Hundreds of thousands of packages still waylaid by two snowstorms that socked Colorado in the last two weeks will be delivered. Really, they will.
United Parcel Service and Fed Ex, two of the nation’s largest private mail carriers, say they expect to erase delivery backlogs caused by the storms by the end of this week. For UPS, which is about a day behind on its deliveries, that translates into roughly 350,000 parcels in Colorado. Fed Ex declined to provide even ballpark numbers, citing company policy.
“Needless to say, our customers are up in arms about not having the product,” said Mark Lane, a Lakewood business owner who said he has awaited since Dec. 20 a UPS delivery of Rose Bowl-branded goods he was to deliver to his customers. “This will cost us hundreds, and possibly thousands, of dollars.”
The Rose Bowl was Monday. UPS said it tried unsuccessfully twice to deliver Lane’s time-sensitive package before the big game.
Shippers pay extra fees for speedier service, such as overnight and two-day options, but it’s standard industry practice for the private carriers to drop the guarantees during inclement weather.
Thursday, UPS will reinstate those delivery guarantees for parcels sent to Colorado, said spokesman Jeff Keener. FedEx has not decided when it will reinstate its delivery guarantee, spokeswoman Sally Davenport said Tuesday.
“Things we cannot possibly control do result in suspension of guarantees,” she said. “When there are delays in our system, there are additional costs to us in one way or another. So, while we don’t refund the money, we are incurring additional operating expenses.”
Blizzard conditions created delivery delays, and snow-clogged streets only made them worse, leaving thousands of Coloradans without the Christmas and holiday presents they ordered. Some companies couldn’t deliver paychecks to employees. Other companies reported lost sales.
“We completely understand that people are frustrated, and we’re very sorry about the bad experiences they’ve had,” Keener said.
He added that UPS has hired more than 600 temporary workers and dispatched employees to Colorado from other states to help clear the backlog.
“We’re just asking everyone to have a little more patience,” Keener said.
Many Coloradans indeed have lacked patience and proper perspective about the sluggish parcel deliveries, said Susan Liehe, vice president of public affairs for the Denver/Boulder Better Business Bureau. Her office has received dozens of complaints about delayed deliveries.
Consumers have become “spoiled in the age of Internet shopping and overnight shipping” and have, as a result, developed unrealistic expectations, she said.
“People believe that if you pay enough, you ought to have that overnight door-to-door service,” Liehe said. “But there comes a point when Mother Nature says, ‘I don’t care what you paid.’
“Your money talks, except to her.”
Staff writer Christine Tatum can be reached at 303-954-1503 or ctatum@denverpost.com.
