Are you familiar with UPS' new Access Points?: Medium Format Talk Forum: Digital Photography Review (2024)

This might be a pilot program or one that has been implemented in certain metro areas but there are some problems with it.

I ordered a GF 120mm macro from Adorama under Fuji's current promotion. It was scheduled to be delivered on Wednesday. I inadvertently used my billing address instead of my work address when placing the order. The billing address is my home where no one is there during the day b/c we are working folk. I admit, I was a little excited about saving 550 bucks and like during an org@sm (I seem to remember vaguely), I wasn't thinking rationally.

So, Adorama requires a signature for items that cost over $2k and I wasn't there to receive it. Normally, UPS would try to deliver the package 3 times. During this time, a call could be made to the retailer and an alternate address could be submitted to UPS or the customer could designate a UPS facility. You all know the drill.

Instead, the package was immediately delivered same day to an Access Point further along the driver's route long before I received notice a delivery had been attempted i.e. the tracking showed the package "delivered", therefore an alternate address such as my work address could no longer be provided.

What you should know about Access Points. An Access Point could be a UPS facility or UPS retail store within the same zip code of the delivery address or it could be a random business who has volunteered to be an Access Point located within the same zip code of the delivery address. The UPS driver has the discretion to deliver the package to the nearest Access Point convenient for him on his route if there is no one present to sign for the package at the delivery address. My guess is that this procedure could save UPS millions of dollars or so they think.

The Access Point my 120 wasredirected to is an insurance company located about 2 miles away. These are not UPS employees nor a UPS facility in any way. There is a UPS retail store located only 1 mile away, a real head scratcher as to why it was not delivered there. The posted hours for this insurance company was 9am to 6 pm (as opposed to the UPS Store's 8 am to 8 pm). I made a half dozen calls to this company to arrange a pickup time but they did not answer their phone. I do not know if they were not there or they were busy selling insurance policies. Finally, I got someone on the phone and he confirmed that they would open till 6 pm on Thursday. 9-5:30 are my work hours and I got a call about 5:20 pm from a woman who said no one was going to be there. She was the last to leave that day and she had an appointment to sell insurance at 5:45 pm and she had to leave right then in order to make the appt. on time.

It was clear that this insurance company had no loyalty and no real incentive to provide excellent service to UPS customers. Their main priority was selling insurance to their customers.

The saving grace of this Access Point program is that you can have the Access Point moved to a more convenient location and I requested it be moved to the Access Point it should have been dropped off at in the first place, the UPS Retail store 1 mile from my house. The problem with this being that the UPS driver might have the same problem I had i.e. finding people there at the location to give him the package. I was told it could take several days to retrieve the package and drop it off at the alternative location. So, I placed the request but the next morning on Friday, I took a shot and drove over and sat outside their office well past 9 am and no one ever showed up. I drove over Friday after work and there was a person there but she said UPS had already pickup the package. That office stunk of cigarette smoke. Just saying.

I checked tracking and it showed the package had been moved to the Retail store. Finally. I drove over quickly and snatched my package.

Adorama claimed they had no idea their product was being dropped off at a non-UPS facility especially one of this low caliber. It is unclear whether UPS customers (Adorama) can elect not to use Access Points. If it were not for this Access Point program, I could have asked Adorama to redirect the package to an alternate address and had the package on Thursday.

Real moral of the story: provide the correct address the first time, be cognizant of signature requirements and don't let GAS turn you into a temporary moron.

Well, this is certainly good to know. I don't believe it is being tested in this area yet, but If it's possible it sounds like something I would prefer to opt out of.

Rick - sign up for UPS My Choice, you can then pre-sign for items so you don't have to be home, and input specific instructions on where the package needs to be left. Round back, in the porch, at the neighbors house etc etc.

Free service - and a lifesaver

They are also beta testing a truck tracking system, so you know within a few feet exactly where your package is on the truck, So you can GPS stalk it from work!

Chris Dodkin wrote:

Rick - sign up for UPS My Choice, you can then pre-sign for items so you don't have to be home, and input specific instructions on where the package needs to be left. Round back, in the porch, at the neighbors house etc etc.

I have found that some retailers, among them B&H, won't let you pre-sign.

Free service - and a lifesaver

They are also beta testing a truck tracking system, so you know within a few feet exactly where your package is on the truck, So you can GPS stalk it from work!

