NEVER SHIP USPS!
Posted: Sun May 14, 2006 8:40 pm
I used to ship birds USPS and have received live bird shipments from USPS in the past without problems, and I realize it is a fairly common procedure that lots of breeders rely on to sell their birds to people across the US.
However, just this past week I have had a terrible USPS experience and I will NEVER use USPS again for ANY shipment that I need to get somewhere by a specific time, ESPECIALLY a live animal shipment! I advise you to not use USPS either to prevent anything like what happened to me from ever occurring again. I hope that you will all spread the word of this terrible experience so that it doesn't happen to anyone else.
What happened:
I purchased my 2 pairs of birds ($310) in California and they were healthy and doing great. I originally wanted to take them on the plane with me when I flew home to Florida since United allows birds as a carry on for 80$. At first I felt this was a steep fee, but in the end I decided that it was reasonable for peace of mind and keeping the birds by my side at all times. I called the airline several times to gather all of the information I would need to carry the birds on the plane. I was told I needed a special cage, to pay $80, and to make reservations for the birds a few days in advance. I purchased a special carrying cage that could fit under the seat in front of me and budgeted for the $80 though I could definitely not afford anything more than that. I got to LA and purchased my 2 pairs, and then called the airline to make reservations for my birds.... only to learn that in addition to a special cage, advance reservations, and a fee, I also needed to present a veterinary health certificate for my birds.
I don't know any vets in LA, let alone bird vets, and I was relying on other people for transportation. However, even if I was able to find a bird vet, get an appointment, and find a ride to my appointment, I still could not afford to pay for 4 health exams on these birds in order to obtain a health certificate--I had only budgeted for the $80 carry on fee and I'm otherwise very broke right now, sadly.
So I decided to try shipping USPS to a trusted friend back home. I have Horizon Microenvironments ship me a special bird box overnight, received it 3pm on Thursday, and loaded it with seed, spray millet, cucumber and orange slices, and even taped a deli cup with a little water in it to the bottom corner of the box. I added the birds and wrote in sharpie marker my friend's address and phone numbers, a note to hold the birds and call my friend when they were received at the post office, and my phone number. I shipped them out at 3:34pm Thursday May 11th from Los Angeles to Gainesville Florida with the USPS overnight express mail service. I was told they would be guaranteed to arrive in Gainesville by 3pm Friday May 12th at the latest. Even if something delayed the package slightly, they could still be delivered early Saturday morning. I was given a tracking number. I called my friend and instructed her on what to do--to call her post office early in the morning and inform them she was expecting a live bird shipment, etc. I gave her a copy of the tracking #.
The last record USPS has of my shipment was from 6:30 pm on Friday May 12th when the package was supposedly "processed" and shipped out from the USPS distribution center in Miami, Florida, 3 and a half hours AFTER it was supposed to already be in Gainesville. It hasn't been seen since. It is now 8:30 pm Sunday May 14th, and there are only 2 possibilities in my mind for what has become of my four new pets...
1. Either the package was stolen in Miami by a USPS employee that thought 4 cute birds would make a great Mother's Day gift
or
2. USPS has lost the package and the four birds are dead.
USPS does not allow insurance of live animal shipments, and will not compensate me for the loss of my four birds. I have been in contact with the facilities in Gainesville, Miami, Jacksonville as well as with numerous customer service employees at the 1-800-ask-usps number since Friday evening. No one has been able to help or give me any valuable information. No one knows where the package is or where it might be headed to next. No one has any information, and what is worse, the customer service people are not only apathetic but rude. No one cares that this is an urgent live bird shipment and that this is literally a matter of life and death. The customer service employees have raised their voices at me--me who is understandably upset and has every right to be. I have been told the birds are probably dead and that I should not expect any compensation even though it is entirely the fault of USPS for the delayed delivery (or non delivery?).
I plan on writing my letters of complaint, and I have done everything else within my power to ameliorate this situation. I asked customer service to start a research investigation but so far no one has seemed to be working on my case, and no information has been uncovered. The USPS tracking system is a joke and is essentially worthless. They don't know what truck the birds were placed on or where they were being driven to. They claim they don't have the ability to communicate with their distribution centers after hours, on certain days, or ever with their truck drivers--all of this seems like a pack of lies to me. A company like USPS has to have the ability to communicate with their employees at all hours in order to function.
I am terribly upset, and I feel the need to get the word out about this fiasco so that no one has to go through what I have been through, and so that no one else runs the risk of losing their birds to gross USPS negligence and apathy.
