We would be shocked if there’s anyone in the world who actually wants 17 pounds’ worth of glossy Restoration Hardware catalogs. Since the doorstops first began hitting doorsteps back in May, though, more catalog recipients who value the environment and the lower backs of delivery personnel have been speaking out. [More]
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FedEx Indicted For Shipping Drugs For Illegal Pharmacies; Denies Allegations
By 7.17.14
More than a year after UPS agreed to pay $40 million to settle federal charges that it knowingly made shipments for illegal online pharmacies, a federal grand jury has indicted FedEx for similar allegations. [More]
Asian Guy Gets UPS Package, Driver Notes Recipient Was “CHIN”
By 6.27.14
J. is a Consumerist reader of Asian descent. Earlier this week, he was expecting a package from UPS. The doorbell rang, he signed for the package, and all was well. So he thought. When his e-mail delivery confirmation arrived, he was surprised to see that his package had been signed for by “CHIN.” Who? [More]
UPS Follows FedEx, Will Start Charging Based On Package Size
By 6.17.14
When FedEx announced in early May that it would soon begin using both weight and size when determining how much to charge for delivering a parcel, we predicted that UPS would follow suit. Amazingly, Big Brown was able to hold off for an entire month before deciding it also needs to take a package’s dimensions into account for ground shipping. [More]
UPS Drivers Learn Advanced Safety Skills At “Quaker Boot Camp”
By 6.6.14
The Olive Garden has its Tuscan culinary school that really exists, but do other companies have special training resorts for their employees? If you’re an aspiring UPS driver, you can attend the company’s training boot camp in Maryland, where they learn everything from the “friendly honk” to why they should never turn left. [More]
Restoration Hardware Dumps 17 Pounds Of “Sustainable” Catalogs On My Porch
By 5.19.14
Two years ago, Restoration Hardware got some media attention for putting out a 5.5 pound, almost 1000-page-long “Source Book,” which is effectively a catalog. Maybe they want even more attention this year, which is why they’ve dispatched UPS to dump 17 pounds of catalogs on customers’ doorsteps. [More]
“TOP CAR” Means UPS Put Your Package On Car Roof
By 5.9.14
The UPS delivery notice said that Cheryl’s package had been delivered to “TOP CAR.” What on earth does that mean? It means exactly what it looks like: the box had been delivered to the roof of a car in her driveway. [More]
FedEx To Start Charging By Package Size
By 5.7.14
Currently, shipping companies like FedEx and UPS only take a package’s size into account when it passes certain dimensional thresholds, but it looks like FedEx will soon start using package size and weight to determine shipping rates for all packages. [More]
UPS Accidentally Delivers Pieces Of A Government Drone To The Wrong Person
By 5.7.14
There are many things one might expect to show up suddenly on your doorstep at some point — in-laws, a baby in a basket with a note — but one New York man was definitely not expecting that UPS would drop off pieces of a government drone like it was just another delivery. [More]
UPS Delivers Stranger’s Package To My House, Tells Them Where To Find It
By 4.25.14
UPS delivers 15 million items every day, so maybe it’s inevitable that some of them will end up in the wrong place. The problem is what happens when they deliver a package to the wrong place: say, 101 Truman Street instead of 101 Truman Avenue. In one man’s case, UPS appeared to have sent a stranger to his home to fetch his own misdelivered package. [More]
Amazon Testing A Delivery Service Of Its Own
By 4.24.14
How many times have you gotten a shipping alert from Amazon and groaned when because the delivery service selected by Amazon has a history of late deliveries, or of mishandling packages, or of packages that vanish into the ether? Now Amazon is reportedly testing a system in San Francisco that takes the middle man out of the equation. [More]
UPDATE: DHL Did NOT Use Color-Changing Packages To Trick UPS Into Delivering Giant DHL Ads
By 2.21.14
UPDATE: We were correct to doubt the authenticity of this “prank.” A rep for DHL tells Consumerist that while the shipping company is aware of the video, DHL did not actually pull the prank or have anything to do with the actual production of the clip that has already been viewed more than 200,000 times on YouTube. [More]
UPS Has A “Circle Of Honor” For Drivers Who Go 25 Years Without An Accident
By 2.19.14
Considering your average driver — the person who doesn’t spend her entire workday behind the wheel — can barely go a decade without getting into some sort of fender-bender, it’s an accomplishment when people who drive all day, every day in a large brown truck can go decades without a ding on their driving records. [More]
UPS Driver Forced To Take Shelter Behind FedEx Truck In Midst Of Angry Turkey Attack
By 1.3.14
I imagine the rivalry between UPS and FedEx drivers to be some kind of Mad Max road rage, with dueling drivers trying to run each other down on the mean streets. But when a UPS driver was faced with a grumpy turkey he didn’t even hesitate to run for the shelter of a nearby FedEx truck. And of course, someone caught it all on camera. [More]
1/3 Of Online Retailers Failed To Deliver Last-Minute Christmas Purchases On Time
By 12.27.13
As you’ve probably heard, an overwhelmed UPS had a lot of trouble making deliveries before Dec. 25 this year. And the results of a national test of online retailers show that these delayed deliveries were not relegated to just a few major sellers. [More]
The Robot Wars Begin: UPS Also Looking Into Drone Deliveries
By 12.3.13
Everyone’s talking about how Amazon has secretly been developing an army of delivery drones that will, in my not-at-all paranoid opinion, turn on their creators and begin using human beings as living batteries. But a new report claims that UPS is also working on some creepy copters of its own. [More]
UPS Driver In Trouble Because You’re Not Supposed To Have Naughty Times On The Job
By 11.26.13
We know, we know, there are plenty of opportunities in a job filled with packages of various sizes and shapes to move things in a sassy direction. But UPS is highly displeased over a photo floating around out there as evidence that one of its drivers allegedly had a sexual encounter in the back of a delivery truck. [More]
You’ve Got A 1-In-10 Chance Of Receiving A Mangled Package This Holiday Season
By 11.22.13
In the next few weeks, a lot of us will be ordering items online — whether for ourselves or for others — and having them shipped somewhere, hoping beyond hope that these parcels don’t get lost, stolen, drop-kicked, or run through a Blendtec just to see what happens. A recent study of packages received from e-commerce sites finds that you shouldn’t be terribly shocked if the box shows up looking worse for wear. [More]
