Just watched Fedex drop a Moog 55

[Kevin Lightner]

It took me weeks to calibrate this instrument.
Sure it was in a fully foam-lined ATA flight case, but Fedex couldn't have screwed things up more:

Tues: FedEx Ground was scheduled to pick it up.
We requested two people and no dollies due to the size and weight.
The case has handles on both sides.
Fedex agreed, but never showed or called for their own appointment.

Wed: Called again. Once again promised a visit that day.
Once again, no show or calls from FedEx.
Sat here all day waiting again.

Thurs: Fedex arrives, but with a Fedex Express van with only one guy.
That driver immediately leaves once he learns it was not an Express shipment, but rather Ground.

Later this same Thurs, a Fedex Ground truck arrives with one person and a dolly.
As expected, with only one driver and a dolly, he drops it on the side even before he got it into his truck.

So what happens when the owner receives his synth and it's out of tune?
File an insurance claim?
It's insured for $25,000 and I took video of everything, but I doubt FedEx will honor any claims.

YouTube material for the video (sans sound)?

[Trigger]

Where do I start with these clowns?

Couple of years ago, I rented audio gear from L.A. Saturday delivery for a project starting on Sunday. Waited all day Saturday at home with my cell phone, just in case. Never showed. Finally called FedEx Customer Service . Said the driver couldn't find the address and tried to call (which was a flat out lie), so he just came back to the warehouse. Now the warehouse is closed, I need the gear tomorrow, and, too bad, the warehouse is closed until Monday. Wouldn't issue a credit even though it was their fault, got the gear a day late (boy, did I look like a schmuck), and finally limped through the project.

Of course, I could start with UPS, but...

Kevin, I feel your pain.

[latigid on]

I think I just died a little...

[Sweep]

There's a need for a specialist courier for items like this.

It's the same here in Britain. When I've bought or sold a synth I've driven across country to collect or deliver.

I used to work for a parcel company. Customers would always take a bit of a chance, but in the end the company took on large numbers of East European migrant workers, who either just didn't care or in several cases actually took a delight in damaging parcels. One of them had a piece of wood with a nail in it and would drag parcels down a conveyor belt with it, sometimes looking company workers defiantly in the eye because he knew we could do nothing - our managers stedfastly refused to ever pull up the East Europeans for anything, for whatever reasons. (We suspect the company got money from the EU for employing them. It's hard to know what other explanation there could be.)

The company lost most of its customers and was sold off to someone else. Then we were made redundant - we all lost our jobs because of this. But a smaller company still exists, still with large numbers of the East Europeans. I've seen these people throwing digital pianos around, and any number of other things. (And I mean "throwing around" - that isn't a figure of speech. They'd take an end each and literally throw them over the parcels coming down an adjacent conveyor belt to get them onto the parallel belt on the other side. The digital pianos were part of a regular order - one of the ones the company lost, needless to say.

The only solution I can see is for a private courier who cares about synths, or perhaps specialises in delicate items.

[Christopher Winkels]

There's an inexhaustible supply of cretins in all industries, but some seem to have slightly higher concentrations. Shipping is one of them.

You were right to video and document everything, especially with a piece of gear that had so much time invested in it.

Personally I've never had big issues with Fedex (aside from bad communication relating to customs clearances), but then I've only used them a handful of times. UPS is my favourite punching bag as they make a habit of employing the surly, the passive-aggressive, and the misanthropic. I think they hire individuals without the people skills necessary to be successful taxidermists and embalmers.

I'm sure there are specialists (perhaps the people who ship paintings, sculpture, and other high-value art pieces?) who can handle things like a Moog 55. Of course they wouldn't come cheap, but it would still be a fraction of the cost of a damaged instrument.

[Kevin Lightner]

Thanks for your comments.

Now try THIS one on for size:

This morning we received an email notice from them that they are RETURNING it back to us today.
No one here can even lift it and it's expected to rain today.
Potentially, they are going to return this synth to our house where it can't be moved and will be left out in the rain.

If they do, this will definitely be videotaped and placed on YouTube.
Our property has several cameras on it, two of which can record to tape or computer.
They signed for it and are in receipt of it.
I would think that any damage to it while in their possession is legally theirs.

I guess we'll have to wait and see.

