I shipped a 12 shipper to a rtp in Colorado. It was scheduled for delivery on Friday but never updated beyond "Arrived at destination facility". It is now Saturday and there has been no change to the status. I called the 1800 # to inquire and basically the customer service rep said they didn't know but they would look into it and give me a call back. At this point he asked about the contents that I'm shipping and I said cooking supplies. I then missed a call from FedEx ground trace dept wanting to know information about the contents so that a trace can begin. At this point in time, I'm torn as to what to do next. If I initiate the claim, I likely have to describe the fact that it's in a 12 slot styro shipper and describe that there are bottles in it so they can identify the box (assuming the label fell off or something like that). Do I let it ride for another day or two or do I call back and initiate the trace? Anyone encounter a similar situation? If so, how did it play out?
Hold tight. It's happened to many of us who trade a lot & there are two possibilities: one, it's gone the way of the dodo never to be seen again & two, somebody missed it & it's sitting in a corner somewhere & will be delivered next week. I've had this happen a few times in an almost ten year trading career & it's always been scenario two for me. It freaked me out the first time, but it happens. Hopefully there's just been a mild mix up & it'll be delivered by the middle of next week. If not, you have plenty of time to make a claim. Good luck.
Call the Facility it arrived at and speak to a manager. But I would give it another day to see if it rights itself.
Thanks for the replies guys. Quick update: the box was located, the recipient was contacted and informed that it was damaged, they know it's alcohol, claimed it was poorly packed (in styro 12 shipper so that's a head scratcher), and they can no longer deliver it. They are however allowing him to pick it up from a FedEx location. I will update on Wednesday once the box is in the recipients hands. It is strange that there was never a delivery exception...the whole progression. Of this has been odd. I will keep the details posted here for future reference and for learning.
Origin was IL - what state was the destination? Just curious bc a 12 shipper getting damaged is kind of interesting in and of it's self. Glad at least some of the beer is making it to the recipient.
Alright, so the box is now in the recipient's hands and drumroll please.... zero casualties. There was some interior damage to the styro shipper, some nicks on the exterior of the box, but nothing substantial that would qualify as "damage". My theory is that a hero fed ex employee realized the box was a shipper (squeaking styrofoam sounds, dimensions, sloshing..) and decided to inspect it. This probably caused the box to be sorted elsewhere and eventually a different employee handled it and allowed for him to pick it up at the hub. I suspect I'll get a cease and desist style form letter and will be using UPS for a while, but the good news is everything made it in tact.
Had a friend have his package destroyed recently in a FedEx hub near Denver because of alcohol. Didn't say anything about broken bottles. Wouldn't let his brother pick it up.
I had a box flagged with a "multiple shipping label" exception. Printed my own label, put it in the standard purple sleeve, and stuck it on top of the box. After calling every day for 3 days, I finally got to talk to someone at the facility who asked me what was inside. Why would they want to know this? I gave him the box dimensions and weight, but not sure how they go about trying to find it. What do you suppose is going on?
From all that I could gather through bad experiences relayed on here and other trading groups/sites, the biggest cause of a box going missing is because the label fell off (pouch failed to stay on, etc.). If that's the case, they have to open the box and try to match it up with described contents. In your case, multi labels, I'd venture to guess that the pouch fell off and exposed previous shipping label(s). I never trust the pouch, ever. Always glue the label then put tapes on top of the label.
And then stick a second copy of the shipping label right inside the box...unless you want them to have a reason to fully unpack and rummage through all your package contents.
I create a tape layer on the box to allow for easy removal of the label without destroying the cardboard, then add the label and tape over the it making sure there are no creases. Totally cover it so there is no chance of rain damage. Labels have been working ok with that pattern. But if you have to strip off the label and it strips off a layer of cardboard you can only do that so many times before your box is useless with a decent styro left.
Once they open a box, if you think they don't go snooping into it, your a little naïve if you ask me.
May be some truth to that but if it's my job to investigate packages with missing shipping labels day in and day out, if I open one and see a shipping label right on the inside I claim a small victory and move on to the next unmarked brown cardboard box.
Have had the same issues as mentioned above with the FedEx shipments. Pending and In-Transit with no date are the culprits that I have dealt with. Have had this happen 3 times in the past. Two of the three arrived fine just a few days later. Probably also best to mute the gurgle and sloshing sound if you can. I used to use the old vitamin jar with something small and metal or throw in some rice/macaroni, but found that actually brought more attention. I now tape the bottles even more with bubble wrap with no air for noise and have found that newspaper or other brown thick packing paper actually mutes the sound very well around the bottles themselves.
