Now I know why bikes arrive bent

[ritestuf]

It's FedEx!...they are the worst. Hands down.
I live in North San Diego County so they use the Oceanside, Ca. station for the delivery to your home. Ok, so I'm all tingly with anticipation after hearing from Rad bikes that my shiny new Radrover has been shipped!
I've prearranged for one of the local bike shops to put it together. The same bike shop holds clinics on the first Saturday of every month to learn about fixing flats, general maintenance, etc. Yes, I'm a total noob.
Ok, back to DreadEx. I call them to find out when to expect delivery to my home. I'm told "your package is set for a window from 215p to 4p. Well, I'm busy but I make it a point to get back home early to receive said package.
As I pull into the driveway I notice the "oops, you weren't here so..." note stuck on my door.....My day went from happy to sad in an instant. It was noon! Over two hours before the delivery window started.
I call them and they're like "yea, oops, sorry. We'll make two more attempts." Screw that! Yea, I'm going to waste another day waiting for the unreliable delivery driver. I tell them I'm coming to the station to pick it up.
They say "ok, but the driver won't be back till after 6p and we close at 9p." Now, this was after I called their customer service to complain. I'm told the driver attempted the delivery at 1236p.
On the note he had written he attempted delivery at 130p lol. Now I'm even more ticked off. Oh well, I suck it up and drive to the station. It's like Fort Knox. You aren't getting anywhere near them.
I call them to tell them I'm here and the girl says "I'll be there in five minutes with your package." It's now 730p and still no girl with my package. I call back and she says "give me a break, this thing weighs over 80 pounds."
My reply is censored to protect the delicate ears of the thread readers here. She says she'll bring it when she gets help. It's now almost 8p and FINALLY...my package...caved in with a forklift blade hole in it.
I put it in my truck, drove home and am now power drinking Fireballs to calm down.
Cool story huh?...NOT!

 

[Ian Moone]

It's FedEx!...they are the worst. Hands down.
I live in North San Diego County so they use the Oceanside, Ca. station for the delivery to your home. Ok, so I'm all tingly with anticipation after hearing from Rad bikes that my shiny new Radrover has been shipped!
I've prearranged for one of the local bike shops to put it together. The same bike shop holds clinics on the first Saturday of every month to learn about fixing flats, general maintenance, etc. Yes, I'm a total noob.
Ok, back to DreadEx. I call them to find out when to expect delivery to my home. I'm told "your package is set for a window from 215p to 4p. Well, I'm busy but I make it a point to get back home early to receive said package.
As I pull into the driveway I notice the "oops, you weren't here so..." note stuck on my door.....My day went from happy to sad in an instant. It was noon! Over two hours before the delivery window started.
I call them and they're like "yea, oops, sorry. We'll make two more attempts." Screw that! Yea, I'm going to waste another day waiting for the unreliable delivery driver. I tell them I'm coming to the station to pick it up.
They say "ok, but the driver won't be back till after 6p and we close at 9p." Now, this was after I called their customer service to complain. I'm told the driver attempted the delivery at 1236p.
On the note he had written he attempted delivery at 130p lol. Now I'm even more ticked off. Oh well, I suck it up and drive to the station. It's like Fort Knox. You aren't getting anywhere near them.
I call them to tell them I'm here and the girl says "I'll be there in five minutes with your package." It's now 730p and still no girl with my package. I call back and she says "give me a break, this thing weighs over 80 pounds."
My reply is censored to protect the delicate ears of the thread readers here. She says she'll bring it when she gets help. It's now almost 8p and FINALLY...my package...caved in with a forklift blade hole in it.
I put it in my truck, drove home and am now power drinking Fireballs to calm down.
Cool story huh?...NOT!

Sorry they stuck it to ya ! Food for thought for the Rest of us tho, right ! On a lighter note, Did you know that Fed Ex and UPS are going to Combine companies ?? ... They're going to be called FED UPS !!! ???

 

[AHicks]

If memory serves me properly, you do have the right to refuse a package with obvious heavy damage. No?

 

[Chopperbill]

Around here there are at least 1/2 dozen Fedex drop off points (most Walgreens) and have them drop it off there and pick it up at your convenience. Never used them because they alway hit the delivery window, generally early. Or you can have them leave it at the main terminals. Ours is less than 5 miles away.

