Are you kidding me?

Fedex sucks. I had to Fedex first overnight (by 8am Friday) an important document to New York City on Thursday and it didn't get to the destination until 2pm Friday.

Just so you know; the CC number only goes on the front page of the shipping bill, and they remove that page when they stick it on the package.

I'm not completely sure why Kinko's is the only one being put to shame here. 2 minutes of looking around and you would have found the FedEx shipping forms with the supplies. Then simply fill in your info and hand it to them. You could have even gone to fedex.com and shipped it from there, or called FedEx and have them arrange the shipment. If you can get online to complain, you should be able to find FedEx.com.

He's making it sound like shipping with FedEx is rocket science. I fully expect the Kinko's staff to be clueless, but surely someone in College could be more resourceful and figure it out for himself?

Why on earth didn't he just fill out a form and drop it in the box and be done with it? Was the purpose of the store visit and phone call to see about the possibility of sending it 2-day instead? If the document was so important, I don't think the $ saved would be worth the risk... Glad it worked out in the end and I hope they got his ballot in time.

@scoobydoo: Well put!

It seems as if he has never shipped anything with FedEx/ or at least not at a store, so he didn't know what the procedure is. AND he assumed the employees WOULD know - as they should.

I myself have never done this and have NO IDEA that I could just fill out a form myself and drop it in a box.

Jesus christ, creating a Fedex account is free. He could have just printed his own airbill and dropped the ballot in any Fedex box. He even would have known exactly when the it would be delivered for the different shipping options.

I guess even though he's able to complain on an internet blog; operating a web browser is beyond the abilities of this college student.

Instead, he acts surprised that graveyard shift Kinko's employees aren't particularly smart or helpful.

They didn't tell him to write his credit card number "on a slip of paper", they told him to write it on the airbill under "payment method". There's a space for it and everything. And I really don't understand the whole calling-the-store thing... why didn't he take the customer copy of the airbill he filled out, which has the tracking number on it?

You know, I hate to point this out, but everytime I come here and I see a story like this, I look at the location. I'm starting to be surprised if it's NOT New York.

Just Sayin.

It's definitely the case, though, that the people working at Fedex-Kinkos aren't the brightest. Here's the thing: when Fedex bought Kinko's, they turned the regular Kinko's locations into "Fedex-Kinko's" and added the Fedex shipping stations. But technically, the Fedex shipping part of the store is separate from the Kinko's part of the store and often keeps different hours (which is why even though the rest of the store was open when he went in, the shipping station was closed). The regular Kinko's employees probably don't know much more about shipping than any other copy center employee, despite the "Fedex" name on store. It can be very frustrating, that's for sure.

cmon with the bullshit stories already... this guys an idiot!!

I'm with Eric on this story. I don't use Fedex enough to know the ins and outs of setting up a shipment on my own. To avoid the wrong delivery time, you have to check the right boxes on the complicated Fedex shipping label, which means you have to know Fedex terminology and procedures, which I have no intention of memorizing. I would have done just what Eric did--go into a store that says "Fedex Kinkos," thinking I would get my questions answered and my package shipped.

If I need to send something overnight, I generally stick with USPS services, which to me are the most flexible and user-friendly. And Consumerist is right about First Class Mail--I regularly get overnight delivery with just a 41 cent stamp.

Just because some kid works in a Kinko's store does not make him/her responsible for the FedEx tasks within the Kinko's store.

Was the requested task handled poorly. Yep. But when somebody says "that ain't my job" don't be critical of their effort to help you.

I think people are really missing the point here. Not everyone has experience shipping with FedEx, and it is completely reasonable to expect the staff of a "FedEx Kinko's" to know what they hell they're doing with FedEx, but in my many experiences, they never do. The merger is a joke, as the Kinko's staff are nearly always completely clueless and incapable when it comes to FedEx.

Additionally, I've found that not only are FedEx airbills rather confusing if you don't already know what you're doing, but their web site is terrible. It is infinitely easier to print shipping labels from the UPS and USPS web sites. I avoid FedEx altogether because of this.

I can remember that when I started using FedEx it was not clear at all how to proceed. For my first few shipments, I went to an actual FexEd location to get everything in order. So I learned how to fill the airbills and then I learned how to use their web site. So now I pretty much never have to go to a staffed location. But the fact of the matter is that for people who have never used FedEx or who use it only very infrequently, it is not obvious how to proceed.

And if FedEx and Kinko's really merged I'd expect all of the sales staff to have a clue about shipping with FedEx.

So I don't think Eric "should have known".

Come on... somebody else say it: DOUCHE!!!!!!!!

Kinkos employees have always been great to me, and they know their business (copying, imaging and publishing). I'm not surprised this employee tried to be helpful. It sounds like this is a Fedex organizational problem, and a rather obvious one.

Note to Fedex: Cross-train your store employees, and if your store is open, that means a customer is going to walk into the store expecting to get the service that's advertised on the sign out front.

Yeah, I can't believe this guy went to a FedEx store and expected to ship a package. What an idiot.

Maybe I'm missing something, but you're shipping a piece of paper 20 miles? I'm not from New York, and maybe its different, but even on a bike, thats only an hour or so, and if you have a car, its an hour roundtrip at the most.

