I hate UPS

[MaxTremors]

I hate [insert delivery company]. Honestly it really just varies region by region and ordering stuff right now doesnt help. You're asking to ship live coral while everyone is trying to get christmas presents.

How do you know they aren’t a Christmas present? And why are Christmas presents the priority? They’re just as much a frivolous luxury as corals. They offer a guarantee that they’re not honoring, that I paid a premium for, I’m not going to feel guilty for being annoyed by it.

 

[rtparty]

While this likely isn't the popular vote, online shops shouldn't be selling and shipping corals right now. It is the WORST time of the year and many animals will die because of it. As a business owner myself, I understand they have to pay employees, rent, overhead, etc but at some point this has to stop. Every single year for the 17 years I have been doing this I see these same posts at Christmas.

Every shipping company is short staffed and over worked. Sending live animals isn't a great choice because the workers don't care for one second what happens to the carboard boxes. They don't see them as live animals that we care for. It is just another box to them.

 

[rtparty]

How do you know they aren’t a Christmas present? And why are Christmas presents the priority? They’re just as much a frivolous luxury as corals. They offer a guarantee that they’re not honoring, that I paid a premium for, I’m not going to feel guilty for being annoyed by it.

Actually, none of them guarantee anything right now. It is all in the fine print. Overnight is not guaranteed for overnight and they will not offer you a refund if it is late. I deal with this daily at my business. They have all removed liabilty from themselves. It is a sad state of affairs.

 

[Tamberav]

I think I need to stop ordering coral online. It’s just too much anxiety. The last few shipments I’ve gotten have had delays but ended up getting delivered on-time (at least on the day they were supposed to), but I think my shipment that’s supposed to come today is unlikely to make today. Calling UPS is just futile, they’re never helpful. The package is one town over, 20 minutes away but they won’t let me pick it up. It’s 9am, the flight was an hour late, and so it’s delayed until tomorrow? How is does that even make sense. It’s around 30° out, they will undoubtedly die if not delivered today. It’s just too frustrating, it’s too much anxiety.

Anyway, I just needed to vent. And I need a record of how much I hate this so next time I think ordering corals in December will be okay, I can reference this post and wait until spring.

It is best not to order in winter or summer (fall/spring are most favorable temps). Also avoid ordering around the major holidays... I know that is tough with the sales.

COVID only added to this as more and more people are shopping online. Generally no delivery guarentee around this time.

If you look at UPS website they are hiring 100k people... you can't get packages to where they need to go during the busiest season without people to do it.

 

[glency]

Now is a really bad time to be buying livestock online. The amount of packages going through these hubs is insane. They don't care about one or two packages.

Right? Worst time of year to be expecting any sort of delivery guarantee.

 

[trmiv]

I definitely wouldn’t order livestock right now. UPS doesn’t care if a package is delayed a day because for the vast majority of things it doesn’t matter aside from customer disappointment. Toys aren’t going to die in the package.

Even when I do order online I usually have the package held at a depot for pickup. I can get it at 9am and it doesn’t have to sit in a hot or cold truck all day.

 

[polyppal]

I don’t think any of the shipping companies are reliable at this point in time, between logistics/staffing problems and it being the holidays I can sort of understand why it’s so bad. Id guess morale in any of these companies is pretty low over the last few years

 

[polyppal]

While this likely isn't the popular vote, online shops shouldn't be selling and shipping corals right now. It is the WORST time of the year and many animals will die because of it. As a business owner myself, I understand they have to pay employees, rent, overhead, etc but at some point this has to stop. Every single year for the 17 years I have been doing this I see these same posts at Christmas.

Every shipping company is short staffed and over worked. Sending live animals isn't a great choice because the workers don't care for one second what happens to the carboard boxes. They don't see them as live animals that we care for. It is just another box to them.

seriously, if the health of livestock was a priority for companies vs profits, reefing ‘black Friday’ season would be at a different time than nov/dec

 

[Lyss]

IDK, I feel like over time you learn which shippers are the most trustworthy in your area. For me UPS is great for overnight shipments, but FedEx can be a wild card. I ordered myself a Christmas gift of a couple zoa frags that arrived just fine earlier this week. We've been having some warm weather lately so I took advantage of that. That said, it's usually my practice to not order aquarium livestock or houseplants after Oct and before late March/early April. I feel like if you do that, you're accepting the risk that goes along with it. I took the risk on the zoas and it worked out.

 

[fish farmer]

I haven't ordered online for about a year and pretty much expect two days in the box so I order during mild weather.

With the storm season, holidays, shipping issues, it's a gamble.

 

[Saltyreef]

I use UPS religiously for Shipping out. Never had an issue.
With that being said....
I will opt to have coral SHIPPED to me by fed-ex as UPS has let me down numerous times.

Its all relative to your location and route drivers.


"This presentation has been brought to you by TRIAL & ERROR."

