When I lived in Phoenix the FedEx Ground packages were delivered by individuals working as private contractors and not actual FedEx employees. In fact I was told as much by FedEx Customer Service. I had to call about a Ground Package that I had missed by only a few minutes because I was not home. I called to see if I could meet the driver and was told that because Ground Service is not performed by actual FedEx employees it was nearly impossible to contact the driver. Had the package been sent Express it would have been a different story. I also remember seeing advertisements in the Phoenix newspapers during the Christmas holiday season where they were looking for private contractors to help with Ground Packages. This was two years ago and I don't know if they still do things this way or not. Btw, I still use FedEx Ground for heavy items instead of UPS or USPS due to the cost savings and have had no problems.
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fed ex sucks bigtime!!!!
- Thread starter MORIMOTOM
- Start date
When I lived in Phoenix the FedEx Ground packages were delivered by individuals working as private contractors and not actual FedEx employees. In fact I was told as much by FedEx Customer Service. I had to call about a Ground Package that I had missed by only a few minutes because I was not home. I called to see if I could meet the driver and was told that because Ground Service is not performed by actual FedEx employees it was nearly impossible to contact the driver. Had the package been sent Express it would have been a different story. I also remember seeing advertisements in the Phoenix newspapers during the Christmas holiday season where they were looking for private contractors to help with Ground Packages. This was two years ago and I don't know if they still do things this way or not. Btw, I still use FedEx Ground for heavy items instead of UPS or USPS due to the cost savings and have had no problems.
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- Jul 31, 2006
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Fedex ground is all independant contractors. Fedex nextday air or second day air is the real deal and the safest.
I was typing my post and had to go to the door to sign for my new Kevin Wilkins folder. When I came back I hit the post button without looking. Sorry for the Duplicate info. Kevin Wilkins......WooHoo.
FedEx Ground (note the capitalization) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of FedEx. Yes: FedEx is FedEx, but FedEx Ground is FedEx Ground
. Take a close look at FedEx and FedEx Ground trucks sometime. You'll notice they're not the same.FedEx Ground was actually something else, RPS, before being purchased by FedEx and re-Christened "FedEx Ground." FedEx Ground "employees" are (mostly?) independent contractors, I believe--at least as far as their delivery trucks are concerned.
FedEx Ground is not the "if it absolutely, positively must be there overnight" FedEx.
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- Nov 30, 2001
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FedEx Ground (note the capitalization) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of FedEx. Yes: FedEx is FedEx, but FedEx Ground is FedEx Ground
FedEx Ground was actually something else, RPS, before being purchased by FedEx and re-Christened "FedEx Ground." FedEx Ground "employees" are (mostly?) independent contractors, I believe--at least as far as their delivery trucks are concerned.
FedEx Ground is not the "if it absolutely, positively must be there overnight" FedEx.
whoa! Now I've got little FedEx's floating around in my head! Its as bad as trying to figure out who actually made that "American" import car with the electronics from one place, engine from another, and the body work from 12 different places! My Dodge Ram 50 is a Mitsubishi with Dodge body panels, the wife's Scion is a Toyota in disguise. Totally confusing! 
i have been met with indifference at every turn. i have yet to receive an adequate explanation of how this happened. i have spoken to four people and not one has provided any more than an 'overview'. basically your stuff is gone, file a claim form. we will get to it when we get to it.
Yep, on the plus side I have had nothing but positive experience with Fedex Ground which is how I ship in the the Continental United States. Fast, efficient, good tracking and cheaper then USPS. Of course I have not yet had to deal with an insurance claim...
USPS for high dollar items? Not on a bet.
Mailers of high dollar items would not agree. USPS Registered Mail is the most secure shipping in the world, providing an unbroken chain of custody from sender to receiver, and whatever level of security is necessary to protect the goods. The Hope Diamond was shipped to the Smithsonian via Registered Mail.
Very interesting to know... I wonder how they are about paying on insurance claims.
A story if you will indulge me. It will help me explain my earlier comment.
About a year ago I shipped a sword to California. I sent it via priority mail with insurance and delivery confirmation. About four weeks later I was contacted by the buyer asking me where the heck his sword was? Heck I didn't know, I got on the USPS site and looked up the tracking number. The site helpfully told me that there was no such number in the system despite the fact that I had the number right there.
So I took my receipt, the insurance slip and the delivery confirmation slip to a local post office and asked them to look it up. The clerk went rummaging around on the computer and then told me the package had been delivered. I asked if I could see the signature and he told me that they did not have it available there. So basically at this point I had the post office telling me the item had been delivered and the customer telling me it had not.
