Monday, March 16, 2009

UPS Can't Find my Fifty Year Old House

what I'm listening to: "Waiting for the Winter to End" by Jeff Caylor

This happens so often that I'm going to start documenting it.

My house was built in 1955. That's more than 50 years ago. It's always been in the same place. Nobody has ever moved my house.

So why is it that UPS can't seem to find my house? My blood pressure goes up when I know I'm supposed to receive something from them. About 80% of the time I'm supposed to receive something from UPS, this is the scenario:
  1. The sender e-mails be the tracking number.
  2. I watch the package move through UPS tracking system.
  3. The day arrives when it goes through Commerce City and is reported "out for delivery."
Next, one of two things happens. The package is either marked delivered, when it clearly hasn't been, or the website reports "no such address" or some such nonsense.

I then call the national UPS line (800.742.5877 --it's actually on my speed dial) and talk to someone far, far away about the situation that happens all the damn time. They verify my address ("...yes, that's correct... house has been here since 1955...") and then they say they'll have someone call me back. Sometime they do, most times they don't, and I have to call them.

Today I called four times over the course of five hours. The first time I verified the address, and gave them ultra-specific directions to my house. A supervisor finally called me and told me they had delivered the package.

"No you didn't."

"Yes we did. The driver said the gate was locked, so he tossed it over the gate."

First of all, why are they throwing my packages? Second of all, there is no lock on my gate. I do have a neighbor almost half a mile away with a lock on his gate. There is NO number on his gate posts. My gate posts are CLEARLY marked with my house number.

Why would a UPS driver toss a package over a LOCKED gate with NO ADDRESS marked anywhere? Especially after I've left really, really specific directions as to where my house it.

And it's not like I live out in the boondocks. My house is quite easy to find.

Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.

So today is probably around the twentieth time this has happened in the two years I've lived here. From now on, I'll be sure to post an update each time it happens, if for nothing else than to have a good idea of the actual number of times it's happened.

The local supervisor, Ron, whom I'm on a first name basis with at this point, says he's finally going to PERMANENTLY put the information in their computer... but I don't believe him AT ALL. They've told me that before. I even drove all the way down to Denver once to get my package and try and convince them to put the information into their computer.

Even though they said they were, they obviously didn't.

keywords: UPS sucks, multiple complaints against UPS, why I hate UPS, what the hell is wrong with UPS, why can't UPS tell north from south, is UPS allergic to GPS?

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14 comments:

Anonymous said...

Had a similiar problem too.

Apparantly I didnt put down my apt number which is a moot point cause I live in a single family house in Brooklyn. I think the driver didnt even bother trying.

Got a msg on the UPS tracker about "Unable to confirm apt number"

Funny how, if i enter my address in googlemaps or mapquest, it shows EXACTLY where my house is. Even without the apt number.

If I can find my address in less than a minute, why cant UPS do the same? You would think that they can find addresses easily since they do it for a living.

I'm mad because I paid extra for 3-Day Shipping and now its gonna be delayed a day or more, plus the fact I wasted a whole day waiting for it.

The Invisible said...

Fed Ex now can't find my house either. I love it when they just put "wrong address" on your tracking info. and don't bother contacting you.

What the HELL do they ask for your phone number for if they aren't freaking going to use it?

Anonymous said...

I'm having the same problem, weird thing is that I live in a subdivision in a medium sized town.

They never contacted me, but their tracking notes stated "wrong address, a message has been left for the receiver to contact UPS". Not that useful to leave a message at the wrong address (and I checked my phone, it wasn't a phone message).

I called yesterday and told them to hold the package, I'd come pick it up. Today I check the tracking to see which location they held it at only to find that they've returned to sender!!!

Anonymous said...

I'm in a slightly different situation, myself, but it's frustrating none the less. My address is (example) 1200 Street rd, and I am quite sure that is in fact my address. Its what all the documentation says. My house sits on 3 very small pieces of property, and they all have a similar address too.

However, here's where it gets a bit strange. According to UPS, and even google maps for that matter, the address range for my street is 1300-1700. My address isn't anywhere in that range! So ups will actually refuse to send packages to me at all, because, well, they can't seem to figure out where it is!

But FedEx, on the other hand... Well, they always seem to show up, any time I get something from them. They must have some sort of inside info on where I live, because I've never had problems with them.

Maybe I don't actually live at that address! Someone, somewhere obviously has some wrong information, and I'm actually not sure which of us it is! I know where I live, and apparently fedex knows where I live.

Maybe I should go ahead and send a letter through ups to wherever they THINK I live! See if it actually gets here.

Anonymous said...

We got a call once from a UPS driver once saying our address didn't exist. This was about a month after Christmas, and I told him we had recieved multiple packages from UPS just the month before at that address. After a discussion, it turned out he had ignored the CITY AND "Street" suffix, and was in a nearby city (of a non-similar name) on a Drive with the same name as our Street.

Anonymous said...

Just had a similar problem in which UPS can't find my house. Placed an order with Amazon that was divided into 4 packages. Two were sent via UPS and did not arrive, the other two arrived via another carrier on time.

I called UPS customer support and asked if they could contact the local office. They said the local center will call me. I said "What should I say to them to prevent this in the future?" "Umm. I don't know." was the reply.

Anonymous said...

im in the same situation right now i've called multiple time to resolve this issue only to have them say a correct address is needed, UPS is practically stealing our hard earn money every time we have to go an pick it up ourselves,when i hear shipped via UPS all i see is frustration ahead,this is the 21st century you would think they carry some sort of GPS or at least learn to google an address they cant find they might as well change their logo to
U-UNRELIABLE P-POOR S-SERVICES,There has to be something that can be done..

