Western Railroad Discussion > Need help tracking a FedEx trailer on the transcontinen

Ok guys, this is a strange request. I am looking for someone that might be able to snap a photo of a FedEx ground trailer 000822660 headed east out of Southern California for the next few days. The prize is not big, but a one year membership. There is a story behind this, remotely railroad related. I am livid mad by the incompetence of FedEx. A helpful local Fedex representative was able to give me a printout of the tracking entry for my package and it showed this as the trailer number. I don't think it will be transferred to another trailer, but it could be. I am under the impression that it will head out of Bloomington, California in this trailer.

Here is the story:

After searching for a year I found a magnetic flagman banner that I purchased from a lady in Maine. I have a magnetic flagman motor, base, and relay box completely rebuilt, but I have been missing the banner which I found.

To get the banner here to California I create a label and sent it to the seller via email. She placed it on the box and I called FedEx to send someone to her house to pick up the package. I gave the customer service rep the address in Maine and they scheduled the pickup. The next day there is a ring at my door and when I open the door there is a FedEx deliveryman asking where the package is. The moron customer service rep sent them to my house in California instead of Maine.

I call FedEx and the rep apologizes and re-schedules the pickup in Maine for the following day. This time nobody showed up at either the Maine pickup point or my house either. The lady with the banner drives the package more than an hour to the nearest dropoff point and off the package goes. End of story... not even close.

The reason nobody picked up the package is because the customer service representative I telephoned put the package as a redirection. Instead of scheduling a pickup in Maine, he scheduled for the package to be returned to the point of origin.

Over the next week the package makes its way to California. It showed up at the Sun Valley facility where they found the redirection order and sent it back. When it got to the intermediate point of Pacoima, they saw it as an error and shipped it back to Sun Valley. For a few days it ping ponged back and fourth. I finally called FedEx and put a hold on it and told them I would pick it up.

Today I went to Sun Valley to get the package only to learn the parcel had finally been put on a truck and shipped back to Maine. Now my magnetic flagman banner is on its way across the country.

As you can imagine I am livid. As my revenge for this whole screwed up situation I am creating a dedicate web site about this experience. I have done this before as I found it quite satisfying. Here is one I did for Disneyland: http://www.dizzyland.info


I don't know if I will ever get my banner back. I sent a fax to the terminal in Maine asking for the package to be sent back to me. I have given up completely on customer service as it is non-existent at FedEx. Attached is a photo of my traveling banner. She has beautiful original lenses in her too. I just want her to make it home.

Here is the tracking for the parcel: https://www.fedex.com/fedextrack/WTRK/index.html?tracknumbers=772103329795&cntry_code=us&fdx=1490

Todd Clark
Canyon Country, CA
Trainorders.com

---

I live next to the transcon on the Seligman sub. give me an estimate of when u think it might hit needles........

66

The key would be to get the # of the conveying flat it is on.

goneon66 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I live next to the transcon on the Seligman sub.
> give me an estimate of when u think it might hit
> needles........
>
> 66

I actually have no idea if it will go past you as it could go south over UP or in the middle of night. It could also get reloaded too. This is like finding a needle in a haystack.

Todd Clark
Canyon Country, CA
Trainorders.com

Todd, it just went by on the Dunsmuir video camera, bound for the North Pole! 8>)

mapboy

North Pole office is redirecting it to Zimbabwe. FedEx in Zimbabwe has already been advised that it was misdirected and will be putting it on a plane to Austrailia. Or maybe a boat. I'm sure they have some kind of river in Zimbabwe that leads to the ocean. Should be at your door.... Well, it'll get there... probably. Maybe you just can't get to California from Maine.

We've all had these things happen. A couple months ago I had two M1 Garrand rifles shipped to me. They were shipped from the same place at the same time from Alabama. I got one. No clue about the other one till I checked on line. One went to Memphis and the other went to St Louis. The second one arrived the next day. Loosing a signal is bad enough. Loosing a firearm that has a serial number that can be traced to you kind of gets your attention. BTW, FedEx was the shipper that time. The Post Office put a letter in my box last week with an address for someone in California. I'm in Louisville, Ky. Wrong state, wrong city, wrong street, wrong name. At least they got it in the box.

