Source
r/UPS•
adrade

I feel like the punchline of a UPS joke. Shipment not moving, customer service without a clue.

I am trying to get a shipment on UPS tracking XXXXXX. It is a small parcel shipped on July 30th from Shenzhen, China, a full week ago, using UPS Saver service, which is supposed to be 1-3 days for delivery.

I have been told by no fewer than 4 separate UPS agents that it has physically departed China. What is so frustrating is that from my own 15 years of experience shipping internationally and reading these tracking, I know it hasn't and I just feel like an ass telling them they're wrong because, well, they WORK FOR UPS. But, I was able to get the problem escalated to a supervisor who absolutely promised me that in her system, which I cannot see, the shipment shows that it has physically departed China. I explained that according to my experience, what I'm seeing is offload scans day after day for the last week and rerouting scans shortly after. The package has been containerized for transport but didn't make it on the flight every day over the last week.

So, what's going on?

- UPS in China? Are there more general failures taking place that regular shippers should be aware of? Should we indeed avoid UPS in the near future altogether? I control a lot of China->US/Canada shipping for our company and really need to know if something on the China side is falling apart.

- Visibility issues? Does UPS customer service really not know what is going on or how shipments are being routed? Are they instructed just to appease the customer by saying anything in order to get them off the phone?

- Could any of this be related to the supposed impending strike? Is employee dissatisfaction at such a height that it could be affecting service?

Edit: Just done. Disconnected randomly from their call centre twice this morning. Just gonna be DHL and Fedex for the rest of the year. Just feels like a joke. Edit2: Finally have an estimated delivery date posted. Shipped June 30th UPS Saver with estimated delivery now July 11th. A full 11 days for an expected 1-2 day shipment. No problems with getting lost, no problems with customs - just terrible ops at UPS. Woohoo!

Posted Jul 7, 2023, 3:21 PM UTC · edited

123
DumbClerk•

Customs can hold a package as long as they want.

Nooone can make it “go faster” from there

13
adradeOP•

I don't know why you assumed it's customs. It isn't. It cleared export customs the morning after it was picked up.

Furthermore, the agents all seem to think the shipment has departed and I'm having to explain to them that they're looking at manifest information for a flight from which the container in which the package is being carried was offloaded. I'm explaining that it is impossible for the shipment to have definitely departed on the 4th, 5th, 6th, AND 7th simultaneously.

In case it makes a difference, I’m a licensed customs broker and have a good amount of experience in this space.

-4
DumbClerk•

If it was that important, don’t pay the cheapest price. 🤷🏼‍♂️ don’t ask for Taylor swift on a free stage budget.

Did it sink in yet?

This is a you thing being a drop shipper. Not a delivery issue.

7
adradeOP•

You are just full of assumptions, aren’t you? But, I appreciate your honesty putting a nice description in your name on here.

No, I am not a drop shipper and this isn’t the cheapest price. This is coming straight to me. The parcel contains production samples from one of our factories.

Honestly, do you succeed going through life just knowing everything about the people around you without asking anything? How is that truly working out for you?

-3
DumbClerk•

I have nothing against o prove.

1
Reigen-_•

Haven’t read the full thing but don’t post your tracking number

2
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1
Lopsided-Society1626•

China is Communist Country with a Dictator at the Helm. It's customs and lack of space on transport methods. Go Bark up Another Tree or Buy Made in the USA.

1
adradeOP•

It’s not customs. It’s been manifest for flight at least six times so far. It cleared customs (export scan) the morning after it was picked up. This is a purely operational issue on UPS’ part.

Also, quite a lot of anger from you. What do you think would happen to the US economy if we suddenly severed our ties with China? Try to use a few brain cells figuring that out.

1
monkeypoopfight•

Lol I'm going through the same problem with FedEx for domestic package. Atleast you've been able to speak to a human, that's far more customer service than the BS I'm dealing with in fedex.

1
adradeOP•

I just sent two days ago a 310kg shipment (31 cartons) with FedEx IP rather than UPS (thank goodness I changed it) and the shipment has already departed China. This 3kg shipment with UPS hasn’t moved for a week and I can’t get any answers or help from UPS. I just decided after my call disconnected for the second time today we’re just going to be done with UPS.

1
Particular_Ad8193•

Just got my package I ordered on the 27th of last month so about 11 days total.. customs is probably very delayed but once you see it’s in US it’ll get to you within a business day

1
adradeOP•

These aren’t customs delays and if UPS is telling you they are, they’re lying to you. I am myself a licensed US customs broker who has a good amount of experience with China logistics. I have seen export delays, no question, but they are very, very rare when a formal export declaration isn’t required, which is /generally/ for shipments valued under 5000 RMB.

They don’t have the air power in China to manage the parcels being tendered and they’re triaging customers. That’s what it comes down to. It’s just bad ops.

1
Curtickle•

Man these people are trying to violate you for no reason other than being company bootlickers, keep cooking em.

1
jakefuu•

What do you want? The company to run like it says it would? Do they really lose anything by not having a 100% delivery schedule rate? Or even by failing deliveries completely? They have a fund of millions of dollars specifically set aside to pay the original shippers in case of loss or destruction of product. Which will only pay out after an amount of proof, time, and effort that is likely beyond your capability or worth your time/effort.

Reminds me of the scene from "Nathan for you" where he gets a gas station to sell 1.00 gas with a mail in rebate, but the mail box is hidden in a desert under a rock

Or the scene from fight club where he explains his job at the beginning

1
adradeOP•

Yes, there is an implied guarantee of basic fitness in contracting for any service at all. Mistakes happen, no question, but when operationally, a company would never have been able to deliver on the services they’re promising, they should be liable for, essentially, defrauding the customer. Here, at least ex-Shenzhen, they are unable to deliver on even basic expectations. What they likely need to do is create a new service level below Expedited which has a 7-14 day window for delivery and accept shipments only on that. But, what they’re doing is accepting packages at a higher “Saver” level (1-3 day service) - presumably because nobody would ship with them if they knew accurate transit times - and then taking the 7-14 days to deliver.

1
jakefuu•

Well... this is a what they "should do" vs what they "need to do" situation. The reality is you are a very very very small data point They are a business they will say yes to just about anything to receive money, then will do just about everything to keep money from leaving.

I will tell you only packaged marked "high value" or "next day air" are separated or accurately tracked with accountability.

1
[deleted]•

[removed]

1
BarlettaTritoon•

UPS customer service has gone downhill over the last five years. I'm a daily shipper that the drivers drop off a trailer each morning and my local drivers are the only thing I'm with UPS about. My outside reps are worth a shit for about 12 months then they become useless.

1
Moist_Tackle5422•

Same thing here, on the same exact date as you it is as scanned into Shenzhen, hasn’t left yet. Been seeing some people way that there’s a significant delay out of China.

1
dol0___•

Same situation but from Hong Kong, hasn’t moved since the first export scan on the 4th of July, it’s quite annoying for me as the shipment is for preordered products which were already a week late.

Customer service aren’t helping, and according to my manufacturer it’s allegedly left China which it hasn’t. Just gotta wait it everyday to see if it makes either of the 2 flights towards Europe

I think I’m gonna stick to DHL from now on

1
Primetimemongrel•

I watched a video other day about china and shipping and how it was super slow because not enough containers are being filled

1
dol0___•

Was that by air or sea?

1
GhostOfAscalon•

I control a lot of China->US/Canada shipping for our company and really need to know if something on the China side is falling apart.

Talk to your account manager if you're that important.

1