UPS- United Package Smashers?

[thedelihaus]

UPS- United Package Smashers.

"Turning parcels into pancakes... one package at a time."

A funny, or maybe not so funny, webpage started about UPS, and some of the packages that are delivered by them.

click on the button labeled "Smashed Packages" for some real horror shows...

http://www.unitedpackagesmashers.com/

 

[gyusher]

I agree to a point but a lot of what I saw was also piss poor packaging. . .

Most of those crushed looking boxes were just packed wrong for the ride they were about to take. . .

Where I'm at UPS beats FedEx by far. . . Other places prefer FedEx over UPS. . . I'll never forget DHL. . . I was shipped a 5 gallon can of Red paint once when they sat the bucket down on a small piece of gravel poking a small hole in the bottom. . .They put it inside a plastic bag and told me they thought it was blood. . .

They showed up wearing rubber gloves with eyeballs as big as pie plates. . . The paint was solvent based and smelled just like paint. . .How they got blood from that I'll never know.. . .


FedEx showed up with my new 1152DC Marantz. . .We looked out the window as the driver climbed into the rear of his truck. . .We were waiting for him to come out when suddenly in mid air was my new amp. . . It landed on the street with a loud thump that we heard inside the house. . .

My wife ran out the door and proceeded to rip this guy a new a$$ hole. . .Of course now I had to go stop the fight rather than try to work the problem. . .He pretty much said thats tuff ****. . . normal procedure. . .

Fortunatly the amp was packed right and suffered no damage. . .

 

[Negotiableterms]

I moved this thread to Packing and Shipping because...well... it's about packing and shipping. Yep, if you're hunting for some deeper meaning, you're outa luck.

 

[thedelihaus]

Some of the packing is really poorly done. So I agree with you assessment.

There's no way a package poorly done is going to survive a trip across country. It'll be lucky if it could make it across town.

I've personally had the worst luck via UPS. But I know which UPS hub all my deliveries goes through.

I've delivered packages there for an old job. I witnesed workers kicking and throwing any package marked "Fragile" off the conveyor belt. For fun.

Ugh.

So maybe it's not somuch a company as a whole, but the local branches of said company?

I've had excellent luck with the USPS, FedEx, and DHL. But I've heard horror stories too.

 

[alexkerhead]

Yes, ups have been a thorn in my side since the marantz 2270 I bought, sure it wasn't packed right by the seller, but they could have at least spent a couple seconds moving it instead of throwing it.
Then they dented one of my items I had listed on ebay..errr

I use only usps now.

Don't get me started on fedex or dhl..

 

[hellhound94]

I had a FedEx guy walk up to my doorway carrying a package (Marantz receiver), ring the doorbell with his elbow, and then, as soon as I opened the door, he actually dropped the package onto the porch right before my eyes. When I called him on it, he looked at me as if I was crazy. Only in America.

 

[wiseguy]

I overpack because i know how violent they are at moving boxes.. they dont care,fed-ex is no better than UPS..another member and I are dealing with Fed-ex right now and since october on a package they LOST..it left california and was scanned when it left but never showed up to its next desination,this is for a vintage 1975 Sony color television that i had been looking for to add to my collection for many years..it should have been a large box and weight around 65lbs..and they lost it on it way to ME..I spend a large amount of money to give to the other member here to have it packed and shipped to me,...so FED-EX LOST IT!!!!,how can they loose something so heavy and large??,they had denied the lost claim once..they lost it ,they should pay for it!!..everytime i think about this i get really PO..
interesting thing a few weeks ago.. I had packed and shipped a pioneer reciever to someone,and the lady at the fed-x counter would not let me insure it,"we do not insure vintage or antiques period,she was rude,and i said well what if they loose it..she said "that would never happen,we dont loose packages.." she says this rudely in front of me and other people waiting in line,i said "thats full of ****,i want you to look at this tracking number here.(the tracking number from the lost sony i showed her).and i am not moving away from this counter till you do"..she looked at it,and said..well i dont know what to tell you,and she stayed quiet the hole time i finished me business..
as i type this i am burning up with anger..time for coffee i guess..
thanks for listning to my shipping story..
terry

 

[PioneerGuy75]

UPS does NOT even care about FRAUD

I have just been defrauded by a ebay user, long story short he got the UPS refund and is now refusing to give it to me....