 

[ritestuf]

@IAHicks Yes, you can certainly refuse any package from any delivery service. The problem is I would have to re-live all that crap over again!
That will only happen if upon inspection after the bike shop opens the box and starts to put it together and finds damage that's a deal breaker.
I would far and away rather deal with Rad Bikes tech support than the boneheads at FED UPS! (thanks Ian). Bike shops are booked solid this time of year in the San Diego area.
As it was, after dropping off the boxed bike, I can't pick it until Thursday. That means 5 days (counting the one wasted day) for it to come from Seattle to my door.
Then 6 days for the shop to assemble it. Screw that. I could probably fly to Seattle from SD and ride the bike back here in less time and have more fun!

 

[ritestuf]

@Chopperbill Thanks, yes. I will certainly do that if it comes to Seattle having to ship anything going forward. Also, if whatever they need to potentially ship to me that a bike shop will need for whatever, I'll just have them ship it directly to the shop.

 

[DCipher]

Sorry they stuck it to ya ! Food for thought for the Rest of us tho, right ! On a lighter note, Did you know that Fed Ex and UPS are going to Combine companies ?? ... They're going to be called FED UPS !!! ???

Actually, when FedEx and UPS merge the new company will be called F U

 

[DDBB]

If the forks are bent, it's going to be a lot longer than a six day wait. You think fedex and bikes are bad? Try a large RC airplane!

 

[AHicks]

@IAHicks Yes, you can certainly refuse any package from any delivery service. The problem is I would have to re-live all that crap over again!
That will only happen if upon inspection after the bike shop opens the box and starts to put it together and finds damage that's a deal breaker.
I would far and away rather deal with Rad Bikes tech support than the boneheads at FED UPS! (thanks Ian). Bike shops are booked solid this time of year in the San Diego area.
As it was, after dropping off the boxed bike, I can't pick it until Thursday. That means 5 days (counting the one wasted day) for it to come from Seattle to my door.
Then 6 days for the shop to assemble it. Screw that. I could probably fly to Seattle from SD and ride the bike back here in less time and have more fun!

The difference is that if you accept it, you are stuck with all the documentation, phone calls, making the repairs, and arranging for repair parts. If you refuse it, it's returned to the sender, who then sends you a replacement - hopefully one that's in better condition. Law of averages would indicate the second package won't be damaged....

 

[ritestuf]

The difference is that if you accept it, you are stuck with all the documentation, phone calls, making the repairs, and arranging for repair parts. If you refuse it, it's returned to the sender, who then sends you a replacement - hopefully one that's in better condition. Law of averages would indicate the second package won't be damaged....

Yes, that's true and in defense of Rad bikes, they do package the contents well. The shipping box would have to undergo pretty rough treatment for the bike to arrive damaged.
I suppose I'd rather have the free shipping and take my chances than the white glove treatment you pay for. Plus, who's to say a shipment wouldn't still arrive damaged even after you pay for it.

 

[Toomanycats]

I’ve known FEDEX drivers to ditch if it’s a heavy package and end of day. I’m pretty sure one drove in front of my apartment, stopped, didn’t go to the door (I live on 2nd floor) and claimed he’d tried to deliver (he didn’t leave note or door tag).

 

[Deleted member 4210]

Actually, when FedEx and UPS merge the new company will be called F U

Imagine the fine words that Fedex and UPs drivers have for these 80 lb boxes and Rad Power shipping them. Commercial carrier and pallet lifts would be more appropriate but no one would be willing to pay the costs.

 

[Daneflyer]

I worked for a year in a FedEx ground hub as a outside contractor of maintenance. I could not believe the amount of damaged merchandise I saw daily. Also most people probably don’t know that those trucks and drivers that come to your house are not even FedEx employees. They are outside contractors owned by a separate company that provides the truck and driver. This is Fedex GROUND, not FedEx express. Two different companies operating completely separate.

 

[Pay Jota]

We were out front when the Fed Ex truck pulled up to deliver our Rad bikes.

We were at the back of the truck as he opened the back door. There, lying on their sides, were the boxes with our Rad bikes.

EVERY side of the box has arrows saying "this side up". The two long ends also say "do not lay flat". Even the bottom of the box says "if you can read this, flip me over".