Good luck and maybe you'll have a "Merry Christmas."

John

Welcome to the modern world of customer service!

This reminds me of the poor guy who was waiting for a box car delivery and saw his box car go by his facility several times over the course of a few days, but it never stopped. He posted here each time it went by.

Hey, I was going to wait until the 26th to tell him that it won't get to the North Pole until July 12, 2015, give or take a year or two.

No, FedEx people in the field are great. There is no support after the item gets into "System" as you have seen, first hand.

They lost a very time sensitave package for me a year ago. The guy was doing deleveries in a U-Haul truck. Trouble was, after they went past the paid for promised time, they said it was in town. Well, the next day, Friday, they said it would be delevered Monday. A Loooong overnight. What I got a kick out of, on Sat., a plain old car showed up, a guy ran to the house and left the envolope at the front door and took off. I called FedEx and they said the package was delevered on Monday. Lets see its Sat., and they already know its delevered 2 days in the future??? Go Figure.

Its like a lot of outfits. They want your money up front and thats the end of the service. Don't you love some companies, trying to talk to someone in India or wherever. They don't have any command of the english lanuage. I have gotten to the point where I tell them I can't understand what they are saying and will ask for someone that speaks english.

The bad part, there is nobody to complain to or if you write a CEO, its a waist of a stamp. In the "Old" days, if an airline did you dirty, you sent a complaint to CAB and it was done ASAP. Same with Ma Bell and other huge corps.


Wish you luck, keep us posted. And if they say they found it in Paris, demand a 1st class, round trip ticket for 2. I know, just a thought. Demand a car number that the trailer was placed on. There is a way bill for it. Find the railroad and put the car into the system. It should show time, place and location where it is.


Nudge



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/18/14 18:08 by spnudge.

They never but never ring the bell when they deliver. UPS ALWAYS does. Last week when we had some big rains they refused to deliver out to Carmel Valley from their center in Watsonville. UPS all but put their trucks on pontoons and delivered to our neighborhood and everywhere else. I never use them.
C.

Carol Voss
Bakersfield, CA

In response to FedEx I tried doing a pickup from another destination once with my account and couldn't do it either. Their system would not allow me to print the label for pickup at another address, could be that is still a problem. As far as the deliveries, our FedEx drivers do the doorbell but UPS doesn't, they just stop in the middle of the street and stop traffic until its time to move! Another difference is all UPS trucks are owned by UPS except during peak (I saw UPS delivering in a Uhaul Tuesday and a green UTV with a brown lockbox in downtown Mt. Sterling, KY last week) where the only trucks owned by FedEx are Express and freight. All Ground and Home vans are owned by individuals who drive their own route and this would make them more careful where they are driving their vans and trucks because they would have to pay for their own repairs. With UPS the Corporation picks up the tab for repairs.

So, if someone spots it and shoots a photo for you, then what?
What will that accomplish for you?
Trying to follow this!
John

Everytime I get a fedex package I have to go through the whole complex looking for it, good luck todd my packages are within a block radius not between here and maine.

Seems like you're just creating more work/anguish for yourself and creating a website dedicated to it is just petty imho. While as a paying customer you have the right to expect timely and proper service, at this point other than the delay due to the package going back and forth, it's still safe and they know where it is. It will be sorted out, you will end up with your package.

I have called them FedUp for years...