That being said, read the airbill, fill it out... its not that difficult. Either the guys in the store or the customer should have been able to do it.

Please... Those that claim the airbill is "confusing", read this:

[www.arushpassport.com]

Then tell me again that you really can't understand how it works.

Hi all... this is the person who sent the original email. Lots of inaccuracies here.

@Carey: USPS says it takes 2 days to go first-class from NYC to Hackensack.

@scoobydoo: The form they had me write it on was a carbon form. So when I wrote the info on it, it went on somewhere around 4 different sheets. I got the top one. When you're shipping ground, it's a lot different than shipping express- setting up a pickup costs money. And I don't have blank waybills lying around in my dorm room.

@matto: You can't send ground packages from a drop-box.

@44 in a row: That's what happens on express airbills. Ground ones don't have that.

@DeltaPurser: I got in the 98th percentile on my SATs. Does that make me a douche?

Although I'm reluctant to say to the original poster, "It's not that hard, sofigure it out," I think the stronger argument is that when you go into a FedEx/Kinko's store, you should be able to get assistance.

I went into a FedEx/Kinko's store in Chelea a few months ago, and had a similar experience, and this was in the middle of a weekday. I knew what I was doing so it wasn't a problem, really, but I had a question or two -- about rates I think -- and I actually had to call FedEx from my cell to get the answer, and the guy at FedEx was one of those people who treats you like an idiot when you ask a basic question, and then later in the call realizes h was wrong for making a certain assumption, and then starts acting like he's your best friend.

Anyway, it sound liked FedEx/Kinko's has some organizational things to figure out here, such as how to properly support their customers.

Also, to the OP, I am not 100% certain, but I'm pretty sure your credit card info only appears on the second layer sheet. The other carbon sheets below the top are blacked out in that area, so theoretically the card info doesn't show up. Obviously, someone could do the gravestone-rubbing thing and try to get your info that way, but I don't think it's just there in plain sight.

Congrats on your high SAT score. That and $1.50 will get you a cup of coffee.

@amejr999: Sweetheart, intelligence has nothing to do with being a DOUCHE... I'm sure you're smart as a whip, but I think we may have lost intricate parts of the story in "translation" here... Don't take it personally. I'd still go on a date with you :-)

@scoobydoo:

Exactly.

I got in the 98th percentile on my SATs. Does that make me a douche?

Getting the score doesn't. Telling people does, though!

@HalOfBorg: except for the shipping department at that location was closed.

Also, if you did wind up shipping it ground, that explains a few things, like why they couldn't give you an exact cost. Fedex Express envelopes are flat-rate up to a certain point. Fedex Ground, however, doesn't have flat-rate shipping, or even any standardized shipping containers (they're not supposed to accept any Fedex Express packaging for Ground shipments at all, and doing so can cause the shipment to get mis-directed). Cost is based solely on weight and dimensions, and those can only be ascertained when the package is actually entered into the system, so if their shipping computer isn't running, they can't give you the cost. That could have also led to the confusion about the arrival date, since at least in the past, Fedex Ground didn't pick up or deliver on Mondays to some areas.

@DeltaPurser: Wait wait wait: Are you saying I can get a date just by announcing my SAT scores on the internet? Because I've tried that in person and it doesn't have the desired effect.

@amejr999: "I got in the 98th percentile on my SATs. Does that make me a douche?"

No. but it does indicate the difference between being able to score highly on a test and functional intelligence.

I scored in the 98th percentile on my SATs as well. It's not that exclusive a club. But unlike you, I seem to be able to figure out how to fill out a basic shipping form without breaking out in hives.

Douche.

If the shipping department was closed (as I would imagine it would be on a Sunday night), why not try and see if a different location had an open one with a fed-ex staff? You're complaining that people who don't work in that department TRIED to help you anyway.

@scoobydoo: You're actually making the point of those who say that filling out the airbill is not evident when you've never done it. If ARush decided to put up a jpeg illustrating how to fill the bill that's because they were frequently asked about it by their clients. If it were evident there would be no reason to put up an image to show how to do it.

www.fedex.com

you can print your own shipping labels, at kinkos even. most post offices have fedex drop boxes and fedex supplies available inside.

in regards to the usps comments, they're ok but their overnight service is far less of a guarantee than fedex's is. it's also strangely ever so slightly more expensive. that 41 cent stamp must be for something within an hour's drive.

@amejr999:

Had you examined the form, you would have seen that the payment section does not "carbon" through to the other pages. The payment (front copy) gets removed when it reaches the distribution center.

Did you REALLY think FedEx would just send your CC number to the recipient?

@humorbot: Call me easy :-)

Does this blog have editors anymore?

Their solution was both innovative and idiotic: they told Eric to write his credit card info on a slip of paper

Not only is that description inflammatory, it's 100% false. Writing credit card information on the airbill is their SOP.

@ecwis: Apparently, Carey is the weekend "editor," perhaps he needs someone reading his posts before they go live.

