How Not To Ship Computers 1554
jutus writes: "I recently relocated for work from Canada to Florida, and on a suggestion, shipped my equipment (well-packed), with UPS Ground. I've posted some images of the destruction my shipment was subjected to by UPS. UPS Ground does not insure international shipments, so basically I'm up shit creek, no paddle. They have been giving me the textbook run-around for the past week. UPS Canada blames UPS in the U.S., and you can imagine who UPS down here in the States blames. As of yet, UPS has not even attempted to negotiate any compensation for my loss due to their severe negligence ... For Gods sake, use FedEX." My luck has gone the other direction -- I've mostly had good luck with UPS and some misdeliveries with FedEx. Would be nice to hear from any UPS employees reading this about what could have led to the damage jutus illustrates.
Similar UPS experience here (Score:5, Interesting)
Despite their basically admitting it was damaged during shipment and that it was packed correctly, this was over two months ago and I'm still waiting for something to happen. They don't give me a point of contact so I have to start from scratch every time I call. Total mess.
UPS lately? (Score:4, Interesting)
I've been shipping things with UPS for the past few years, and only in the last 6 months have started noticing a large amount of damage to my stuff and to my friend's stuff. 3 of my friends had to send stuff back due to UPS damage during shipping.
Has anyone else noticed an increase in damage lately, or is it just me?
UPS - Customer Service FAQ entry (Score:2, Interesting)
Once the claim paperwork is received by UPS, a check is typically issued and mailed to the shipper of record within five business days.
link [ups.com]
I assume its been more than five days?
My shipping experiences with UPS (Score:5, Interesting)
I shipped a number of packages via UPS ground when moving from TX to CA, among them was a computer and a few boxes full of books.
For the computer, I actually had the original box that the computer case came in, along with styrofoam padding on top and at the bottom with a sturdy cardboard box. I also made sure that all the screws were tight, all the wires were bundled up inside. Box arrived slightly banged up, but no major damage. The computer booted up on the first try with no errors. I had actually thought that some connections would have been shaken loose during transport.
However, the box full of books arrived in pieces. In fact, when the UPS man came to deliver the box, it fell apart before he made it to the door. It was the same kind of cardboard that the computer box was made of, but was significantly heavier... I didn't care much about the books since they were just textbooks.
Moral of the story? Well... use the original box if you can, don't make things too heavy or the UPS people will most likely kick the heavier boxes around, and insure things that are expensive!
Fourth wheel (Score:2, Interesting)
Didn't he say in the post... (Score:2, Interesting)
I saw this once... (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:A good case for insurance... (Score:2, Interesting)
Wonder when that changed...
How TO ship computers (Score:2, Interesting)
My general rule is never ship anything you can't replace and always get insurance. So in the case of a computer, make sure you have nice backups of everything. That way in case it gets killed, they'll replace the machine and you can replace the data. And if it's an old machine, maybe it'll be a good reason to get a new one!
Re:Your Mistakes (Score:5, Interesting)
Why not test this to see if it is more widespread? Send a package with an audio recording device to record peoples voices and idealy with some kind of camera thing looking out to see what's going on outside the box (to get faces). Make sure the package has fragile clearly marked all over the box and send it across the country (or to re-create this poor persons experience, send it from the same place in canada to the same place in florida hoping it will take the same route). It would probably be best for the audio recording instrument to be sound activated to conserve audio recording space and to keep some sort of time stamp on the various recordings, same with the video.
Just my opinion.
Re:Your Mistakes (Score:4, Interesting)
However, looking at the pictures, I dont think that the computers were packed properly. If they were in the original styrofoam casings, they probably would have been fine. Bubble wrap (unless you want to wrap it a foot thick) wont cut it for computer equipment.
Go with USPS :) (Score:2, Interesting)
The USPS, even when faced with items such as an unwrapped deer tibia and rotting wheel of cheese, had a 64% received rate. Right now they're looking alot better than UPS or Fedex.
The "experiment" is documented here [improbable.com] at the Annals of improbable research.
