Make them deliver to the PO Box.

[Deevil]

Background: Pink Flamingo Party Supplies and Novelties recently acquired/partnered with Smart Toys, and I was one of the employees selected to be working in that department. There are still people working in Smart Toys home state, but most of the operations has moved to where I am. As with any move, there are some glitches.


About a week and a half ago, a woman placed an order with Smart Toys with a PO Box for the shipping address. This shouldn't have been an issue, the order was small and Smart Post is one of the ways we ship. However, somehow the order was assigned FedEx as the carrier. On Friday, a woman from FedEx called Smart Toys to see if we had a physical address so they could deliver the package. We did not, but gave the FedEx woman the customer's phone number to contact her. Yesterday the customer called and reached me.

Me: Thank you for calling Smart Toys, this is Deevil. How may I help you?

SC: I got a call saying my order couldn't be delivered..

Me: Okay, I can look in to that. What's you last name and zip code.

SC: Name Zip

Me: Just one second while I see what's going on. It appears that your order was sent FedEx and you have a PO Box, which they cannot deliver to. If I can get a street address they can deliver it for you.

SC: I have a street address, but I'm not there now. I won't be there until October. (pauses for a moment) I guess I can give you my sister's address and have it sent in care of.

Me: That will work.

SC: (starts telling me about how FedEx told her she could just pick it up in Big City which is a three hour drive, and she didn't want to do that)

Me: And can I get the address you'd like your order to be delivered to?

SC: I want it delivered to the PO Box. I've ordered things in the past and they went to my PO Box without any problem.

Me: If something is shipped via the postal service, it can be delivered to PO Boxes without any problem. However, if something is shipped FedEx, it cannot. They need a physical address to deliver or they will return the package to us.

SC: I want you to tell them to deliver to the PO Box.

Me: I understand that's what you want, but it's out of our hands now. FedEx is unable to deliver to your PO Box.

SC: Fine, cancel my order then. I'll just have FedEx send it back and reorder when I am ready for it.

Me: Alright, I'll make a note of that. Is there anything else I can help you with today?

SC: <sarcastic tone> No, you've been very helpful.

And I did make a note on her account that she refused to give an address for proper delivery, which will probably mean she will not the shipping refunded on the return and will have to pay shipping again when she reorders. If she had not said to "cancel the order". I could have put in the notes we needed to reship order when she was ready for it and to make sure it was sent Smart Post...but we can't reship a canceled order, now can we??

[mysticgirl5]

I get these types all the time...'whadda you mean you can't ship my receiver to my PO box?!'

I mean it won't fit, you lone brain cell, empty headed moron...

I love how she first presented a reasonable option (sister's address) then applied the brakes to herself when she realized she wasn't being difficult and illogical enough. ("If I don't try harder, I'll never get a thread on Customers Suck!") Good on you for making sure she gets stuck with those reshipping fees.

[XCashier]

Dumbass shot herself in the foot by refusing to listen to you. She should consider having to pay shipping again as an Idiot Tax, but of course, she won't.

BTW, most post offices now have Street Addressing where you can use the street address of the post office where your box is located as the shipping address. For example, instead of:

Joe Schmoe
PO Box 123
Anywhere NY 10101

you now ship it to:

Joe Schmoe
456 Post Office Drive Unit 123
Anywhere NY 10101

I've gotten FedEx and UPS deliveries that way. If dumbass had done that instead of throwing her little tantrum, she could've gotten her shipment.

[Aethian]

For example, instead of:
Joe Schmoe
PO Box 123
Anywhere NY 10101 you now ship it to:
Joe Schmoe
456 Post Office Drive Unit 123
Anywhere NY 10101

That should be:

Joe Schmoe
456 Post Office Dr
PO Box 123
Anywhere NY 10101

[Ironclad Alibi]

I have had the US Post Office deliver FedEx packages to me. Of course, these were to a street address. Maybe it is a different policy for PO boxes. And Deevil might not be in the US.

[NoRedCards]

My wife has been going through this. Basically, the USPS refuses to deliver to our house for pretty stupid reasons. But, UPS/FedEX never have any issues. So she places an order with a company that uses UPS (she orders from their quite often) to be delivered to the house.....so what does UPS do....they ship it to the nearest center to our city, and then hand it off to the post office to deliver it.....who of course won't deliver to the house, and doesn't have the PO Box we use as an address....so they ship it back to the delivery office, who ships it 2 states over to be redelivered using our forwarding address, only they don't fix the address so it comes back to the house address, which they won't deliver, etc. etc. etc......we still have the tracking on it, and this package has now gone back and forth about 12 times with nobody wanting to take responsibility......fun stuff....

[XCashier]

That should be:

Joe Schmoe
456 Post Office Dr
PO Box 123
Anywhere NY 10101

That's interesting, my local post office does it the way I stated it. It could differ per area, though.

[Deevil]

BTW, most post offices now have Street Addressing where you can use the street address of the post office where your box is located as the shipping address. :

Neat! I'll have to keep that in mind to suggest if when I get somebody that is concerned if they should use their their PO Box or street address so they can use it for future orders.

[cleorose]

I live in a small town. We do not have in town delivery of mail for the trailer parks at all. So we have to have a PO BOX. However I give our street address and just put #570 in the apt. Instead of box. FEDex and UPS both deliver to our post office without issues.

[Aethian]

That's interesting, my local post office does it the way I stated it. It could differ per area, though.

Or it could be like a lot of our clerks and know by name what your po box number is. What I posted is what should be followed since we do have post offices with PO Box sections that still have suite numbers for small inner offices that get mail delivered to them separately by clerks.

[Argabarga]

I get these types all the time...'whadda you mean you can't ship my receiver to my PO box?!'

I mean it won't fit, you lone brain cell, empty headed moron...

.

And if you thinking the whining is bad now, imagine the whining if they somehow MADE it fit anyway....

[Aethian]

We do place notices in the box for anything to large for it. Like last week when someone got four HUGE rolls of bubble wrap.

[Jetfire]

We do place notices in the box for anything to large for it. Like last week when someone got four HUGE rolls of bubble wrap.

But what do you wrap rolls of bubble wrap in to protect it during shipping? A fifth roll around the 4 rolls?



My condo has roadside boxes for our mail. All units have the same sized box, but there are 2 or 3 bigger boxes at the bottom of each set of boxes. If something is too big to fit in the regular boxes, but can fit in hte bigger ones, it'll be put in the bigger one and a key left in your box to get it with. (I think you drop the key back in the mail slot after you pick it up, or just leave it in your box afterwards). And if it's too big for those boxes, you get a note to pick it up in the local post office.

Of course I've never had to use those services; when I get something shipped to me, I have it sent to work so I can get it easier.

[Aethian]

Once you put the key in the box it can't be removed again until we put in our key to remove it.

[Jetfire]

Ah that explains it. Good to know. As I said, I've seen those bigger boxes and was mainly assuming on how they worked.