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12/21/2002 Archived Entry: "Clickety-click...UPS trick"

Jen moved from Alabama to Canada, and as complicated and expensive as that might sound, we had things simplified (we thought) by moving 9 large boxes via UPS. We shipped all her stuff a few days before we left to come back here, and expected it all to arrive in one big shipment. The boxes were sent in a group, with one box being the 'lead package' (read that as leeeeed not led, though some were quite heavy).

8 of the boxes arrived on time and relatively unharmed, but one box took a curious and circuitous route from Alabama to Vancouver. Those first 8 arrived on November 25th, the last on December 5th, after we had called them trying to track it down. Here is the list of locations it visited and on what days:

5 Dec 2002	ANNACIS ISLAND, BC, CA
4 Dec 2002	ANNACIS ISLAND, BC, CA
	VANCOUVER, BC, CA
3 Dec 2002	REDMOND, WA, US
27 Nov 2002	HODGKINS, IL, US
	WEST COLUMBIA, SC, US
	DORAVILLE, GA, US
	ATLANTA, GA, US
25 Nov 2002	SYLACAUGA, AL, US
22 Nov 2002	VANCOUVER, BC, CA
21 Nov 2002	DORAVILLE, GA, US (RECEIVER DID NOT WANT, REFUSED DELIVERY;PACKAGE RETURNED TO SENDER)
	FREDERICTION, NB, CA (POWER OF ATTORNEY REQUIRED;BROKER ASSIGNED, RELEASED FOR DELIVERY)
20 Nov 2002	DORAVILLE, GA, US (RECEIVER DID NOT WANT, REFUSED DELIVERY)
	VANCOUVER, BC, CA
19 Nov 2002	DORAVILLE, GA, US (DELIVERY)
18 Nov 2002	DORAVILLE, GA, US
	SPARTANBURG, SC, US
	KNOXVILLE, TN, US
	CINCINNATI, OH, US
16 Nov 2002	CINCINNATI, OH, US
	INDIANAPOLIS, IN, US
15 Nov 2002	HODGKINS, IL, US
14 Nov 2002	WEST COLUMBIA, SC, US
	DORAVILLE, GA, US
	ATLANTA, GA, US
13 Nov 2002	SYLACAUGA, AL, US (SHIPPED)

Wow...this package is better travelled than I am! It even made it into Canada a couple times before it managed to get to our doorstep. Someone in Doraville didn't want our belongings...maybe they gave it a swift kick? Whoever mangled it, they sure did an effective job, as shown in the pics below (click for popup):

• Bradford Exchange "Contentment" plate. It was broken so badly that some of the pieces were missing.
  
• Same plate. Back, showing the name of it.
  
• Soap dish, corner broke off.
  
• This box was inside the big box...well-padded and in perfect shape when shipped.
  
• Same here. Looks like someone threw the large box off a back of a UPS truck.
  
• Little figurine with a broken leg. Not expensive, not incredibly meaningful, but was well protected.
  
• (bad pic) George Foreman grill. Scuff marks and cracks.
  
• (another bad pic) George Foreman grill. This thing is tough as nails, I can't even flex the plastic. They managed to crack it nicely.
  
• Angels. Three angels in a sturdy box, each in it's own styrofoam-padding place, surrounded by botton batting. The box was fine, one angel lost his halo, another's wings were torn off.
  
• The angel box, closed and perfect.
  
• The angels: two fallen.
  

Other stuff that was broken and not photographed: a couple wooden cats, and a crockpot. We bought insurance for the package, to the tune of $75US. When we called UPS afterwards they said, "We don't insure personal belongings". They took our money, wrecked my wife's stuff, then told us that they don't cover it.

Thanks UPS, I'm sure I will be using you in future.

Replies: 7 comments

I know the destruction that is UPS. Working for my dad's company, I got to see it first hand. Companies would send in their computer equipment for holding and such, and about half the stuff that was sent in had to be thrown out because they were damaged during shipping. I've seen a package that started out as a 3 x 3 cube turn into a sphere. It's not a pretty site. UPS doesn't handle anything with care. Posted by Nickface @ 12/21/2002 09:36 PM PST

Is that title/header a Barbapoppa reference? Did you know that barbe a papa is french for cotton candy? Posted by Chuk @ 12/23/2002 10:22 AM PST

Chuk: Yep it is. I have a large MPG of an episode in French if you are interested. Posted by Greg @ 12/23/2002 11:15 AM PST

Yes, I had similar experiences with UPS as well. They damaged my monitor a bit (fortunately it was *very* well packed) and then left it on my neighbor's doorstep without so much as a signature. I didn't bother with insurance as I have heard many stories about how they refuse to honour it anyway. Posted by Cecil @ 05/12/2003 05:18 PM PST

Hello! They (UPS) have a catch 22 thing going on: You can't open to check until you've signed, and if you sign, you've accepted. How did I come to this page? Google. Searching for HODGKINS, IL, US ... :) jivajiva Posted by jiva @ 09/06/2003 07:39 AM PST

just have to say i've seen this firsthand as well...i worked at ups for a while. boxes are thrown, stood on, tossed, dropped, soaked (either by rainwater or slide wax), spit on, sat on, kicked, cut, torn, run over (by trucks or carts), bent, and otherwise mutilated. it was almost...required. if a box is heavy, you drop it a minimum of 3'. if a box says 'fragile' treat it twice as badly. i worked in the 'DORAVILLE, GA, US' hub btw, google search for 'ups doraville' led me here... Posted by mazaru @ 09/11/2003 11:57 AM PST