October 28, 2006

• So, FedEx destroyed my stuff

  In late August, I packed up my desktop computer to return home to Ann Arbor, MI.  After packaging it up in its original box, with the original styrofoam padding, I carted it down the street to a surprisingly pleasant FedEx attendant, and left NYC myself a couple of days later.

  
  

  When I opened the box in Michigan, I was shocked to find that it was effectively… destroyed.  A picture or two will be posted later this weekend to show that I am really not kidding.  It seriously looked like FedEx workers had played kickball with my computer inside a box marked “Fragile.”  Now I can understand that things get broken while being shipped, and sometimes you just accept that.  It’s often not worth the time and agony to try to make the shipping company accountable for their behavior.

  
  

  But this was egregious.  And it was expensive.  Just to give you an idea of how FedEx might be handling your packages, note that the molded styrofoam surrounding my computer was broken into 9 pieces when it arrived.  The case to my computer was dented.  More severely, the video card was chipped, my DVD drive somehow wedged in-between two bays.  Again, you need to see the photos to believe this.

  
  

  After testing things for a few hours, I found that it was going to cost me $800 to get my computer working again as it was before.  I went to FedEx online, and started to file a claim.

  
  

  This was September 10.

  
  

  It’s now October 28, and FedEx has inspected my computer twice.  They incorrectly shipped it back to New York, and had to pick it up again.  It looks like a “box of junk” at this point.  I have probably wasted four or five hours of my life on the phone with their representatives.  Some are nice, some are downright unhelpful and bordering on mean.  Today, they sent me a letter denying my claim stating “FedEx policy is to resolve claims directly with the shipper.”  Brilliant FedEx, I am the shipper.  And just in case they were confused, one of the guys in the NY office faxed a letter to FedEx to confirm this.

  
  

  My assessment is that FedEx quite simply is not robust enough to handle the complexities that arise with non-standard shipments  (such as my case, where I sent a box to myself in another state.)  Their claim resolution process is more of a puzzle than a process.  The large delays are supposed to make you decide it is not worth it:  Instead of contacting you by phone or email when they get confused, they just give up and cancel your claim.  (Then they trigger an automatic email to tell you that they made a decision, and you just wait 3-5 days to get it in the mail.)  Your problem, not theirs.

  • 6:11 pm
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