 

[Mr Cypher]

Fed Ex killed me and UPS is getting there mostly because the town I live in most people have forgotten manners and common decency at least with UPS I cam pick up from the access point but need to request in advance so far they have cost me bout a grand lol

 

[rtparty]

seriously, if the health of livestock was a priority for companies vs profits, reefing ‘black Friday’ season would be at a different time than nov/dec

Well, we as the consumers can dictate this. If enough of us blasted the coral shops to hold "Black Friday" in April or May for coral sales then I'm sure they would see the picture

 

[MaxTremors]

Okay, now I kind of feel like I jumped the gun in making this post. So, at 9am the update when I tracked the package was that it was 2 states away, that a flight was late, and that it would be delivered tomorrow. When I called, the rep basically just reiterated that info and said there was nothing he could do. Then, 10 minutes ago the doorbell rang, and there on my snowy porch was my box of coral. I don’t know how it made it here from 2 states away in a little over 2 hours (I’m guessing there was some sort of glitch in their system and that info probably wasn’t correct, but why the CS rep didn’t see this, IDK). Everything look great, temp was 75°, they’re floating as I type this. So, as I said, I was a little premature in posting this, but the anxiety in ordering livestock online, especially in the warmer/colder months, and in dealing with these shipping companies who are never helpful, is real. I’m just going to have to resist the sales until spring (as hard as that can be, lol).

 

[LiveFreeAndReef]

Okay, now I kind of feel like I jumped the gun in making this post. So, at 9am the update when I tracked the package was that it was 2 states away, that a flight was late, and that it would be delivered tomorrow. When I called, the rep basically just reiterated that info and said there was nothing he could do. Then, 10 minutes ago the doorbell rang, and there on my snowy porch was my box of coral. I don’t know how it made it here from 2 states away in a little over 2 hours (I’m guessing there was some sort of glitch in their system and that info probably wasn’t correct, but why the CS rep didn’t see this, IDK). Everything look great, temp was 75°, they’re floating as I type this. So, as I said, I was a little premature in posting this, but the anxiety in ordering livestock online, especially in the warmer/colder months, and in dealing with these shipping companies who are never helpful, is real. I’m just going to have to resist the sales until spring (as hard as that can be, lol).

Glad it all worked out!

 

[Saltyreef]

Okay, now I kind of feel like I jumped the gun in making this post. So, at 9am the update when I tracked the package was that it was 2 states away, that a flight was late, and that it would be delivered tomorrow. When I called, the rep basically just reiterated that info and said there was nothing he could do. Then, 10 minutes ago the doorbell rang, and there on my snowy porch was my box of coral. I don’t know how it made it here from 2 states away in a little over 2 hours (I’m guessing there was some sort of glitch in their system and that info probably wasn’t correct, but why the CS rep didn’t see this, IDK). Everything look great, temp was 75°, they’re floating as I type this. So, as I said, I was a little premature in posting this, but the anxiety in ordering livestock online, especially in the warmer/colder months, and in dealing with these shipping companies who are never helpful, is real. I’m just going to have to resist the sales until spring (as hard as that can be, lol).

The tracking updates SUCK. I hardly look at them. Forget about accuracy during holiday season lol.
If its not at my door by 10am or noon at the latest, i start the process of checking tracking then.

 

[JoshH]

I know all deliveries are slow now and it is worrisome but it's about the only way I can get much in Prescott, Arizona. AFS ( Aquarium Fish Sales) sent me some healthy fish that arrived late by Fedex but well packed and healthy. Yesterday as the storm came in, I was waiting for a Black Friday coral ( holy grail micro) from TCK Corals that arrived late after the snow storm but well packed as well. I even cleared my walkway and driveway and street to make sure my coral was delivered by the Fedex Santa. Funny these delivery guys get to know you when you order fish and corals and most are curious about the hobby. I'm thinking about putting a cooler outside for any future deliveries just in case I miss it so its not on a cold porch or hot porch as I moved from San Diego, California till I catch the delivery was made.

So in the concrete testing industry we would use a cooler with a thermostat screwed into the lid and a 100W light bulb mounted on the other end to maintain temps around the test cylinders during the winter months.

 

[Malcontent]

UPS in my area is good. FedEx not so much. I missed a UPS delivery due to being asleep one day and the driver met me at a gas station an hour or two later and gave me my package.

SmartPost is broken here so anything sent by SmartPost gets delivered in two days by regular FedEx instead.

 

[Malcontent]

Okay, now I kind of feel like I jumped the gun in making this post. So, at 9am the update when I tracked the package was that it was 2 states away, that a flight was late, and that it would be delivered tomorrow. When I called, the rep basically just reiterated that info and said there was nothing he could do. Then, 10 minutes ago the doorbell rang, and there on my snowy porch was my box of coral. I don’t know how it made it here from 2 states away in a little over 2 hours (I’m guessing there was some sort of glitch in their system and that info probably wasn’t correct, but why the CS rep didn’t see this, IDK). Everything look great, temp was 75°, they’re floating as I type this. So, as I said, I was a little premature in posting this, but the anxiety in ordering livestock online, especially in the warmer/colder months, and in dealing with these shipping companies who are never helpful, is real. I’m just going to have to resist the sales until spring (as hard as that can be, lol).

UPS removed a lot of the detail in their tracking. You can often get it back via 3rd party tracking sites.

 

[62518161]

It shouldn't matter what is being delivered, they offer a service they can't provide.