UPS: case study in business incompetence

It started with a box on my porch when I got home.

I looked at it and thought "oh, my wife is buying yet more stuff" and picked it up and took it in. I looked at it: sure enough, the street address was correct, but the name on the address was not ours.

Hmmm, I decided to wait until my wife got home to see if she knew anything about it.

Sure enough, it wasn't for us; it was some outfit with a Peoria address but a South Carolina area code? (if that was indeed the number).

That is where the fun started.

I called the 1-800 number for UPS. Of course, I got one of those multi-layered menus, none of which had what I needed.

I gave up and called the local office.

They told me to call the 1-800 number and say "agent."

I did; it turns out that there was a long wait so I hung up and called the local office again.

They would not help me; they said that *I* could just wait on the 1-800 number or *drive* the package back to them! (no, I didn't)

All this because I got a mis addressed package that I didn't order?

So, now the box sits on the front porch. My guess is that the person who ordered the item (a bag for a lawn mower) will eventually inquire and trace the item.

The killer is tha the local UPS office did NOTHING; yes, if they were given the wrong address it wasn't their fault, but you'd think that they would care more for their customers (the business who sent the item, and the one the item was going to, but I guess not.