Argh! UPS and my 24-70L..

[doubleo6point9]

Frustration to no end with UPS because I could end up short a $1000 or my 24-70L!!!!:evil:

Should probably start from the beginning when I decided to take the leap and purchased a 24-70L from B&H around the middle of last month. Prior to picking up the 24-70L I had taken a few trips to a local Wolf Camera with my memory card to compare the 24-70 with the 17-55 2.8 IS and found that the extra weight of the 24-70 wasn't a problem and I wanted the extra reach of the 24-70 for use as a walkaround/portrait lens. Long story short, I decided on the 24-70 because the samples I took were just as sharp as the 17-55 and I liked the colors from the L better than I did the 17-55 so I placed an order with B&H.

Anyways, fast foward a week or so to when I received the 24-70 and took a few sample shots. The lens was sharp from the 35-70 range wide open but seemed soft wide open at 24. I didn't get worked up about it because I hadn't had the opportunity to take any real world shots yet so I kept the lens for about 12 days before I was finally able to put it to use and saw how soft it was at the wide end. When I compared them to the test shots of the sample copy in the store I was real dissapointed with my copy so I called B&H to see if I could get an exchange. They were more than glad to do so and gave me an RMA # with a label for return shipping the very same day.

Things pretty much went downhill from here. I took the lens to the local UPS store this last monday to have it shipped out and I figured everything would be ok from here on out. Well not quite so. I decided to check up on the package yesterday to see when it would arrive at B&H and saw that it said "billing information received" as the status. I was a bit confused by that since the packaged had already been dropped off so I called UPS today to find out what was going on. After giving them the tracking number I was told that the package hasn't been picked up yet. I told them that couldn't be right because I dropped the package off at the local UPS store on Monday. They told me they had no furthur info on the package and to call the UPS store to see if they had sent it off. Well after a call to the UPS store the owner tells me that he has no information on it and he never received it. Well at this point you can imagine how I was beginning to feel and told him that couldn't be right. He told me that he didn't know what else he could do and that I should call UPS again. So once again I call UPS and inform them about my situation. They start a trace at this point and i'm talking to some lady about the package and she informs me that I should contact the UPS store once again to see if they had any documentation on whether or not the package was picked up by the driver or not. She also informs me that they can't do much for me until then and that I should call them back when I get that confirmation from the UPS store so she can start a trace. As you can imagine I'm starting to get a bit frustrated at this point when I receive a call from the UPS store owner again and take his call while putting the UPS rep on hold. The store owner then asks me to re-read my tracking # to him and he realizes that he mistook my F for an S and re-entered it in his system. At this point it does show up as being dropped off at his store and picked up. With this bit of news I get back on the horn (after being disconnected) with UPS and then they change their tune by telling me that they can't do anything at this point still and that I now need to contact the UPS store once more and have them start the trace(takes up to 8 business days) to find out what happened to the package. Unfortunately the UPS store had already closed so I wasn't able to make the trip down there today to start the trace. What makes it worse is that I leave for a 4 day work trip tomorrow morning so I might not even be able to make it there in person to deal with this.

So now this is what it all boils down to according to the UPS rep on the phone. I tried to get a timeline for how long this might take because i'd like to have my lens by Memorial Day weekend and I was told absolutely nothing useful other than it takes 8 days to finish the trace. I was basically informed that they can't do anything until I prove that the driver had picked up the package so that they can start the trace. I was also told by the second rep that the UPS store owner must start the trace and after the 8 days they'll get back to him to work things out. So even if they figure out that the driver did pick up the package and the package is missing, they haven't guaranteed anything with regards to a timeline or refund or insurance claim with regards to my package. So in the end, it all depends on whether or not the UPS store owner has the correct info to prove to UPS that I did drop off that package otherwise I might be out $1000 bucks and my 24-70L!!!!!!!:evil:

[Master Mason]

you should have documentation that you dropped it at the store. That should be all that you need, your not responsible for the hand off from the store to the driver, you did your job when you paid your fee and got your reciept. That is if you insured it.....

