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Difference between UPS FedEX Ground

415 Views 12 Replies 11 Participants Last post by  HermitJohn, 
hiddensprings
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IMO, FedEx has gone way down on the old customer service side of things. Rather then regular drivers, they hire contractors and boy does it show. I received two shipment yesterday. One arrived via UPS and while heavy and 10 boxes, all nicely put on my front porch. FedEx ground literally pulled up near the house, open the back doors and dumped the two boxes on the gravel. Basically a dump and run. My regular overnight FedEx guy came in the afternoon and when I met him at the door, he said "looks like FedEx ground has been here". I said "yep" He told me that FedEx is laying off long term delivery drivers and replacing them with these contract folks. Wonder how long it will be before customers start complaining and businesses stop using them?
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Alice In TX/MO
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R
Not acceptable at all. So far at least mine put boxes out of the weather.
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M
I get at least two deliveries a week. I built a large weather proof box, and put it down by the gate. FedEx delivers out here rain or shine. UPS returns the packages marked, "Address not found'.

When I order something now, I ask them who their shipper is. If they tell me UPS, I cancel the order.
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hiddensprings
It gets even better....another FedEx ground shipment coming today. I get an emailing saying its been delivered. Nope, not here. Go through talking to FedEX, they send a picture of where it was delivered......"on the back porch of some abandoned house (I can tell no one lives there just by looking at the photo). Sorry to say I blew a gasket. :mad: They are going to have someone "right away" figure it out...... It really can't be that hard to find me...address on the front gate.
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W
I prefer UPS myself. FedEx may or may not make it. Half brother was UPS driver. He took the job seriously. Fed Ex has been know to take a joy ride down in the pasture then stop at the house on the way out and ask if this is the house.
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N
Every Christmas I have a box of pears delivered from Harry and David in Oregon. Family tradition dating back to my grandparents and best pears ever. This year the Fed X driver put them in a white plastic bag and set them in a snowbank by the mailbox. He could have just walked 40 yards up the driveway and knocked on the door. It was -35 that night. They were frozen solid. I caught him trying to do the same thing with the replacement shipment and read him the riot act.
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haypoint
My regular UPS guy is very nice. The weirdos that deliver for Prime are scary.
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po boy
I don't have a problem with either of them but my preference is UPS because I can track the delivery truck on the day of delivery and know within a few minutes the time my package will arrive. My property is fenced and my packages go in a box by my gate.
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G
hiddensprings said:
IMO, FedEx has gone way down on the old customer service side of things. Rather then regular drivers, they hire contractors and boy does it show. I received two shipment yesterday. One arrived via UPS and while heavy and 10 boxes, all nicely put on my front porch. FedEx ground literally pulled up near the house, open the back doors and dumped the two boxes on the gravel. Basically a dump and run. My regular overnight FedEx guy came in the afternoon and when I met him at the door, he said "looks like FedEx ground has been here". I said "yep" He told me that FedEx is laying off long term delivery drivers and replacing them with these contract folks. Wonder how long it will be before customers start complaining and businesses stop using them? View attachment 121035
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I currently live in Memphis so, like almost everyone in the 901, know a few people who work there and many more who have. Bu "know" I mean have had several conversations of some complexity with, not 'how about those Grizzlies?' or 'humid enough?'.

Many of those ship UPS or USPS for docs or parcels.
My impression is FedEx is competing hot & heavy with DHL for global shipping and has somewhat lets the domestic side find its own way; if it can.

Most Ground work is contracted - look on any business for sale site and you'll see several FedEx Route Svce businesses for sale. Many are OTR but lots are urban or suburban.

Around here, many of the urban contracts are held by Hispanics and I know some of the drivers are illegal with next to no English skills. We tracked a couple of parcels for a week each as they floated between the FedEx depot and our SHIP TO. Neither driver had a smattering of English; not sure they were even qualified to drive a 5-ton let alone be legal enough to get a DL.

I know this because I'm basically retired and know how to observe & report.
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JRHill02
I'm kind of glad none of them will come here. Everything gets dropped at the Post Office in town. It helps justify the $198/year for the 5x7 PO box now.
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hiddensprings
Griz375 said:
Most Ground work is contracted - look on any business for sale site and you'll see several FedEx Route Svce businesses for sale. Many are OTR but lots are urban or suburban.

Around here, many of the urban contracts are held by Hispanics and I know some of the drivers are illegal with next to no English skills. We tracked a couple of parcels for a week each as they floated between the FedEx depot and our SHIP TO. Neither driver had a smattering of English; not sure they were even qualified to drive a 5-ton let alone be legal enough to get a DL.
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Agree 100%. FedEx finally told me today to just work with Home Depot to file a lost/stolen package. Lady I spoke with said they have are having lots of trouble with the contractor in my area. Can't get mad at her, she's just trying to help, but I agree FedEx doesn't care are much about domestic ground anymore..
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HermitJohn
You wish for FedEx and UPS after you deal with Amazon delivery. Yea at least some areas now have Amazon delivery drivers. And its a different one each time. Usually desperate city people that will work cheap and very confused dealing with rural areas. I get the notion nobody wants to deliver in rural areas for them. Oh and they have to follow orders via micromanaged phone app.

But sure FedEx has maybe changed though for me they are only ones that deliver to the house. Well there was that one brave Amazon driver.... Got to know one of FedEx drivers, he lived rural and liked to talk old cars, but he disappeared, havent seen him for long time. He would go way out of his way to make sure I got my packages.
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