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FRUSTRATED w/ FED EX... GRRRR...

Nanci said:
That's kind of scary that they were freezing cold, when only three hours late. I'd have hoped the warm packs would have a lot more leeway- for just such eventualities as the airport being closed, etc.

But glad they got there, and I saw their pics in the other thread, and they are beautiful, and their tubs are so cool! Does the girlie get the flower and the boy the vine???

Nanci
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Yep, I all my girls have flowers and all my boys have vines :cheers:

There was 1 heat pack in the box, but it is 28 degrees out today, perhaps abit colder than it should be for snakes to be shipped. I know the general rule is no colder than 45 for shipping.. but... :shrugs:
 
The same thing happened to me. The driver was two hours late and he actually had the cheek to ask me to make it look like he'd delivered the snake early! Yeah, GTF out, mate! :uzi: :angry01: It was TNT, though, not fed ex.

P.S. Sorry, i've just realized i'm a bit late in this thread. :)
 
Lore said:
I know the general rule is no colder than 45 for shipping.. but... :shrugs:
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What rule is that? I've never heard such a rule. I know Dean has gotten snakes shipped from Don before when it's been in the 20's. When you appropriately pack a box with foam and heat packs, it's not a big deal.

And I know you were frustrated with your package being late, but I have a few comments to make.

First of all, are you sure that your seller selected priority overnight? There is also the option of selecting 'standard overnight' which is cheaper. Also, if you're not close to the FedEx hub by the airport, 10:30 delivery isn't always possible even with priority overnight.

Secondly, FedEx is the only company right now that legally allows reptile shipping. Irate snake customers calling them and bitching every 15 mins is not a good way to go about things. Unfortunately they hold the upper hand as far as shipments go, and the terms. All certified shippers know that if they fail to deliver a package on time and the snakes die---we as sellers have to eat that cost. It sucks, but that's something we have to deal with. I shipped a box of snakes to Trevor and sent them to the wrong damn address, and had to call FedEx to get them to redeliver. First off, all those folks at the 800 number will argue with you that shipping snakes is illegal, but when you calmly explain that you have a waiver and explain the circumstances---they're much more helpful. In that situation, Trevor had his snakes 30mins after I placed the call. Niceness goes a long way. We can't afford to piss FedEx off or we'll all be illegally shipping snakes and hoping that FedEx/UPS/DHL don't open the box to see what the issue is.

I've got a notice on my website under terms where I mention that if there is ANY problem with the shipment to let me know, and let me handle it. I'd rather myself call FedEx than a customer who is horrified that a package is late.

And personally, I'd be very careful about freaking out at a driver. They are the folks that deliver your package. Don't want to give them any reason to be 'late' or 'misplace' your package.
 
Joejr14 said:
What rule is that? I've never heard such a rule. I know Dean has gotten snakes shipped from Don before when it's been in the 20's. When you appropriately pack a box with foam and heat packs, it's not a big deal.

And I know you were frustrated with your package being late, but I have a few comments to make.

First of all, are you sure that your seller selected priority overnight? There is also the option of selecting 'standard overnight' which is cheaper. Also, if you're not close to the FedEx hub by the airport, 10:30 delivery isn't always possible even with priority overnight.

The dispatch location where the trucks come from is less than 5 minutes from my house... so I know distance wasn't the issue here, and the snakes were on the truck at 7am :rolleyes:

FedEx is the only company right now that legally allows reptile shipping. Irate snake customers calling them and bitching every 15 mins is not a good way to go about things. Unfortunately they hold the upper hand as far as shipments go, and the terms. All certified shippers know that if they fail to deliver a package on time and the snakes die---we as sellers have to eat that cost. It sucks, but that's something we have to deal with. I shipped a box of snakes to Trevor and sent them to the wrong damn address, and had to call FedEx to get them to redeliver. First off, all those folks at the 800 number will argue with you that shipping snakes is illegal, but when you calmly explain that you have a waiver and explain the circumstances---they're much more helpful. In that situation, Trevor had his snakes 30mins after I placed the call. Niceness goes a long way. We can't afford to piss FedEx off or we'll all be illegally shipping snakes and hoping that FedEx/UPS/DHL don't open the box to see what the issue is.

I've got a notice on my website under terms where I mention that if there is ANY problem with the shipment to let me know, and let me handle it. I'd rather myself call FedEx than a customer who is horrified that a package is late.