Hmm what to do? Well, I got on the internet and looked up the post office responsible for delivering to the zip code of the buyer and called them directly. I asked them if they had the signature from the delivery. A very nice lady there faxed it to me even though she was not supposed to. She also gave me the phone number of the supervisor of that post office. When I got the signature in hand sure enough it was not the signature of the buyer. When I asked him about it he noted that it was not even the signature of anyone he knew.
Next I called the postal supervisor. I explained the situation and that I had the signature in hand that did NOT match the signature of the buyer. He did some digging and finally came back and told me that the signature was that of the mail carrier on that route. I pointed out that since the mail carrier was not the buyer that something was a bit amiss. He talked to the carrier when they got in for the day and they told him that they and the customer had worked out an arrangement where the carrier would sign for packages and then leave them on the steps. I asked the buyer if that was true and he said no. I told the supervisor I wanted to see this agreement in writing which of course neither he nor the carrier could produce.
At that point I filed an insurance claim. I filled out the insurance claim form as required as well as providing copies of all receipts and a copy of the singnature along with basically the explanation I provided above. About three weeks later I got back a letter from the postal inspector telling me that since the item was delivered and signed for I had no claim.
Never mind that it was not delivered to the buyer, and never mind that the signature was not that of the buyer. Since the post office had delivered it to SOMEONE they were washing their hands of the matter.
As it turned out this story had a happy ending for me (the sword magically appeared shortly after I got the letter), but I have come to the conclusion that USPS will never pay on an insurance claim so you use them at your own risk.
Perhaps this is different for some of their other services. I would rather not find out.
Very interesting to know... I wonder how they are about paying on insurance claims.
A story if you will indulge me. It will help me explain my earlier comment.
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All the insurance claims for numbered insured (over $50 indemnity - but soon to go up to $200) are processed in the same facility so I imagine that the policy of using a delivery scan as prima facie evidence to controvert a claim of complete loss would be applied in all cases.
Registered mail is very secure, so it is highly unlikely to be handled in a cavalier fashion by the letter carrier as he would be at risk of losing the value of the item, his job, and his freedom if the piece were to turn up missing. Every person that handles a Registered Mail piece must sign for it and never relinquish it from their personal custody until the next person in the chain of custody signs for it. Due to the nature of the service, it is not fast and it is not cheap - you pay for the best security and that's the overriding feature of the service. The fees are based on the value of the item. Insurance is included for amounts up to $25,000.
In any case, you might also want to consider using Restricted Delivery, even with Priority Mail with insurance and Delivery Confirmation, which, as its name implies, restricts the delivery of the item to the person listed as the addressee or their officially designated delivery agent. The delivery office would have to maintain a written record of any delivery agent agreement. It would cut down on the "convenience agreements" such as you describe where the letter carrier signs off and leaves the parcel unattended for certain customers.
Well, registered mail already cost me a Magnum tanto XII
which dissapeared in the maelström of registered mail items, and with my current transaction, it may be that my money is also "lost". So now I'll have to pay twice for the same kukri which I ordered I only have these problems sending to and recieving from the USA, never the UK.
Well that's certainly good to know, perhaps if I have a very high dollar item to ship in the future I will consider the service. Of the moderately high dollar items I typically deal in, I think I will continue to use Fedex, cheaper, faster and better tracking.
Well, registered mail already cost me a Magnum tanto XII
I only have these problems sending to and recieving from the USA, never the UK.
Do not equate international registered mail with US Postal Service domestic Registered Mail. They are two completely different things with two completely different sets of standards. I would liken the Universal Postal Union's registered mail to USPS Certifed Mail.
Morimotom,
Keep Calling.
Make them make decisions.
Get them to commit.
Keep a log of your calls, time, Date and who you spoke with, they should have a log sign identification number for each employee and a number for your case.
I use FedEx 3rd Day mostly and Overnight from time to time, FedEx has been good to me.
Once again, I am sorry for your loss and the trouble you are going through to get your loss covered.
Keep Calling.
Make them make decisions.
Get them to commit.
Keep a log of your calls, time, Date and who you spoke with, they should have a log sign identification number for each employee and a number for your case.
I use FedEx 3rd Day mostly and Overnight from time to time, FedEx has been good to me.
Once again, I am sorry for your loss and the trouble you are going through to get your loss covered.