I’ve been involved in a nightmare with UPS over a lost package.  It reminds me of a phone call I had from someone once who wanted to sue them over a lost package.

That caller, like me, wasn’t as mad at the package going missing as they were at the response by UPS.  Their terrible treatment of their customers makes you want to sue.

I had a very important package shipped to me on December 26th from my office in Chicago to San Diego where I was located that week.  I paid extra for two-day shipping which, due to the weekend, meant it was to arrive on December 30th.  On December 29th in the morning, the package arrived in Ontario, CA, about two hours away.  It hasn’t been located since.

UPS ships thousands of packages and I get it that they can get lost.  It’s their response that has me fuming.  The first thing that happened was that I called four times and got four different answers.

On December 30th, I called because the package was still in Ontario at noon, which based on my history of shipping made no sense. On call #1 I was told that they would look in to it, and someone would call me within an hour.  That was lie #1.

After a little over two hours and no call back, I called again.  That person told me that despite what the online tracking said, my package was on a truck and would be for sure delivered by the end of the day.  That was lie #2.

Two hours later I called again because I needed to leave my house.  That operator said the package is definitely not on a truck which was true.  She also told me that if it didn’t arrive on the 30th, it would show up on the 31st.  That was lie #3 as they weren’t delivering that day for some reason.

The final call was at the end of the day.  That operator said the package did appear lost, but told me that it had to be missing for 72 hours before they could do an investigation. I don’t know if that’s true or not, but it’s absurd if it is.  What was a lie is that she told me the delay was because my office messed up on the shipping weight.  The package wasn’t lost, just delayed.  Lie #4.

I started the investigation on January 2nd and now 11 days after sending my package via two day delivery it’s still missing.  No investigation appears to have taken place yet and I’m told it could take up to eight business days.  They told me I’d get a call from an investigator and that never happened.  Lie #5.

There is no way to call the Ontario location.  I emailed the customer service address I found online for UPS and it sent an auto response that said it’s not monitored.  In subsequent phone calls when I made clear how urgent it was to get this package ASAP I was essentially told that it’s too bad.

I understand that a package can get lost despite their tracking system.  But if my business screwed something up, I’d do whatever it takes to make it right.  It’s like going to a busy restaurant where everyone but one person at the table gets their entree.  The waiter doesn’t say “too bad, we are busy.”  They act like they care about you and try to make it right.

This hasn’t been my experience with FedEx or Amazon or even the USPS.  United Parcel Service is in the business of shipping packages and when they lose one they act like it’s no big deal.  They said I can make a claim to replace the contents of the package as if they assume I was shipping X-mas gifts instead of legal documents and checks that can’t be replaced.

It’s their flippant response and lack of effort that has me fuming.  It’s the same feeling my caller had when they wanted to sue them.  The reality is that the only way to get back at them is to take my company’s business elsewhere.  Every shipment has a contract that is certainly written in their favor.  Just like you can’t sue a restaurant for a rude waiter, there’s not much the average consumer can do about a company that doesn’t care about their customers. At least not in a court room.

So I will be pissed and keep calling until they find my package.  And I will take great joy the next time I have a case against them for an injured worker or one of their trucks hitting someone.  It doesn’t get me the delivery I desperately need, but it’s all I realistically have.