UPS reaches an all new low…

You can read all about (only) some of my past UPS woes here.

Since I do a lot of ordering with my amazon prime membership, I closely track every package, especially with the issues I’ve had. A new perk I learned about with the amazon prime membership is free next day delivery for any gift card purchases. As this is the perfect gift for a friend, I jumped on it, not that I need it right away (honestly, I have 23 days until I actually NEED it), just because it would be nice to have it wrapped up and under my tree.

The morning after I ordered it, I logged onto amazon for kicks. I did not take a screen capture at the time because I couldn’t believe my eyes, but I have one now (prior to final delivery) in which you can see exactly what I saw…

Windsor Locks, CT – 6:27 AM – Adverse Weather Conditions (???!?!??!?!??!)

According to Google Maps, Windsor Locks, CT is exactly 100 miles from Albany, NY. I peered out my window and noticed the sky was clear. It was a bit dark indicating some rain was coming, but nothing adverse by any means. I figured someone at UPS was playing games. I got ready for work and headed in.

I checked the tracking info at around 8am, when I arrived at work.

Latham, NY – 7:10 AM – Adverse Weather Conditions (???!?!??!?!??!)

My jaw hit the floor. Mind you, I live 4 miles from the UPS facility and had just commuted within 1 mile of the facility and I had encountered NO PRECIPITATION. No Snow. No Ice. No Rain. No Hail. No Frogs. You name what falls out of the sky, I didn’t see it.

Nevermind that the UPS guy, after all the games they played at the facilities with adverse weather conditions, failed to leave the package. I’ll make a one time exception and say that a signature is required because anyone can use the gift card. Blah Blah.

So at 2:04 PM, I recieved an email from amazon stating the following:

Delivery of your package may be delayed due to extreme weather conditions or an unforeseen natural event. UPS will deliver the package as soon as possible. We are sorry about this unavoidable delay and we appreciate your patience.

I felt the need to call amazon and just notify them that UPS is crazy and that they were being misinformed. They outsource, so the guy who answered the call didn’t understand a word out of my mouth. So I told him, “I don’t know if you’re in Bombay or Afghanistan or what, but I live in Latham, NY and there’s no adverse weather condition; the guy didn’t deliver the package because he was being cute.” The amazon rep kept going on about electronic gift cards, so I asked to speak to a manager who’s native language is English. Once I described it to that manager, she understood and apologized for the delay. I ended the conversation indicating that it was not an issue, but that they really need to re-evaluate UPS as a method of shipment for their amazon prime members.

Unrelated relevant facts: Of four orders I placed on amazon.com on Dark Friday 2010, two were shipped via UPS, one was shipped via FEDEX, and the other via USPS. The latter two both arrived a day earlier than promised by amazon. One of the UPS packages was delivered on time (the driver left the package in my building) and the other package (attempted delivery on the same day as the first) required me to fill out an infonotice for delivery the next day, at which point it was inside of my building.

AMAZON.COM NEEDS TO STICK WITH FEDEX AND USPS AS SHIPPING PROVIDERS AND FORGET ABOUT UPS!!!!!

UPDATE: As the above was written prior to delivery, prior to publication, I wanted to update the status of the delivery. I just walked into my apartment building to find the envelope containing the gift card thrown on the floor inside of my building. Mind you, I indicated for the driver to leave it with the rental office of my complex. So basically, the driver is an asshole who doesn’t follow directions. You couldn’t throw it inside of my building yesterday, dick? (to the driver)