I called UPS figuring they would be interested in investigating....HELL NO!!
All they said was " You must contact the shipper to resolve this."
"This is BLATANT FRAUD. Don't you care about that??"
"Sir, you must contact the shipper to work this out."

I will go VERY FAR out of my way to AVOID UPS!!!!

P.S. What really ticks me off is that they are so BLATANT about abusing stuff that WE spend good money on!!
I was watching them on the news just before Christmas and there they were, right in front of the news camera, throwing boxes as hard and as far as they could!! If they will do that right in front of a camera what's going on behind closed doors....

Anybody that has this level of blatant disrespect for other's property does NOT deserve my business!!

 

[barrynsue]

I have just been defrauded by a ebay user, long story short he got the UPS refund and is now refusing to give it to me....

I called UPS figuring they would be interested in investigating....HELL NO!!
All they said was " You must contact the shipper to resolve this."
"This is BLATANT FRAUD. Don't you care about that??"
"Sir, you must contact the shipper to work this out."

I will go VERY FAR out of my way to AVOID UPS!!!!

P.S. What really ticks me off is that they are so BLATANT about abusing stuff that WE spend good money on!!
I was watching them on the news just before Christmas and there they were, right in front of the news camera, throwing boxes as hard and as far as they could!! If they will do that right in front of a camera what's going on behind closed doors....

Anybody that has this level of blatant disrespect for other's property does NOT deserve my business!!

I recently experienced the same problem from a gentleman who until this point, I considered an honorable individual. Purchased a near mint McIntosh MC-240. Trannies were dented and UPS came out to take a look.

I emailed the seller numerous times as the UPS investigator was on our side looking for the refund and he kept stalling. I waited for 3 months and finally advised that UPS had mailed him a refund but not received yet. I proceeded to list the amp in the meantime and actually sold it and made money because I had a large sum tied up in the amp and wanted to recover some of my $$. The Seller was aware of this and REFUSED to send the refund as he stated I had no loss. In fact, his tubes were the WRONG ones (6L6GB vs. GC) and I had to put a new quad of old stock tubes. I should name him but not sure if that is the right thing to do on this forum. He is a liar and a cheat and I bet UPS paid him months earlier. He thought it to be fair that HE should keep the funds. He rationalized it to be OK for him to make more although he had his money for 5 months that I had paid him but due to dumb luck, I broke even AFTER repairs that he did not assist with plus the tubes!

Sorry for the OT.

As for UPS,FedEx, etc., I agree that they can be extremely rough but must agree with the fact that 90%+ of the issues that are caused are due to inadequate packing. I have had very few claims shipping some very fragile pieces all over the world. However, I have had more than my fair share of damaged items show up at my door due to really poor packing.

 

[soloz2]

yeah, not too long ago I ordered a new windowed side panel for my CM Stacker case and they shipped UPS and it arrived damaged, so i sent it back. they sent a new one and it arrived damaged so I sent it back. they sent a 3rd one and it arrived damaged so they told me to keep it and they shipped the 4th on FedEx, it arrived unharmed.

 

[billbillw]

Here is another perfect example of the Package Smasher's work

Just received this from Parts Express the other day. United Parcel Smashers at work again. Luckily everything was ok inside (just a shipment of X-over caps), but I just had to take a picture of this box. I'm glad it wasn't anything delicate.

 

[sharksoup]

In the small town where I live, UPS delivery has always been OK. They've been here enough times, they know where to stash the package out of harms way when nobody is home.

