I hate you, Fed Ex!

[Crossroads_Farm]

Just venting! Fed ex has cost me two breeding cycles on two different mares in the last week!
Last Sat- awesome stallion owner fed exes me an express Sat delivery. Tracking online all along says it will be here before noon Sat. On noon sat- no delivery. Called FedEx. They tell me that since it said it was going to a farm, they assumed it was a business, and businesses are closed on Saturdays, so they’ll bring it on Monday! Ummmmm- no, not alright! By the time I argued up through 2 different supervisors, tracked it down, and went and picked it up myself, mare had ovulated.

Today- awesome stallion owner fed exes me a shipment that, according to tracking all along, will arrive before noon. Vet’s here at noon, set-up, waiting… No delivery. Called FedEx. They tell me it’s still sitting in Memphis, and they’ll deliver it tomorrow! Ummmmm- no, not alright! After arguing up through the supervisor again, they manage to get it on a flight, and I might have it by 9:30 tonight… They even admitted that it had arrived in Memphis at 2am, but couldn’t give me a reason it hadn’t been on an earlier flight to me. And they couldn’t have cared less that I was upset. My poor vet is coming back at 10pm. If we miss this mare, I will understand “going postal.” They’re lucky I don’t own a gun. What happened to “when you absolutely, positively, have to have it there overnight???”

[Somermist]

Sorry!:(. Been there, done that. Fed Ex can be just awful. They actually told me a few years ago that what was the problem, they looked it up online and the semen would still be good the next day! Really, genius, not helpful if I miss the mare.

Sorry, OP, plenty of us know how you feel. Good luck, I hope you get your mares all safely in foal.

[Twisted_River]

[QUOTE=Somermist;6308800]
They actually told me a few years ago that what was the problem, they looked it up online and the semen would still be good the next day! Really, genius, not helpful if I miss the mare. [/QUOTE]

Because conception only requires semen :rolleyes:

[rodawn]

Well, at least your package went to the right country even if the wrong city, not that this is much consolation for you, it’s still a loss.

Purolator delivered my fresh-chilled semen to the wrong country 5 years ago. Ordered semen from American based stallion and it was supposed to arrive the next day. Next day, no semen. Called and turns out they delivered to a farm in Langley, VIRGINIA. Um, really? Because according to my super-gifted geography skills (sarcasm), CANADA does not reside anywhere near Langley, Virginia!

They retrieved and sent it up, but semen was dead by the time it got here. They gave me a free shipping for the next cycle, but still, it was a loss of vet fees, time and more collection fees for me.

I’ve never had FedEx lose a time sensitive package for me tho. Hopefully, it was just bad luck!

[Daventry]

A yearly reminder once again for all Stallion Owners to request “Priority Trace” when using Fed-Ex. Do a search for priority trace on the COTH and you’ll see the old threads on what it is and how to do it. It can save you a ton of heartache! :yes: Also do a search on her on how to make a claim and get reimbursed for your expenses and shipping charges.

[PNWjumper]

Has anyone ever used Cryoport (www.Cryoport.com I think) for shipping semen? I was meeting with their execs for a job-related reason (on the biotech side of things) and their tracking mechanism sounded like a pretty nice way of handling shipments that are cold and time dependent. They mentioned Ag/breeding being a future target market which naturally perked my ears

[gold2012]

I wonder if you are the one my stallion owner was talking about OP. Guess what, my semen was hung up in Memphis last night. This is the mare that this is my FOURTH try getting pregnant. First three were with frozen. So, I finally give up on that stallion, go with another, only to have Fed Ex not deliver it. She ovulated first thing this morning.

FED EX SUCKS! I am so terribly mad about it, but trying to just be patient. We used the last straws of frozen, because it was at least trying to do something.

Fed Ex is ridiculous with this type of thing. And they are not going to get one red cent from me.

