FEDX

I personally dropped off two boxes to the Smithfield Branch of FEDX (which is co-located with an OfficeMax Store) and one of the boxes was temporarily lost in transit. I had never used this company before for a personal shipment and had no idea what their shipping policies and procedures were until after this incident occurred. When I dropped the boxes off, the agent weighed them and gave me one tracking number for both boxes. She said that she would attach the two boxes together (I assumed with shrink wrap or tape) and then use one tracking number for both boxes. A couple of days later one of the boxes arrived at my workplace but the other one didn't. My company Logistics Officer called me to advise that my box had arrived, at which time I informed him there should have been two. He said that only one box had came in but he would contact his local FEDX Branch and try to locate the other box. Later that day I received an email from the Logistics Officer, stating that by FEDX policy, each box in a multi box shipment must have it's own tracking number and he asked if it was possible that I had another tracking number. I explained what had happened when I dropped the boxes off and was then told that I needed to contact FEDX Customer Support personally because the agent at the FEDX branch he was dealing with, had stated that a box had been delivered under the tracking number he had been given and that FEDX wasn't liable or responsible for any additional boxes under that number. I have learned the hard way that FEDX policy is one tracking number per box, but I'm the customer who was unaware of this policy when I dropped the shipments off to begin with. At this point I contacted FEDX Customer Service at the number he provided. I literally got into a verbal confrontation on the telephone with an agent who insisted that FEDX would not send two boxes using a single tracking number, and if they had that I should have known better than to let it happen. I advised that I'm the customer and I have no idea what FEDX company policy is, and it's not my responsibility to tell the local agent how to do her job. I had no idea that the agent who took my order should have issued two separate tracking numbers. I asked to speak to a manager. The manager I spoke with was more willing to assist after I explained yet again what had happened. After a few minutes this manager transferred me to another agent in Lost and Found. I was asked for a description of the box and the contents that were packed inside. After providing the descriptions, this agent quickly located my lost shipment. She stated that it was not at the Lost and Found Facility at that time, but it was in transit. She also stated that when the box arrived that she would issue another tracking number for it and forward it to my workplace. Two days later the second box arrived. This whole issue would not have been an issue if the FEDX agent who initially took my shipment had done her job. It is not the responsibility of the customer to know what policies the agents are obligated to follow. We assume these people know what they can and cannot do. The second agent should have been more receptive to the cause of the issue and not deny that mistakes don't happen. Maybe the local agent didn't know the policies but I find this highly unlikely. The manager in this case was very pleasant to deal with and she successfully located my lost shipment and got it returned to me. Never having used FEDX for personal business prior to this incident, I had higher expectations of the service I should have received. I feel that FEDX overall is a quality and reliable company based on my previous experience with them when dealing with work related shipments, but I will never use this particular branch again. I wish I could grade the manager and the Lost and Found Agent separately from this review. I truly believe they deserve a much higher grade. The grades represented here are for the Smithfield Branch that I dealt with and the 1-800 Customer Service Agent who I initially talked with.