Little OT: Didn't Bike Flights switch to FedEx?

[sitzmark]

The UPS Stores are independently owned franchises. There is some coordination between UPS delivery and the stores but not fully integrated from end user standpoint. If you have a box rental at a UPS Store store delivery is possible. Some stores will allow ship to store for a fee if you don't have a box at the store but need to call and make special arrangements with the individual stores before the item is shipped - otherwise must pick up at a public access UPS distribution center, which have been significantly reduced in the past few years. There were 4 around me about 10 min away to service the many office parks, now only one major distribution center 30 mins away.

FedEx will redirect to FedEx/Kinko's for hold if requested. My experiences with BikeFlights were easier when it contracted with FedEx.

I've had a MailBoxes Etc. box for 25 years to take personal deliveries. MBE was purchased by UPS in early 2000's. Definitely not as friendly to do business with since UPS buyout.

[unterhausen]

I'll have to think about shipping to store with the cursed gun rack. The recipient lives up a holler in Montana

Can you ship to a "FedEx Authorized ShipCenter"?

[NYCfixie]

This is why I find this all so fascinating.

FedEx bought out Roadway Package Systems, changed the name to FedEx Ground, and kept them as individual operators/contractors whereas all UPS drivers are company employees.

UPS bought out Mailboxes Etc., changed the name to UPS Store, and kept them all individually owned/operated whereas FedEx bought out Kinkos, kept them all company owned, and turned them into shared FedEx/Kinkos locations.

In the end, these companies use these strategies to lower costs which ultimately will affect service.

Originally Posted by Clean39T

tl;dr - both offer pickup, FedEx is (in my experience) much easier to deal with and so I use them whenever possible..

It is much easier to "ship to store" with FedEx, in my experience. In the Portland, OR region there is only one UPS pick-up location for oversized packages and it is not convenient to get to whatsoever and has very limited hours. In contrast, there are dozens of FedEx stores throughout the city, including multiple that are open 24x7 due to their tie-in with their printing and copy services. FedEx's online portal is much easier to use and redirecting packages to one of their stores is very easy. The employees at the FedEx stores are also friendly and go the extra mile in terms of checking that outbound packages are sufficiently taped, providing receipts, etc. Dropping off pre-paid returns at the "UPS Store" closest to me is a nightmare in comparison - they act like they are doing you a favor by taking your package and are downright hostile if you don't have it properly taped or ready to go (not something I do, just witnessing how they treat others). These stores appear to be independently owned/managed and this particular one may just be particularly awful - there is one down in the city more that has friendly people behind the counter, so I generally drive past the one closest to me to take my UPS packages there. I've been using ShipBikes almost exclusively since BikeFlights switched to UPS. The customer-service and portal for BikeFlights was always great, but the friction for me of having to use UPS just doesn't make the juice worth the squeeze. As with everything, YMMV.

[chiasticon]

Originally Posted by Veloo

https://beta.ctvnews.ca/national/wor...27048.amp.html

we have cameras at both entrances to our house and I 100% expect to catch something like this some day. most of my large purchases, I have held (gotta sign for 'em anyway). but my wife loves to order furniture online and man some of that stuff is HUGE and heavy. always feel for the drivers.

we actually catch more of the USPS carrier mistreating packages. she will scan them and literally drop them from chest height to the floor, every single time. I don't think I've ever caught a UPS or FedEx person doing anything close to that bad. FedEx are very gentle with our packages, actually.

I have caught the Amazon person driving through our yard though, to turn around.

[cash05458]

"we actually catch more of the USPS carrier mistreating packages. she will scan them and literally drop them from chest height to the floor, every single time."

Well, I can only say this as a former mailman...IF that is true and not an exaggeration...call her postmaster and send him a file of that footage...I would think given your camera setup you must have it on film dozens if not hundreds of times...not only will the postmaster not back up her staying on the job, neither will her union...any reason you have not complained yet given you have what sounds like a good amount of proof? I can tell you as a long time postal worker that they will take that very seriously...believe me, even the Union or other postal workers are not fans of any such thing...show her postmaster a single shot of such a thing and it's an automatic write up...she will get three write ups over her career no matter how long she has been a carrier and it's all over...believe it or not and all jokes aside, I can tell you the postal service is a pretty regimented place to work for via mistakes or in your case, negligence of duty...

