| Author | Message | ||
     Two_seasons |
What the hell. Amazon had now delivered two books that are placed exactly where we step outside our front door. Yesterday, Doris stepped on my Amazon delivered book! My beautiful bride lost her balance and almost went down  I've used up my Amazon gift cards from work rewards. We're going back to brick and mortar. Have you experienced the same?  | ||
| Pwnzor |
Amazon is the best thing since sliced bread and peanuts made into butter. Their customer service is nothing short of spectacular. They use common carriers and now their own people to make deliveries, and you have to understand that it's an enormous machine with millions of moving parts. Not everything can be perfect 100% of the time. The difference is when something goes wrong, see what they do about it. I'm sorry your wife didn't see the book and stumbled over it, but that could happen anywhere. Just like in a brick and mortar store, you will invariably receive •••••• customer service. When you place your order, there is a space for you to enter delivery notes. You might be surprised how closely they follow those notes. Personally, I have everything delivered to my office because my front porch is open to the sky. We get a lot of rain, and I don't wan't my packages getting wet. My office is staffed 24/7 so I get 99.99% of my deliveries on time. The only time something goes awry for me is when our regular UPS guy is on vacation. Seems like somebody named "Thomas" always signs for my packages when he's not working. In those cases, I just call customer service and in about 1-2 minutes I have a refund, or a new package rushing in my direction. The actual Amazon delivery people - the ones in the grey Sprinter vans - are like ninjas. They always find me, and they deliver up to 9pm, sometimes later. And, I can track them when they get within a few miles of my location. Shit happens. | ||
| Froggy |
I gave up on Amazon years ago. I got tired of packages having subpar packaging resulting in them getting delivered damaged. They sent me a video game (Forza 6 collectors edition) which has a metal case, they just put it in an envelope, by time it made it to me the game case was bent into an S shape and the game disk shattered. Amazon refunded me and I bought a copy at Gamestop, as it was a limited edition it was hard to find a replacement, it was already sold out at launch at most stores, but I found a Gamestop an hour away that still had one. They did similar again a few years later, this time they had a collectors edition of a World of Warcraft expansion. They didn't even package it, they just took a shipping label, put it on its retail packaging and then off it went into the UPS truck. That too arrived looking like it got ran over. Amazon's response? Something like "Sorry that we can't do anything right, here is a free month of our terrible overpriced prime service so we can send you more broken garbage". This time it wasn't even an replaceable item, the only way to get another one was to spend over a grand on Ebay, which I refused to do. These days I do most of my purchasing at retail chains. Better service, faster, and often the same price or cheaper as Amazon, and if it isn't they usually price match. Even Ebay is better than Amazon these days for random things you won't find at retail. | ||
| Aesquire |
25 years hiding packages on people's porches. Where DO you want it? I have an open porch too, and have packages sent to a relative who has a covered, but not closed porch. I prefer to place a book sized package inside your screen/storm door, especially if, like mine, it has a metal covered bottom section to conceal it from view. But then it tends to fall over, at your feet, even if it was carefully, lovingly, propped up against your door. The vacuum and rush of air pulls at it. Physics can't be defeated by intent. And Amazon has a habit of packing a mini ssd chip in a 2 foot wide box that isn't going between doors anyway. Consider that the delivery person is timed. 30 seconds, max, is allowed by most companies to choose & place a package, over & above the time to walk from the street to your door. Tracked in real freaking time by GPS scanner systems with & carried. Ideally you would have a reasonably safe, dry, place to put a package so thieves driving by can't see it. That can be accessed, quickly, with one hand, or no hands, ( the delivery gal or guy has the scanner in one hand and your package in the other ) that is not a razor sharp trap or infested with mold, spiders, hornets, or skunks. If you don't have an obvious awesome place, in front of your door is default. Seriously, ( rant intensifies to angry shouting  ) what do you want from a busy human? ( Calms down, hammers shot of Monkey Shoulder ) Yeah, I've seen a range on courtesy from carefully hiding a parcel under porch furniture padding & leaving a note, to the infamous Federal Excess A-opening throwing the laptop over the fence. I'm not going to tell you to have a perfect delivery nirvana, I sure don't. OTOH, It's just common sense to not have a deadly obstacle course, death steps, broken sidewalks, and rabid wolf-pekingese packs loose in your yard. And I have one screen door that doesn't latch without deliberate effort. Certainly I can't be upset if it doesn't auto latch for the guy from oops. It doesn't for me. I totally get being upset your wife stepped on a box and almost died. It's not a one sided reality. And that doesn't even touch on thieves, or management just cheating the system to get their numbers up. I'd write a book, but no one would deliver it. Have a great holiday. | ||