[doubleo6point9]

you should have documentation that you dropped it at the store. That should be all that you need, your not responsible for the hand off from the store to the driver, you did your job when you paid your fee and got your reciept. That is if you insured it.....

Supposedly the UPS store owner has some sort of documentation stating that I dropped off the package. Though realistically, there's no real way for me to prove that other than what he has in his system. I'm pretty sure that I do remember seeing him scan the barcode for the packing slip before he took it out back. Personally i'm more worried about getting the run around with all this because I get the feeling that UPS might claim that their driver never picked it up so it's the UPS store owner's fault and vice versa. As far as it being insured, it should be because B&H paid for the return shipping when they emailed me the shipping label.

[tough_dog]

I'm sorry to hear of your troubles with the 24-70. According to PhotoZone, this lens has a wide range of copy variability, which you obviously experienced. I had two copies of the 24-105, with one being much better optically and both front-focusing.

Regarding your UPS problem, did you receive a paper receipt from UPS? Otherwise, do you have a copy of the shipping label provided by B&H (perhaps you printed it). If you just dropped off the package using B&H's shipping label then B&H should be able to track the package - call them and ask. Good Luck.

[Kraig C]

Tell bh that you want a replacement shipped to you via fedex ground insured signiture required, or usps priority mail/insured delivery confirmation etc. And tell them that UPS lost the other one and for them to do the trace at their lesure but you must have a replacement before the holiday.

[darktiger]

That sucks, hope it works out for you.... UPS has gotten bad over the years. They are catching up with USPS...

[turbodude]

I am an asst mgr at a UPS call center. So i can help explaint the situation. The reason UPS keepd telling you to check with the UPS store is due to the UPS store being the drop off point. They know the details of when their driver came on a certain day, as well as whats the drivers name, how many packages went with the shipment etc... A trace last from 1-8 bus days due to the nature of the search. We check numerous lost and found dept called overgoods, we also check Hold rooms at the center as well as 17 different searches after interviewing both parties. I'm sorry to hear about your situation if you would like i can go a little bit further in searching for you if you'd like. But normally if its a situation where the UPS store has documentation that it was picked up, than your claim will be entered in as soon as that doc is received, because typical manifest traces end quickly due to either Shipper error (not shipping it out), or losing the pkg between stops on drivers route. Have you tried contacting B&H to make sure they haven;t received the pkg?

[SuzyView]

When I drop off my packages at any of the UPS stops (usually Office Depot or Staples near my home), they give me a receipt. Because B&H gave you a label, you don't get a receipt for it?

[Leorooster]

When I drop off my packages at any of the UPS stops (usually Office Depot or Staples near my home), they give me a receipt. Because B&H gave you a label, you don't get a receipt for it?


I don't normally get a receipt or proof of drop off when prepaid label is used and the drop off point is one of the UPS Stores (and the worst thing is that UPS Stores are not owned by UPS :( ). I always wonder why..........and I worry about lossing the package every time!!!

Sorry to hear the sad story, Doubleo6point9! Good luck on the trace :)

[cdhender]

I can see how if they give you a prepaid label you wouldn't have a receipt. Wow, that's something I need to remember next time I return something. Hope it works out man..

[snokid]

I'm sorry to say but I think B&H screwed up.

They should of issued a "call tag", not a prepaid shippinng label.

A call tag is given to the driver and he pick's the package up from you and gives you a receipt.

a prepaid shipping label is just like a postal stamp. Drop it off anywhere ups ships out, no receipt.

Bob

[turbodude]

Anytime you give anyone a pkg you should always get a receipt, even if you hand it off to teh driver, document the time where and drivers ame.

