my area when it is below 20 degrees, probably too tired of refilling dead orders. I spent up to $9 a piece locally for snails....they were big ones though.

I think catering to regional vendors is key, but not sure how west coast shipping works, like buying in Cali to Oregon or Montana do they still go all the way to Kentucky or Memphis and then back?

I purchased shellfish from Rhode Island one February using Fed Ex Overnight, the box went to Memphis, then got held up in Jersey another day, then to Vermont.

I could have DRIVEN to Rhode Island quicker.

 

[musaabi]

I feel like this should be a PSA, don't buy livestock in the winter if it is cold where you are. I had no problem getting corals two days in the mail, Ohio to Vermont (preCovid), but it was late spring. One of the main snails vendors doesn't ship to my area when it is below 20 degrees, probably too tired of refilling dead orders. I spent up to $9 a piece locally for snails....they were big ones though.

I think catering to regional vendors is key, but not sure how west coast shipping works, like buying in Cali to Oregon or Montana do they still go all the way to Kentucky or Memphis and then back?

I purchased shellfish from Rhode Island one February using Fed Ex Overnight, the box went to Memphis, then got held up in Jersey another day, then to Vermont.

I could have DRIVEN to Rhode Island quicker.

I’ve ordered from cali to Oregon and it usually comes straight. I’ve seen it once go to somewhere else. These are great tips however this doesn’t address the root issue here. If UPS is going to accept live animals, they need a better process to ensure the delivery and treatment of those animals are humane to the best of their abilities. If they are not able to guarantee that then they shouldn’t accept those packages plain and simple. if they aren’t able to put packages labeled “live animals handle with care” in a warm area when transporting they should either a) not take those packages during those conditions or B) have a process to minimize the time in unconditioned spaces, or C) come up with a different logistic method for those packages.

Again them accepting live animals means they MUST comply with humane guarantees otherwise DONT OFFER IT. Would you buy a roof that can’t guarantee it won’t leak? Chances are not right?

 

[fish farmer]

I’ve ordered from cali to Oregon and it usually comes straight. I’ve seen it once go to somewhere else. These are great tips however this doesn’t address the root issue here. If UPS is going to accept live animals, they need a better process to ensure the delivery and treatment of those animals are humane to the best of their abilities. If they are not able to guarantee that then they shouldn’t accept those packages plain and simple. if they aren’t able to put packages labeled “live animals handle with care” in a warm area when transporting they should either a) not take those packages during those conditions or B) have a process to minimize the time in unconditioned spaces, or C) come up with a different logistic method for those packages.

Again them accepting live animals means they MUST comply with humane guarantees otherwise DONT OFFER IT. Would you buy a roof that can’t guarantee it won’t leak? Chances are not right?

I agree, things should be better, at least more shipping companies, more options.

Fact...Fed Ex only allows business to business shipping of live animals and not business to home, so pretty much anyone using Fed Ex to their home is violating the terms of Fed Ex and Fed Ex would be violating their own policy by accepting the package.