Please be warned and please never use USPS for live animal shipments of any kind.
However, just this past week I have had a terrible USPS experience and I will NEVER use USPS again for ANY shipment that I need to get somewhere by a specific time, ESPECIALLY a live animal shipment! I advise you to not use USPS either to prevent anything like what happened to me from ever occurring again. I hope that you will all spread the word of this terrible experience so that it doesn't happen to anyone else.
What happened:
I purchased my 2 pairs of birds ($310) in California and they were healthy and doing great. I originally wanted to take them on the plane with me when I flew home to Florida since United allows birds as a carry on for 80$. At first I felt this was a steep fee, but in the end I decided that it was reasonable for peace of mind and keeping the birds by my side at all times. I called the airline several times to gather all of the information I would need to carry the birds on the plane. I was told I needed a special cage, to pay $80, and to make reservations for the birds a few days in advance. I purchased a special carrying cage that could fit under the seat in front of me and budgeted for the $80 though I could definitely not afford anything more than that. I got to LA and purchased my 2 pairs, and then called the airline to make reservations for my birds.... only to learn that in addition to a special cage, advance reservations, and a fee, I also needed to present a veterinary health certificate for my birds.
I don't know any vets in LA, let alone bird vets, and I was relying on other people for transportation. However, even if I was able to find a bird vet, get an appointment, and find a ride to my appointment, I still could not afford to pay for 4 health exams on these birds in order to obtain a health certificate--I had only budgeted for the $80 carry on fee and I'm otherwise very broke right now, sadly.
So I decided to try shipping USPS to a trusted friend back home. I have Horizon Microenvironments ship me a special bird box overnight, received it 3pm on Thursday, and loaded it with seed, spray millet, cucumber and orange slices, and even taped a deli cup with a little water in it to the bottom corner of the box. I added the birds and wrote in sharpie marker my friend's address and phone numbers, a note to hold the birds and call my friend when they were received at the post office, and my phone number. I shipped them out at 3:34pm Thursday May 11th from Los Angeles to Gainesville Florida with the USPS overnight express mail service. I was told they would be guaranteed to arrive in Gainesville by 3pm Friday May 12th at the latest. Even if something delayed the package slightly, they could still be delivered early Saturday morning. I was given a tracking number. I called my friend and instructed her on what to do--to call her post office early in the morning and inform them she was expecting a live bird shipment, etc. I gave her a copy of the tracking #.
The last record USPS has of my shipment was from 6:30 pm on Friday May 12th when the package was supposedly "processed" and shipped out from the USPS distribution center in Miami, Florida, 3 and a half hours AFTER it was supposed to already be in Gainesville. It hasn't been seen since. It is now 8:30 pm Sunday May 14th, and there are only 2 possibilities in my mind for what has become of my four new pets...
1. Either the package was stolen in Miami by a USPS employee that thought 4 cute birds would make a great Mother's Day gift
or
2. USPS has lost the package and the four birds are dead.
USPS does not allow insurance of live animal shipments, and will not compensate me for the loss of my four birds. I have been in contact with the facilities in Gainesville, Miami, Jacksonville as well as with numerous customer service employees at the 1-800-ask-usps number since Friday evening. No one has been able to help or give me any valuable information. No one knows where the package is or where it might be headed to next. No one has any information, and what is worse, the customer service people are not only apathetic but rude. No one cares that this is an urgent live bird shipment and that this is literally a matter of life and death. The customer service employees have raised their voices at me--me who is understandably upset and has every right to be. I have been told the birds are probably dead and that I should not expect any compensation even though it is entirely the fault of USPS for the delayed delivery (or non delivery?).
I plan on writing my letters of complaint, and I have done everything else within my power to ameliorate this situation. I asked customer service to start a research investigation but so far no one has seemed to be working on my case, and no information has been uncovered. The USPS tracking system is a joke and is essentially worthless. They don't know what truck the birds were placed on or where they were being driven to. They claim they don't have the ability to communicate with their distribution centers after hours, on certain days, or ever with their truck drivers--all of this seems like a pack of lies to me. A company like USPS has to have the ability to communicate with their employees at all hours in order to function.
I am terribly upset, and I feel the need to get the word out about this fiasco so that no one has to go through what I have been through, and so that no one else runs the risk of losing their birds to gross USPS negligence and apathy.
Please be warned and please never use USPS for live animal shipments of any kind.