Hassles with UPS (Score:5, Interesting)
Anyhow, I bought an old Mac at the Goodwill for $5 and then modified it to make the funky patterns and shipped it to a friend for his birthday.
I went to Mailboxes Etc. and told them I wanted to ship it UPS. First they wanted to double box it. That alone would have cost $150, and would have substantially increased the shipping costs as well since double boxing makes things huge.
After convincing them that I had spent all of $5 and about two hours of my time on this, I conviced them that they could single-box it. However, they made me sign something that stated that it they broke it, it was my own fault.
Then while filling out the form there was a box for value. I put a sideways '8' since it was a one-of-a-kind item. They went crazy again and asked why I had done that. I replied that it was a work of electronic art that interacted with music in a unique way. That really worried them. This all occured in Palo Alto and maybe they were used to shipping strange expensive stuff.
Finally I crossed out the value and put in a big '0' and claimed that if it wasn't art then it was junk. That confused them but finally they shipped it, single boxed, for a total of about $70.
The moral of this story?
Mailboxes Etc. doesn't appreciate a smart-ass.
addendum: My friend painted it with gold paint and used it at parties. It was even more popular than his lava lamp.
Re:Worthless (Score:5, Interesting)
What most likely destroyed this shipment was it's journey along overcrowded belts, where it was squeezed mercilessly betwixt 200 80lb. boxes of greeting cards and 80 dell or gateway boxes. When a friend of mine worked there, he said he'd wince when he'd see a wrapped gramma's xmas present nestled between industrial shipments.
UPS does home consumer shipping as a sideline: they're more worried about pleasing their corporate customers.
Re:At least Tupperware will replace the busted bow (Score:2, Interesting)
Man, if only PC manufacturers had similar policies.
UPS stories (Score:2, Interesting)
My roomate in college worked at UPS during the summer, and he said that if a box was fragile or looked interesting they would often "accidently" open them by throwing them in front of trucks as they pulled out. The box & contents would be battered to hell, and they would get to find out what was inside. Also, if something was put on the conveyor belt and it was a little too large, they would kick it until it would go down the conveyor belt.
The second story concerns some books that were supposed to be delivered to me. I lived on 927 S King St. and my package was dropped off at 199 W. Madison St., which was approxiamtely 7 blocks away. I was lucky that one of my friends just happened to live there, or else I never would have got my package. According to UPS's tracking site, the package was delivered to my house. Ever since then, I've tried to ship FedEx whenever possible.
Re:UPS Distribution Centers (Score:2, Interesting)
The first was a computer shipped from Albany, NY to florida. The box arrived with some minor bumps, but it was packed well and there was no damage to the interior case. But there was this odd ratling sound and it wouldn't boot up.
Turns out that the machine had received such an impact that it had knocked the CPU and heat sink/fan out of the socket. This was a pentium system with a ZIF socket... consider the amount of force required to get a chip out of once of those sockets when the lever is set to the LOCK position. Of course, diagnosing this problem over the phone with someone who had no idea what was inside the computer...
Another machine was shipped downstate. It arrived dented so badly the case didn't stay together. The client filed a claim, and UPS inspected it, then sent it back to us so we could get them an estimate to repair the damage. (The fact that the client was the state of NY may have impacted the way they handled this.) The way UPS packed it to ship to us was interesting - a box nearly five times the size usually used to ship a mini tower. Inside were these form fitting foam pieces. Not just corner blocks - the entire thing. It was some kind of expanding foam that expanded to a certain point and froze in place.
Just today, I had a different problem with UPS which makes me less likely to deal with them in the future. Namely, the driver doesn't feel like coming to my address today so he marks "Nobody Home" and doesn't even bother to show up.
Things I've learned over the years:
- Insure the package. The more fragile it is, the more insurance. As my boss used to say "Insure it enough to scare them." It works, too.
- Just because the tracking info says "Out For Delivery", don't take the day off and wait for the package. The driver may decide he doesn't feel like delivering it.
- You can never over-pack something
UPS = United Package Smashers (Score:1, Interesting)
Approximately 300 miles of travel. 10-15 books in a medium sized box shipped UPS ground.
