FedEx

Recently, we received a package of merchandise that we did not order — the cold-calling salesman on the telephone placed the order, even though we said, "No."

A week or so later, the package was delivered by FedEx Ground. They dropped it off at our main gate and left.

We called the sender and they told us to return the unwanted merchandise. Easier said than done.

Today, I took the unopened package to a FedEx-licensed retail location. When I asked them to send the merchandise back, they told me that I would have to pay to return it! If I wanted FedEx to bill the shipper, I would have to go to a different office. They were veryhappy to give me the address.

I drove across Waco, Texas, to get to this "official" FedEx office. After waiting on a short line, the clerk told me that I would have to take the package to another office. Her excuse was that this was a FedEx Express office and the package was delivered by FedEx Ground. She gave me the address of another office — in another city!

I drove to the address in Hewett, Texas, and was greeted by a customer-hostile security fence. I walked up to the gate, pressed the "call" button and wait for a clerk to answer. First, I had to explain myself. Then, I had to be buzzed through the security gate and cross a busy internal driveway to get to the office. This office was the front of their warehouse with little provision for people as customers. The clerk simply took the package and said, "Thank you."

If you listen to their advertisements, FedEx is the premier package shipping company. Maybe for companies, it is. But for ordinary people, their customer service is the worst I have ever dealt with. Not only did I have to drive all over Waco, but into another city just to return unwanted and unordered merchandise. Who is going to pay me for the time taken off from work, the gasoline and the aggravation caused by their unwillingness or bureaucratic ineptness that prevented me from dropping off the package at the nearest location?

The United States Post Service and UPS both do a much better job!