The Case of FedEx Deliveries
Under unpredictable circumstances, the main priority for companies like FedEx is to ensure the safety of customer packages. However, since such circumstances are out of hand, they can delay deliveries for hours, days, or worse, even a week, in which case customers can apply for cancellation, which takes the package back to its shipping address and gets them a refund on their delivery.
However, for better understanding, we will be looking into this in better detail to get proper knowledge of such cases, and for that, we will start with FedEx’s delivery system.
How does FedEx deliver to its customers?
FedEx shipping is divided into two separate branches: FedEx Express and FedEx Ground. As the name suggests, express delivers items where their need is urgently required, offering time-specific delivery commitments with the option of a money-back guarantee. On the other hand, FedEx-Ground requires that the customer provide packing materials or else purchase them at a FedEx store. Their delivery window is un-specific, simply guaranteeing a day but no fixed hour or time. This makes FedEx Ground the more economical and easy choice (a large volume of deliveries occurs within 1 to 5 business days in the continental U. S. ). FedEx-Ground works through an extensive network of respective regional distribution centers. The Network is comprised of about 25 distribution centers placed comparatively closer to major American cities. The location cities are Phoenix, Arizona; Edison, New Jersey; Dallas, Texas, and more. Here, the distributors route thousands of packages for deliveries by transport like trucks and vans. As the name implies, FedEx Ground does not rely on air transport to deliver its packages, offering consumers a lower price point.
As a result, FedEx ground has a few advantages against its counterpart, i.e., FedEx express:
Economical and comprehensive:
The most cost-effective ground shipping, FedEx offers delivery to multiple addresses in more than 40 contiguous U.S. states with a time frame of 1 to 5 business days based on the distance of the destination from the center of delivery.
Reliable:
All deliveries via FedEx Ground service within the U.S. are supported by a money-back guarantee. The critical thing here is that if a package does not arrive before the end of the delivery day, FedEx Ground credits and refunds the shipping charges back to the customer account.
How and why do deliveries take so long?
Once the customers submit their order, FedEx allows customers to track the package progress via tracking information. Included within the tracking information are the name of the carrier and the estimated arrival date. On occasion, customers may feel FedEx takes almost forever to deliver their packages.
Here are potential reasons that may provide reasons for why FedEx deliveries take so long.
Wrong address:
The most common reason for delayed deliveries is that the buyer has multiple shipping addresses due to consistent re-location over a given period.
This causes FedEx to deliver to the wrong address, and the whole process can carry on longer than necessary if the buyer contacts the seller telling them to label a claim on the order or even dispute it.
Another reason for wrong address deliveries is software faults that put incorrect delivery addresses on the customer order.
Unprecedented weather:
While rain doesn’t stop FedEx deliveries, certain other types of weather can delay the process. Extreme storms like tropical storms, tornadoes, hurricanes, etc., can damage roads and scatter debris to block the transport routes. In addition, the floods brought by hurricanes can delay deliveries for an indefinite period.
Product of suspicion:
At times, FedEx, on purpose, delays packages if they suspect it to be an illegal product like weapons, illegal drugs, etc. FedEx cannot open and search customer packages, but through sources, if they suspect that the seller might be a peddler of restricted items, they then freeze the delivery of that package.
Omitted Documents:
Packages are supposed to contain certain necessary documents which help with the delivery process. Shipping address and commercial invoice are some examples.
Another very vital piece of documentation is the package’s weight. FedEx needs to be constantly updated with the weight of packages being delivered to be loaded on trucks accordingly and to avoid added fees.
The point is that the trucks won’t move without the information on the weight of the packages unless the sellers provide them to FedEx.
How can such issues be avoided?
Not all problems are without solutions. The following are a few steps that can allow FedEx to deliver on time or even early.
Double-checking all the processes:
Helps to minimize errors.
Evening deliveries:
Make sure the customer is available to receive the package.
Premium services like custom critical:
A premium service allows sellers to prioritize specific packages and deliver them right on time.
Order during less-busier times:
Ensures timely delivery and can save customers a few bucks.
FedEx has a responsibility to live up and deliver to its customers. As a result, several variables can influence how fast FedEx packages arrive at a customer’s address. As discussed in this article, there can be instances that can seem beyond FedEx’s controls, and dealing with them is a long process. However, a systematic approach can smooth out the process and ensure the company’s consistency with its services.