When I received the package there were F*cking TIRE MARKS on the box. How they managed to run over a box a foot high is beyond my comprehension.
Oh joy.
Re:Your Mistakes (Score:2, Interesting)
One of the most awful smells you can imagine.
Re:Ummmmmm, no. (Score:2, Interesting)
Find a box that will give you 4 to 6 inches clearance on all sides. Spray a layer of the insulation (about 4") on the bottom of the box and let it cure. Now wrap your beloved computer in a static bag (well ok, I used a garbage bag, but I'm not going to give any advice that might pop a board), seal the bag with duct tape (ooh ooh, it's water proof too). Now set your little friend on the layer you've already let cure, and fill in the rest of the air space with the expanding foam insulation and let it cure... instant molded foam padding.
granted, when your computer arrives you have to use a knife to unpack it, but it's worth it. Cost to you, a couple hours, and a couple bucks for the insulation.
If you ship something, expect it DOA (Score:3, Interesting)
The tour was at night, when shipping companies come alive and really start moving things. The tour was fun (seeing the shipping crates, all the people running around like crazy, etc) until I got to one of the sorting wharehouses. The packages to be sorted would be pulled into the wharehouse where people would go through each package and THROW it onto one of three conveyor belts. The topmost belt was about 5 feet high, the middle at about 3 and the bottom on the ground. I was totally shocked to see the the people doing the sorting THROW (not toss) printers, iMac's, monitors, tv's and other fragile equipment onto the belts. Sometimes they would miss and the package would fall to the floor, ignored until someone came around, picked it up and tossed it onto the wrong belt. Higher up in the wharehouse, where the smaller packages where sorted, the sorters would also throw the packages into the wrong chutes, toss the packages on top of the equipment or onto the floor.
Now, I'm not blaming the sorters (completely). They are payed minimum wage to do a horribly shitty and boring job. I do blame FooBar Inc for not paying these people right or not doing more checks to see how things are running.
After the tour, I never shipped anything the same way again. Recently, I've been either having a packing and shipping store do it for me. If I don't do that I pack the item in multiple boxes (usually 2 or 3) with little styrofoam peanuts between each box. It's a complete pain in the ass to pack (especially larger objects) but it seems to do the trick.
If you want something shipped right, don't ship it, take the package to the destination yourself.
Geoffeg
Re:Your Mistakes (Score:4, Interesting)
Even if it's undamaged you might be screwed. (Score:5, Interesting)
My first experience with this was with a $500 package that was late by two days... and then a week... and then a week-and-a-half. The tracking system said "delivery made" but there was no package. Repeated calls to the service center revealed nothing until finally one day a rep said "there's a note in the system that says 'green box' so do you have a green box around your house?"
A light bulb appeared above my head, and I went outside with a look of disbelief on my face. I found the box (containing a high-end RAID controller) at the bottom of one of my *recycle bin* at the side of the house, beneath tons of cardboard and plastic. Two more days and it would have been recycled. What sort of idiot delivers a package to a recycle bin?
Well, the second time this sort of thing happened (system says delivered, but I haven't seen the package), I *asked* the rep if there were any delivery notes in the system. This time the note was "tree" and I found a box containing a Sun 3/80 *up in the branches of my 14' pine tree* in the dead of winter. The driver actually seemed to have climbed the fence next to the tree to place the box in it. They're sturdy branches, but it still seems ridiculous to me.
Calls to UPS about these incidents resulted in the following explanation: sometimes when the individual isn't home and the address is difficult to reach, the driver may leave the package on the premesis in a "non-obvious" area so that he doesn't have to return. I guess a recycle bin and a tree are UPS's idea of protecting me from thieves... Of course all of this ignores the fact that I was home all day on the day that BOTH of these deliveries were supposedly made...