[Veloo]

Always nice to get insight from folks here.

Explains why Fedex would tell me they can't help with info on past shipments cuz it was on FedEx Ground and they had no visibility to that system. I'd hang up to call another number wondering ***, you're not one company?

UPS would drive me nuts that way too. Asking me if I knew if it went UPS SCS or whatever other service and I'm thinking how the F would I know?

[chiasticon]

Originally Posted by cash05458

Well, I can only say this as a former mailman...IF that is true and not an exaggeration...call her postmaster and send him a file of that footage...I would think given your camera setup you must have it on film dozens if not hundreds of times...

interesting! I'll start saving some of the footage then. actually it happens often enough that I've joked with my wife that we should start a Twitter or IG account for her

thanks for your insight!

[cash05458]

Originally Posted by chiasticon

interesting! I'll start saving some of the footage then. actually it happens often enough that I've joked with my wife that we should start a Twitter or IG account for her

thanks for your insight!

should the postmaster blow it off or try to...call his district manager...every postmaster deeply fears the D.M. on stuff like this...

[yngpunk]

Originally Posted by unterhausen

I'll have to think about shipping to store with the cursed gun rack. The recipient lives up a holler in Montana

Can you ship to a "FedEx Authorized ShipCenter"?

You can also ship to (and from) many/most Walgreens

[unterhausen]

It turns out the cursed gun rack needs to go UPS. Bikeflights really doesn't want me to ship it via them. Can anyone suggest a good business like bikeflights that offers a similar service?

[oldpotatoe]

I take all my BikeFlights boxes to Staples..a local UPS dropoff store..the 'UPS' store is owned by a real surly guy and his hours are really odd and limited.

Good service and $, comparing BikeFlights with FedEx and now UPS..

[unterhausen]

Staples seems like a good option, but when I try to get a quote, they say "invalid information" without further explanation. They have a 10% discount coupon though

[oldpotatoe]

Originally Posted by unterhausen

Staples seems like a good option, but when I try to get a quote, they say "invalid information" without further explanation. They have a 10% discount coupon though

Quote via bikeflights? Open an account..

[fkelly]

Sitting here in San Clemente CA. waiting on my bike being shipped by Bikeflights. It's Sunday, bike was scheduled to be here Friday. Not. They say it's now scheduled for Monday. Tracking says it's up in Vernon CA. near LA. Probably a two hour drive down here.

Bikeflights service has been reasonably responsive, apologized for the delay which is UPS's fault.

When I set the order up, I picked the day I wanted it delivered (1/24 a Friday) and they said to ship it on 1/21 a Monday. UPS picked it up right on time. Got delayed in Syracuse it appears.

Live and learn. Doing it over I would talk to customer service at Bikeflights and make really, really sure that I was leaving enough time for the bike to be delivered on a timely basis. Or try Shipbike. Or talk to Fedex directly, leaving Bikeflights and Shipbikes out of the equation. There is a Fedex store 200 yards from where I'm staying. Just have the bike shipped there.

Good news is that there is a week of sunny 70 degrees weather coming up and from San Clemente I can go north or south on paved bike paths and with minimal CA. traffic craziness.

A day later. UPS scheduled to deliver on Monday. Then I saw notification on tracking that they couldn't find the apartment. The "apartment" is the second floor of a house, not in an apartment complex. The shipping label gives the address and says "second floor". It also has my cell number. No matter, the driver said he couldn't find it and returned it to the depot 13 miles away. If I wanted it today I had to go get it. Which I did. The UPS staff said the driver must have been lazy. I guess. They also said shipping it on a Monday from NY wasn't going to get here on Friday. But that's what Bikeflights web site said to do.
Live and learn. Bike is put together.

[unterhausen]

Originally Posted by oldpotatoe

Quote via bikeflights? Open an account..

bikeflights has big warnings if you ship something that is not a bike. I know it probably wouldn't be a problem, but I just finished packing it and let my wife pay staples three times what bikeflights would have charged. Someone else is footing the bill