Just for Fun: Gear Shipment ‘Follies’

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JamesFarrell

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Thought I’d share an amusing FedEx shipment history. I am sure all of you have some interesting stories too. Let’s hear ‘em.

So, I bought an extra Samsung T7 2gb drive from B&H recently. As I live in Arizona a few hours north of Phoenix it usually takes the better part of 5 to 7 days to get something from across the country where I live. While this wasn’t a “I gotta have my new toy ASAP” purchase, I do keep watching the tracking history unfold. So, after two days B&H hands it off to FedEx (a late Friday purchase won’t get picked up until Monday).

Arrives at FedEx’s big Memphis hub the next day … so far, so good. That’s the usual schedule.

Next morning, I should see it moving to the Phoenix airport distribution hub. Hmmm, I think I will look at the tracking history. Huh? What? Where the heck is Roissy Charles De Gaulle? Google Maps … PARIS, FRANCE, Charles De Gaulle Int’l Airport !!! - nice job on sorting and routing shipments FedEx. Not.

Think I will check back later today. This might get messy If I have to file a claim. Let’s see where it is now … NOW WHAT? Where is Derby, United Kingdom? Hmmm . A smallish town on the banks of the River Derwent in Derbyshire, England. If I was the package I could probably find a pub for a pint. I don’t even see an airport there. Better luck tomorrow, I guess.

Next morning, of course already past scheduled delivery…. Hmmm … progress … Indianapolis, Indiana. At least it’s on the right continent.

From there a leisurely trip to the mountains of Arizona. It’s all good, I guess.

Late Addendum: The FedEx delivery guy and I got a chuckle when he told me that after all of the ‘internationa’ travails, that when my delivery was enroute, his truck broke down on his way here and he had to call for a tow and a replacement truck. Can’t make this up.
 
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That's too funny. How did they confuse that so badly? Is there a town named Paris in AZ?

I've got one to share.

A few years ago I purchased a used Nikon 300mm 2.8 from a gentleman in Ontario, Canada. He shipped it FedEx ground per my recommendation. It's a little known fact that a lot of money can be saved shipping things to Alaska by using FedEx/UPS ground service and it ends up traveling by air anyway. But that's another story... When I purchased the item we had a three week vacation planned a month away. I anticipated a bit of delay for the item to clear customs into the US but NO WAY FedEx could take a month to get it to me right? :rolleyes: Well... it just so happened that at the time there was major flooding occurring in the midwestern USA. As expected it took about a week for to clear customs. Then I watched the tracking information as the package made a circuitous journey towards a major FedEx hub where I knew it would board a plane and arrive in Alaska the next day. As the journey progressed I began to get anxious because the vacation was now coming up and now posed potential problem with the ultimate delivery date.

Now comes the really interesting part. The package finally arrived at the (huge)FedEx hub in Anchorage literally the day before our planned trip. So I took a chance and drove over to the FedEx warehouse hoping I could pick it up. I gave a gentleman at the desk a tracking number and he verified that the package was in the warehouse. But no, he couldn't give it to me because this was the FedEx AIR warehouse and the package had shipped FedEx GROUND. WHAT!??? :mad: But he was kind enough to tell me where the FedEx ground warehouse was and told me the package would be sent over there the next morning.

So I drove to the FedEx Ground warehouse literally a mile or two away. I explained my situation, gave them the tracking number, and told them I was leaving town around noon the next day so wouldn't be home when the truck came to our neighborhood. They kindly promised to call me to come pick up the package when it arrived rather than putting it on a truck. I walked out pleasantly surprised but skeptical that this would happen.

The next morning my confidence in mankind took a slight tick upward when I got the call. Ran over and picked up the lens literally a couple of hours before we headed to the airport for our trip. They should make a TV series about the secret lives of packages.
 
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