WOT: Treat my computer gently

dxdy wrote on 10/29/2014, 10:13 AM
I ordered a heavy duty computer from CyberPowerPC in California. Wanting it shipped to my home in Michigan in the gentlest manner, I paid for 2nd day air, figuring it gets on the plane in CA, flies to one intermediate point and then to Detroit. Well, not so much (read from bottom to top):



Livonia, MI, United States 	10/29/2014 	 7:33 A.M. 	Out For Delivery

                               	10/29/2014 	 7:10 A.M. 	Arrival Scan

Romulus, MI, United States 	10/29/2014 	 6:50 A.M. 	Departure Scan

                         	10/29/2014 	 5:48 A.M. 	Destination Scan

	                        10/29/2014 	 5:45 A.M. 	Arrival Scan

Louisville, KY, United States 	10/29/2014 	 4:41 A.M. 	Departure Scan

Louisville, KY, United States 	10/28/2014 	11:45 P.M. 	Arrival Scan

Orlando, FL, United States 	10/28/2014 	 9:57 P.M. 	Departure Scan

                         	10/28/2014 	 3:58 P.M. 	Arrival Scan

DFW Airport, TX, United States 	10/28/2014 	12:36 P.M. 	Departure Scan

	                        10/28/2014 	11:43 A.M. 	Arrival Scan

Ontario, CA, United States 	10/28/2014 	 6:51 A.M. 	Departure Scan

	                        10/28/2014 	 1:35 A.M. 	Arrival Scan

Baldwin Park, CA, United States 10/27/2014 	11:27 P.M. 	Departure Scan

	                        10/27/2014 	10:01 P.M. 	Origin Scan

United States 	                10/27/2014 	 7:48 P.M. 	Order Processed: Ready for UPS

Comments

johnmeyer wrote on 10/29/2014, 12:04 PM
I went to business school in the 1970s and one of our case studies was Federal Express. Their original model, which they used for several decades, was to fly each and every package to Memphis, TN where those packages were sorted, and then sent back out for delivery.

Not exactly point-to-point, and certainly not a way to have your package handled the fewest times.

I don't think any of the carriers still use the one-hub method, but they still use variations on that theme, and many of their routes defy logic and common sense. However, their methods of operation do manage to ensure timely package delivery which is, after all, what you are paying for when you ask for one- or two-day delivery.
Chienworks wrote on 10/29/2014, 12:10 PM
Right. What may not look efficient to us is probably the most direct route they can do while still taking into account that they are shipping a million packages during that time period with potentially billions of origin & destination combinations.

my $dayjob involves tracking luggage, cargo, and mail over air routes, so i've had a lot of experience working with various shipping vendors helping them to simplify routes while maximizing efficiency. It's the old triangle problem: speed, simplicity, price ... pick any two. Generally speed and price win, tossing simplicity out the window, as shown above.
Stringer wrote on 10/29/2014, 12:48 PM
OK, so tell us all about the new PC...
GeeBax wrote on 10/30/2014, 12:34 AM
I am waiting for a GoPro to arrive, I ordered it from the GoPro site, but it appeasr they deliver out of Singapore, via UPS, so I got this:

Melbourne, Australia 10/29/2014 8:57 P.M. Departure Scan
10/29/2014 8:49 A.M. Import Scan
10/29/2014 8:30 A.M. Arrival Scan
Changi, Singapore 10/28/2014 8:00 P.M. Departure Scan
10/28/2014 3:38 P.M. Export Scan
10/28/2014 3:38 P.M. Origin Scan
10/28/2014 7:33 A.M. Your package is at the clearing agency awaiting final release. / Your package was released by the clearing agency.
10/28/2014 6:36 A.M. Your package is at the clearing agency awaiting final release.
Singapore 10/27/2014 11:42 P.M. Order Processed: Ready for UPS

And the final line was:

Scheduled Delivery:
Monday, 11/03/2014, By End of Day

Yet, despite that, it arrived first thing this morning. So the tracking info was not much use at all.
cbrillow wrote on 10/31/2014, 8:46 AM
Sometime in the 90s, my computer died suddenly. It was still under warranty, so I had to ship it back to the builder in California. (I live in Michigan...)

After it was repaired, it began a wondrous path back my way. After it appeared to be overdue, I called the carrier, which I think was FedEx, but it could have been UPS. I was told that the return address was "incorrect" and that it had been sent back to the builder in California. Joy.

After my assurances that the address they had was, indeed, the same address to which the computer was originally shipped, and also the one from which I shipped it back for repair, the builder tried again.

This time, it worked! Sorta.

The shipping carton was pretty badly damaged. Upon opening it, I found that the strong steel case was also in bad shape, with the CD drive hanging part way out of its slot and with a crushed corner.

Guess their shipping box wasn't designed for TWO nearly coast-to-coast trips for the price of one.

The carrier and builder made good, so I wasn't out-of-pocket anything.

P.S. I live in a residential neighborhood, with a plainly displayed address on my mailbox and above the garage door. But the house numbers do an odd reversal in the middle of the street, which results in confusion in finding my house.

To this day, substitute UPS & FedEx drivers occasionally can't find it and return my delivery to the local facility. I've literally had people parked across the street, calling me on their cellphones, saying "I can't find your house." I tell 'em "I'm the guy waving at you in the doorway."

City planners --- sheesh!
Chienworks wrote on 10/31/2014, 9:10 AM
The worst one i've seen was back in my tender years as a gofer when i got sent to a steel milling company at 3846 Roosevelt Ave. in a city about 300 miles away. I drove up and down Roosevelt several times, noting that the numbers steadily climbed up to 1904, then the next building was 8140. On the other side of the street the gap was from 1905 to 8141. I was very confused. On my 7th trip past that spot i noticed that the driveway between 1904 and 8140 seemed a little bigger than the others, and it also continued on past those two buildings. I decided to see what was up there. It turns out that it lead to a large closed loop, about 3 miles long, containing all the even addresses from 1906 to 8138, yet it was still called "Roosevelt Ave."

Would have been nice if there had been a more explicit sign there. And it's a good thing i wasn't trying to find an odd numbered address in that range!
PeterDuke wrote on 10/31/2014, 7:33 PM
I live in a court that only has even numbers. 2, 4, etc on one side and ending 50, 52 on the other. At least no one has 13!
cbrillow wrote on 11/1/2014, 6:08 AM
"On the other side of the street the gap was from 1905 to 8141."

Gap? Holy cow, that's the Grand Canyon! Have to admit, that's about the most ridiculous case of bad street numbering I've ever heard of. A sign like you see in hospital corridors would work wonders here...
Chienworks wrote on 11/1/2014, 7:29 AM
I think it should have been a different street name, even something like "Roosevelt Extension", with it's own set of numbers. And then of course, there should be a sign at that intersection saying "Rooselvelt Extension".
ushere wrote on 11/1/2014, 7:44 AM
our house (rural location) is no 100. there's only 2 houses on the road, and the numbering is simply based on the distance (metres x 10) from the main road junction - easy directions for fire / police / etc.,
GeeBax wrote on 11/1/2014, 5:41 PM
Leslie brings up a good example. Our property, also rural is number 790, meaning 7,900 metres from the beginning of the road. This method is quite common in rural Australia to help emergency services locate the property. And there are usually no odd numbers in the sequence.