Some people were singing the Christmas blues today when packages didn’t arrive due to shipping problems at UPS and FedEx.
The companies - which essentially serve the role of Santa - said they were hampered by poor weather in some areas and an overwhelming number of people sending gifts this holiday season.
“UPS is experiencing heavy holiday volume and making every effort to get packages to their destination; however, the volume of air packages in our system exceeded the capacity of our network immediately preceding Christmas so some shipments were delayed,” the statement said.
Sandy Springs-based UPS is not making pickups or deliveries on Christmas Day and will resume normally scheduled service Thursday.
For up-to date information, track your specific shipment's progress on UPS.com.
Some FedEx customers can pick up packages Christmas Day at the their local FedEx Express centers.
“We’re sorry that there could be delays and we’re contacting affected customers who have shipments available for pickup,” Scott Fiedler, a spokesman for FedEx Corp., told the Associated Press.
The shipping delays - which struck Georgia, Alabama, Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma and other states - left people in the sticky situation of having to apologize, or scramble to find some sort of substitute offering.
The problems led to some animated, and at times testy, comments on the UPS Facebook page. Angry customers expressed their disappointment, while UPS drivers and other workers defended their efforts during this extra-busy season.
One customer wrote: “They could not handle the volume they had and Now they will suffer because they had no idea what they were doing and so many did not get their gifts . I for 1 will NEVER NEVER use them again.”
A somewhat defensive employee said: “I’m a driver, got off at 1010 last night, 60hr weeks, I’m tired, Mother Nature, a booming economy and no one visiting malls any more cause this…..no reason 4 anyone to be mad…Merry Christmas.”
Seeing people’s anger, some UPS customer service people also weighed in on the Facebook chatter.
One service worker responded to a woman’s post, saying, “We are sorry this issue has affected your Christmas and we would like to follow up with you regarding your concern. We would like to help. Please e-mail your tracking number and contact details to Help@ups.com.”
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