[DizzyV6P]

If it was scanned at the counter. It's in the system. Period. The UPS owner should have no trouble locating the info on it and forwarding that to UPS Main to do a trace. You stated that the owner said it was dropped off at the store and picked-up by the driver. Nuff Said. it's in the system and only a trace will get this resolved.

My company uses UPS exclusively and are quite used to things being lost on occasion. Ironically, we jumped from FEDEx to UPS precisely because they lost even more stuff. Go figure. At least no one beats USPS in losing stuff yet.

Good luck w/ the trace! Did you call B&H yet?

[italypa99]

Supposedly the UPS store owner has some sort of documentation stating that I dropped off the package. Though realistically, there's no real way for me to prove that other than what he has in his system. I'm pretty sure that I do remember seeing him scan the barcode for the packing slip before he took it out back. Personally i'm more worried about getting the run around with all this because I get the feeling that UPS might claim that their driver never picked it up so it's the UPS store owner's fault and vice versa. As far as it being insured, it should be because B&H paid for the return shipping when they emailed me the shipping label.


i have shipped things with UPS before and everytime i have done it they give me a slip saying what happend and what kind of shipping method i used and whatnot your sure they didnt give you anything ?? thats odd

[Leorooster]

Anytime you give anyone a pkg you should always get a receipt, even if you hand it off to teh driver, document the time where and drivers ame.

That's what I thought........but with the UPS Stores, they just don't care. You just don't get a receipt from them. I tried many times getting a receipt, but they said no receipt would be issued. It's not just one, but I've tried a few in NYC and they all don't issue receipt :(

[Leorooster]

If it was scanned at the counter. It's in the system. Period. The UPS owner should have no trouble locating the info on it and forwarding that to UPS Main to do a trace. You stated that the owner said it was dropped off at the store and picked-up by the driver. Nuff Said. it's in the system and only a trace will get this resolved.

My company uses UPS exclusively and are quite used to things being lost on occasion. Ironically, we jumped from FEDEx to UPS precisely because they lost even more stuff. Go figure. At least no one beats USPS in losing stuff yet.

Good luck w/ the trace! Did you call B&H yet?

If the package is scanned, then no questions at all. The problem is that UPS Stores don't always scan the packages right away. If you are in NYC, with the volume they have, no way that they could scan all packages right away. They just put them on the side and scan them when they have time. The worst part is that their systems don't connect to the UPS system. Go figure!!! That's why I hate dropping off at those UPS Stores. Dealing directly with UPS is much better though :)

[DaveL]

That's what I thought........but with the UPS Stores, they just don't care. You just don't get a receipt from them. I tried many times getting a receipt, but they said no receipt would be issued. It's not just one, but I've tried a few in NYC and they all don't issue receipt :(


I would not leave the store without a receipt, tracker etc. Even if they
have to make a xerox of the shipping label and have the counter person
sign it (and print their name as well)

If they cannot provide that, use another carrier, even the post office
gives you receipts and slips for insurance and delivery confirmation

[snokid]

Anytime you give anyone a pkg you should always get a receipt, even if you hand it off to teh driver, document the time where and drivers ame.


Sorry that will get you nowhere!!!

So you give it to bill on tuesday march 19th. How many people do you think bill see's in one day? Now how is he going to remember a few weeks ago.

You have to get a real receipt plain and simple.

If you have a prepaid label you don't have any kind of receipt, period. Those labels are used to send used ink tanks back and other cheap stuff.

Would you drop off your lens to a walmart door greater? With the hopes that next week when you come in they will remember that you dropped off the lens and give you a refund?

Spend the 20.00 to ship it out with insurance and let B&H pay you back or eat it and get a good copy of your lens.

Bob

[snokid]

I would not leave the store without a receipt, tracker etc. Even if they
have to make a xerox of the shipping label and have the counter person
sign it (and print their name as well)

If they cannot provide that, use another carrier, even the post office
gives you receipts and slips for insurance and delivery confirmation


if you just put a stamp on letter and hand it to the counter person, do you think they would scan the letter then sign that they took it?

