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I HATE UPS!!!

#101
For what it's worth, shipping damage is the risk we take when buying online, or any other sort of mail order. The benefits typically are lower prices, or better financing terms.

My Affinity Jazz came from Musicians Friend, box was as clean and unmolested as if it had just been sealed at the factory aside from the obligatory shipping and customs stickers slapped on it. No damage at all.

Sorry to hear that your PJ got smashed in shipping, but those things happen, good thing is UPS and MF are making good, sit back, enjoy the ride, and enjoy the jag when it comes in!
 
#103
hobosong said:
I haven't had that problem.
Just the problem of taking the day off work and waiting patiently by the door when the tracker says it's on the truck, then seeing an update an "attempted delivery" notice at like 5pm.

***!!! I was sitting here all day without even so much as putting on headphones for fear I would miss them, and then this!!!!
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I did exactly the same thing waiting for a Fedex package. Turns out, he delivered it to my next door neighbor's house.
 
#104
bass81800 said:
Never had a problem with UPS in the San Diego area. Have had numerous electric basses, an electric upright, amps, other musical equipment and recently two digital pianos and a 70 pound piece of exercise equipment delivered, all it great shape, as well as hundreds of packages from Amazon. Maybe its also because I am a regular customer and always say thanks to the driver if I see him or her. A few USPS deliveries over the years have had minor damage, and not from my postal carrier who handles everything with care, but probably elsewhere in the system.
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It's amazing how much benefit there is in simply being polite and courteous. I have always been friendly with my UPS delivery guys, and it usually turns out we have some common interest. It doesn't make us best friends or anything like that, but it does take me from being just a name and address to someone he actually cares a little about.

When I lived in the middle of Texas, I made a habit of giving the garbage guys each a cold drink when the weather was hot, whenever I was home on garbage day. I just did it to be nice and appreciative, but it paid off when I had to get rid of stuff they wouldn't normally have taken. They went out of their way to help me out.
 
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#105
Just wanted to add that while UPS hate might be misplaced, I think it's always fair to report when a package is damaged in transit, even if the shipper makes good.

I've had pretty good experiences overall with UPS, FedEx and USPS. Two DVD's went missing when I first moved in, but I filed a complaint and I don't think anything has been damaged or lost since. I do notice that no one leaves anything on the porch that won't fit into the mailbox. Maybe it's the byproduct of the neighborhood dynamic, but all shippers seem to either re-deliver or leave it at the post office with a notice if I'm not around.

UPS and FedEx in particular have been briging some large packages at my home recently and everything has been hunky dory.
 
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#106
I have only ever had one thing damaged when shipped by UPS or Fedex, and that was due to poor packing more than mistreatment of the package. I did receive a couple of boxes with crunched corners (out of the many hundreds of packages I have received), but the contents were not damaged.

FYI, bubble wrap is your friend. Packing peanuts are not. If you must use packing peanuts, you have to pack them in so tight that they will explode out of the box when it is opened. Otherwise, whatever is in the box is going to shift around.
 
#107
BlueTalon said:
It's amazing how much benefit there is in simply being polite and courteous. I have always been friendly with my UPS delivery guys, and it usually turns out we have some common interest. It doesn't make us best friends or anything like that, but it does take me from being just a name and address to someone he actually cares a little about.

When I lived in the middle of Texas, I made a habit of giving the garbage guys each a cold drink when the weather was hot, whenever I was home on garbage day. I just did it to be nice and appreciative, but it paid off when I had to get rid of stuff they wouldn't normally have taken. They went out of their way to help me out.
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Yep. I just spent a few days in the hospital. I treated everyone from the nurses to the housekeeping staff with kindness and respect. After all, their job is not an easy one. Theres a lot of patients who abuse them and treat them like a personal slave; calling every 5 minutes for some petty thing like picking a tissue up off the floor, or crying and complaining about being waken up to have vitals checked.

The nurses knew that i went out of my way to accomplish things and help out on my own. By asking which buttons to push on my IV pump to restart it cause i accidentally bent my arm and error it; or making notes on my urine output and emptying my own receptacle.

Of course they have to treat every patient with respect, but i think I got a lot more respect and trust in return because of my attitude. Even the attending Dr. Talked to me like i was an old friend or colleague. If i pressed the call button I never had to wait more than a minute at the most, even when the halls looked busy. I almost got the impression they were competing to get to my room first rather than anyone elses.

The cost of that VIP treatment? Nothing. Just choosing to be a nice, helpful patient.
 