And personally, I'd be very careful about freaking out at a driver. They are the folks that deliver your package. Don't want to give them any reason to be 'late' or 'misplace' your package.
Click to expand...

hmmm... Joe... I know you seem to find it to be your civic duty to make people feel like idiots... :rolleyes:

I DO know that it was shipped overnight to be here by 10:30am, as under Delivery date it was stated: 1/10 by 10:30am :shrugs:

I called to get information 3 times, never did I yell, I told them I wanted information and to be contacted, my first calls was based on the fact that the package was not here by the specified time, since I was not being taken seriously, I did not disclose the contents of the package, however did state that live animals were in there and asked that they take the situation abit more seriously.

As stated I thanked the driver for the package and told him to have a nice day, (I never really release pent up anger on anyone, I'm better than that)


I take my direction from known successful breeders, I take their suggestions and experience to heart, therfore copied directly from the VMS website, whom I've purchased from several times:

Conditions of the live arrival guarantee are simple:

An adult must be present to receive the shipment on the first delivery attempt (a signature will be required) and the temperature must be in the 45°F to 95°F range. You may need to assist us in scheduling your shipment during periods of extreme weather. While delays in scheduling a shipment may seem intolerable, they are nothing compared to opening a box containing a prized specimen only to find it dead. Our use of extreme caution and proper packing has resulted in very very few DOA's in the last five years - a remarkable success.

No guarantees for shipments exposed to weather extremes. Weather extremes are defined as outside the 45°F to 95°F range. Temperatures at our end must be acceptable or we will delay shipment.

There is where I got the 45 degrees idea. :rolleyes:

Joe, you sir... have a nice day. :cheers:

Oh and the fact about crazy snake people calling up and bugging them... I never once mentioned snakes in the package, I merely stated to them that animals where in the package and I was concerned for their welfare. :cheers:
 
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KInko's nearby

Keep in mind that FedEx delivers to business's first. If there's a Kinko's nearby have your shipments delivered there.Otherwise listen to GNR patience :shrugs:
I'm glad you got them & they are doing well! :cheers:
As Joe pointed out with proper packaging they will be fine. Heck our high yesterday was 25*, I had 3 ksb delivered to my place. I had to have them delivered no sig required since I had an appt. at the VA hospital. They were delivered at 9:30, I got home at 11:00 they were plenty warm even after being outside for 1 1/2hrs.
They were shipped from Wisconsin where I know it was much colder there than here. Of course not as many people package the way Chuck does! :cheers:
 
Not trying to make you feel like an idiot, I just wanted to point a few things out.

From what you posted, it sure seemed like you called and let FedEx have an earful. As someone who is going to depend on internet sales to sell most of my snakes, I don't want to see Fedex stop accepting live animal shipments.

And as a side note, I'd call FedEx ASAP and have your waiver taken off. 99% of respected breeders have that 'waiver' clause on their Terms and Conditions and that will void a guarantee.
 
tsthompson said:
Keep in mind that FedEx delivers to business's first. If there's a Kinko's nearby have your shipments delivered there.Otherwise listen to GNR patience :shrugs:
I'm glad you got them & they are doing well! :cheers:
As Joe pointed out with proper packaging they will be fine. Heck our high yesterday was 25*, I had 3 ksb delivered to my place. I had to have them delivered no sig required since I had an appt. at the VA hospital. They were delivered at 9:30, I got home at 11:00 they were plenty warm even after being outside for 1 1/2hrs.
They were shipped from Wisconsin where I know it was much colder there than here. Of course not as many people package the way Chuck does! :cheers:
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Indeed, they must not have been packaged like Chuck does, cause they were chilly cold to the touch when I took them out and put them in their vivs. :cheers:
 
Joejr14 said:
Not trying to make you feel like an idiot, I just wanted to point a few things out.

From what you posted, it sure seemed like you called and let FedEx have an earful. As someone who is going to depend on internet sales to sell most of my snakes, I don't want to see Fedex stop accepting live animal shipments.

And as a side note, I'd call FedEx ASAP and have your waiver taken off. 99% of respected breeders have that 'waiver' clause on their Terms and Conditions and that will void a guarantee.
Click to expand...

Nope, a majority of that was internal mustering... the phone bit was just seeking answers and location.

I understand what you mean, I was actually thinking about that myself while waiting, that I would want my customers to contact me if such event were to take place so that I could get ontop of the issue for them.

