UPS review: Poor service 24

I placed an order for the Shark Navigator vaccuum last week and the only shipping option was "Best Carrier", for which Euro-Pro billed me $55.85. The shipping notification email I received last night listed four UPS "Tracking Numbers". Only one seemed to be valid, showing delivery of a package scheduled for today, which I did receive. When I checked this evening for the remainder of the order, the UPS website was unable to provide any information for any of the remaining 3 tracking numbers I'd been send.

Frankly, it looks like online marketers are using this lame "UPS Basic" as a way to "milk" extra profit by charging the full UPS ground rate and then shipping via UPS Basic. In short, we are getting robbed the difference in postage and USPS is getting abused by UPS. My recommendation is to not purchase from ANY company that will not give YOU (the customer) the choice of carrier and charge rate for your delivery. If the seller is unwilling to do so, take your business elsewhere. In my case, I could have saved the shipping by buying the same product at Walmart.

I have been getting several of my children's clothes I have ordered over the internet from Childrens Place, Gymboree, and Crazy 8 that have shipped with this method. When I called the companies to complain about how much longer it takes to get my order, I was told that the shipping time has been changed on site to reflect this. I am sure not getting the shipping charges reflecting this. I am still paying the same shipping charges for less quality shipping. When I get the clothes now, they are stuffed into a shipping bag instead of a box and stuffed into my mail box with the rest of the mail and the items are all wrinkled. I then am forced to wash and iron them before my kids can wear them. This method just STINKS! I think I will just venture out into the stores from now on to shop for things if this is the quality of shipping I am going to get.

I too have been noticing that items I order are being shipped this method and they end up taking much, much longer than if it had been a UPS direct to me or even a USPS to me. The packages seem to be delayed in the transfer part of the delivery, the UPS to USPS transfer. I have had packages actually sit for days before they proceed on their way with USPS. I HATE when these deliveries happen and have tried complaining to the various shopping sites to no avail. And there doesn't seem to be any pattern to this so I can't even figure out how to work around the delivery issue. Some packages come fine and others, many others, are delayed. I am beginning to not like UPS at all because of this and encourage people to just use fedex or usps when mailing and bypass UPS completely.

I agree with all the above comments. I just encountered this when I placed a large order with VitaCost, I e-mailed them with my dissatisfaction with this shipping method. Next time I will go to my local vitamin shop. JC Penney is also shipping this way, so anything I order from them in the future I'll have shipped to the store.

I had a similar problem! Basically though it was sent basic-1 which means that UPS makes the final delivery versus basic-2 which meants USPS makes the final delivery. Sounds great but it still took longer, plus besides my billing problem issues w/the sender UPS NEVER DELIVERED! Online said it was at my door but it was not there when I got home. Could someone else have taken it? yeah sure. Have I ever had this problem w/UPS when I get my ground or 2nd day pax? No! Of course I am usually at home when they arrive. I had BASIC-2 before and USPS delivered it just fine (but very slow)..

The one day I am not here for a delivery and then this happens, and I got home only 45 mins. after delivery but did not realize delivery was "made" until late in the evening so now I am stuck waiting until Monday to deal w/this b/c it is a Basic delivery I have to wait for the shipper (whom I do not plan on doing business with again due to billing errors) to call UPS about it. When I call UPS it is not good enough apparently. I am really disappointed all around. I will still keep using UPS though for my deliveries but I had a package I was going to send out this weekend. Guess what I am heading to the USPS instead! UPS just lost some of my business b/c of this basic bs.

Shipping Rates and Policies
ULTA.com ships to Continental U.S., Alaska, Hawaii, U.S.Territories, PO Boxes, and APO / FPO addresses. ULTA.com does not ship to international locations.