| Aesquire |
In defense of Amazon... And I some days hate them with a fiery passion! A lot of stuff is sold, packed, and shipped by a private person company working out of their living room, not the devil mega corporation owned by an evil genius richer than the Catholic Church & Disney, combined. Some are excellent. ( the Post Office offers packaging and shipping information to American jr. Entrepreneurs ) Some are clueless. Some don't care. And having worked in the inside of a bureaucracy older than the United States, and seen the machines and human systems used by all the delivery giants, I'm amazed ANYTHING survives intact to your door. I'd link to leaked videos but they get taken down, especially by REDACTED. Worse, you wouldn't believe what people ship, and how they "pack" it. How about a freaking Scythe in a garbage bag wrapped in duct tape with no guard on the blade? ( imagine ringing a door bell with that in hand ) Bee hives. With bees. In a cardboard box. And... | ||
| 1313 |
How about a freaking Scythe in a garbage bag wrapped in duct tape with no guard on the blade? ( imagine ringing a door bell with that in hand ) Sounds like the party is about to get started... | ||
| Tootal |
90 percent of the time I have no problems with Amazon delivery. In that ten percent they packaged some S&S tappets for my Harley in a bubble envelope. The parts were in a plastic container with no separation between them. Evidently it was so heavy it broke the envelope and is sitting somewhere while I received an empty/torn bubble envelope. After wasting a lot of time trying to find a phone number to actually talk to a person they corrected it. I told them about the shoddy packaging and the next set was identically wrapped, but it did make it this time. Precision parts just thrown into an envelope! Like I said, this is rare. | ||
| Pwnzor |
While it's true that it can be difficult to find the customer service phone number on Amazon's website... there is always this:  | ||
| Torquehd |
my main complaint is that it's becoming harder to find reputable items on Amazon. It seems like 99% of their items are no-name chinese brands. Actually I wish some of them had no names. A lot of times it's like bad Chinglish. I'd rather not have to mentally pronounce "Smatree" or "Hapy Sports" or "Smile Powo" every time I look at and grab a Gopro accessory. Aside from names that a 3 year old would come up with, the quality thing is an issue. It seems like you used to be able to find quality products. Now try to find a lighted LED rocker switch or a pressure switch or any technical piece of gear. It's almost all Chinese crap. If there's a quality US built component, you can't find it through the 3 thousand search results that are brand-named things like "AllCaca". And yes, those are all real brand names on amazon, from my recent search results. | ||
| Tpehak |
Amazon service is good here in Seattle. | ||
| Buellish |
UPS did put my neighbors order,a 28" x 24" x 24" box weighing 35lbs against my screen door in the rain.I had to exit through another door and go around the house to move the box so I could bring it inside to keep it dry until the rain stopped. My big beef is with the new Amazon drivers who looking for my neighbors house will come up to my house,realise that it's the wrong address and back off the driveway onto my yard when there is a perfectly good gravel parking area to back into.Then they drive down the driveway,go off the pavement and damage the neighbors yard.I have twice had to repair his yard when it was my delivery that caused the damage.Now it's mostly his delivery's and they drive by his house,up to mine,realise their mistake,turn around to drive back down the hill and run off into his yard. | ||
| Aesquire |
Feel free to pick on the semi amateur Amazon drivers. Better yet, call and complain. They've expanded very quickly and you can't expect professional results until they've had time and feedback. That's true for "new guys" at United Package Smashers & Federal Excess & the wonderful Post Office non profit. But all of them have experienced cadre and super to train & maintain at least the appearance of professional attitudes. Amazon is a giant sweatshop company. The workers aren't all bad, or good, and supervision is.... REDACTED. | ||
| Crusty |
I hear that UPS and Fed EX are going to merge. The new company is going to be called Fed UP. | ||
| Buellish |
I'm not picking on them because they're "semi amature Amazon drivers".I get upset when anyone runs off the pavement and damages my and my neighbors yards.This current crop just happens to be the new Amazon drivers.The first to damage the yard was a seasoned FedEx driver,I got upset with him as well.I have a problem with anyone who doesn't care about other peoples property. | ||
| Teeps |
Amazon online tracking said expect delivery by 8pm 26Nov. Amazon said driver would call to schedule delivery with me because I had to sign for it. Yeah, I sat home all day waiting... It arrived the next day at noon, by truck without warning... Beware of 3rd party sellers on Amazon. | ||
| Aesquire |
https://9gag.com/gag/aZ713Vz Fee-ex fails on video | ||
| Ourdee |
My wife is waiting on a package that has been out for delivery for 3 days in a the truck. | ||
| Rick_a |