You are asking too much from a counter person.

if you pay for the shipping you get the receipt no problems.

Bob

[turbodude]

Sorry that will get you nowhere!!!

So you give it to bill on tuesday march 19th. How many people do you think bill see's in one day? Now how is he going to remember a few weeks ago.

You have to get a real receipt plain and simple.

If you have a prepaid label you don't have any kind of receipt, period. Those labels are used to send used ink tanks back and other cheap stuff.

Would you drop off your lens to a walmart door greater? With the hopes that next week when you come in they will remember that you dropped off the lens and give you a refund?

Spend the 20.00 to ship it out with insurance and let B&H pay you back or eat it and get a good copy of your lens.

Bob

I'm sorry but speaking from experience, and using UPS's PAl system and ett, i have found countless pkgs just because someone had the drivers name and and day they gave it to him. Because i can then look up his/her route that day, how many pkgs he picked up so it narrows my haystack a tad bit from 15 million to 160 pkgs. Anything helps, even size weight color, any distinguishing marks.

[snokid]

I'm sorry but speaking from experience, and using UPS's PAl system and ett, i have found countless pkgs just because someone had the drivers name and and day they gave it to him. Because i can then look up his/her route that day, how many pkgs he picked up so it narrows my haystack a tad bit from 15 million to 160 pkgs. Anything helps, even size weight color, any distinguishing marks.



So the OP got the name of the clerk at the ups store.

What does UPS know about the box?

Lets see it was at the store.
The driver may of picked it up.
When the driver get's back to the building the truck is emptied.
The box is never scanned anywhere.

Well they can look thru the boxes that don't have labels or have bad address's and see if it might be there.

Still boils down to B&H screwing up.

Bob

[turbodude]

So the OP got the name of the clerk at the ups store.

What does UPS know about the box?

Lets see it was at the store.
The driver may of picked it up.
When the driver get's back to the building the truck is emptied.
The box is never scanned anywhere.

Well they can look thru the boxes that don't have labels or have bad address's and see if it might be there.

Still boils down to B&H screwing up.

Bob

Nope it means its UPS error. If the UPS store can provide date and time pkg was given then it was UPS fault for losing teh pkg therfore Claim will be issued. You are looking at the situation and tryign to find teh wrongs, in my eyes i need to determine what happened so my company can issue a claim or find such pkg.

Another scenario of which i have seen happened. Call tag issued picked up and not scanned and now is no where to be found, so who's fault is it then, again if driver did not scan its ups error. And results in typical claim. Resolution is what we look for, not just blaming someone.

If the UPS store states they gave the pkg to their UPS driver, then we will take their word for it. And then we do our shipper, 3rd party, and received phone interviews, and additional searches and then continue on with the Claim if everything is how it was stated. If driver states that he never picked up teh pkg further investigation will have to looked into regarding the UPS store's pick record, and determine from there.

[Marydoright]

man.........terrible!

UPS lost a camera and a printer i bought for my mom for xmas.....that was back on Dec 16th....if you look up the tracking number today, it still says en route and on time for 2 day air delivery and here it is May 4th! LOL They drove it to the airport, and from there the package disappeared and obviously never updated the system.....luckily I got a refund, but still! When I ship back to B&H, I use Fed Ex and insure it and they give me 2 receipts as proof. And, you always worry especially when your dealing with $1000 or more (just shipped back the 70-200 f/4 IS but it got to B&H just fine thank goodness)! I hope it all works out for you......it isnt your fault or problem, and I hope they dont treat you as if it is. Hope you get the replacement soon....I would call B&H!

[snokid]

Nope it means its UPS error. If the UPS store can provide date and time pkg was given then it was UPS fault for losing teh pkg therfore Claim will be issued. You are looking at the situation and tryign to find teh wrongs, in my eyes i need to determine what happened so my company can issue a claim or find such pkg.