FREE Shipping Promotions
•Orders qualifying for FREE or discounted shipping promotions are shipped via our Standard Shipping service only.
•FREE or discounted shipping is awarded when the merchandise total (excluding taxes and gift cards purchased) is over the dollar amount in the promotional copy. All denominations of Gift Card purchased-only orders ship FREE
•FREE or discounted shipping is available in the continental U.S. only, and excludes PO Boxes and oversized packages.
Shipping Methods, Costs, and Delivery Times

Shipping Method Shipping Cost ULTA Processing Time Carrier Transit Time TOTAL DELIVERY TIME
Standard Shipping $5.95 1 to 2 business days 1 to 6 business days 2 to 8 business days
UPS 2nd Day Air $9.95 1 to 2 business days 2 business days 3 to 4 business days
UPS Next Day Air $16.95 1 to 2 business days 1 business day 2 to 3 business days

STANDARD SHIPPING = UPS BASIC! DON"T BE FOOLED AND DON"T BE FOOLISH LIKE I WAS! Thanks for nothing but lies Ulta.com You owe me!

UPS and Ulta came through the 2nd time around, but I had to actually call Ulta.com, so forget about emailing them! I think someone stole the 1st package since it says ULTA.COM in big letters on the side of the box, so anyone who saw the driver drop it off at my door would know generally what was in it. Kudos to UPS and to Ulta.com service for resolving my first issue, although I am waiting for a refund due to their website overcharging me and it says it takes "30 business days" or 2 biling cycles to get a refund. Hopefully this is just a worst case scenario.
I have never mailed with UPS basic but I use UPS all the time so I will keep using them and UPS came through for me the 2nd time. Ulta.com should not ship with ULTA.com in huge letters on the side of their box. That is just silly and inviting someone to take the box...

I've never heard of UPS Basic, but Pea in the Pod used it to ship a gift I bought on their website and it is taking MUCH MUCH longer than the usual time to have something delivered when ordered online. I am going to steer away from retailers that use this service. It's really not appropriate in this day and age.

Just an fyi, I found an article back in 2003 when UPS started doing this. Here are some snipits:

"The new service, called UPS Basic, is designed to steal some of the post office's biggest customers, especially mail-order merchants that often avoided UPS because of its comparatively steep rates. UPS Basic, which has angered post-office officials and UPS's own Teamsters union, exploits a postal discount program that was designed for very different purposes. Because of the discount, customers pay UPS less for its new service than if they went straight to the post office."

"The big customers that UPS is targeting can either ship through consolidators, or pay for higher-cost services offered by the post office or private shippers such as UPS. Under UPS's new service, the company will act as its own consolidator, carrying shipments by truck to its sorting hubs and then either delivering the items itself or dropping them off at a post office for the final leg. UPS will pay the Postal Service established rates set for Parcel Select.

UPS won't disclose its rates for UPS Basic, which are being negotiated individually with major shippers. Those deliveries, unlike UPS's regular ground shipments, have no money-back guarantee and will take longer to arrive.

For a one-pound, Los Angeles-to-San Diego ground shipment, a regular UPS customer typically pays $4.54 for delivery to a residential address, with delivery guaranteed by the end of the next day. The same shipment sent by the post office's Priority Mail costs $3.85 and would probably arrive in one day, but with no money-back guarantee. A consolidator charges $3 or less, said Doug Caldwell, an analyst at AFMS Transportation Management Group, a Portland, Ore., consulting firm that helps negotiate delivery contracts. The consolidator, which negotiates delivery schedules with each customer, would pay the Postal Service a fixed rate of $2.01 to handle the final delivery and keep whatever is left over."

So basically this service is to attract those businesses that don't really care about speed, but rather cost. Then they can offer us a relatively low shipping rate, then be vague on details about when you will receive your package (making a small profit i'm sure) so that it seems like you are getting a great deal when you see that low rate and specified UPS as the shipping method. Most people are unaware of what this BASIC method is, and difficult to find out info on the UPS site so we'll think we'll get our package fairly quickly, eventhough the fine print may say 8-10 days delivery.

My advice is if you see UPS delivery as a shipping method with a very low cost WITH the added estimated shipping delivery of anything over say 4 days for domestic then its probably this BASIC method they will be using and you might consider paying the few dollars more for the UPS service you are more or less expecting.

I like UPS Basic, as many companies use UPS or FedEx, which won't deliver to P.O. boxes -- which UPS Basic does, because of that lest step through the postal service.

It's a godsend for those of us who don't want to wait around the house all day for a delivery, and don't want the package left next to the door for every passerby to see.

I appreciate UPS Basic.

Most companies refuse to acknowledge the existence of post office boxes, and only the USPS will deliver to them.

