Ya Gotta Love FedEx!!!!!!

[W1RC]

Guess this delivery driver didn't know he was on camera when he delivered this monitor! 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKUDTPbDhnA&feature=g-logo&context=G2b76a2aFOAAAAAAAAAA

What if it was some vacuum tubes?

73,

MrMike

[W2VW]

That's nothing compared to what happens at the depot.

That driver is probably in middle management now.

[K5UJ]

Is the video about FedEx Air or Ground?    I found out Ground is actually a network of trucking companies, each with a FedEx franchise and they do their own hiring--they have the badging, uniforms and tracking system but my understanding is that the corporation can't or does not tightly control them like they do with Air.  They probably have some standards they bave to meet but there are variations in delivery policies around the country for example. 

[flintstone mop]

What do those jerks make??? USPS and UPS and FED-EX? $25/hour???
Over paid to ruin your stuff.

fred

[W0BTU]

We stopped using FedEx long ago. The last thing a customer returned to us for repair (just two weeks ago) was damaged by some idiot at FedEx hurling it, even though it was well packed in padded foam.

The FedEx drivers don't bother to call us when the roads are icy. They just don't show up.
UPS sometimes breaks things too, but at least UPS calls and we can go meet them somewhere and exchange packages.

[The Slab Bacon]

We stopped using FedEx long ago. The last thing a customer returned to us for repair (just two weeks ago) was damaged by some idiot at FedEx hurling it, even though it was well packed in padded foam.

The FedEx drivers don't bother to call us when the roads are icy. They just don't show up.
UPS sometimes breaks things too, but at least UPS calls and we can go meet them somewhere and exchange packages.

You guys are lucky!!  Around here, FedEx usually loses it and UPS usually destroys it.
At least that is our general rule of thumb. You gotta just pick your poison............

[Ed/KB1HYS]

Ahem, I once worked at FEDEX terminal.  This time of the year, there is 3 times the traffic in packages, and they would only hire about 5 'temps' to help out. And you still have to make deadlines. Management turned a blind eye to damage as long as the freight was on time. It was more important that a package was scanned than that you actually took the time to stack it correctly, or made sure the super heavy package did not land on top of Grandmas christmas ornaments.  Those things did not show up on performance reports, but late packages and the quantity scanned through a location did.  Managers promotions based on moving the most freight in the least time with the least cost.  So really just follow the money. 
The only packaging they cared about was Hazmat, cause it would stop the sort if it broke open, though there were a few times we simply worked around the spill... 
The pay was good (till they cut hours), and the benefits were too, but you earned every bit.

[kb3ouk]

that is FedEx Express, which is the air freight side of FedEx. FedEx Ground does have a bunch of contractors that do the trucking for the company, especially now that they are in their "peak season".

[N0WEK]

I fly the Cessna Caravans in the FedEx Feeder operation and watch the handling all the time.

Boxes get tossed sometimes but I've never seen deliberate destruction of packages. I've watch UPS and DHL sorts too; same thing. It's not company specific and at the local, at your door level, it's luck of the draw. My FedEx Ground contract guy does great, Russian guy that sounds like "Fearless Leader" from Rocky and Bulwinkle. My local UPS and FedEx Express guys do fine too.

I'm always amazed at the crappy job companies do in packing for shipment, you'd think tape is made out of gold. I always pack real dense and use lots of tape. When in doubt I screw together a crate, plywood scrap, styrofoam and sheet rock screws are cheaper than radios.

[K5UJ]

I now stick with UPS but not because FedEx did a worse job handling packages, but because FedEx enacted a stupid policy making it almost impossible for me to take delivery.  They started requiring that I be at the shack in person myself, to sign and personally take delivery, which is a nightmare for anyone with a job and things to do other than sit around for 4+ hours waiting for the truck to appear.

