UPS – Douche Bag of the Day Award Winner

Douchebag ButtonI don’t normally have a problem with UPS, but when things go wrong, they really go wrong. The latest is a new desk chair I ordered via Amazon. The chair, due to size and weight I assume, comes only via standard ground, but that was fine. Shipped a day or two sooner than promised, and actually arrived a couple of days sooner.

As background, you need to know that I sit down a hall in my home office about 15 steps from the front door…straight up a hallway. I can hear the door hanger people when they come by and hang stuff on the door knob. There was no knock and no doorbell yesterday morning and learned the package was delivered via their email notification system.

Went to the front door to bring it in, and I can only figure that the box must have fallen out back-door of his truck, slid off a bridge landing on the road below, and that he then ran over it when he came around to pick it up. I have never received a box as battered and torn as this box. Some rough attempt had been made to tape it all up, but there was an uncovered part I could put two of my fists through. I’m guessing the driver knew I’d never accept the package in that condition, so he took off.

This is one of those “some assembly required” chairs, and for all I know the contents were undamaged and everything was in there, but I wasn’t about to take the chance, only to find the last six screws I needed were nowhere to be found, then have to disassemble, and try to repackage this thing…knowing they would have never accepted the “original packaging” given its condition.

I processed the return with Amazon. They have you print out a barcode sheet to put in the box (easy to do given the large untapped and busted sections). Then UPS is to show up the next day with a pre-printed return label. I’m fine with Amazon, but not thrilled about the UPS driver sneaking away like that.

So, being me, I contacted UPS and insisted they have a supervisor from the Tampa terminal contact me. A guy named Manny called in very short order, which I appreciate. He agreed the driver should not have left without knocking, and indicated the package should have never even been delivered in that condition. He concedes it is unlikely it was put on the truck in that condition, meaning it really was damaged by the delivery driver.

Well, I’m cool. Not happy with UPS, and not happy to have to wait another week for my chair, but I’m not sitting in the floor, so, OK. Except about 2PM another UPS driver shows up for a pickup. I’m a little taken aback, and drag the box over to the door. I show  him the damage and explain my concerns about the delivery driver not knocking. “Justin,” the pickup driver, gets ready to scan it, but of course it doesn’t have a return label on the box. I explain that the Amazon instructions were that UPS would bring the label the next day…so he proceeds to get all pissy because, he assumes, I placed a pick up order for the package….without having a label. I finally tell him to take it or leave it, but if that’s his attitude I don’t really need it. He stomps off and says, “I’m not taking it, you can take to a UPS store, but I’m not taking it, I don’t need your attitude.” So, of course that resulted in yet another call to UPS and another conversation with a supervisor at the Tampa terminal.

And, so now I have to sit here all day for UPS to get by and do an actual pickup when it is convenient for them…never mind that they created this mess in the first place. So, in my judgement #UPSSucks, and gets my Douche Bag of the Day award.

B. John

Records and Content Management consultant who enjoys good stories and good discussion. I have a great deal of interest in politics, religion, technology, gadgets, food and movies, but I enjoy most any topic. I grew up in Kings Mountain, a small N.C. town, graduated from Appalachian State University and have lived in Atlanta, Greensboro, Winston-Salem, Dayton and Tampa since then.

4 thoughts on “UPS – Douche Bag of the Day Award Winner

  • September 15, 2016 at 12:22 pm
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    Sounds like the supervisors are at least *trying* to rectify this. It’s more a problem with the low-level grunts acting like they’re too big for the job.

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  • September 15, 2016 at 12:31 pm
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    The first supervisor did…the second one I talked to about the guy showing up for the pickup, Dan, was big a jerk as the pickup driver.

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  • September 15, 2016 at 1:11 pm
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    John, this needs to be reported to folks higher than Tampa. My Grandfather was a regional auditor for three states when he retired and I know they would never have stood for this. Maybe times have changed. I know you are a nice guy but if you don’t pursue this, will they make corrections? This is unbelievable.

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  • September 15, 2016 at 1:12 pm
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    I will see your delivery douchbag, and raise you another of my own. Some time ago My wife and I are living in a small apartment building just off the university campus. All deliveries are dropped off in the lobby. One day we get a stereo delivered. We assume it is a wedding gift. a week later another arrives. Okay same stereo different day? Then Michelle thinks that there is something hinky going on. We look at our credit card bill for the month and holy crap there is a bill for 2 stereos. Okay how did this happen? Well our local postie has been dropping our mail off on the counter not in our box, something we have complained about but they have done nothing about. Some schmuck has collected it and used the special offer cards (HBC credit card bills come with these) to order a pile of crap including three stereos a microwave and a bed. The con man has requested that they be delivered to his address but the HBC shipping office guys get it wrong and send them to us Thank God. so we stop the orders and put a hold on the card and HBC says they will take back the stereos. So we think all is well. BUT there is always a BUT. HBC won’t pay to ship them back because that is not part of their contract with the suppliers and the delivery company will not pay the shipping and the suppler says it is HBCs issue so HBC says we have to pay the shipping but they want them sent back or they stay on our CC bill. Who pays for the shipping? to save our money we did. As for the HBC credit card that was shredded once the stereos went on the UPS truck. That said apparently UPS has a policy that they will return items that were not ordered by the customer but given as this was HBC screw-up they refused , thinking that HBC would cave in and pay. Guess what everything we get is now shipped by FEDEX.

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