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FED EX

FedEx

The Better Business Bureau (BBB) states there has been 1906 complaints filed by consumers against Fed Ex over the last 3 years. The majority of these complaints 1148 has to deal with deliveries. The remaining 758 complaints were as follows; 518 problems with products or services, 189 billing/collection issues,37 guarantee / warranty, 13 advertising and sales, and 1 listed as other. This paper will discuss the two main categories, deliveries and products/services. Research shows the 2 top complaints are often connected. Where as a customer may have a late delivery as well as poor customer service when inquiring about the package in question. Because of the frequent connections of these 2 complaints we will address both issues simultaneously. The information gathered is based on the actual complaints consumers made and the reactions from Fed Ex to these complaints. The paper will conclude with suggestions as to how Fed Ex may better serve their customers and eliminate the majority of these complaints.

Delivery and service complaints

Fed Ex was founded in 1973 by Frederick Smith. Smith saw a need in the market for a company that could accommodate deliveries of time sensitive materials such as medications, computer parts and electronics. Fed Ex was formed on the basis that shipments can be sent and received within 2-3 business days. (About Fed Ex) According to the 1148 delivery complaints lodged against FedEx they have not lived up to the standards set forth by Smith.(BBB) One dissatisfied customer had this to say about FedEx "I purchased a mobile phone through MetroPCS and I payed for the option of having overnight shippin, which is not cheap, and FedEx guaranteed that the product would reach my house by 3:00 P.M. And am still waiting two hours after not yet to receive, which I am not thrilled about as I had to stay home ALL DAY and nix any plans that I had made so that I could be at home to sign for the product. When I called customer service they said they could not help me in any way whatsoever, and could not guarantee my package by 3 p.m. I am very unhappy and will never do business with FedEx again as they have the worst service I have ever experienced," Another unhappy customer stated "I have had several packages shipped through FedEx and every time it seems like they get slower. It gives me a delivery date, and then the package sits at some warehouse for days and FedEx moves the delivery date back. I never have these issues shipping with ups. bottom line is DO NOT USE FedEx!!! they are liars and are EXTREMELY incompetent. Personally I will never use FedEx again. It has easily been the worst experience with shipping companies I have ever had."(Measured Up)

Suggestions for improvement

While these 2 customers are extremely unhappy, and will probably never use FedEx again a lot of the problem could have been eliminated if the customer service personnel were more accommodating. It is my recommendation that FedEx have all their customer support staff attend customer service workshops. The fundamental purpose of a business is to get and keep customers. The goal is to satisfy customer/client needs at a profit. A company can only benefit from a strong customer service culture. Some of the benefits FedEx would attain from having their service staff attend a workshop would include: More satisfied customers, more repeat business, customers becoming advocates for the business and also a reduction of employee turnover.(the Customer Focus) There are several reasons a package may be late getting delivered, some due to issues out of FedEx's control such as bad weather. However, the majority of the complaints that were posted on BBB had nothing to due with bad weather. It would be my suggestion to Fed Ex to have their drivers call the customers in advance to let them know the status of a delivery. Even though FedEx provides a tracking system online that consumers can track the status of a delivery, a personal call, in the event the driver knows they are not going to meet the time line would alleviate much stress on the consumer and in my opinion reduce the amount of complaints. The majority of the complaints posted had more to due with the consumer feeling uninformed as to where their packages were and when they could expect delivery. The customers felt they wasted valuable time waiting on a delivery that never happened. A quick phone call could make these customers feel that Fed Ex valued them and acknowledged that their time was valuable as well.