In terms of handling, I think all the shippers are basically the same.  Every single case I have ever had of damage was due to the shipper clearly being astonishingly incompetent in the packing dept.  Packing some things correctly is expensive and hard work.   People mostly do not want to be bothered with it.  They are stupid, cheap or lazy or some combination of those three.  I will never forget the KW matchbox I got that was in a box just a little bigger than the MB, and lined with 1/4 inch styrofoam and nothing else.   Of course the coil and link inside were busted and one cap was on bent standoffs.   That was not the shipper's fault but the fault of the idiot who sold it to me and probably didn't even know what was inside the cabinet.  Then there was the Tek 475 shipped to me in bubble wrap with no hard shell over the front panel.    

I've never had a problem when a box was packed right.

[steve_qix]

The video made CNN (not that I watch CNN [can't even get it here - no cable]), but I did check out the new report on the CNN website.  Pretty funny!  They included other videos of similar incidents as well.

Perhaps a bit of "class warfare" going on here?  The big, Southern California [gated] house and the lowly FedEx (hopefully EX) deliveryman.  Boo Hoo.

[k4kyv]

Packing some things is expensive and hard work.   People mostly do not want to be bothered with it.  They are stupid, cheap or lazy or some combination of those three.

Which is precisely why I haven't got rid of some of the "stuff" I know I'll never use.  I could put it on ePay or advertise it on AMSwap, but then I would have to find the boxes and packing material and then safely pack the stuff.  If I added the costs of the packing material, plus my time at a worthwhile pay rate, most potential buyers would think I was trying to rip them off, so I only ship stuff off under rare circumstances.

I suspect many who regularly buy and sell would be surprised at the low "wages" they are earning if they took into account the time they are putting into packing and shipping, if they do it right. To me, if it's worth putting up for sale, it's worth packing so that it arrives intact.

But packing "right" doesn't always mean that it arrives undamaged.  Ask Todd, regarding his KW-1 modulation transformer.  The last few HF-300s that I have attempted to have shipped here have arrived 75% destroyed in transit.  A couple were poorly packed (by a former co-owner of a well-known antique electronics and tube vendor no less), but based on the rounded corners of the box I doubt they would have survived the trip under any circumstances. The others were double boxed and well packed, and one tube still arrived with the entire plate structure rolling around inside the unbroken glass envelope.

I have made it a point when receiving something known to be fragile, to document every step of the process with photos, from the spot where the box was deposited by the shipper, a close-up of the unopened box, step-by-step unpacking of the merchandise, and a close-up of any visible damage, which might help make my case in the event a claim is necessary.

Ahem, I once worked at FEDEX terminal.  This time of the year, there is 3 times the traffic in packages, and they would only hire about 5 'temps' to help out. And you still have to make deadlines. Management turned a blind eye to damage as long as the freight was on time. It was more important that a package was scanned than that you actually took the time to stack it correctly, or made sure the super heavy package did not land on top of Grandmas christmas ornaments.  Those things did not show up on performance reports, but late packages and the quantity scanned through a location did.  Managers promotions based on moving the most freight in the least time with the least cost.

Ah, yes. The bean counters triumph again. Considering their often exorbitant charges, the parcel "services" should at least be expected to handle the merchandise with care.  That means taking a few extra steps to gently put a box down, not tossing it 10 ft. onto a concrete porch or walkway.

Perhaps it would help to label transmitting tubes as "Hazmat".  They do contain thorium oxide, which is considered to be a toxic substance; some tubes even have the little 3-triangle radiation hazard logo etched on the glass.  But that would probably mean additional fees and charges that could be classified as stratospheric.

I recently shipped a piece of gear by Fedex. I carefully packed it myself, but took the sealed box to their local processing station and paid them extra to double-box it for shipping.  It arrived at its destination undamaged, but I watched through the window as their employees  packed and wrapped the inner box with one of their shipping cartons, and I couldn't believe what a piss-poor job they did. They inserted packing material between the boxes on 3 sides, but the 4th side of the inner box was butted right up against the wall of the outer box with no padding in between whatever.  But at least, if the contents had been damaged, I might have been covered by the fact that they did the packing and hopefully that would have made it easier to process a claim.