@scoobydoo: actually every single bit of information can get to the bottom page if you press hard enough. that's actually the whole idea behind those forms, that every bit of information gets through to the bottom. different forms have different fields but they all print through to the last page if you apply the necessary pressure.

@katylostherart: Have you seen these specific forms? There is no carbon for the credit card section so it doesn't copy to the other pages. I'm pretty sure it is only visible on the first page.

@everyone:

The forms that they have for ground shipments at Kinko's are NOT the normal Express waybills. They are not supposed to have CC numbers written on them, and IIRC they are carbon the whole way through.

Despite that people usually laugh at at the USPS for their problems, I had a similar issue with FedEx and gave up. So I thought why try "them" - I called USPS.

USPS phone guy's English wasn't great but he got it. He said "yes, we get from you tonight and take to Florida by 3 PM yes-very easy-very-simple.. We come you in a couple hours - a little extra." They did and the letter was there.

@amejr999: It's unreasonable to expect them to staff the location with FedEx specialists 24/7. FedEx's website says that the last Ground drop off for the Astor Place location is at 6 PM. Wouldn't that mean you can't drop off packages after 6?

I didn't score in the top 98 percentile on my SAT so I could be wrong. I actually don't remember what percentile got on my ACT/SATs. Once in college I don't see how they have any relevance except for people who think they should be respected for doing well on a college admissions exam. It just makes everyone think you're a douche, perhaps rightly so.

FedEx's website says that the last Ground drop off for the Astor Place location is at 6 PM. Wouldn't that mean you can't drop off packages after 6?

That generally means it's the last "drop-off" for purposes of having it shipped that day. That is, you can drop it off whenever you want at a 24-hour location, but if it's after the last drop-off, it won't go out until the next day. Which leads to the point that, if there are idiots working there late Sunday night, you're better off just going the next day, since it wouldn't be getting on a truck until then anyway.

Ok I'll say it, he's not the brightest. USPS has overnight service. AND there is usually a post office open until midnight (if not 24hr) in your area. There is no way I'm leaving my package AND credit card info without knowing the price and having a receipt.

I think the real question is, why is a college student even thinking about dealing with a public school board election?

@femmesavante: post office til midnight?! where are these magical places? christ i just want mine open past five now and then. also shipping ground is not overnight. the standard overnight and priority overnight go fedex express which is the overnight delivery with a guarantee. the funny thing is, it can say overnight if you ship ground from locations that close, but it sure as hell doesn't mean it'll get there.

next time find your local mailing depot. there are loads of shipping places that aren't as retarded as kinkos.

@derelk:

Kinko's was a great place to do business: their employees knew the business, were helpful, and were actually friendly in the process of doing business with them.

Then comes FedEX, partners with the Teamster's union; repopulated Kinko's with unionized toadies that could not care less about their jobs and totally destroyed in six months all of the customer loyalty and good will that was the stock in trade with the old Kinko's.

I know what I want at the new FedEx Kinko's, but finding someone who either knows or knows someone on the floor who does know is like pulling teeth from a rabid pit bull. I have walked out of the new FE Kinko's twice because no one could find a six page fax or bound an entire 100-page proposal on the wrong margin.

The new FedEx Kinko's simply does not give a **** anymore. The USPS and UPS are better than Kinko's on a good day for Kinko's.

Q

I use to work for Kinko's and I have to sympathize with the author of this blog. When I first started working there, I found that nobody and I mean NOBODY wanted to help the customers. This next part may sound funny but I assure you guys that this isn't a joke. One of my co-workers didn't want to help customers so much that she cleaned up a pile of shit on the bathroom floor that I bet some disgruntled customer left behind.

When you're in this kind of environment, you start to act like a shitty employee. It took me a couple of years working there to wise up but I realized that the quicker I help a customer, the quicker they're out of my face and on top of that, they're happy.

With that being said, when I worked there we used 3 different shipping companies. FedEx, UPS and DHL. The problem was that only a few people knew the ins and outs of the shipping part and they all worked in the morning. Then the evening rolls around and people would come in asking me about the shipping and I wouldn't have a clue as to how to do it. I got tired of looking like a dumbass to customers so I would ask my manager to not only train me but train all the other employees on how to ship things but it kept getting blown off. To this day I still don't know how to properly ship something.

The quality of a Kinko's store has everything to do with the manager. If the manager is shitty, then the store is shitty. If the manager is on top of it, then the store runs excellent but it is my experience that most of the Kinko's run like shit. Its so shitty there that Dave Chappele did a parody of Kinko's with the "Pop Copy" sketch. There's alot more shit I'd like to talk but that would take up too much server space.

btw, all the people criticizing the author about not knowing how to ship and he should have done this or done that are all dickheads. NOBODY in this world knows EVERYTHING and thats why people need help with what they don't know. I know how to change the brakes on my car. Should I expect everyone else to know how to change their brakes. I know how to rip open a computer and fix whats wrong with it. Should I expect everyone else to know how to fix a computer? You people need to get off your high horses of just fall off and break your necks instead of hating on people.

Have any of you seen this video game? It mimicks the real-world experience of going to Kinkos.

[www.persuasivegames.com]

@katylostherart: It's called New York. You really should stop by some time. Arguably the best city in America.