25 May
2006
25 May
'06
9:04 a.m.
At 10:55 PM 5/24/06 -0700, you wrote:
On 5/25/2006 at 5:37 PM Ethan Dicks wrote:
I beg to differ. I use FedEx ground almost everyday and I've never seen
them pick up or deliver ANYTHING in a RPS truck. I also frequently drop
packages at the local FedEx office and there are always trucks there but
I've never seen a RPS truck there. Futhermore I recently shipped a DEC disk
to Richard and the package was damaged and FedEx repacked it imporperly so
when Richard got it the shock indicator was showing red. I filed a claim
with FedEx and they paid the claim in about two weeks with no problems or
quibbling what so ever. They even refunded the shipping costs. Try to get
that out of USPS or UPS!
I had them
I've said this here before, but it's in
context - I was told by a
friend who worked at UPS that there's a conveyor belt at the central
UPS depot in Columbus that is 3'-4' off the ground and moves at 30 mph
- stuff falls off every day. He said to pack your stuff as if it were
going to be flung from a moving car - because it might.
...and don't confuse Fedex Ground (the green logo) with the express
service (blue logo). Fedex Ground is nothing more than RPS, and they're no
better at package handling or claims service than UPS. practically destroy a tuba and then claim it must have
been that way when I
shipped it. Fortunately, I shipped it through a packaging outfit, who made
good on the thing.
One of the best ways I've found to ship heavy objects is depot-to-depot
Amtrak Express service. Not every city has freight facilities, but it's
great when you can use them. Insurance to $5K, and your package rides in a
baggage car. Usually about 3 days coast-to-coast and $60 for 75 lbs.
That's an interesting idea. How big/heavy a package will they take? The
warehouse that I use is directly across the street from an Amtrak station
so that might be VERY handy.
Joe
Cheers,
Chuck