[TrinitySporthorses]

Oh, you all have my sympathy! I cannot even fathom how terribly upset you must be!!! And people ask why it costs so much to breed…

[Hillside_H_Ranch]

I wonder if Fedex is having a particularly bad year? Usually we only have 1 or 2 lost/delayed shipments per year, but we are already up to 5 this year and we have a long time to go. It is so, so frustrating and they haven’t been nearly as helpful this year in getting things sorted out.

[gabby.gator]

FED EX must be having a bad year, they were 40mins (I know, not that much) late w/my delivery yesterday, I called when they were 10 mins late…

told them it was perishable, then finally said, “it’s horse semen, and it needs to be in the mare NOW” guy was like “OOOOooooohhkay crazy lady”

I know it won’t do any good, but I went straight online and logged a complaint.

she doesn’t take, I plan to raise a ruckus. reading this thread, I know it won’t get me my money back, but someone is going to share in my aggravation, that’s for sure…

ugh

[Equine_Reproduction]

Welll…FWIW, we are actually looking into working with the good ol’ US Postal system this year. We got contacted by our local Postmaster trying to get some of our business. While there are some locations that won’t get delivery overnight, there are quite a few that do AND!!! the cost appears to be about 1/2 of Fedex or UPS!!! So, we’re going to give it a go. The best part? We can drop it off at 4:30 p.m. as opposed to the mad frantic couple hours we have around here trying to get our shipments ready by 12 noon <sigh>. I asked for a later pick up time last year only to have them move it UP by an hour! GAH!!! How frustrating is that??? Grrrrr…

I’ll let everyone know how it goes. But, I’m thinking it might be a great option!

[Fairview_Horse_Cente]

Once I started insuring shipments for $750, none were ever missing again. If I saw them hang up (I did track them periodically thru the night), a quick call and reminder of their cost if not delivered to be usable, got them really scrambling.

I also drop them off 30-40 minutes away at my main FedEx hub (by 9 PM or 10 PM at Dulles). My collections were done at 3-6 PM, so fresher semen, and MUCH easier timing for my mare owners. :yes:

[Fairview_Horse_Cente]

Kathy, I did use USPS for a while when they offered overnight Sunday shipments! That was great and worked really well, but sadly no more.

[Equine_Reproduction]

[QUOTE=Fairview Horse Center;6309132]
Kathy, I did use USPS for a while when they offered overnight Sunday shipments! That was great and worked really well, but sadly no more.[/QUOTE]

Yeah…I agree…that was prior to 9/11. After 9/11 it was virtually impossible to get anything anywhere overnight with USPS. BUT…that has changed :). That was also the one thing I still need to check…whether or not they will still deliver on Sunday to some locales…workin’ on it :D!

[ise]

It’s just a reality that sometimes shipments are late - we could all write a book about the no show equitainers. BTW - when we’ve had semen arrive late and the mare had ovulated - we put it in the mare anyway and we have had pregnancies. So I’m not sure what your Vet is telling you but unless it’s a day after ovulation - put it in. Also who knows - she may be throwing another follicle on the other side.

I do think being upset about a 10 minute issue with delivery is a bit demanding.

[sporthorsefilly]

I have Fed-Ex drop the shipment for “hold” at Fed-Ex Kinkos just 20 minutes from my home. The shipment is there by 10 am and no hassle. But if Fed-Ex delivers to my farm, it will be after 4 pm. Not to mention it would sit in the truck all day!

By using the drop and hold with Fed-Ex, I have not had a problemm and the mare is bred within 12 hr of collection.

[sixpoundfarm]

I have also started to do the hold for pickup with Fedex. Its much less stressful to know where the semen will be and when, vs. waiting all day, then trying to coordinate vets etc. If its a Saturday delivery, forget about it any time before 2pm to the farm.

[bugsynskeeter]

If you have problems with FedEx delivery to your location, do as others have suggested and do a Hold at FedEx. Its easy to find a location on the FedEx website and is what a majority of our Saturday delivery customers and all of our Canadian customers do.

