shipping is not a hobby. It has a purpose. It's part of selling stuff. I.e. if the buyer is not receiving it, they didn't fulfill the contract.
Some companies are good at locating shipments. USPS isn't. This shipment is gone in the wind...
Package Has Disappeared in USPS System
I recently purchased a modestly expensive audio product over the Internet, paid for by credit card, to be shipped to me via the USPS Priority Mail system, with tracking and insurance. The vendor, who will go unnamed at the moment out of respect for past good service, emailed me that the package shipped on 20 December, although the package did not show up in the USPS system until about 27 December. Being a patient guy, I figured that the USPS is slow in keeping up with demand over Christmas. On about 28 December, the USPS tracking system said the package had been received, had been sent to a regional distribution center, and had been shipped on from there. However, and now it gets "interesting," on 31 December, the USPS tracking system said that the label had been created but that the package was not in the system. In other words, the package had "disappeared" from the USPS system. At several points in this saga, I contacted the vendor to express my concern, especially after the package disappeared from the USPS system; their response was that I should be patient and await further developments..
On 2 January,I contact the vendor, suggesting they initiate a missing package complaint, file an insurance claim, and requested that they send me a replacement product, assuring them that I would promptly return the first item if it ever showed up. (Coincidentally, on the same date I read a reputably-sourced news item about rampant theft by employees in the USPS system--hardly reassuring.)
The vendor's response again was that I should be patient--in spite of my pointing out that the USPS had obviously lost the package--and await further developments.
However, in spite of normally being a very patient guy, I think, with two weeks having passed and the USPS tracking system now saying they haven't received the package that they previously acknowledged having, it is time for the vendor to send me a replacement item.
I will never use the USPS system for product shipment if there is any other viable alternative.
Several questions come to mind:
1) How long is reasonable to wait for a package that should have been delivered in one to three days?
2) At what point should a vendor realize that good customer service means providing the customer with a product they shipped with tracking and insurance?
3) Would it unreasonable for me to tell the vendor that if they cannot provide a replacement product within a few days, I would like my money refunded? (I am prepared to contest the charge on my credit card for non-performance.
4) Am I being unreasonable?
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@builder3 this is a futile back and forth. No serious seller ships expensive items with USPS. After 3 lost shipments with them and 50+ hours on the phone with their claim department, and all claims denied despite the insurance, I will never use them. |
UPDATE: I have come to realize the fallibility of the USPS tracking system. Minutes after a check at the USPS tracking website revealed that the USPS had not yet received the package--after a check several days ago stated that the USPS had shipped on from a distribution center, I received an email stating that the package had arrived at the distribution center roughly 20 miles from my home. Hopefully it will arrive no later than Monday. For a package that was shipped by a transport system advertising delivery for insured Priority Mail in one to three days, 15 days--assuming it will arrive tomorrow--does seem to me to be a bit excessive for it to travel roughly 1500 miles in this age of motor vehicles. The most important lesson learned here is to not have important or valuable items shipped by the USPS if there is ANY other alternative. Thank you all for your comments and suggestions. |
- 86 posts total