I had an Amazon van driver pull out on me on a twisty road...so he sees me...and instead of stopping he pulls out slowly...then takes up the center of the road. Pretty crazy. Other than that idiot...no complaints. USPS is aweful around here. I've had packages "out for delivery" for five business days. The post office is not very far away. | ||
| Sifo |
The USPS tracking system is almost useless for figuring out what day your package will be delivered. I hate to knock them too much though. The move an incredible number of pieces each day with an incredibly low failure rate. Most businesses would love to have that sort of record for volume and success. I will say that around here, they seem to take snow days a few times a year. What was their motto about delivering mail again? | ||
| Aesquire |
I openly blame management for the kids in USPS tracking. They "allegedly" lose bonuses if the computer reports late items. ( Your Mail delivery person doesn't get any bonuses, just managers ) I don't want to be subpoenaed, but that's my observation. Motto? "Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds" a quote from Herodotus, Roman historian, 500 B.C. Here's the "official" word. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Post al_Service_creed The quote is about the Imperial Persian courier system. Being executed by order of the Divine Emperor if you slack off was real incentive. Also you only had one customer. The Emperor. Ah, simpler times. ( sighs nostalgically ) | ||
| Aesquire |
In 25 years we had 2 snow days, & I worked both. Although we had one day where I literally could not get the truck out of the carport to go do my job. But I drove my minivan to work. Those "Sheriff tells non essential personnel to stay off roads" announcements? Did not apply to me. But that's regional. Rochester New York and Aberdeen South Dakota attitudes on snow are different from Atlanta Georgia or Los Angeles California. I'd expect a few snow days a year in Michigan. There's dedication, & then there's insanity. Your clutch cable for your motorcycle package isn't worth anyone's life in a blizzard. That living human heart? That we did push rational safety standards. And I had a police escort. But the snow wasn't that bad that day. | ||
| Ratbuell |
Blizzard of '92, Maryland closed the roads. "Essential personnel only". Apparently that included our campus ROTC. I was not in ROTC but was attached to a lot of their campus activities due to being an outdoorsman (hobbyist)...so we were all given instructions to escort any emergency vehicles that were in need, nearby. With M35A2 deuce-and-a-halfs. You'd think those things would be good in snow. NOPE. They suck BALLS. Maybe it was those solid-center-rib Hercules tires...but they SUCKED. Glad the 18,000 lb winches were all in good working order... | ||
| Sifo |
I'd expect a few snow days a year in Michigan. There's dedication, & then there's insanity. Your clutch cable for your motorcycle package isn't worth anyone's life in a blizzard. I do live in an area surrounded by large bodies of water on 3 points of the compass. We get bands of lake effect snow that can just sit there for hours. A couple of years ago I was heading off to work in the morning, making tracks through about 8 inches of fresh snow at my house at the back of the subdivision. When I got to the front of the subdivision, only a half mile away, there was only an inch or so. That's probably the most extreme example of that happening I've seen, but it's common to have very different conditions as you go from hilltop to hilltop. A little bit like watching storms going through the Rockies, just on a smaller scale. | ||
| Sifo |
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| Pwnzor |
The move an incredible number of pieces each day with an incredibly low failure rate. Most businesses would love to have that sort of record for volume and success. Ahhh, percentages... gotta love'em. How much of your mail each day is junk? Now, subtract that, and see where your successful delivery percentage lands. | ||
| Pwnzor |
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| Sifo |
Ahhh, percentages... gotta love'em. How much of your mail each day is junk? Now, subtract that, and see where your successful delivery percentage lands. Even subtracting the junk mail, I get a lot more legit mail than packages from UPS. Yet UPS has a bad habit of delivering my packages half a block away. I think it's a matter of GPS mapping having the addresses inaccurate in our neighborhood and that house having the same digits in their house number. | ||
| Pwnzor |
I get a lot more legit mail than packages from UPS Not me. 100% paperless bills, delivered to my email. I get a christmas card and birthday card from just a few people every year. I recently subscribed to a newspaper (yes, news printed on actual paper) and that comes once per week. It's been three weeks and I have received only two of my papers... one got lost, imagine that. Thankfully, it also gets delivered electronically to all my devices. Right there, 33% failure rate. If UPS loses something, Amazon replaces it immediately. It's extremely rare, and it's 100% covered. | ||
| Rick_a |
UPS is bad with envelopes...and they break all the things. They've broken a rifle and dinged a swingarm on me. | ||
| Court |
I sent a very nice (prior to shipment) Taylor guitar via UPS. I still have the photo of the driver, who acted as though nothing was amiss, unloading the ripped open box and various guitar parts out of the truck. That was distressing .... I wasn’t actually alarmed until I tried to file a claim with UPS. I was so much older then.... I’m wiser than that now. |
