One of the big news items today is that a number of packages scheduled for delivery by Christmas didn't arrive in time, both due to the large volume and also some bad weather in the eastern part of the U S.
Some people are upset about this with UPS and Fedex, but I wonder if this is the kind of thinking that can get a pilot into trouble.
If something is that important, why not order in time instead of waiting until the last minute?
Last edited by Bill Greenwood; 12-26-2013 at 05:00 PM.
I just chalked it up to the fact that DFW was iced-in for 5 days or so (DFW is a FedEx hub as well as large UPS presence) and then it all just moved East, playing the same games on that side of the country. Even with padding for an extra week pre-holiday, you can't always foresee Mother Nature's impact upon things.
But, yeah, there *are* always those who wait to mail something on the 23rd...
Bill, here's where you nailed it: "If something is that important, why not order in time instead of waiting until the last minute?"
Just this morning I mentioned this no-news news item to my postmistress and I included the comment that we have become coddled wusses; expecting deliveries darned nearly instantaneously. Yes, the sales folks tell us to expect that, but... c'mon, eh?
As for the staff and the crews, I, for one, hope they lose no sleep or experience any post-traumitic over this faux tragedy.
My sister-in-ordered an in-stock item on 1 December ; still hasn't arrived. You'd think more than three weeks would be long enough. Using the tracking number, she saw it sitting in a UPS warehouse for longer than a week. Called and raised Hell, nut all UPS would say was that things were slow.Originally Posted by Bill Greenwood
Shipped a priority mail item to California on 16th December, from Seattle. Tracking number showed it sitting in a sorting facility in Illinois for three days. Now GPS has ruined my navigational skills, but is Illinois between Seattle and Bakersfield? :-)
Ron Wanttaja
Timely subject. I was driving today and heard a discussion on the radio about this. Amazon promised delivery by Dec.24th via UPS even for packages purchased on Dec. 22 & 23. Guess what? UPS went FUBAR and couldn't deliver on the Amazon promise. Those thousands of last minute purchasers are all pissed so Amazon is giving those customers $20 vouchers for future buys.
The commentators thought it was really bad policy to reward last minute behavior and instead Amazon should reward those who buy their stuff in plenty of advance time. I agree, an incentive for good behavior would be a nice change of pace.
I ordered 2 aviation books, used, and a new CDrom going to 2 different addresses, the orders were place on Dec. 15 and all arrived by normal shipping, no extra rush fee, by Dec. 21.
Remember the old days when a person actually went to a real store and personally selected a gift for their relatives and maybe even brought it home and wrapped it.
Maybe that is still the best way in many cases and at least you know that you actually have the gift or not, and it has a personal touch that sitting at a computer doesn' t have.
I used the online site to get older items that are no longer in stores.
Apparently, YES. There seems to be an Illinois between Seattle & Bakersfield. You ain't gonna believe this but there are 6 Illinois's(or is that Illinis?) in California and 3 of them are between Seattle & Bakersfield. How 'bout that.
Tried to paste a screen shot but wouldn't work--search Illinois, CA in google maps and voila.
Well, a problem is that UPS and FedEx are offering delivery commitments that they were unable to meet. Maybe they are trying to market to procrastinators and it bit them in the ass. Yes, circumstances were outside their control to some extent but I am not sure what their contract of carriage provides for. More than likely a bunch of folks will get their shipping charges refunded. Just a cost of doing business.
Ha! Serves me right. :-)
This was in the state, though: Specifically, ELK GROVE VILLAGE, IL 60007.
Ron
This will be "fixed" when Amazon gets all their "Delivery Drones" in the air! Talk about hype! Can you imagine the number of UAV's in the air over the Xmas season? It seems as though the Marketing Depts. have set expectations to levels beyond anything seen since the "Jetsen's".
Joe
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