Another scenario of which i have seen happened. Call tag issued picked up and not scanned and now is no where to be found, so who's fault is it then, again if driver did not scan its ups error. And results in typical claim. Resolution is what we look for, not just blaming someone.

If the UPS store states they gave the pkg to their UPS driver, then we will take their word for it. And then we do our shipper, 3rd party, and received phone interviews, and additional searches and then continue on with the Claim if everything is how it was stated. If driver states that he never picked up teh pkg further investigation will have to looked into regarding the UPS store's pick record, and determine from there.


First off I have worked for UPS longer than I would like to admit. I have done everything from unloading the semi's to driving the semi's.

A customer gives the driver a package the driver scan's the package with the diad. Boom it's in the system, now you can track the package, and if it doesn't make it to it's next stop then you know where the problem is, and if you are lucky you might find the package.

But at a shipper which a UPS store is, A UPS store is nothing more that someone who has a pick up account and charges the public a percent over what it costs them to ship the package out. The driver is supposed to count the packages as he is loading them into his truck. Do you know how many times I have picked up 2000 packages just from one shipper? Well needless to say they don't always count how many packages they picked up and signed for.

So this poor guy drops his box off with some guy who run's a store that ships out boxes for ups. But the box is next to someone else's boxes that they are picking up. They take the box by mistake, but when they get home they figure out that they have something valuable and keep it.

So you say UPS is just going to believe that just because the OP said he dropped off a box they are going to pay the claim? Sorry doesn't happen.

IF the store scanned the box into their pickup records and the driver signed for them then yes they would pay the claim.


Still standing by my stance that B&H messed up, by sending a prepaid label.

they could of done it several different ways and still covered their customers risk of loss...

Bob

[GBRandy]

I ship a lot via UPS. My driver will not leave the parking lot without providing the receipt of the days pick-ups.

My UPS store will not let me leave...even if I am rude and in a hurry...without making me wait for my receipt of what i just dropped off.

Seems you should have something from that UPS Store indicating date, time, package and service requested when you dropped it off. Good luck man....

[Croasdail]

I agree, I don't use UPS anymore. They have denied claims on damaged shipments that were even double boxed.... the insurance is useless. And I have personal loyalties user as I worked my way through college working for UPS. Pretty sad state. I can't believe the run around you have gotten. At a minimum it should have shown the scan at origin. UPS should have been able to see that.. and likely did see either the scan or lack there of. Why it took you so many calls to simply verify that simple step is beyond me. We pulled more then a million dollars in shipping from them and moved our business to DHL and Fedex a couple of years ago.

[snokid]

I ship a lot via UPS. My driver will not leave the parking lot without providing the receipt of the days pick-ups.

My UPS store will not let me leave...even if I am rude and in a hurry...without making me wait for my receipt of what i just dropped off.

Seems you should have something from that UPS Store indicating date, time, package and service requested when you dropped it off. Good luck man....


You are talking appples and oranges here.

The driver doesn't leave your parking lot without signing your book because you are promising to pay for the shipping of your packages.

at the ups store same story as going to walmart they hand you a receipt.

But the OP had a "prepaid label"

What a prepaid label is is nothing more than a stamp, just like the post office

B&H prints off a label just like they do when they are shipping you something, but this time they put B&H in the to address instead of you. Now they send you this label somehow. You now have this free shipping label you attach it to the package and drop it off at your nearest "mail box" just like a letter you don't get a receipt.

Bob

[Captain Mantastic]

i be interested to know if he actually called B&H to see if it had arrived. i have shipped stuff and received stuff that said it hadn't left the origin place yet and then the shipping guys walk over to my cubicle and drop my box off just as i am wondering why my package has left the drop off site. Seems that the trackign program can get messed up sometimes or not updated.. this has happened for USPS and FedEx as well, especially on over night stuff. seems that the packages go quicker than the system updates sometimes.