Re:Worthless (Score:3, Interesting)
In defense of the hellhole in which I work.... (Score:3, Interesting)
My own UPS experiences. (Score:3, Interesting)
Surprise, when I recieved the package at home, it had been bent. The mounting cardbord had been totally destroyed. Fortunately, I was able to remount it at the place I got it framed, though there is a permanent crease in the piece towards the top that is noticable in bright lighting, if you know what you are looking for.
This kind of peeves me to this day, since there are only two copies of this in existance. The artist has the other one.
Re:Shipping Insurance.. (Score:2, Interesting)
ex-UPS Employee's Response (Score:3, Interesting)
I worked for UPS in West Michigan for about a year [1999-2000]. One of my jobs was to unload a semi full of IBM desktops, thinkpads, NEC monitors, and HP printers and scanners [some other computer items] every night. This ment hundreds of desktops went through my hands in the matter of 1 hour or less [my shift was only 4 hours]. Although they were not handled with kid gloves, I never saw one that ended up like that. Trust me when I tell you that if that had come through our site we would've heard about it from our managers.
However, I have seen pacakages this bad or worse. It happens. The logistics of moving insane amounts of packages in short periods of time mean that problems are bound to arise. Plus there is a serious human factor involved. Tired, hurried, inexperienced, or lazy workers can cause this sort of thing. Also managers directly effect the quality of the work being done. UPS has the training to properly handle packages out there, but like anywhere, it's up to the workers and managers to implement.
I can't say much about claims, other than that they tell us the amounts that they pay out every year and its hefty.
As to what could've led to this, any number of things. A bad wall [imagine a giant game of tetris in a semi] could have done it, a jam in a chute, it could've gotten caught on the belt, or even a mad worker [it happens, fast food workers spit in your burger too]. Another possiblity is that heavy packages [over 70#s] were sent too early on the belt and crushed the pachages. Heavy packages are saved until the end of the night to try and prevent this.
One last thing November and December are the times of the year to be extra careful about packaging and the like. The numbers of packages that are handled during these times of the year increase significantly.
weso
Re:Your Mistakes (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Your Mistakes (Score:1, Interesting)
This would work fine, IF there was a steady flow of packages. Unfortunately that is usually not the case. They tend to come in surges, and almost every time there is a surge there is a jam. The jams are broken up with metal poles.
After a jam has been broken, a sudden surge of packages flow into the trailer. Sometimes they fall off the chute. Sometimes things fall off belts as well. Packages also get mangled in the machinery.
Employee damage is also a factor, but it is often out of anger or frustration. Once I threw a television set across a trailer after it flew down the Big Fucking Metal Chute (tm) and hit me in the face (it was the 3rd package to do that that evening).
I honestly don't think most other shipping companies are better. I wouln't ship anything without insuring it.
Re:Funky monitor - this is way OT now (Score:3, Interesting)
I used a separate amplifier to drive the deflection coils in the TV. Having a separate amp both isolated it from my stereo, and allowed adjustment of the level, balance and tone controls for best display, independant of the stereo volume level. I used an AGC circuit to compress the audio levels slightly so that when the audio level was adjusted to give nice patterns at high levels, the quieter passages didn't collapse to an indistinguishable dot.
Color was the best addition. Through a separate board, I split the audio into low (below 300Hz), mid (300 to ~4KHz) and high (above 4KHz) bands. I ran each of the three signals through an attenuator and hacked them into the red, green, and blue low level video inputs respectively. I was doing this this way back before computers were fast enough (Pre IBM PC days) when TVs were made with mostly discrete components, and that you could easily get to the individual circuits to make the necessary modifications. Computers got fast enough to do the same type thing in software about the time the Pentium 100's came out. Today, with Gigahertz processors and fast video cards, it could make for a nice OpenGL project.
Later.
wings
Similar Experiences (Score:2, Interesting)
The first time, I used all the original packing material, plus I filled in all of the open spots with packing peanuts. Basically the damage looked identical to the pictures, except that my monitor had a forklift sized whole through the side of it. They replaced the monitor (after about six months) because it was obviously their fault, but they blamed me for incorrectly packing my systems in the original packing. They stated that the system had been shipped in the box ONCE, and so the box was not sturdy enough to handle a second shipment. Each of the pieces of styrofoam was broken at least once, and the inspector said that it looked like it had been dropped on the corner, but that since I didn't pack it correctly, it was my fault. I got a reinspection of the package, and the second inspector said that that much damage couldn't have happened in shipping, and again blamed me. I was never able to get a third inpector, and UPS stated hanging up on me when I called to ask.