Ya, I noticed that, I had no idea I had such a waiver, I never signed anything to have it like that :shrugs: I've only ever has snakes come from FedEx :shrugs: I'll have to get that taken care of ASAP. :cheers:
 
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Sorry Lore, but I read your posts the way Joe read them...but he beat me to a response...and a nice one at that, explaining the situation. And just to let you know, FedEx simply cannot deliver to all places by 10:30 AM. I get ALL of my FedEx deliveries between 3:30 - 4:40 PM...no matter if I want Priority. And as for UPS...they haven't delivered to my house before 7:30 PM in over 6 years. I've actually had them honk the horn (when they remember) at 10:30 PM! They never even come up my house, leaving all packages on the ground somewhere along the 250+ ft driveway (usually right next to the garbage cans).

And you may want to let the breeder who shipped your snakes know that their packaging was insufficient for the weather.
 
If I was shipping boas and pythons, I would probably be very concerned about shipping in really chilly weather. But you also have to be careful about making them TOO warm, as overheating can kill much more quickly than chilling. But with corns, I will ship when overnight lows are at least 20F or more, as long as there are no travel advisories. If we restricted shipments to overnight lows of 45F or more, many areas of the country would have a VERY short shipping season, especially if they couldn't get too hot, either. Corns can take a bit of chill and do just fine, as long as their bellies are empty. The few temp problems I have had in shipping have virtually all been due to summer overheating, not winter cold.

The FedEx reptile waiver does not allow shipping to a residence for live herps. They have mostly let us get around it by shipping to a home business. But because of all of these unknown signature waivers, I really try to get my customers to take delivery at a business address, or better yet, pick up at the local FedEx office.

Joe did raise some very good points. Even if you didn't holler at the FedEx people on the phone, many customers who are not familiar with shipping will do exactly that when they freak out over late and misplaced shipments. I usually try to track all of my outgoing shipments online by 10:30 a.m. so I will know if there is a problem before my customer does. I would much rather deal with FedEx than have them do so. I have learned a few tricks to get their cooperation (such as, after I hear it has been misrouted, I mention that I have a special waiver for small, live, "pet shop reptiles" and that is what is in the box - gets their attention and sympathy without giving them a chance to claim they don't ship them). There is no way a typical customer will have the experience to know the best way to deal with these situations.

I can't blame customers for being frustrated when things don't go right (I get frustrated too), but it is more productive to be proactive by eliminating the driver in the first place when possible. From what I hear, they are under great duress to get their routes done more quickly than is possible to do so in a proper manner, increasing mistakes.

And as Joe said, if enough FedEx employees complain about herps, FedEx could pull the plug if they want. That would be a real problem for us.

So, although some of these points may not apply to this particular case, I am glad they were brought up for others to read.
 
Susan said:
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Sorry Lore, but I read your posts the way Joe read them...but he beat me to a response...and a nice one at that, explaining the situation. And just to let you know, FedEx simply cannot deliver to all places by 10:30 AM. I get ALL of my FedEx deliveries between 3:30 - 4:40 PM...no matter if I want Priority. And as for UPS...they haven't delivered to my house before 7:30 PM in over 6 years. I've actually had them honk the horn (when they remember) at 10:30 PM! They never even come up my house, leaving all packages on the ground somewhere along the 250+ ft driveway (usually right next to the garbage cans).

And you may want to let the breeder who shipped your snakes know that their packaging was insufficient for the weather.
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:shrugs: I have recieved many snakes in the mail, and have always gotten them before 10:30, so I know they can deliver on time. :cheers:

:shrugs: sarcasam doesnt always read through. I'll watch how I state things from now on. As far as this shipping issue goes, I'm leaving it be. I called to get status, I never stated there were reptiles, I said "animals" in the box, so the reptile community reputation wasn't harmed :cheers:
 
I'm just glad they arrived and are ok. After my last indicent of late arrival, I now have the address of my nearest Fed Ex depot memorized and will always go there. I saw their pics, too! What cuties!
 
dionythicus said:
I'm just glad they arrived and are ok. After my last indicent of late arrival, I now have the address of my nearest Fed Ex depot memorized and will always go there. I saw their pics, too! What cuties!
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Ya, even tho it would be a big pain for me to pack up all my kids and tote them to the nearest pick up location (which is all of 3 minutes or less away) For future shipments I will pick them up instead. :cheers:
 
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