Anonymous said...

I have been in my house for 38+ years and UPS is a frequent visitor. When we had the same driver all the time there was never an issue.I use 'my choice
delivery alerts and always track my packages. Couple of years ago they moved the origination warehouse and the drivers are never the same now and service has suffered. I love UPS and when I have issues they are very kind and helpful but their driver training needs serious help. Some drivers are just getting plain lazy. Most recent issue was this week. I had three packages coming from three different locations and all were perishable goods. Baked goods (two day air)/frozen meat with dry ice (two day air)/insulin with ice packs (overnight). It is more expensive to have these quicker delivery methods so when things go wrong its really irritating to say the least. Oh did I mention that it is HOT and HUMID where I live. The baked goods were ordered on a Thur and tracking email said delivery would be the following Monday which I thought was odd for 2 day air of a perishable. Monday came and went and I got email saying date had been changed to Wednesday. I figured the shipper goofed about when to start 2 day air but never did find out. I was elated to get email that all three packages would be delivered on Wed(yesterday)but as the afternoon wore on I became concerned and sure enough got email that the delivery had been changed to Thur (today) and sender/receiver needed to provide correct address. I called the warehouse/depot (Everyone needs to get their LOCAL number) and was told the driver said NO SUCH ADDRESS. REALLY? I told the nice man that I was going to yell but not 'at him'. I told him what was in the packages and the heat and this was not acceptable. He looked up my address in Mapquest. I explained I don't live in a development but mailbox is clearly marked and UPS is here all the time. AND don't they have GPS? They do have text messaging with the depot so wouldn't you think the driver should text that he can't find the address...JEEEZ. I was furious. The agent asked me to hold on and 11 minutes later came back and said because of the insulin the driver was coming back. Guess the food items don't matter. All 3 packages were clearly marked perishable/refrigerate/freeze and two were in coolers but guess that does not matter to the driver. I was firm that regardless of the package content this error was totally unacceptable and should always be re-delivered that day but I knew they don't normally do that even when its their fault.

I thanked the agent very much for his help and was ready to have a little discussion with the driver. Not in a mean way but in a "what in the world" way. 30 minutes later the door bell rang. I ran to the door but he was already down the driveway and almost back on the truck. Guess he figured he better get out of there. Even with the delay of a few hours the dry ice and the ice packs were almost gone and the baked goods were hot to the touch. Can you imagine if they were delivered today? I would have had to request new shipments and go thru all that hell.

Ok I am done now. This is not the first time this has happened and not the first time with perishables. Word to the wise like I said...get the local phone number where your packages are loaded onto the trucks. They are very helpful and can do things the 800 number cannot/will not.

The Invisible said...

The thing that pisses me off is that they INSIST you give them your phone number when you ship a package, but NEVER EVER EVER call when they can't find your house! What the hell do they need your number for if they AREN'T GOING TO USE IT?!

Unknown said...

Yup, dealing with this now. Admittedly, my development is a new development. There are only 3 homes here right now, but there will eventually be 16. FedEx found my house without calling or having any trouble at all. UPS? Nope. Ordered something from Amazon about 2 weeks ago now. I got a postcard from UPS saying they couldn't find my house. I called the number and offered directions. They didn't need them, they would have the driver call if he couldn't find it. Just got another postcard yesterday saying they can't find the house. DUDE! I gave you the flipping phone number! It's a cell phone and I always have it with me! Call the number! I have another package coming from Nordstrom - tracked that yesterday. I should be getting a postcard for that one in the next day or so. WTH, UPS? This is actually getting really annoying. I'm afraid to order anything because I don't know who ships. If it's FedEx, I'm fine. If it's UPS, I might not ever get it. And the kicker is, I sent an email the other day about this and they told me to just go on down to the distribution center to pick it up. The distribution center is a 1 hour drive from me. One way. Not only that, I paid for shipping TO MY HOUSE. Unbelievable.

The Invisible said...

The whole "we won't ship unless we have your phone number" makes me furious since they WON'T USE THE FREAKING PHONE NUMBER TO CALL YOU!!!

Unknown said...

I have a similar problem , the only difference is that I live on a dirt road and the driver refuses to come down my road at all. He just cites "severe weather conditions" which is BS.

I think it's just the driver that's bad. If you have a bad driver in your area then you're screwed. UPS needs to start firing drivers that don't deliver. There are plenty of people who can drive a van and deliver packages.

BTW No problems with FedEx.

DyersEve726 said...

I'm constantly dealing with this also, as my house is 150 year old farm house where our mailbox is down the street because our street used to be the driveway to our house back in the day. FedEx has zero issues, usps, no problem. UPS just drops my packages off at the elementary school nearby and says it's good to go. Can't tell you how many times I've had that "delivered" message show up in my tracking with nothing at my door. I then have to go to the school and ask if they've gotten anything delivered with my name on it. Seems like, if they were unsure, they would ask "hey, is this so and so address?". I went to that dang school and have lived in this house for 33 years. They could tell the driver exactly where to go if they didn't just cut and run, lol. Bunch of amateurs.

Laura said...

My house is correctly listed on google map and mapquest. However, UPS and FedEx say they can't deliver to my house because GPS is not correct. The original gps mapper screwed up our entire street listing and none of us can get UPS or FedEx packages at our legal addresses.

Every time I order, I have to have packages sent to my daughter's house 40 miles away because they don't deliver to my house inside the city.

How do we get this fixed?