As a result, my wife's Rad City Step Thru arrived with the derailleur guard, which is about 3/8 inch diameter formed steel railing, was bent in towards the derailleur. Fortunately, it did its job and protected the derailleur. But the shift adjustments were WAY out when assembled, unlike my Rad Rover. She couldnt get past 3rd gear. I took a pic of the damage, in case there was serious damage, but I just bent the guard back out and adjusted the derailleur.

We appear to have survived Fed Ex. Whew!!

 

[John from Connecticut]

It's FedEx!...they are the worst. Hands down.
I live in North San Diego County so they use the Oceanside, Ca. station for the delivery to your home. Ok, so I'm all tingly with anticipation after hearing from Rad bikes that my shiny new Radrover has been shipped!
I've prearranged for one of the local bike shops to put it together. The same bike shop holds clinics on the first Saturday of every month to learn about fixing flats, general maintenance, etc. Yes, I'm a total noob.
Ok, back to DreadEx. I call them to find out when to expect delivery to my home. I'm told "your package is set for a window from 215p to 4p. Well, I'm busy but I make it a point to get back home early to receive said package.
As I pull into the driveway I notice the "oops, you weren't here so..." note stuck on my door.....My day went from happy to sad in an instant. It was noon! Over two hours before the delivery window started.
I call them and they're like "yea, oops, sorry. We'll make two more attempts." Screw that! Yea, I'm going to waste another day waiting for the unreliable delivery driver. I tell them I'm coming to the station to pick it up.
They say "ok, but the driver won't be back till after 6p and we close at 9p." Now, this was after I called their customer service to complain. I'm told the driver attempted the delivery at 1236p.
On the note he had written he attempted delivery at 130p lol. Now I'm even more ticked off. Oh well, I suck it up and drive to the station. It's like Fort Knox. You aren't getting anywhere near them.
I call them to tell them I'm here and the girl says "I'll be there in five minutes with your package." It's now 730p and still no girl with my package. I call back and she says "give me a break, this thing weighs over 80 pounds."
My reply is censored to protect the delicate ears of the thread readers here. She says she'll bring it when she gets help. It's now almost 8p and FINALLY...my package...caved in with a forklift blade hole in it.
I put it in my truck, drove home and am now power drinking Fireballs to calm down.
Cool story huh?...NOT!

Do you know if your delivery to your house was by 'FedEx Home' or 'FedEx Ground' ? FedEx Home are third party authorized FedEx independent contractors. I've
found them to be irresponsible, often leaving valuable shipments in front of my garage door ( facing the street -theft ) rather than walking to and delivering
to my door.

FedEx Ground is the real deal. Actual FedEx employees. As far a delivery schedules I've found that UPS delivers to my condo complex almost exactly the same
time every day, no excuses.

 

[jcanavera]

My derailer guards had a slight bend to them on both RadCity bikes that were delivered today. The Velofix mechanic noted that it wasn't unusual to find that and that it was easy to correct and then make any necessary adjustments to the derailer. She rode the bike after that and had me ride it too. All is well. There was no sign of impact damage to the guard so I'm assuming maybe it is more a situation where the bike is laying on it's side within the box that causing the damage. Obviously the box not being transported with the proper orientation by the shipper. Personally my suggestion is to get a professional or someone with mechanical experience to do the initial assembly. My mechanic today has probably assembled between 20-30 Rad bikes and owns a RadCity herself. I know my boxes showed some pretty good hits but even at worst impact areas where the boxes were torn or split, no real damage was found. They did their job! The bikes probably went through 4 different transfer locales based on the FedEx tracking to get here to the metro St. Louis Mo. area.

 

[trainman]

FedEx did a great job, all the way from Seattle to Ft. Worth, Texas, boxes arrived in great shape.

 

[Coolio]

FedEx from Seattle to Montreal, Canada. Box was standing up inside the truck, nothing damaged. Took pictures of everything before and during unpacking, just in case. The bike itself had protective foam everywhere. Same as the 3 accessories that I ordered with. Took me a good 10 minutes to remove all the protective packaging.

 

[tomjasz]

Luna is my least favorite bike builder, but they were geniuses in boxing, they label shipments as big screen TV’s. Brilliant packaging.

 

[trainman]

As far as your bike box being laid on its side when being delivered is probably not a problem, but being shipped in freight containers, or 18-wheeler trailers with other freight stacked on top of it would be a problem.