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#108
Sux but at least they made it right.
Worst I've had is a NEW cheapo bass where the box looked like someone stabbed it with a screwdriver(through both boxes and a small chip on the finish). Since it was a CHEAPO($129), it didn't really bother me a lot.

The regular UPS driver out here is trained to bring stuff directly to my wife at her work since it saves him 20 miles of driving. Fed Ex is worst out here. I've had a $xxx amp left on a cattle guard at the main highway 300 yards from my house by them. For UPS and FED EX, I now ALWAYS get email alerts during delivery so I know where it is and when it got where. For the amp above, I left work and drove home to retrieve the amp before it got "borrowed" or went missing. ALL carriers have small print that lets them virtually leave an item anywhere "near" the residence for residential deliveries. 300 yards is near?

FED EX's residential version of "Your Item Is Delivered" out here................

AmpOnCattleguard1.JPG
 
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#109
skatecyco said:
Good day to everyone here at TalkBass. I am totally new here and relatively new to the world of bass guitar playing. I have noodled around on the guitar for years and have never really gotten too good at it, but my guitar playing buddy wanted me to jam with him and a drummer friend, so i said that i would give it a go. So, a few months ago I found a used Epi Gothic Tbird for a good price and i really thought i liked it. Wish I would have known then what I learned in this short time. I found it to be heavy, clunky, neck divey, and just plain uncomfortable to play, but I did think it sounded beautiful to my untrained ear. So I started looking at P basses in my price range, read reviews, went to shops, and found an open box Squier VM PJ Pbass at Musicians Friend for a great price. I placed the order last week and tracked it, eagerly awaiting its arrival. MF screwed up the address so I ended up having to go pick it up at a UPS center. Yesterday I got the email...it had arrived!! Giddy as a little schoolgirl, i hauled ass down there, gave the dude my tracking number...and my jaw hit the floor when he brought out the box. I couldnt believe that a shipping company could do this in just four short days!!! It looked like it had been run over with a truck! One of the tuning keys was broken off and thats all that i could bear to look at. Luckily the UPS guy was really cool. He took my email and number, got the claim filed yesterday, approved today and MF is shipping me a Squier Troy Sanders VM Jag Bass that i am hoping will satisfy me. Supposedly they are going to provide "priority packaging" and shipping it UPS premium ground, whatever that is. I was hesitant to buy on the internet and i should have known better. If this one doesnt get here in one piece, never again!!! Just wanted to share and vent a little bit. Thanks for having me in your forums and I(and probably you all)hope my future post are not so long winded. I will update when and if the new addition a gets here safely.
View attachment 657014 View attachment 657015 View attachment 657016 View attachment 657017
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So, the Jag got here yesterday. Look at the size of that box! ( and I'm not talking about my ex girlfriend)IMAG1910.jpg
 
#113
BlueTalon said:
It looks OK. How well was it packed?
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The smaller box was inside of the mega sized box along with two pieces of crumpled brown paper and a 1" piece of foam at the headstock end. Inside the smaller box were some cardboard inserts and it was wrapped in that white plasticy stuff. The inner box was pretty beat up, but since it was a scratch and dent I assume it's the box that the person returned it in. But all was good. I plan on posting in a bit with my thoughts on it so far in a new thread.
 
#116
My main problem with UPS, is they keep losing $%!+! They have managed to lose a box that's probably 2-3ft tall, 2-3ft wide, and weighs 75lbs! Seriously!? This is not the first time they've lost something of mine, but it is, by far, the LARGEST item of mine that they've misplaced! Lose an effects pedal? Ok. Even though you get paid to NOT lose stuff, I can understand losing a pedal. I can almost get losing an amp, especially a micro head(again UPS gets paid to NOT lose stuff). I cannot, for the life of me, wrap my head around losing a 410 speaker cab!? I even offered to go to the Cincinnati warehouse(I live in Indianapolis, which is, like, 1.5-2.5 hours away)and look for the damn thing myself! All I'd ask is they refund my shipping charge. Haven't heard back from them on that...

I can't help who the retailers I use ship thru, but I won't use UPS. The guy who runs the UPS store that's closest to me acts like he's doing the world a favor by being there. He seems to think that no one will go to the FedEx store, which is less than 2 miles away and has a pretty attractive employee who knows what she's doing. I really think the only people who go to this particular UPS store are folks who got tired of waiting in line at the FedEx store and said "screw it! I know there's nobody at the UPS store. I don't care about this package anyway..."
 

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