Have had one delivery from DHL and hope to never have another. My wife was home at the time, heard the truck pull in, and watched from the kitchen window as he set the box (with Marantz receiver) on the porch without even bothering to knock on the door.

Good thing she was home as it was 20 below zero that day!! Probably why he was in a hurry to drop it and run.

 

[tarior]

I copied this from an archive of the Sacramento Bee, September 10, 1894.

AT LAST

“Baggage-Smashers” Run Up Against a Concealed Arsenal

A man employed at the depot came very near being killed on Saturday. Some baggage was being transferred from one car to another, and the lighter packages were tossed out.

One of these, a telescope basket, the catcher muffed and when it struck the asphalt floor of the depot there was an explosion that suggested dynamite, infernal machines and all sorts of modern explosives. A bullet ploughed its way up along the leg of the catcher, cutting a strip our of his trousers, but fortunately inflicting no injury to the man. It finally found lodgement in the side of a coach.

Investigation showed that the basket contained a big loaded revolver.

 

[Laemmle]

I have just been defrauded by a ebay user, long story short he got the UPS refund and is now refusing to give it to me....

I called UPS figuring they would be interested in investigating....HELL NO!!
All they said was " You must contact the shipper to resolve this."
"This is BLATANT FRAUD. Don't you care about that??"
"Sir, you must contact the shipper to work this out."

I will go VERY FAR out of my way to AVOID UPS!!!!

P.S. What really ticks me off is that they are so BLATANT about abusing stuff that WE spend good money on!!
I was watching them on the news just before Christmas and there they were, right in front of the news camera, throwing boxes as hard and as far as they could!! If they will do that right in front of a camera what's going on behind closed doors....

Anybody that has this level of blatant disrespect for other's property does NOT deserve my business!!

As the saying goes 'what can brown do for you?' ya really wanna know....brown can go take a big sheet for itself!

I recently received my new McIntosh cdp......even with three boxes BROWN SHEET managed to F it up......all function buttons broken internally track pot busted...scratches on the glass face......folks this 'instrument' is 3,300 msrp!

This is the forth time I have been sent gear via brown sheet....I am beside myself.....this kills the joy of the hobby!

 

[basicblues]

As the saying goes 'what can brown do for you?' ya really wanna know....brown can go take a big sheet for itself!

I recently received my new McIntosh cdp......even with three boxes BROWN SHEET managed to F it up......all function buttons broken internally track pot busted...scratches on the glass face......folks this 'instrument' is 3,300 msrp!

This is the forth time I have been sent gear via brown sheet....I am beside myself.....this kills the joy of the hobby!

If your Mac CDP still received that type of damage despite being packed in 3 boxes, there's little doubt IMO that the unit was still not packaged correctly. Items must be packaged to the point of zero shifting inside. I certainly can understand your fustration but if you have shipped brown 4 times and had problems or issues with each effort, there's additional problems beside the brown one.

 

[sleddogman]

Kiss 'em goodbye...

Well, after weeks and weeks of waiting and arranging the pickup and packing via long distance, my long sought after and desired AMT3 Rock Monitors arrived on Thursday. Here's what's left of them... :tears:

I can only imagine the impact the left speaker took being dropped on its head to cause the AMT to split in half like that. That poor AMT has a bigger gap in the top than David Letterman's front teeth.

Next time, if there ever IS a next time, I'll bite the bullet, get in the car, and go pick the darn things up myself, regardless where they are.

 

[barrynsue]

As has been stated many times before on this forum, it is usually the quality of the packing that determines how it arrives and not the fault of the shipping service. Although that is not to say they are totally without fault.