[magnet]

Hey Kevin-
Sorry to hear about this.
I had to have a grand piano moved about 500 miles. It had to go down a steep, S shaped 1/4 mile driveway. The piano guys arrived on time, and had it knocked apart, swaddled with moving pads, and strapped to a 6 balloon-tired 'dolly' in about 15 minutes. No troubles getting it down to the truck. Lift on the truck took care of the rest. Highly recommend you try that route. I would think the owner would thank you for the extra expense.

I also wave in your general direction (west) and thumbs up on your developing the minimoog keybed mod.
Best-Luck.

[Kevin Lightner]

Thanks Magnet, however I have a spinal condition and cannot even lift a Minimoog myself.
All lifting was agreed to be done by Fedex and by two of their employees as promised by them on phone.

We have stairs. The case has handles. The ground is all rocks.
This is a no brainer really.
Two people lift a case, move it about 5-10 feet away and put it on a truck.
Should be easy. But not for Fedex Ground.

Anyway, I was following my client's wishes.

And just to apprise you all, Fedex Ground did indeed just return it here AFTER telling us this morning it "Truly is on it's way to Texas, no matter what email we sent you."

We refused delivery, but took names of all those nice promise-giving people manning the phones at Fedex.
And we took video (3 cameras.)

Fedex Ground must run the worst shipping company I've ever dealt with and I've seen 'em all.
(This opinion is mine and not necessarily the opinion of Moog Music, Inc.)

[ColorForm2113]

A few years ago I worked for UPS at a very busy hub, and I can tell you the lack of care is unbeleivable. We had a lot of guitars (gibson, fender, line6, taylor, martin) shipped through us and people would use them as corner stones for building walls in the trucks. There could 40-50 boxes sitting on top of guitars that were not in cases just the cardboard wearhouse boxes! Its not always the loaders fault you are pushed to work so fast it hard to take proper care of every package, especially around the holidays. End of november to december you can almost guarantee your box has been stepped on thrown against something and/or dropped

[unfiltered37]

I have heard that UPS air is much safer to ship with. Less packages and check points. And I have never had damage except with ground. It seems like only in the past few years that they have gotten extremely careless maybe because of the growth of internet shopping. And its more about being on time than in one piece. I think they figure that a certain percentage will not file or follow through with a claim, so it is more cost effective to concentrate on volume and safety be dammed. And they get away with it because they are essentially a duopoly.

[dan thacker]

.I just wanted to offer my sincerest sympathies.A Moog 55 is a sacred treasure.people that don't harbour reverence for such irreplaceable items are disgusting.They shouldn't be wasting oxygen. p.s., i'm ignoring the red squiggly spell check thing for "harbour",because ,i'm Canadian,dammit!

[bunnyman]

Just shipped a Hartmann Neuron from New Orleans area to Adelaide, S. Australia. Good thing the UPS Store mega-packed it, as Ian told me the delivery guy TOSSED it from the truck to his driveway (& it was a 57lb package!)... Thankfully, it was OK (well, as OK a Neuron w/ a blown PSU and mobo can be... )

-andrew bunny

[sunny pedaal]

same guys from fedex like these ?
:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWm0nXJYLmk

[timmy]

First mistake is that FedEx Ground is not FedEx. It's some other bullshit company that FedEx purchased/merged some time ago.

If you want FedEx then do not select ground, use the Air shipping, if you can afford it. Better yet - hire a private freight that could carry out to letter your specific handling directions.

[Kevin Lightner]

Once again... FedEx came back with the same Moog 55. Once again moved by one guy with a dolly or just by one handle and himself.

This time the container had been opened (all 4 wire ties were cut) and this outer container banged up.
(This is an ATA style Anvil case!!)

They even dragged it across our porch, scraping the paint off our deck damaging it.

This whole fiasco has is ridiculous.
My wife and I should be on Fed'x's payroll by now for all the time spent, missed work, phone calls and supplies.

And yes I know Fedex Express and Fedex Ground are two different companies in regards to what and how they do their jobs.
(Fedex bought Roadway Express.)
But they are BOTH Fedex!
Fedex is who owns them and makes policy.
It doesn't matter if one "Fedex" company is bad and the other good- they are both FedEx.