Don’t use UPS – and don’t ship Starbucks except on your own

Why? (Updated at bottom.)

A friend sent me a package — Starbucks. The driver Tuesday, new to the route, never showed at my apartment. My friend e-mails, and when I say, “no show,” she calls the UPS 1-800 tracking number, gives them my cell, and is told they will call me.

Nope; never happens.

Today? Dallas office calls after I call 1-800 number. A person there said if I left a note with my signature, the package tracking number, and the note saying “leave package at door, I accept liability,” the driver would leave it. Well, the driver DIDN’T leave it. Just left standard UPS note.

I call 1-800, raise hell. UPS delivery manager said to sign the back of UPS note to same end as my original note, and the driver will leave the package. We’ll see.

But, wait, that’s not all!

My friend said Starbucks never sent her the promised tracking number at time of shipping. An agent said she’s resend, but never did, so she had to look up the order herself.

Moral? Ship stuff yourself, rather than via third-party company shipping.

And, be a good laborite, as well. Use the U.S. Postal Service instead of FedEx.

Update, July 9: I sign the back of the official UPS note, etc. Leave at my apartment. I come back from the DeSoto library at 8 p.m. NO PACKAGE! Again!

Call 1-800 tracking number. Really unload. Tell person to pass on to Dallas office that I'm a newspaper editor. She claims there was a delivery attempt. Well, either the driver is a liar, incompetent to not take the note, can't read English as an immigrant, or is an illiterate American. She says somebody from Dallas will call me by 10 a.m.

I just e-mailed my friend:

If I don’t get it today (Friday), I suggest you tell Starbucks to cancel UPS shipping AND order. If it is non-responsive, tell them you’ll refuse to pay, if you used credit.

Update 2, July 10: Well, the package is its way back to a warehouse in Ohio, unless I want to try an intercept on it. And, given UPS policies and delivery times, why? And, given contradictions, or possible lies, why?

UPS called this morning and said that yesterday counted as a third delivery attempt, even though the driver did not leave a second note, did not comment on my liability note, etc. I heard lies or contradictions on the phone today, too.

One was that it was a regular driver who made the first attempt. Either that was wrong today, or that was wrong two days ago, when I was told it wasn’t. Finally, the person who spoke to me today admitted that, whoever it was, he/she did not leave a UPS note.

The second was that they don’t leave boxes at apartment manager’s offices. Either that’s a lie, or a change in policy from three years ago.

The third is that it is OK to leave boxes at apartment doorsteps. If it isn't, then why was I told to sign a note to that effect in the first place?

In any case, they said the package was headed back to Ohio. The lady said I could do an intercept on it, but I’m in no mood to do anything but write UPS another 500-character limited webmail. With a link to this blog post as part of that.