Just a little story to tell you that shows what little integrity exists at Brown:
So, I have been expecting a package that was shipped out last week from FL and I live in WA. UPS says 7-10 days, okay, I kinda figured that.
So, Thursday morning I decided to check the tracking on the package, and it shows that it was scanned into the 'hub' in Redmond, WA at 03:22 AM PDT on 6/19/08. I'm thinking, cool!, I might just get my package early, since it is only 70 miles or so from the 'hub' to my local station, and usually the packages are processed out the same day as arrival. UPS estimated the delivery date as 06/23/08...so of course I am gonna be happy to see my package early, in time for the weekend.
So, just to check, I call UPS. I am told it is not due to be delivered until 06/23/08, and that is when it will get delivered. So, I ask, "are you guys seriously gonna let this thing sit in a trailer or on the terminal floor for 4-5 days before you process out for delivery?!" Like an automaton, she responds, "the package is due for delivery on 06/23/08". Well, of course this is not an answer to my question, so I request to speak to a supervisor. So, a guy named Michael, out of the Jacksonville call center gets on the line and tells me he is a supervisor (turns out he wasn't at all!) and he tells me that he sees a scan on the package that is not available online that shows that the package is scanned to go out on the truck to my local facility on Friday (today) early AM, and then out for delivery to me. He 100% guarantees it!!! He goes on to tell me that when they get packages in early, they do not let them sit around until the actual delivery date, that is not UPS's policy. So I am like, cool!, I'm gonna have my package before the weekend! He tells me that if I do not see a scan on it Friday morning, that I can call the UPS # and make arrangements to pick it up at the local facility....which will still work for me.
So, I track this morning, and guess what.....NOTHING! No destinations scans, daily security scans, nothing. So, I call back UPS...who tells me yet again, that it is not due to be delivered until 06/23/08. Again, ask for a supervisor, as now I have a promised delivery for today by 'supervisor' Michael. I get another 'supervisor' named Wesley...who I could immediately tell was not a supervisor, and again, requested a supervisor...finally got a Linda, who I am suspecting is again, no supervisor. I tell her that I was 100% guaranteed delivery today, that Michael told me there was a scan that said as much the previous day. She tells me that the supervisors see the same scans as the customers do online.
Well, now I am livid...not so much about the package anymore, but about being so blatantly lied to, and about representatives misrepresenting themselves to customers as supervisors. She knows now I am a little more than upset, and puts me on hold for roughly 20 minutes, while she is talking to the 'hub', who tells her that yes, the trailer containing my package is there, but he is not about to unload it before it's estimated delivery date. I explain to her that sitting in a leaky (they ALL leak) trailer for 4-5 days is just ridiculous, and that by getting those packages out early can only help their service numbers for the month....especially since they are already there...and I am still unhappy about being lied to with a 100% guarantee for a Friday delivery. I ask to speak to her supervisor, who is apparently a real supervisor, because I have to wait for a return call. When he finally does call, I am indiposed, and the message he leaves me is with a # to call him back at, which, as it turns out, is no good.....this is getting better and better.
Undaunted....I contact UPS Corporate Headquarters in Atlanta, GA and speak with a Landanese in Corporate Customer Relations. She is very nice, and seems to be genuinely interested in the issue. She cannot understand why a terminal would not get out early received packages either. Beyond that, she is very concerned about representatives posing as supervisors willy-nilly just to give customers lip-service to get them off the phone. SHe was also concerned as to why there are no further scans on the package. So, she tells me she will contact the terminal, and while she cannot force the 'hub' terminal manager to honor the guarantee I was given, it would certainly be in his best interest customer service-wise, to do so.
