I'm trusting FedEx/ UPS less by the day

I have had so many issues with FedEx I will no longer purchase anything that’s using FedEx as the delivery. UPS has been good so far and great luck with USPS. 

Carriers can be careless and sometimes stupid.

But responsibility lies with the manufacturer.  Original packaging must be engineered to take what the shippers hand out.  After that, if the packaging fails and the item is damaged, the manufacturer should carry full insurance cover, so that a replacement will be supplied to the buyer cost free.

Step forward Krell (as under D'Agostini).  My reference monoblocs each came in a heavy timber crate fitted to a premium quality pallet below.

Step backward Martin Logan.  The original packaging on my CLX References was made of cardboard and was abandoned not fit for purpose after three transits.  Shame on ML, these are $40,000 speakers weighing 100kg each.  You CAN'T put 100kg in cardboard.

I stopped using FedEx when I checked on a preamp delivery and it was marked as delivered but wasn’t.  I called FedEx and was told that late in the day drivers might mark something as delivered when they plan to deliver it the next day.  Since I paid for 2-day delivery, I was not happy.  My conversation with FedEx did not go well.

The next day, still no delivery.  I called FedEx again.  Support said they would contact the driver. Later that day, a lady in our development rang my doorbell.  She delivered my $7K preamp. FedEx did deliver it on the right day, but to the wrong house.  I never did hear back from FedEx support.

I’ve been pretty lucky with UPS and have had zero problems with the USPS.  

Just yesterday FedEx was stupid enough to send me a customer satisfaction survey. I rated them zero in every department. Things were fine before and during the height of the pandemic. (For every shipment of sensitive electronics gear I receive 25 of overnight perishables). Since then, you pay for overnight and NEVER get it; you check the website and all tracking information is ludicrously false. FedEx had cornered the market on overnight fresh food deliveries and was doing  a crackerjack job. Then the bottom fell out and now UPS is making inroads. Hardly great, but better than FedEx.

That said, everyone is right about low pay and lousy treatment of drivers. Many of them don't care, and understandably so. But my troubles have been upstream, in the Newark-to-Memphis and Newark-to-Indianapolis routes -- air transit and regional distribution centers. Can't blame that part on drivers, but maybe upstream employees are treated no better and good workers have vanished on all levels.

A few packing issues. Never a shipping issue. I had two packages sent to the wrong address because the seller put the wrong address on the package.

If it's close to 75lb or very expensive, it goes freight. No exceptions. I've strapped a few preamps to pallets with enough stickers to turn the box RED!