Delivery companies

[Peach Wookiee]

Guys, I recently made a purchase at Amazon and I found I knew nothing about the shipping company they're using. It's a company called OnTrac and I was wondering if anyone else knew anything about them. The online reviews are making me more than a tad worried, to the point I've emailed said delivery company and talked with Amazon.

 

[Unicron]

Are you concerned primarily because the reviews aren't necessarily favorable? I'm not familiar with them, but generally Amazon has proven pretty reliable for me.

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

I almost always use 3rd party sellers on Amazon, so I don't think I've gotten stuck with OnTrac. The last time I ordered from Amazon directly, it came USPS direct.

Though, I have had Amazon direct stuff come UPS. I wish those assholes would have multiple choices for shipping on everything.

On ebay, if I have a choice of sellers, I always opt for the one that promises USPS instead of "standard shipping", which usually means a combination of either UPS Store/USPS or DHL/USPS, both of which take at least twice as long as just USPS.

 

[Peach Wookiee]

Because of the overwhelming reviews on Amazon and elsewhere, I am rather concerned, Unicron. While I've learned to take some online reviews with a rather large grain of salt, something like this severely concerns me. OnTrac seems to have grave customer service issues as well. It's enough to worry me.
The funny thing is that my dad ordered something from Amazon using the same shipping method I did and he got his shipment via USPS and very quickly. I can only hope OnTrac's online reputation will not become my reality.

 

[Amaris]

I found this on their Wiki page:

OnTrac offers a Money-Back Service Guarantee[13] that allows its customers to recoup their shipping expenses, in the event of a service failure

Hopefully things go well for you, Peach.

 

[Peach Wookiee]

Thanks, J. Allen. Again, with what I've read of their customer service, it seems to be rather difficult to recoup. Amazon is good about giving refunds or replacement, but I'd rather have my stuff right the first time.
Has anyone had a good experience with OnTrac? If so, I'd like to know.

 

[Gaseous Anomaly]

Because of the overwhelming reviews on Amazon and elsewhere, I am rather concerned, Unicron. While I've learned to take some online reviews with a rather large grain of salt, something like this severely concerns me. OnTrac seems to have grave customer service issues as well. It's enough to worry me.
The funny thing is that my dad ordered something from Amazon using the same shipping method I did and he got his shipment via USPS and very quickly. I can only hope OnTrac's online reputation will not become my reality.

Everything I ordered from Amazon at Christmas time came USPS. I've never heard of OnTrac till now. Hope it all works out for you Peach Wookiee.

 

[Captain Ice]

I've never ordered anything shipped through them, but have seen some of their vehicles while out doing deliveries myself. Sorry to have to say this Peach, but they look like they might be a bit fly by night.

 

[Peach Wookiee]

That's what I've seen on the reviews, Ice. I've read that they have their workers use their own cars...

 

[Captain Ice]

I've read that they have their workers use their own cars...

Not really an issue. Most delivery companies either do this or make their employee's lease or purchase the company vans. FedEx is one of the worst culprits for this.

More of an issue is the fact that they do not look like they are maintained well.

 

[MacLeod]

People are more likely to write a review if it's a neagtive experiance (or one that exceeds expectations) after all if you experiance the service you expect why write something?

 

[Alidar Jarok]

I know one person who had an issue with Amazon. I've never had a problem except when I've purchased a third party source and it was an extremely obscure source. Given the refund guarantees, it's worth getting if it's a cheaper source.

 

[Peach Wookiee]

Hopefully, I'm just reading about nightmare experiences. But goodness... if I am to believe the mountain of reviews, were my family member in charge of their customer service, she'd be making heads roll!

 

[Kestra]

I hadn't heard of them till I moved to CA and had multiple Amazon packages delivered through them. Never had any problems!

 

[Peach Wookiee]

That's a relief, Kestra.

 

[Unicron]

Do you have other shipping options? I'd say go with what you're most comfortable with. Typically when I buy stuff online, it often goes through UPS or FedEx. I only had one instance where I'd ordered a small item from Amazon Marketplace and they apparently mailed it without the item (oops ). I sent a polite email to the seller since I'd ordered stuff from them before without issue, and I figured it was a simple goof. It turned out to be exactly that, and we were easily able to get the item shipped properly with no extra charge once I showed them a pic of the shipping slip. Their customer service was quite good and I wouldn't mind doing business again in the future.

 

[Peach Wookiee]

Amazon unfortunately doesn't seem to offer the option of choosing one's shipping company. But I'm pleased to say that my package showed up today, one day early. The young man who delivered it was in an unmarked white van and looked like a community college student. So I feel a bit more relaxed.

 

[Sector 7]

I love our FedEx man. [Being in a rural area, we have the same delivery man... except when he's on vacation.] We know him so well, he leaves the package inside the front door, if it is not locked. Otherwise, he wraps it in plastic or saves it for the next day.

Our UPS guy in another story entirely! He'll toss it on the front porch, whether we are home or not. Hopefully, that is not on a rainy day. If it is, the package will be soaked. This is important because the packages are medical supplies which cannot get wet [incontinence pads, etc.]

 

[Sephiroth]

fucking UPS guy, our house has a wall around it, 3 feet high adobe with another 3 feet of spiked iron in the front and 6 foot high around the rest, the door bell by the front gate doesn't work, so we keep a sign up saying to go around to the side, where there is a door bell that does work. The side gate is 6 foot high iron bar and is the driveway exit, at about 7pm I'm leaving the house and what do i see several feet inside my gate? 4 UPS boxes containing PLC equipment THROWN OVER THE GATE. Fucker didn't even ring the bell.

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

^ Yeah, don't even get me started on UPS or FedEx residential drivers. Not one decent experience, just varying degrees of crap.