A couple of years ago I had a rack-and-panel amplifier shipped here from N Mexico.  It was packed well and arrived in working condition, but one corner of the 5/32" aluminium panel was bent about 15 degrees. I took it apart, stripped the (ugly hammertone) paint off, carefully banged the dent out of the panel, and re-finished it with black wrinkle. The sender was thoughtful enough to remove the tubes from their sockets and wrap them in their own separate packing, which was then placed inside the main box with plenty of padding in between.

[K3ZS]

Miracles do happen.    I was 2nd bidder on epay for a Globe Chief transmitter.    When the bid winner declined I was offered the transmitter.   It came via US Postal service.     The mailman brought it to my door, said it was heavy.   It was packed in a single cardboard box, just barely large enough and no packing material at all.    There was no damage at all.    I had to soften up some hardened grease in the band switch and replace a soft 807 and then it worked perfectly.

[K5UJ]

Most will probably disagree but in my opinion the only good way to ship a transformer over a certain weight is to bolt it into a wood crate.  hand slots or ropes are nice up to fork lift weight.   Oil filled mod transformers with ceramic binding posts that can snap off should be crated.

[k7yoo]

Isn't package tossing an Olympic event right after luggage hurling?
I still remember looking out the window of the terminal and watching baggage handlers see how high they could toss suitcases. This later made national television, as someone got it on video. What they missed is the luggage tug dragging a trailer over a suitcase as they fled the scene. You couldn't have staged it better.
Skip

[Todd, KA1KAQ]

Forgot about luggage hurling, Skip. Funny you should mention it since it was on a trip to St Paul/Minneapolis out of Midway in 2000 that I witnessed this very thing - with my bag! They hurled it off the cart face down onto the tarmac and left it there until they got the smaller bags loaded onto the belt. No damage beyond a scuffed up manufacturer's plate on the front. And I'd always heard such nice things about NWA, too.

I've never had a problem when a box was packed right.

Must be you don't ship enough, Rob.  

Seriously, I agree with you that poor packing is responsible for most reported damage, but it's just a matter of time until you get nailed if you ship a lot - even if it's boxed up properly. Case in point is the modulation transformer for my big rig posted here a few years back after FedWrex trashed it between Maine and VT. About 40 pounds bolted to a thick piece of plywood, doubled boxed with thick foam packing between. It arrived looking like a soccer ball and sporting a cracked cast iron frame. Obviously from poor handling on the shipper's part. It wasn't dropped once, the outside box was round and blackened from clearly being beaten into submission by someone who hates heavy items. It's not like it got handled a lot en route. Joe/PJP had a similar experience using a solid wood box. The transformer was hanging out the bottom when he got it.

My stock reply is that it doesn't matter who, only when. None of these shippers are in the business of babysitting your package or mine from point A to point B, handling it with kid gloves. As Ed's experience indicates, they're in the business to make money, which equals maximum throughput. Proper, even over packaging is the best way to make sure it gets there intact, but no guarantee. When it's your turn, it's your turn. That doesn't excuse poor handling, of course. Those nitwits need to be fired.

Incidentally, I've had several deliveries from FedWrex here in the last couple weeks, both from sub contractors and the big FedWrex truck. None required a signature, they left them on the step and drove down the driveway before I got to the door. The only thing that ever arrived damaged via UPS was a set of Kenwood twins that the seller did not pack properly, resulting in a tuning knob peeking out of the side(through the FRAGILE sticker, at that). So on the UPS side at least, I've been very lucky.

I'm more in Don's camp now as far as shipping: I'd just as soon not, unless it's something small or lightweight enough to fit in a flat rate priority box. Anything else can be picked up or dropped off at or on the way to a hamfest.

[KM1H]

Geee, I see some of you are picking up on the FedWrex term Ive been using for over a decade....they suck.

