EDMONTON – As Christmas quickly approaches, many people are frustrated as they anxiously wait for their overdue parcel shipments to arrive.
The McNaughts say they’ve had trouble with five recent UPS parcels. And judging by the online tracking history of one of them, it’s been on quite a journey.
“Hong Kong to Calgary to Hong Kong to Alaska to Kentucky to South Dakota to Calgary,” said Curtis McNaught.
So far, that trek has taken 11 days, even though the family paid for the package to arrive in four to five business days.
They waited two weeks for another package to arrive from Ontario.
“It even arrived in Edmonton on the 4th and we didn’t get it until the 11th,” McNaught said.
Teresa Hafso wishes she could just pick up her package from the UPS depot herself. But she says she’s been told three delivery attempts need to be made first.
“If it’s been left in the facility for a couple of days – let us pick it up,” said an exasperated Audra Newman, who’s in a similar situation. She claims her packages have been in Edmonton for days.
“They basically told me it would get here when it got here.”
After Global News contacted UPS, the McNaughts and the Newmans say they finally received a call from the courier company, which apologized for the inconvenience.
Jim Bena, vice-president of marketing for UPS Canada, confirms that there have been some problems at the Edmonton office which are being looking at. He also says:
“We understand that this is frustrating especially during this time of the year. While we strive for perfection, several factors conspire to make perfect service impossible at times.”
That’s not enough for some.
“If I hear one more time, ‘we understand your frustration,’ I’m going to smack ’em,” said Hafso.
McNaught suggested that, “if they can’t guarantee something they shouldn’t guarantee.”
According to the UPS website, the “on-time delivery guarantee” does not actually apply to expedited or standard shipments that are picked up or scheduled to be delivered from Dec. 11 to Dec. 24.
When it comes to Purolator, the company says that while the vast majority of its shipments are getting to their destinations on time, in “regions such as Western Canada, recent inclement weather, combined with high seasonal volumes, have in some cases impacted delivery times.”
Purolator has shared some tips for hassle-free holiday shipping on its website.
If you’re using Purolator to deliver your Christmas packages, here are the dates the company advises you send them by:
Thurs. Dec. 19 – if they’re going to Australia, or western Europe (including United Kingdom, France, and Germany)
Fri. Dec. 20 – for shipments to the United States (using next-day delivery, where available)
Mon. Dec. 23 – for delivery within Canada (using next-day delivery where available)
UPS says its last day for shipping Christmas packages is also Dec 23. You can find UPS’ delivery times here.
READ MORE: Canada Post makes parcels a priority service
Those shipping through Canada Post are advised to allow two business days for local delivery of parcels or letters, and three to four business days for delivery within the province.
Canada Post is expecting to deliver 27 million parcels during this holiday season.
UPDATE: Following the involvement of Edmonton’s Trouble Shooter, Teresa Hafso and the Newman family came home Wednesday evening to find their UPS parcels had been delivered.
With files from Julie Matthews, Global News
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