smartpost
2I've received ~10 packages tendered through the logistical process of fedex smartpost and consistently, the expected delivery date(after the package actually gets picked up from shipper), is always a 2-4 day overestimation. For example...
Just curiosity... maybe @dave or @shawn can weigh in with their contagious disease-like wisdom (bath).
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Clearly it is FedEx's fault.
1) @Barney wasn't involved at that time.
2) USPS (the "Smart" part) is a stellar example of operational efficiency and effectiveness.
@RedOak Yes, I'm assuming Fedex is assuming it'll take USPS much longer than it will. Though, USPS has fucked up and lost a package I sent, and because I didn't buy insurance they wouldn't even look into. (To this day, the tracking still says departed local USPS whatever) and that happened in 2011.
I should have said FedEx was the "Smart" part - USPS is the "Post" part.
@er1c 'Won't go into USPS horror stories detail other than to say, we now know neighbors from blocks away far better due to mis/non deliveries. And since our local Post Office does not answer the phone or return voice mails, we also know the USPS Consumer Affairs (800-275-8777) folks pretty well.
@er1c I get my packages a day early from the estimation, so that is what I was thinking. I know I can expect my package the day after it hits our central USPS location, this might not be the case for other post offices.
@RedOak Although I have to assume @Barney loves FedEx.
@editorkid doesn't everybody love Fedex? "It just works"
@RedOak Whew!
@editorkid FedEx Purple Promise! Awww.
On the brown side, so to speak, something I bought from Woot in April of '11 is still "On truck for delivery." (Woot refunded me pretty quickly.) Would have gotten it in April of '11 via Smartpost.
I like purple.
I actually had one that was supposed to come via SurePost from Amazon and the delivery tracking page said "We'll be in your area and will deliver your UPS SurePost package instead of the post office." I think it ended up arriving a day early.
@fury It's all logistics, if you send a package ground, but it's more convenient for them to send it air, they will.
@fury Same here (not from Amazon but still). The driver left a note basically saying, "I was supposed to drop this off at the post office but I'm making another delivery to your building, so here."
Anything is better than UPS. They say they "run the tightest ship in the shipping business" but I'm guessing that only applies to people who live on the banks of a major waterway because their service inland is laughably poor.
If you compare notes with your neighbors, you will all probably agree on which of FedEx, USPS, and UPS are good and which of them suck at making deliveries. If you compare notes with friends from far away, it seems that they are living on a different planet.
I used to live near the start of a UPS ground delivery route. The local UPS office was not far from a major regional sorting facility.
UPS Ground deliveries from six different states would be delivered first thing in the morning to that address. Within the six state region, ground was the fastest, cheapest, and most reliable way to get me a package.
Then we moved. UPS ground is still good, but we're at the end of the route. Some days packages arrive after 7pm.
Your mileage will vary.
@hamjudo we've had consistently good and predicable service from both of the delivery "companies" that would go out of business if service were not good. The other one? Well, they're still "in business" in spite of their poor performance.
With fedex they don't have the option to upgrade. Ups gives you the option to upgrade their ups/usps package to ups only. It cost money but sometimes is worth it.
I will say that Amazon is awesome about shipping when you have issues. I have major issues with usps. I had to get out of work an hour early due to the post office that packages wait at is not the post office that is the closest to my home (about 45 min away compared to about 1 mile, yet that's the post office that the ups/fedex guy drops the package off at) they put a note in my account to not ship usps or a method that hands off to usps. And have followed it for at least 6 months now.