I like that a lot, but it's pretty hit and miss whether a given shipment to me will get that treatment.

By the way, FedEx is not good where I live, so I have FedEx deliveries of items that need signatures sent to the local FedEx offices. There's a trick to this, though. FedEx Express (air) offices will refuse FedEx Ground shipments, and vice versa. They were once two separate companies, and are not fully integrated.

Jim

Rick Knepper wrote:

This might be a pilot program or one that has been implemented in certain metro areas but there are some problems with it.

So, Adorama requires a signature for items that cost over $2k and I wasn't there to receive it.

Adorama claimed they had no idea their product was being dropped off at a non-UPS facility especially one of this low caliber. It is unclear whether UPS customers (Adorama) can elect not to use Access Points. If it were not for this Access Point program, I could have asked Adorama to redirect the package to an alternate address and had the package on Thursday.

It's nothing I've been made aware of, but if you could please email me with your order #: [emailprotected] I can certainly check it out for you with our Shipping Manager.

Helen Oster
Adorama Camera Customer Service Ambassador
[emailprotected]

1

HelenOster wrote:

Rick Knepper wrote:

This might be a pilot program or one that has been implemented in certain metro areas but there are some problems with it.

So, Adorama requires a signature for items that cost over $2k and I wasn't there to receive it.

Adorama claimed they had no idea their product was being dropped off at a non-UPS facility especially one of this low caliber. It is unclear whether UPS customers (Adorama) can elect not to use Access Points. If it were not for this Access Point program, I could have asked Adorama to redirect the package to an alternate address and had the package on Thursday.

It's nothing I've been made aware of, but if you could please email me with your order #: [emailprotected] I can certainly check it out for you with our Shipping Manager.

Helen Oster
Adorama Camera Customer Service Ambassador
[emailprotected]

Sent you a private message with the requestedinformation. I have the item now but I think you might want to get more information regarding this new practice.

These days whether UPS or FedEx, I'll just often pick the package up at the UPS or FedEx center before the trucks leave for their deliveries. Makes things so much easier to pick the package up early in the morning, or just swing by UPS or FedEx late in the afternoon.

I haven't heard of the "access points" and do not like the idea. I'd be ticked off if I had to deal with my package being dropped off at some business that kept less than ideal business hours for the UPS customers that they're supposedly helping.

1

Rick Knepper wrote:

HelenOster wrote:

Rick Knepper wrote:

This might be a pilot program or one that has been implemented in certain metro areas but there are some problems with it.

So, Adorama requires a signature for items that cost over $2k and I wasn't there to receive it.

Adorama claimed they had no idea their product was being dropped off at a non-UPS facility especially one of this low caliber. It is unclear whether UPS customers (Adorama) can elect not to use Access Points. If it were not for this Access Point program, I could have asked Adorama to redirect the package to an alternate address and had the package on Thursday.

It's nothing I've been made aware of, but if you could please email me with your order #: [emailprotected] I can certainly check it out for you with our Shipping Manager.

Helen Oster
Adorama Camera Customer Service Ambassador
[emailprotected]

Sent you a private message with the requested information. I have the item now but I think you might want to get more information regarding this new practice.

I'm told that UPS access point usage occurs if the customer is not available at the first attempt and the driver feels the package cannot be left at the location (either due to signature required or if the driver thinks it is an unsafe location) AND if there is an access point very close (generally about half a mile) to the delivery address. We have no way to block it OR to force it. We did not opt in to this service, it is simply UPS procedure in cities where access points exist.

I would encourage any customer who has a bad experience to reach out to UPS directly letting them know how terrible their access point location is. Generally, access points are open for longer hours than a UPS hub. In the past, we have mostly seen grocery stores. Some locations, are sketchy - like liquor stores in bad neighborhoods. Unfortunately, we have zero say in the access point usage.

Helen Oster
Adorama Camera Customer Service Ambassador
[emailprotected]

HelenOster wrote:

Rick Knepper wrote:

HelenOster wrote:

Rick Knepper wrote:

This might be a pilot program or one that has been implemented in certain metro areas but there are some problems with it.

So, Adorama requires a signature for items that cost over $2k and I wasn't there to receive it.

