What Can Brown Do For You?

We had a little trouble getting the package of Christmas presents that Rob's parents sent us. The UPS tracking online alleged that it was out for delivery on December 23rd and I waited until the 28th to call to see what was going on. There have been lots of phone calls, they put out a "lost package tracer" on it and finally we were filing a claim to get reimbursed. Just when we had given up and were waiting for that claim to get processed, they found the package at the UPS office right here in our town. It turns out the label had come off the box so they had no idea where it was going. I guess they figured out it was ours by matching the claim we filed with the contents of the box. I picked it up this morning so we get to open Christmas presents tonight which is kind of fun although it probably would have been more fun Christmas morning. We all learned a lot from this crappy experience and I just wanted to share a few things that may help when you ship items too.

It didn't look quite like this, but you get the idea.



1. Buy the extra insurance. I think UPS insures package for up to $100 and then you can buy additional coverage. Luckily, Rob's parents had done this so we were never too worried about them losing our stuff because, fortunately, everything in there could be replaced.

2. Keep your receipts of items you ship. They will need proof if you ever have to file a claim for a lost package so you can get reimbursed. You may even want to take a picture of the box with your items in it to help support your case.

3. Put the addresses of the sender and recipient inside your box. I just realized when I picked up our package that had lost its label that this could come in handy. If they had been able to open the box and see where it had come from and where it was going, I'm sure that would have helped them track us down faster. I usually do this with any luggage I check rather than trusting the luggage tags on the outside of the bag. Those little paper tags could easily get ripped off your luggage so I always make sure to tuck them inside my bags.

Everyone at UPS was very helpful and good to us so I have nothing bad to say about them. The label fell off- it could happen to whoever you ship with. Given how much I HATE Fed Ex (they have dropped off packages I sent to the wrong location twice), you can bet I will still use UPS.