[Ed/KB1HYS]

A good rule of thumb is to spend about 10% of the cost of the item in packaging.  Yea that means if you by a 300 dollar radio, you aught to spend at least 30 dollars in double boxing, bubble wrap and foam (NOT peanuts).   Proper shipping is a bit expensive. a decent plywood crate with the internal structure to hold a 150 lb transformer is going to cost some coin, unless you are confident and handy.

The most incredible feat of package destruction I ever saw was in a Contractors Tractor Trailer for FedEx,  We opened the doors, and  the last thing that had been placed in on top of the 95% full trailer was a complete Fisher SNOW PLOW full sized (8ft) with frame, sitting square on top of a large pile of completely crushed boxes and packages.  We were completely flummoxed by that one.  Had to pull the truck out, fetch the BIG forklift and spear fish the plow out of the truck. 

[AB3L]

That video made David Letterman last night. Wonder how much they will lose in Holiday revenue?

[The Slab Bacon]

I have had UPS drivers tell me that a "fragile" sticker on a box means "use for football" The one you want sez "high value item" This means that it is heavily insured (by them) and someone WILL catch hell if it is damaged.

ths is not what you want, if the idiots see that a box is a computer monitor and throw it anyway, they obviously dont give a sh..........

[k4kyv]

Fedex and UPS should merge and call it Fed-ups.

Back in the 70s when I was doing field service in the Boston area, I serviced an account at the American Airlines terminal at Logan.  One of my machines was located in the luggage area, next to the conveyor belt.  I just happened to be there right at shift change. When the new crew arrived, one dude walked in, with an attitude that was clearly visible from 50 ft. away. The first thing he did upon arrival was to randomly grab a suitcase off the belt, slam it on the floor as hard as he could, then stomp it with both feet.  After he had vented most of his frustration, he tossed it about 10 ft. into the pile that was accumulating at the end of the belt.

The other buffoons just stood by, watched and laughed, apparently thinking the whole thing was hilarious.

I'd say the same thing happens regularly at outfits like Fed-ups.

No, you shouldn't expect a shipper to baby-sit your merchandise, but you should expect them to handle it with reasonable care, and particularly not deliberately attempt to damage or destroy it.  Their job isn't to move a box from point A to point B, but to move boxed merchandise from point A to point B.  If they destroy it in transit they aren't doing the job they are being paid to do.

[Bill, KD0HG]

FedEx has apologized.
And the employee will be dealt with "per the company disciplinary policy".

http://www.9news.com/video/default.aspx?bctid=1341110068001&odyssey=mod|newswell|text|FRONTPAGE|featured

[K5UJ]

15 or 20 years ago one of the Chicago TV stations managed to hide cameras in the baggage sorting area at O'Hare airport.   They revealed handlers doing things like opening luggage and stealing stuff out of the baggage.   When it was broadcast on the TV news it was a sensation.  I don't remember the details but I think a bunch of people were prosecuted. 

[steve_qix]

FedEx has apologized.
And the employee will be dealt with "per the company disciplinary policy".

http://www.9news.com/video/default.aspx?bctid=1341110068001&odyssey=mod|newswell|text|FRONTPAGE|featured

I saw the actual apology.  The delivery guy wasn't fired and I'm not the least bit surprised.  An attitude like that would have been history in any company I owned, I can tell you that right now.  Unbelievable!

[Ed/KB1HYS]

I can honestly say that I didn't ever see Deliberate Destruction while on the Belt sorting freight. However, there was a lot of times when folks where just plain overwhelmed and had to just keep moving regardless of the outcome, so stuff took what was coming. 

There was also a lot of "stupid" boxes.   Like the Caterpillar part that was a single steel pin 6 inches in diameter and 14 inches long weighing 90 lbs packed in  a simple cardboard box.  The guy grabs the box and lifts is off the belt, the part exits the box between the belt and container and creates mayhem.   

Or the complete set of china plates packed in a single box with only a single sheet of newspaper between each plate for 'protection', that was a very memorable noise.

Sometimes folks pack stuff like they just don't give a $hit.