FedEx signatures

Topics/tags: Rants, short

Once in a while, when we order something or have it repaired, the sender uses FedEx to ship the package. That’s not a problem; our local FedEx driver is pretty good. But some shippers require a signature. That is a problem. Like most services, FedEx won’t tell you when they plan to visit. I work for a living. So does the rest of my family. How are we expected to be home to sign?

Sometimes you are able to go online and choose another option. Let’s see what options are available.

Leave at a local FedEx facility. In Iowa, local is in the eye of the beholder. I think our local facility is in Des Moines, about sixty miles away. I’m not interested in driving two hours for something that’s been shipped to me.

Choose the arrival date. That could be convenient. For example, we had signature required for four different shipments from the same shipper, scheduled to arrive on three different days. However, it’s not always possible to find any day to be at home. For example, those shipments were scheduled during a week that I was at code camp.

Choose a new delivery address. That sounds good; I can have things delivered to work and people; there are always people available to sign [1]. But they charge extra if you change the address. Something in me rebels against paying extra for something that I’ve already paid for [2].

And that’s it for the options [4].

I’ve tried leaving a signed note at the door. The driver isn’t allowed to accept that. I’ve tried leaving a note that says Call me; I can be there in five minutes. That sometimes works; our driver can be very accommodating. But most of the time, I end up struggling to find an appropriate solution.

What do you do?

Postscript: While I don’t appreciate having to sign for FedEx packages, I do appreciate the careful work with typefaces that went into the FedEx logo to create the arrow.

[1] Or at least there are usually people available to sign during regular FedEx hours.

[2] If I were more sensible, I’d just ship everything to my office [3].

[3] Of course, I also encounter vendors who are not willing to ship to an address other than the one on my credit card.

[4] At least that’s it for the options that I can recall.

Version 1.0 of 2018-07-20.