FedEX Ground, sure they aren't really BROWN???


I started a thread earlier in the year about FedEX Ground. It described the excessive time it took to deliver a pair of speakers to me. They bounced the package between two different places, then once they finally got it back to the right location, needed to get directions from me to my house. The most absurd thing was the person didn't know the major highway that their depot laid right off of, "I don't know the names of the roads, I just know how to drive here."
On top of that, when I finally received the package, it was obvious it had been to hell and back. To the point of one of the speaker's being a bit damaged. I didn't want to go through it all over again, so I just ate my losses.

Incompetance of the first degree.

Well, lightning strikes twice. And, strikes harder. I am awaiting the receipt of another package. I have a Tracking ID, which states the package has been delivered. However, when I arrived home, instead of the package waiting for me was a voice mail from FedEX Ground. They need an address confirmation, and asked me to call them.

Upon calling them, I was delighted to speak to a completely unprofessional person who kept calling me "Dude" and "Chief". Whatever location I threw at him was met with, "Never heard of it." And, everything was answered with, "I don't know what to tell ya." At the end of the call, instead of asking me if I needed anything else, giving a thank you, or even saying Good Bye, he simply hung up.

The next day, my package still did not arrive. Upon calling again, and again, and again. And again. I found no one who could give me any help whatsoever. One person in QA told me that if I have the tracking number, I have more information at my disposal than he does.

I'll call again today, and try to get to the bottom of this. I realize that FedEX Ground was formerly RPS, and that FedEx has not had the easiest time in merging these operations seamlessly, but the reputation of FedEX is completely ruined in my eyes at this point. Maybe they should be the company nicknamed "BROWN".

Still hoping for my package to come...
trelja
Yes, Fedex Ground employs local truckers to do their dirty work. I would avoid Fedex Ground like the plague.
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I purchased a used power cable from a fellow audiogoner in Florida . He shipped it Fed Ex ground on the 7th of April. I live in Northwest Indiana (40 minutes from Chicago). I tracked the package as it bounced around Ohio for a few days. The package arrived on the 16th of April. What really disappointed me was that "pizza box" that the cable came in looked like it was run over by a truck. The cable has a metal woven outer jacket, and it was kinked and splintered. The connectors were ok. A couple of weeks later, I purchased the same model cable from the manufacturer in Canada. It got here sooner through the Canadian and U.S. postal services. The fedex experience was my first audiogon transaction, which began on the wrong foot as the cable was shipped three days later than I was told. Caveat Emptor is right!
You should ship with a guaranteed time frame if you're so worried. 2 day fedex or ups or USPS costs quite a bit more, but I guarantee you'll get it on time and with only a small amount of the damage you've had.
Lefti, using my 20-20 hindsight, I can only fully agree with your recommendation. In over 25 years of enjoying this hobby, I had never encountered a situation with shippers like this. It is indeed a very lonely feeling to send out nearly six-hundred dollars and have very little recourse to fall back on. I will accept this as a learning experience and move on. I guarantee you that I will not put myself in that position again. Love the music. Jim L.