I get a call about an hour later from Rosemary, who is not very happy with me at all...tells me she is from corporate, which she was not, calling from a 206 area code, (Seattle). She angrily tells me that the package will be delivered on 06/23/08, like the computer says it will. I ask to speak with the terminal manager, and am told there is no terminal manager???!!!...Argggggghhhhhh! More lies! I tell her what I was told by the real corporate gal, and she tells me she doesn't have a clue....nice. She then tells me that the trailer is not really there, that it is a logic scan. I told her that Linda had already told me she had spoken with the manager and that it was in fact there, that's how the trailer scan happened. She says no, it's not there. So I ask, how the hell do you scan a trailer that is not there?!! She cannot answer that...just goes on that the trailer is not there.
Then she wants to know what's in the package, that it is so important. I tell her that it is none of her business, and it shouldn't matter, that I was 100% guaranteed delivery today. She says that there are about 50,000 people at UPS that will lie to me.....wtf?!!! I tell her that she is aware that these people are representatives of the company...and thereby have a direct bearing on the company itself. I also ask her then that it is UPS policy to just lie to the customers to get them off the phones as quickly as possible, no matter what? Again, no answer for me.
Then she tells me that there is a scan on the package in her system showing that the trailer is due to be sorted tonight, and the package out for delivery on Monday. WHAT???!!!! She just told me that everyone else is lying and that the trailer isn't even there!!!
Then she is like, well if I refund you your shipping costs, will that make you happy? I responded with "not really". "You're not getting the point, I called and asked a question in good faith on Thursday morning, and was 100% guaranteed by Michael that I would receive this package today. It's not even so much about the package anymore, as it is how horrific UPS customer service is, and for how little regard the company holds for it's customers...the very customers that keep you employed." She apologized....but I told her that simply was not good enough anymore.
I went on to tell her that I would post my experience online, which seemed to care less about. I also told her that I would no longer order from vendors who insist on shipping with Brown, and I would tell those vendors why. She basically gave me the impression that she didn't care, one PO'd customer wasn't going to impact their business.
Okay...thanks for the allowing the rant. I just thought that those of you who trust and/or use UPS should know just what they think about their customers....and to not believe one word of what is being told to you by their customer service dept.
Lisa
So, I have been expecting a package that was shipped out last week from FL and I live in WA. UPS says 7-10 days, okay, I kinda figured that.
So, Thursday morning I decided to check the tracking on the package, and it shows that it was scanned into the 'hub' in Redmond, WA at 03:22 AM PDT on 6/19/08. I'm thinking, cool!, I might just get my package early, since it is only 70 miles or so from the 'hub' to my local station, and usually the packages are processed out the same day as arrival. UPS estimated the delivery date as 06/23/08...so of course I am gonna be happy to see my package early, in time for the weekend.
So, just to check, I call UPS. I am told it is not due to be delivered until 06/23/08, and that is when it will get delivered. So, I ask, "are you guys seriously gonna let this thing sit in a trailer or on the terminal floor for 4-5 days before you process out for delivery?!" Like an automaton, she responds, "the package is due for delivery on 06/23/08". Well, of course this is not an answer to my question, so I request to speak to a supervisor. So, a guy named Michael, out of the Jacksonville call center gets on the line and tells me he is a supervisor (turns out he wasn't at all!) and he tells me that he sees a scan on the package that is not available online that shows that the package is scanned to go out on the truck to my local facility on Friday (today) early AM, and then out for delivery to me. He 100% guarantees it!!! He goes on to tell me that when they get packages in early, they do not let them sit around until the actual delivery date, that is not UPS's policy. So I am like, cool!, I'm gonna have my package before the weekend! He tells me that if I do not see a scan on it Friday morning, that I can call the UPS # and make arrangements to pick it up at the local facility....which will still work for me.
So, I track this morning, and guess what.....NOTHING! No destinations scans, daily security scans, nothing. So, I call back UPS...who tells me yet again, that it is not due to be delivered until 06/23/08. Again, ask for a supervisor, as now I have a promised delivery for today by 'supervisor' Michael. I get another 'supervisor' named Wesley...who I could immediately tell was not a supervisor, and again, requested a supervisor...finally got a Linda, who I am suspecting is again, no supervisor. I tell her that I was 100% guaranteed delivery today, that Michael told me there was a scan that said as much the previous day. She tells me that the supervisors see the same scans as the customers do online.