Adorama claimed they had no idea their product was being dropped off at a non-UPS facility especially one of this low caliber. It is unclear whether UPS customers (Adorama) can elect not to use Access Points. If it were not for this Access Point program, I could have asked Adorama to redirect the package to an alternate address and had the package on Thursday.

It's nothing I've been made aware of, but if you could please email me with your order #: [emailprotected] I can certainly check it out for you with our Shipping Manager.

Helen Oster
Adorama Camera Customer Service Ambassador
[emailprotected]

Sent you a private message with the requested information. I have the item now but I think you might want to get more information regarding this new practice.

I'm told that UPS access point usage occurs if the customer is not available at the first attempt and the driver feels the package cannot be left at the location (either due to signature required or if the driver thinks it is an unsafe location) AND if there is an access point very close (generally about half a mile) to the delivery address. We have no way to block it OR to force it. We did not opt in to this service, it is simply UPS procedure in cities where access points exist.

I would encourage any customer who has a bad experience to reach out to UPS directly letting them know how terrible their access point location is. Generally, access points are open for longer hours than a UPS hub. In the past, we have mostly seen grocery stores. Some locations, are sketchy - like liquor stores in bad neighborhoods. Unfortunately, we have zero say in the access point usage.

Helen Oster
Adorama Camera Customer Service Ambassador
[emailprotected]

I appreciate your time investigating this issue, however, your response is fundamentally wrong. I am not UPS’s customer. UPS could care less what I have to say. Adorama is UPS’s customer in this situation and you have plenty of say in this program if you were willing to complain. You could change shippers too.

What is Adorama’s liability here? Does Adorama take responsibility for what happens to these packages at these access points with regard to theft, lost packages, breakage? My tracking number said the package had been delivered (to this business) so does this end UPS’s liability?

When I showed up to fetch my package, the lady there was handing off a package to another recipient. She was putting a heavy sales pitch on him about insurance. Are you okay with other businesses soliciting your customers while in a somewhat captive environment?

Rick Knepper wrote:

HelenOster wrote:

Rick Knepper wrote:

HelenOster wrote:

Rick Knepper wrote:

This might be a pilot program or one that has been implemented in certain metro areas but there are some problems with it.

So, Adorama requires a signature for items that cost over $2k and I wasn't there to receive it.

Adorama claimed they had no idea their product was being dropped off at a non-UPS facility especially one of this low caliber. It is unclear whether UPS customers (Adorama) can elect not to use Access Points. If it were not for this Access Point program, I could have asked Adorama to redirect the package to an alternate address and had the package on Thursday.

It's nothing I've been made aware of, but if you could please email me with your order #: [emailprotected] I can certainly check it out for you with our Shipping Manager.

Helen Oster
Adorama Camera Customer Service Ambassador
[emailprotected]

Sent you a private message with the requested information. I have the item now but I think you might want to get more information regarding this new practice.

I'm told that UPS access point usage occurs if the customer is not available at the first attempt and the driver feels the package cannot be left at the location (either due to signature required or if the driver thinks it is an unsafe location) AND if there is an access point very close (generally about half a mile) to the delivery address. We have no way to block it OR to force it. We did not opt in to this service, it is simply UPS procedure in cities where access points exist.

I would encourage any customer who has a bad experience to reach out to UPS directly letting them know how terrible their access point location is. Generally, access points are open for longer hours than a UPS hub. In the past, we have mostly seen grocery stores. Some locations, are sketchy - like liquor stores in bad neighborhoods. Unfortunately, we have zero say in the access point usage.

Helen Oster
Adorama Camera Customer Service Ambassador
[emailprotected]

I appreciate your time investigating this issue, however, your response is fundamentally wrong. I am not UPS’s customer. UPS could care less what I have to say. Adorama is UPS’s customer in this situation and you have plenty of say in this program if you were willing to complain. You could change shippers too.

What is Adorama’s liability here? Does Adorama take responsibility for what happens to these packages at these access points with regard to theft, lost packages, breakage? My tracking number said the package had been delivered (to this business) so does this end UPS’s liability?

When I showed up to fetch my package, the lady there was handing off a package to another recipient. She was putting a heavy sales pitch on him about insurance. Are you okay with other businesses soliciting your customers while in a somewhat captive environment?

I'll copy your feedback to the Shipping Manager.

Helen Oster
Adorama Camera Customer Service Ambassador
[emailprotected]