In regards to the 10 minutes late, I keep a list of all late deliveries and request a refund when the bill arrives. Unless it is a weather delay, we get the shipment refunded to us. If YOU are paying for the shipping fees directly to FedEx, call the customer service number and request a refund for a late delivery. Its not that difficult.

I know how frustrating FedEx can be, but a majority of the company does a good job. There are some rotten eggs, but we would be lost without our FedEx guy. It pays to be nice to them - he will come back to the farm after he picks up if we have a late call in.

Kathy - we schedule with our FedEx rep for what time they will pick up. Ours is 2:30…will they not allow a pick up that late in your area?

[back_in_the_saddle]

[QUOTE=Equine Reproduction;6309110]
Welll…FWIW, we are actually looking into working with the good ol’ US Postal system this year. We got contacted by our local Postmaster trying to get some of our business. While there are some locations that won’t get delivery overnight, there are quite a few that do AND!!! the cost appears to be about 1/2 of Fedex or UPS!!! So, we’re going to give it a go. The best part? We can drop it off at 4:30 p.m. as opposed to the mad frantic couple hours we have around here trying to get our shipments ready by 12 noon <sigh>. I asked for a later pick up time last year only to have them move it UP by an hour! GAH!!! How frustrating is that??? Grrrrr…

I’ll let everyone know how it goes. But, I’m thinking it might be a great option![/QUOTE]

I think it will depend on the day and if the moons are in perfect alignment. I ship live chickens via USPS. It’s 50/50 if they arrive by the guarantee date. You would think that an obviously living bird would get there ON TIME? Sometimes they arrive on time sometimes not. The bad thing about USPS is the tracking system. Not sure how regular package works (as in not a livign animal), but with live chickens there is no tracking from the time they leave the pot office’s control to the time they are in control of the post office again. I was told Fed Ex is the ‘middle man’ for this shipment and that the two systems don’t talk to each other. One time my chickens were supposed to arrive the next day - guaranteed to arrive in fact. Three days later they were stilllllllllll unaccounted for. I packed them with plenty of food but the weekend was approaching. They finally turned up in the post office’s system again later that day. So just be aware of this.

Here’s the latest shipment info so you’ll see what I mean:
I shipped them Tuesday, May 8. They were guaranteed to arrive Wednesday May 9 by 3:00pm. They didn’t arrive until May 10 at 6:52.

Delivered LAFAYETTE CA 94549 05/10/12 6:52am

Arrival at Unit LAFAYETTE CA 94549 05/10/12 6:51am

Depart USPS Sort OAKLAND CA 94615 05/10/12
Facility

Processed through USPS OAKLAND CA 94615 05/09/12 10:56pm
Sort Facility

Electronic Shipping 05/09/12
Info Received

Acceptance Atlanta GA 05/08/12 9:51am

[Equine_Reproduction]

[QUOTE=bugsynskeeter;6309942]

Kathy - we schedule with our FedEx rep for what time they will pick up. Ours is 2:30…will they not allow a pick up that late in your area?[/QUOTE]

Nope. It “used” to be 1 p.m. It’s now 12 p.m. And UPS isn’t any better. Shipment must be ready for pick up by noon. On days when we have 10 stallions to collect, process and ship, it just isn’t going to happen. We “can” meet the driver at a drop point, but the problem is that we have been known to sit at the drop box for over an hour waiting for him. The closest staffed location is 40 miles away, so another 90 minutes just in travel time. There is another Quarter Horse facility down the road so we sometimes trade off with them waiting for the driver <lol>. It works! We have our regular driver’s cell phone - I LOFF our driver - but there was a new law passed that makes it a huge fine for a commercial driver to be caught on a cell. I have NO problem with that and figure he can just call me back when he’s not in the vehicle, but apparently FedEx has made it so that they are NOT to use their phone when on duty any longer <sigh>. Gah! With as mucha s we ship out, I would think they would TRY to work around us. But so far…not happening. Hence the decision to look into USPS more closely so that we can at least make it work for some destinations. And, like I said, it’s considerably less expensive!!!