Today I received a McIntosh C-28 from one of those I Sold It stores who charged a fairly hefty premium on shipping. I did not complain as I charge the same fee when I sell and assumed they knew the value of proper packing. Somehow, with only one layer of bubblewrap and some (not much) PAPER as packing material, it made it with no damage! I just new when I saw the knobs pressed against the v=carboard tat the glass was going to be smashed but all was OK. It was pure luck and a VERY lame packing job! I had requested they remove the knobs as that is one of the main reasons the glass gets shattered as a bump on a knob can easily fracture the thin glass. They didn't do it and we just happened to luck out this time.

I could not have blamed this on the shipping company had something happened although I'm sure the seller would want to file a claim had it been necessary. Proper packing will help avoud over 95% of these incidents. Most were originally shipped on a pallet when sent to the retailer and even factory packaging does not always assure safe shipping.

My rant for the day as I send out 100's of fragile and heavy items a year and for the majority of times, I have had absolutely no issue with only a 1% damage rate over the last two years. That includes FedEx (air, International Air,Ground and Home delivery) USPS Global Express, and UPS. I do not work for any of these outfits.

If packed PROPERLY, it should reach its finally destination safely but I also understand the frustration of seeing some idiot delivery person ROLLING a heavy box containing your amp or speakers with no regard and those that HEAVE it into the truck and think nothing of it.

Sorry for your losses and do hope you get the claims settled in your favor!

Barry

 

[gonzomeep]

Well, after weeks and weeks of waiting and arranging the pickup and packing via long distance, my long sought after and desired AMT3 Rock Monitors arrived on Thursday. Here's what's left of them... :tears:

I can only imagine the impact the left speaker took being dropped on its head to cause the AMT to split in half like that. That poor AMT has a bigger gap in the top than David Letterman's front teeth.

Next time, if there ever IS a next time, I'll bite the bullet, get in the car, and go pick the darn things up myself, regardless where they are.

How were they packed? Were they encased in 2" thick styrofoam and then boxed in double-walled heavy duty cardboard? Shame on UPS if they were. Otherwise, there is not doubt that any less packing will give you that result every time. They are 100lbs a piece. Sorry that you experienced this tragic damage. Really sucks!!!!!!!! The bitch is, that if they don't meet the minimum packing requirement, they will not honor the insurance. F*%K! Like I said in reponse to your other post, I wish I could get me hands on those for you. I could make them 99.9% of perfect.

Edit: Hey, did you get those from Canada? I noticed that these are ported. The Original AMT3 is not ported, none were. And like i said in the other thread, the woofers did not have ribbed cones. come to think of it, the 6" midbass had a foam surround, not a rubber one, AFAIK. I remember seeing a pair being offered by Colture75 on ebay some time back. They were ported like these are, in the same place, with the same cardboard tube. Gotta be them. what did you pay for them?

 

[sleddogman]

How were they packed? Were they encased in 2" thick styrofoam and then boxed in double-walled heavy duty cardboard? Shame on UPS if they were. Otherwise, there is not doubt that any less packing will give you that result every time. They are 100lbs a piece. Sorry that you experienced this tragic damage. Really sucks!!!!!!!! The bitch is, that if they don't meet the minimum packing requirement, they will not honor the insurance. F*%K! Like I said in reponse to your other post, I wish I could get me hands on those for you. I could make them 99.9% of perfect.

They were packed fairly well, but not to the extent that you described. If you had packed them I guarantee they would have arrived in great shape. :thmbsp:

Edit: Hey, did you get those from Canada? I noticed that these are ported. The Original AMT3 is not ported, none were. And like i said in the other thread, the woofers did not have ribbed cones. come to think of it, the 6" midbass had a foam surround, not a rubber one, AFAIK. I remember seeing a pair being offered by Colture75 on ebay some time back. They were ported like these are, in the same place, with the same cardboard tube. Gotta be them. what did you pay for them?

These came from the Los Angeles area and the gentleman that owned them claimed he had them since day one. As far as the price, I plead the Fifth...

 

[jaymanaa]

I wouldn't trust UPS with a brick. (double boxed) :thumbsdn: