RECENTLY there was a problem with a UPS shippment made to a customer in Southern California. The crux of it is, the delivery truck was hi-jacked and all the content was lost. The customer contacted me to let me know and to have a new shippment of materials sent to them.

I shipped out the replacement materials and placed a claim against the lost items – I PURCHASED INSURANCE TO COVER THE COST OF THE SHIPPED MATERIALS TO BOOT. After several emails with the company I use for shipping I received a check from UPS for a FRACTION of the cost of the purchased insured cost of the materials! And to top that there is no information to discuss how they came up with the amount they sent or why. Remember, this is a UPS issue – not the receiver or the shipper – me!

I use a service that specializes in shipping for pro shop types of businesses. But all of the processing for the claim is done at UPS! So, the shipper and the receiver are put in the middle of a no mans land of wasted process and delays from UPS.

IN the future I will look at alternatives for sending items to you all. Most likley I will not be using UPS. I saw them as an alternative to the US Post Office, but that was wrong headed thinking on my part. And in a lot of cases USPS is less expensive. I thought UPS and the insurance they provide was a responsible approach.

However, UPS does not honor those arrangements.

UPDATE: After a lot of waiting and the email processes, I received a payment from the company I ship with and the afformenned check from UPS. The total between the two came close to the origional cost to me. However, I ended up paying the shipping cost twice! So, between the lost time and sending out the replacment parts to the customer, the net wash was a loss for my shop. If this sounds like wining, remember this blog if you find yourself in the same position. In fact one company I spoke with has told me they stopped using UPS because of the lack of ownership UPS has for their services. They now use FedEx and have not had any of the same problems. It is a crap shoot for small businesses in the world of shipping!