Paul Bernath
Crawford, NE

Todd here at the CCT we have stopped using FEDEX and we do not allow a vendor to ship to via FEDEX. If they ship via FEDEX and will not change we use another vendor. FEDEX cannot seem to find our office in the Port of Stockton say they do not know where we are even though they drive past out big shop tent with the RED LOCOMOTIVES with our name on the side. UPS on the other hand is on time and always gets our delivery to the railroad at the right address.
Our UPS driver comes in with a delivery and a smile and if FEDEX even finds us they seem grumpy. If UPS has a relief driver our regular drivers always makes sure that the new person knows where we are. Of course at all the holidays and 3 or 4 other times a year we fire up the big BBQ and feed everyone including the UPS man. I feel your pain with FEDEX and crappy customer service.

everyone have a safe and a great holiday season and I hope all your packages come UPS

Todd --
The only thing I can think of that might help
is if you contact your state senator or one of
your Congress-critters ASAP. They certainly
have pull that you do not have, and may be
able to get your package to you.

I hope you get your banner soon!

Please keep us posted.

EDIT --
You might want to make this a "sticky" so
everyone can easily find it. Also, if it is a
sticky, those who are not members will be
able to read it.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/18/14 20:20 by Margaret_SP_fan.

FedEx has very bad habit of handing stuff off to the US Post Office around here. FedEx will get it to Wichita and hand it off to USPS, then they have to get it the remaining 45 miles and to my door, even though a FedEx truck goes down our street almost every day of the week.

My son had a package coming that FedEx did this with, and they showed the USPS had it here in Hutchinson (population 42,000) for several days but never arrived. Actually talked to the Postmaster here, and they finally figured out that it was still sitting on a pallet at FedEx in Wichita. Sounded like a common problem with FedEx. They scan something and say it is on one pallet, but it ends up on another.

I only ship USPS when possible, then UPS.

Mike

UPDATE: I have had a package in Kansas City (3 hour drive away from the house) from 12/10-12/18 eight days!) On the 18th they shipped it to our town to the Post Office. As of the 20th mail delivery, it is still not here. 7x7x7 package. The idiots at FedEx moved it between 2 places in KC over the 8 days. UGH!!!!!!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/20/14 13:46 by unclebob.

Fedex is a very dysfunctional company. I had an instance where Fedex delivered a package to my door that was addressed to 118th St EAST, and my house is on 118th St SOUTH. I had to spend an hour on the phone to get them to agree to pick up the package and deliver it to the intended recipient. First they asked me to deliver it, then they asked me to drive it ten miles to their depot. I finally convinced them to pick it up from my door!

They may have changed, but Fedex home delivery was done by contractors. For packages requiring signatures, if they couldn't deliver it, it would sit in their truck on the street, until the next day. Needless to say, those trucks got broken into often.

I always ship by UPS when possible, and I can't remember anything getting lost or damaged.

I don't buy too much stuff that FedEx would touch, but when I have, I have gone to the office to pick the stuff up (about 3 miles) rather than have them try to redeliver it.

Had my own issue with the post office recently. Bought a $40 SD card from B&H Camera that was sent free via USPS with tracking. Package was running a couple days behind estimates, so I did not pay too much attention for a couple days extra. When I checked next it showed package was delivered earlier that day, but I did not have it. In fact it showed that the day before they tried to leave it but there was no secure spot, so they left a note. Well not at my house anyway. So just where was my package and note delivered?

It was now about 1600 hours, I went down to the post office to see if they could tell me where it was really delivered, or at least who was delivering the package (there has to be some way of tracking the handheld machine used to track the package). They looked around in the back at the post office, but could not find the package. I was told to come back the next morning to talk to my mailman before he left the office. Well I know my mailman pretty well, so I figured he was still out so I went to find him along the end of his route. I found him, but he did not remember a package for me, but he was pretty sure he would be able to find it at the office. He said they were really behind with the volume of mail.

Fortunately, about two hours later, the people who got my package drove it over to me. It was delivered to the same # address one street over. We have gotten these people's mail before also. That was the one place I did not go look.

So it looks like my overworked mailman (or another one delivering just packages) totally took it to the wrong place. If these people had not brought it to me, I was wondering who would be responsible for replacing it. The post office, after all, said it was delivered. Now I know my mailman really well. We have known him for 14 years and moved three years ago, but are still on his route. So occasionally we still get mail sent to the old address. If he finds it, he will bring it to us. Not sure what happened, just happy we have some good neighbors.

Gary