For those of who don't want to sit around the house all day waiting for a delivery, or don't want the package left next to the front door for passersby to see, it's a godsend -- that last step, from United Parcel to the USPS, means that they will deliver to boxes. I wish all companies would offer the service.

I have had far better luck with UPS Basic delivery than any other UPS delivery method. Why? Our UPS drivers seem to just dump packages at whatever address they feel is close to the correct one. Our addresses are all on our mail boxes with large numbers and we are not in a huge obscure subdivision either. I get my neighbors UPS packages all the time and I have to go on a treasure hunt to find mine all too often. UPS has dumped my packages at an abandoned house 3 houses down the street ! And, one of my neighbors just throws away any packages UPS delivers to him that are not his. Complaining to UPS has no effect. But, with UPS delivering my packages to the USPS building, who then delivers them to the house, it cuts out the dyslexic, incompetent, UPS drivers from the loop. Yeah, it takes a day or two longer, but it works.

ups offers basic service because the post office is willing to deliver it and lose money, tax payer subsidy. as far as the ups idiot comments... ups is an equal opportunity employer which means they too must hire their share of idiots and I'm quite sure that some of your co workers or customers find you to be a stupid incompetant babbling buffoon at times, but if you're really hacked off try to kick a ups drivers butt and see how that works for you poindexter.

I recently had an experience where UPS handed off to USPS. This is the first time for me and I order quite often and for years. This was my 3rd order from the same company and the first time I ordered military surplus and the first hand off to USPS. Call me suspicious but I believe it is a domestic spying tactic. My military surplus was some beat up old leather belts that I thought looked cool and a pair of hunting shorts. Check out this info and you will get an eyeful. Read all of it
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surveillance

with the volume of packages going thru the USPS multiple packages often times do get separated. Your letter carrier is the last person to touch the package. So why would you blame them. They may have never gotten the last one.

UPS basic is just the shippers way of cheating the customer. It is the cheapest option for shipping. UPS has created this service level because of the economical advantage to the shipper and in turn the shipper does NOT usually pass on the savings to the receiver. Then customers call UPS upset like UPS did something wrong. To UPS the shipper (the company or person that is sending the product) is their customer because they are the one in a contract with UPS. They are the ones paying UPS. The reciever (the one recieving the package) is not the UPS customer.

I too have been screwed by this ups to USPS transfer ### and did not know until yesterday. I bought something from eBay, and my only shipping options were different pricing, not carriers. When i finally found out that it was being shipped ups, i started tracking with the UPS 1Z tracking number. Everything was fine, my package arrived here in my city, but then...WTF? Package transferred to USPS post office? WTF? No delivery date, just bend over and take it. Sorry MF's will never get my business again if there is ever a hint od this swap around bull ###. UPS and USPS BOTH get paid shipping charges that's why my shipping was $25. Sorry MF's!
YES I'M PISSED OFF AND THE SELLER IS GONNA HEAR IT! Buyer beware as UPS and USPS is gettin in your underwear! Feel that little pokin goin on? Ya they are stickin it to us... sorry SOB's

UPS is the worst company ... they fail on a daily base on delivering on time packages. When there tracking says they will deliver by end of day we can usually count on not receiving the package. If I could stop my vendor from using ups I would ...
The worst of the worst on customer service as well on hold for over 30 minutes and there automated system is terrible .

UPS gives us the run around on who will be responsible for the damaged packaged we shipped. UPS are pointing fingers, the corporate and the franchised store. Our packaged was damaged upon delivery and we bought an "additional insurance, " per the clerk at the Bakersfield White Lane UPS Store. Now, when we called the corporate Damaged Dept, Paul said that UPS does not have an "insurance" only declared value? They are misrepresenting additional fees as insurance and corporate are blaming it on the franchised store and not the corporate. He said we should have contacted the shipper (not us), the UPS store item was shipped, which we did, and the store advised us to call. We are mistaken that we have shipped our package at UPS, we thought, our package will be handled properly, packaged has been securely packaged. We never received a call from the store nor the corporate to discuss about the claim. Paul said that we should have kept following up and leave the package to where it was delivered. They never scheduled inspection. They clearly just do not want to take the responsibility.