Well, now I am livid...not so much about the package anymore, but about being so blatantly lied to, and about representatives misrepresenting themselves to customers as supervisors. She knows now I am a little more than upset, and puts me on hold for roughly 20 minutes, while she is talking to the 'hub', who tells her that yes, the trailer containing my package is there, but he is not about to unload it before it's estimated delivery date. I explain to her that sitting in a leaky (they ALL leak) trailer for 4-5 days is just ridiculous, and that by getting those packages out early can only help their service numbers for the month....especially since they are already there...and I am still unhappy about being lied to with a 100% guarantee for a Friday delivery. I ask to speak to her supervisor, who is apparently a real supervisor, because I have to wait for a return call. When he finally does call, I am indiposed, and the message he leaves me is with a # to call him back at, which, as it turns out, is no good.....this is getting better and better.
Undaunted....I contact UPS Corporate Headquarters in Atlanta, GA and speak with a Landanese in Corporate Customer Relations. She is very nice, and seems to be genuinely interested in the issue. She cannot understand why a terminal would not get out early received packages either. Beyond that, she is very concerned about representatives posing as supervisors willy-nilly just to give customers lip-service to get them off the phone. SHe was also concerned as to why there are no further scans on the package. So, she tells me she will contact the terminal, and while she cannot force the 'hub' terminal manager to honor the guarantee I was given, it would certainly be in his best interest customer service-wise, to do so.
I get a call about an hour later from Rosemary, who is not very happy with me at all...tells me she is from corporate, which she was not, calling from a 206 area code, (Seattle). She angrily tells me that the package will be delivered on 06/23/08, like the computer says it will. I ask to speak with the terminal manager, and am told there is no terminal manager???!!!...Argggggghhhhhh! More lies! I tell her what I was told by the real corporate gal, and she tells me she doesn't have a clue....nice. She then tells me that the trailer is not really there, that it is a logic scan. I told her that Linda had already told me she had spoken with the manager and that it was in fact there, that's how the trailer scan happened. She says no, it's not there. So I ask, how the hell do you scan a trailer that is not there?!! She cannot answer that...just goes on that the trailer is not there.
Then she wants to know what's in the package, that it is so important. I tell her that it is none of her business, and it shouldn't matter, that I was 100% guaranteed delivery today. She says that there are about 50,000 people at UPS that will lie to me.....wtf?!!! I tell her that she is aware that these people are representatives of the company...and thereby have a direct bearing on the company itself. I also ask her then that it is UPS policy to just lie to the customers to get them off the phones as quickly as possible, no matter what? Again, no answer for me.
Then she tells me that there is a scan on the package in her system showing that the trailer is due to be sorted tonight, and the package out for delivery on Monday. WHAT???!!!! She just told me that everyone else is lying and that the trailer isn't even there!!!
Then she is like, well if I refund you your shipping costs, will that make you happy? I responded with "not really". "You're not getting the point, I called and asked a question in good faith on Thursday morning, and was 100% guaranteed by Michael that I would receive this package today. It's not even so much about the package anymore, as it is how horrific UPS customer service is, and for how little regard the company holds for it's customers...the very customers that keep you employed." She apologized....but I told her that simply was not good enough anymore.
I went on to tell her that I would post my experience online, which seemed to care less about. I also told her that I would no longer order from vendors who insist on shipping with Brown, and I would tell those vendors why. She basically gave me the impression that she didn't care, one PO'd customer wasn't going to impact their business.
Okay...thanks for the allowing the rant. I just thought that those of you who trust and/or use UPS should know just what they think about their customers....and to not believe one word of what is being told to you by their customer service dept.
Lisa
. I also had a major problem with UPS. I will never ship anything with them again.