[cosworth]

Tell me people, reading this - does it make you think all this hassle was worth not buying locally?

[doubleo6point9]

Ok so a lot of responses so i'll just try to cover it all in one post.

First of all, I was able to make it into the UPS store today and talked with the owner who took my package from me on Monday. He was able to provide a slip for me stating that my package was picked up by the UPS driver with 5 other packages that day. He then told me that he wasn't able to start a trace like the previous UPS rep said and that i'd have to call them again to work that out. I was a bit annoyed by the run around again at this point but because I now had proof that the packaged was dropped off I gave UPS a call right there and finally was able to get a somewhat satisfactory answer about things. After explaining my situation (I wish they would offer some way of keeping track of my situation without having to explain the story everytime I call) and being put on hold multiple times I was finally given the answer that my package is scheduled to arrive on Monday so they weren't going to do anything until then to see if the package might arrive. After which, if it doesn't arrive I'm supposed to call UPS once again to start the trace and wait for up to 8 days to see if they can find the package (why couldn't they have told me this yesterday? I dont' know!?!). I was finally told that if the package wasn't found after those 8 days I would have to contact B&H to have them file a claim about the lost package and then wait it out. How long that might take, well she never gave me a definate answer so i'm still in limbo with that regards.

Anyways, after that the UPS store owner told me that he didn't know how they could lose a larger package like that because they typically misplace the smaller items. Not sure what to think about that but it didn't really make me anymore confident in things. At this point I placed a call to B&H and explained my situation to them. They told me to wait it out till the package is supposed to arrive and see what happens then. I was also told that they could not ship out another lens to replace this one until the entire process was finished. They said the only other option for me was to go ahead and purchase another lens then have them refund it once they find this lens or solve this issue. Not a very good option since I just don't have $1100 sitting around waiting to be spent.

So that's where i'm at. Sit it out and wait to see if it shows up at B&H on Monday. If it doesn't then I have to sit it out and wait up to another 8 business days just to see if they find the lens. God knows how long this whole ordeal might take between that and me actually getting a lens back. Truthfully the one thing that pisses me off the most about this situation is how I was given the run around yesterday by UPS. It seemed as if they were trying to place the blame on the UPS store and were unwilling to do anything beyond entering the tracking # into the system to check on where the package was at until I could prove to them that it was their fault. And judging by how things went today, they could have just given me the same answer that they gave me today yesterday because the only new info I offered to them today was the fact that the UPS store owner gave me a slip indicating that the package was picked up. Maybe it's because I don't know how things work at UPS but it seems as if a little bit of customer service could have gone a long way into clarifying things for me without making me think that I just screwed myself because I had no way of proving that the packaged was dropped off.

Oh and with regards to the receipt. Well when I dropped off the package I asked the owner if there was anything else I needed and was told no. Maybe i'm a fool (fool me once but hopefully not twice!) because I didn't think to ask about a receipt, but that never crossed my mind since I had a pre-printed/paid label from B&H that only had to be scanned. As I said earlier, I was pretty sure the owner had scanned the package before taking it into the back but was concerned when he intially told me he had no information on the package being dropped off at his store on my first call. I was lucky that he thought he might have copied the tracking # incorrectly and called me back to doublecheck when he found the error and proof showing that the package was scanned and picked up.

Anyways that's pretty much it for now. Also, Turbodude, I appreciate your offer and i'll be sending you a pm with my tracking # to see if you might be able to help me out in anyway.

[doubleo6point9]

Ok another update. Since I just arrived at my hotel I was I finally able to check my voicemail and received a message from the UPS store owner saying that he did a bit of searching and said that the package has now shown up on the system. He said that he was glad that it finally showed up but wasn't surprised by UPS's customer service. Go figure. Maybe I overreacted but it's kind of hard not to after your package doesn't even show up as being picked up by the UPS driver 4 days later with no real help from UPS.