So I bit the bullet and bought new systems (luckily the hard drives were salvageable). The next time it came to ship my computers, I went straight to MailBoxes Etc., who promised me that they could pack anything that I wanted to UPS spec, and that if something was wrong, they would pay me directly and then haggle with UPS. Something went wrong. This time, however, UPS again passed the blame to Mailboxes Etc., and the guy from Mailboxes came to my house, took one look at the carton and insurance forms, and basically signed me over a check right there. Still lost the systems, but this time I had the money to replace them even better.
So, I guess the moral of the story is to find someone who will pay when UPS won't, because they never will.
Re:Your Mistakes (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Your Mistakes (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Latest correspondance from UPS. (Score:1, Interesting)
Re:Even if it's undamaged you might be screwed. (Score:3, Interesting)
The postal service frequently leaves packages on the front porch in full view of the street. The house is on the most major street in town, in the most densely populated city in the US. Sometimes they leave all the mail there, too, even though we have mail slots. There's also almost always someone home in the house who can receive a package.
I got angry about it and called the post office to complain and they blew me off, telling me they're allowed to do that. So, I called the postal police. (Did you know the postal service has not one but three internal police agencies?) I took my time and called each one and said, in the most innocent voice I could manage, that I don't know what the rules are and I don't know if they were the right person to be talking to but it just doesn't seem right for them to leave our mail on the front porch in full view of the street in the most densely populated city in the country and then tell me it's okay because it's "a secure place", and could they please help me? (Imagine me trying to flutter big eyelashes over bambi eyes here.) The postal police got all indignant on my behalf and told me they'd look into it - all three branches.
None of them ever told me which one was the right one to be talking to, but it *did* get me a phone call from the postmaster, who sounded nervous and promised to make the problem stop happening. The postal service still leaves packages on the porch, but where they can't be seen from the street, and I haven't found the general envelopes-and-magazines mail on the porch again since.
UPS doesn't seem to give a damn. They just leave the packages in plain sight. We've had packages ripped open and robbed, or just stolen entirely. We just tell whoever was shipping to us and then they have to deal with UPS.
This week I received a package via UPS, and they left it on the porch. They clearly were trying to do something "non-obvious"... so they took my recycle bin and put it on its side and placed the package behind it... so from the street it looked for all the world as if a child had made a clumsy attempt at hiding a package on the porch. (They could have just put it in the corner of the porch which isn't visible from the street, but no...) Of course I was home at the time, and they didn't ring my bell.
Airborne is the only delivery service that seems to do a good job here. They ring the doorbell, wait for me to answer the door, and get my signature, every time.
THE COMPUTER SHIPPING RULES! (Score:3, Interesting)
1. Use the MFG's original boxes if you saved them. If not,
2. Do not use loose fill (otherwise known as peanuts) to pack your equipment, neither FedEx not UPS will pay on claims where this was used (been burned twice).
3. Double Box! This is a necessity. It may seem stupid, but if you double box almost any claim will go through without question. (You can use loose fill in between the boxes).
4. Take photos BEFORE and take photos AFTER (preferably upon delivery, with the driver or truck in the picture, snap with him walking away if you need to).
5. If the box is damaged, have the driver (deliverer) note this. Make sure he/she does.
6. If you ordered something from a store and the box is damaged, just refuse it.
7. Pray.
Now remember, FedEx is NOT a box shipper. They like to deliver letters (big money, small hassle), and thus I have had MUCH better luck with UPS. But here it's trying to choose the lesser of two evils.
Hope this helps someone. I've lost way too many computers in shipping.
On a side note, in college I shipped a 'cinder block' from Boston to Pittsburgh. UPS broke it. No joke.