this is probably one of the worst shipping companies I have ever has the pleasure to deal with. I am a small business in Western Pennsylvania. My store manager indicated he got a call from UPS about an overdue invoice. I set up auto-pay on the shipping account in early 2017 utilizing my Discover card. Never issues experienced. In October, had a shipment process and was invoiced for just over $ 20.00. They claim the card was declined. Dont know why 18, 000.00 limit and only 4, 000.00 on it, but who am I. Billed me $ 10.00 for a 'declined' credit card fee. December 1, tried the same card again... Probably have wrong expiration date on their end, charge me another $ 10.00. no invoices mailed or E-mailed. Call comes on December 7, 2018. I called them right back on December 7, 2018. All of the operators are foreign. He becomes argumentative and refused to listen to common sense concerning the account. I told him to have a supervisor call because one is 'not' available right now due to meetings. 7PM, I call them back. They are closed. It has been over 7 hours since I called. Must have been a really long meeting. December 8, 2018, they try the SAME credit card again... and charge me $ 10.60. You idiots. If it did not go through the first time, why would you try to use it again. Obviously, your system has the wrong expiration date or wrong information (They do change) Again, without any notice.
Called up again this morning. Was told that the supervisor was yet again busy in another meeting. Told them I would pay the original shipping amount but they could sue me for these 'returned credit card' fees. I want this shipping account closed. It is unfathomable to me that the corporation like this would violate consumers in this way. Plan on complaining to the credit card processors concerning violations of their rules for excessive fees. As a retailer, I know there is no fee assessed for 'Declined' credit cards.

I am sick, at home. I have been waiting for medical supplies that were sent via UPS with signature required. This is a 2 story house and I was upstairs. The doorbell is located upstairs and is very loud. I walk downstairs and look through the glass on the front door and see a note. "Sorry we missed you"! They NEVER rang the doorbell. Don't these idiots know what a doorbell is? Now the next delivery attempt will be 1/2/2019. I need my medicine. Now my options are to either drive out in the cold sick, Its 23 degrees in Boise today, or do without my meds for four more days, neither is a good option.
Try calling UPS and you will find they do NOT want to talk to you. If none of the three options they give you, which all are only going to take you to another automated menu and then another until you want to scream "Why can't I speak to a real person!" If you don't pit in a tracking number they apologize and tell you to find the information they want and try again then abruptly hang up on you!
What the hell ever happened to customer service, wanting to talk to you, and competition? How did we ever enable these people to treat us so badly? Why isn't there another competitor that can deliver packages and yet still understand customers are important and you need to speak to them if you want to stay in business?

My former UPS driver was the best. We loved him. This is how we get things now... and that's on a good day. They have also been shoved into a bush and leaned up against a bush (in the snow... laptop computer). I complained. Response was that they would talk to the driver. Didn't resonate with him!

Oh, the footprints are mine... I think he simply leaned out of his truck.

Terrible service Terrible customer service. Packages shipped from Amazon with 2 day delivery are now taking 5 days. When you check on a delivery UPS customer service says it out for delivery today and should be delivered by the "end of day".
I now have 2 different packages out for delivery for 3 consecutive days. The answer today was my packages are 396 out of 500 packages out for delivery on this truck and will probably not be delivered but will go back out on the next "business day". I live only 8 miles from the UPS facility. You think someone from UPS Management would use a dedicated vehicle for overdue 2 day package delivery. Guess they just don't care. Company motto should be "When it doesn't have to get there send it UPS but pay the big shipping fees. "

In the last month I had 3 bad experiences with UPS...I order perishable seafood from MD to be shipped to Florida, delivered 3 days late...box dripping wet left on my front porch, $235 worth crabs ruined...next ordered car parts that I needed, shipped by UPS, waiting, watching tracking, wasn't looking good, but tracking still said in time, didn't come the delivery date, i was told updated delivery date would be sent soon, item showed up 3 days late, box looked like it went through WW 3...this week same thing, still waiting for another item that was supposed be delivered 3 days ago...I buy online and do not choose UPS, it the s

Sellers choice, probably because UPS is cheap. I'm advising sellers to use Fed x and Ill pay the difference, UPS should not be allowed to handle anyones delivery without prior consent, they are that bad!