Tired Old Man

My Feedback: (1)

To anyone that's considering shipping a large or small package or box using Greyhound.

Unless you are guaranteed a method of tracking the parcel from terminal to terminal, and are provided a solid delivery date, I would suggest that you DO NOT use this method of transportation. Once placed in the care of Greyhound, you have absolutely no means of tracking the package, and no idea of a delivery date.

Unless you are signed up as an "online" shipper, you have no method of locating anything that you shipped, or were scheduled to receive. You will be provided with shipping numbers, but they are only good as a package pick up reference number if and when the package reaches the destination. The recipient has no means at all of locating a lost shipment.

If you do elect to go with Greyhound, make certain that anything shipped is sent as priority or it may not leave the original terminal for days, or be left at an in between terminal for an extended period if bus passenger baggage levels become heavy. Be prepared to wait a long, long time.

Pat

FLYBOY

My Feedback: (11)

Hmm, did you have a problem? I have sent many planes via Greyhound and have been very happy with the service every time. They have yet to miss!

Tired Old Man

My Feedback: (1)

Unless you ship as priority there is no delivery schedule and no way to track. Yep, there's a problem. 8 days so far from Texas to California and nobody knows where it's at or when it may arrive. That's with the Greyhound national and at various local levels. Bus schedule calls for 1 day plus 22 hours max for passengers. The package was shipped as standard shipping so it could be sitting at any terminal along the route until such time as they determine that they have the space available to send it along. Worse, I have a local terminal where the one and only employee doesn't like to show up for work periodically, or answer the phone when she is there. If you had that same package on a truck using federal hours of service rules it's a 2-1/2 day trip between the two most distant points in each state.

Frustrating big time. Even worse is the waste of time in trying to locate the items.

TLH101

My Feedback: (90)

Call the 800 number on the website, and they can track it for you, if you have the tracking number. I have done that before. Just recieved some packages this weekend. They were about 1 day behind the schedule. Have used Greyhound several times with very good results. Problem with the terminals, is they are not actually owned by GPX. I have the same personell problems at my end, and just have to deal with it. For larger stuff they are way cheaper than any other option, and "usually" quite a bit faster.

RCKen

My Feedback: (9)

I'm with TLH and Flyboy. I've used Greyhound several times and had outstanding results. At the beginning of the summer I did ship a plane by UPS because the person on the other end INSISTED on having a tracking number. The cost for shipping was over $400. But if I have my druthers I'll ship Greyhound and have they lower rates and good service.

Ken

Tired Old Man

My Feedback: (1)

Been there done that, all the way up to several levels of supervisors on local and national levels with both Greyhound and Greyhond Package Express. I assure you that if it was not shipped as priority they either can not, or will not, track it. I've been at it for several days already. On a more personal level I refuse to deal with those that fail to meet their requirements or keep a promise. Either is a waste of time, money, or both and can't be justified. It's like hiring an employee that refuses to show up for work and paying them anyway.


Then again, that might be the problem overall. Perhaps we've become conditioned to being "serviced" and have forgotten that we "hired" some person or entity to do a job.

Dr1Driver

Gripe, gripe, gripe...

I've shipped by bus and had absolutely no problems. For a large completed plane, it's uusally the only way to ship, unless you want to pay common carrier LTL rates. I shipped a plane from SC to CA. It arrived in 4 days, with absolutely no damage. I was given a tracking number and could have located the package at any time.

Maybe you p'd them off and now they REALLY won't help you.

Dr.1

Tired Old Man

My Feedback: (1)

Just my experience to date. I didn't even call the first time until after 4 days. Only the facts. That's all I relate, the direct and unadulterated facts. Although I'm quite pleased to hear that others are receiving better results, mine are what they are.

TLH101

My Feedback: (90)

Actually, when my packages were about 18 hours late, this weekend, the clerk at the terminal offered to trace my shipment, but I did not have the tracking #. She was going to track it on here GPX system computer.
I think the clerk on your end may be jerking your chain, they should be able to track it.

Tired Old Man

My Feedback: (1)

Both the shipper and myself have tried 3 individual terminals. I personally have tried several people on the national level as well. So far I've been promised two days in a row that someone will give me a call regarding the location status. That has not been done. One terminal has already advised me to notify the shipper to file a lost freight claim and that they are sorry. None have been able to provide any freight location status.

My time is more valuable than you can imagine for reasons I can't disclose. If any of those that have posted about how easy it is to locate a package shipped Greyhound, and are up to the challenge of performing what appears to be the impossible, there's 50 bucks cash it it for them if they can provide the location of the shipment and a hard delivery date. Of course, proof will be required of their findings. Send a PM and I'll povide info. I'm always good for my word.

I'm putting my money where my mouth is. Is anybody up to the challenge?

Pat

Rcpilot

My Feedback: (78)

I'm not working right now. I got nothing but time.

PM me with details and tracking numbers and I'll get to work. I've got free long distance, so making calls is not a problem.

Tired Old Man

My Feedback: (1)

TLH101 and Rcpilet, thank you for accepting the challenge. I really want to pay someone that $50.00. It's the price of success if either one of you guys can accomplish that which nobody else has been able to.

Thanks again, and I hope to hear some encouraging words. It's appreciated.

Oh, a little help;

Lodi, CA Greyhound phone #209-369-1164. If no one answers call the Lodi Dial a Ride next door at 209-333-6806 to see if the only Greyhound employee at Lodi came in to work that day. If you reach the Lodi Greyhound employee she may tell you that she doesn't know how to work the computer, so sorry.

Stockton, CA Greyhound office # 209-466-4604, the Stockton Terminal number is 209-466-3568. Ask for Carmen or Julie (supervisor), in the afternoon (after 1400)ask for Joy.

Packages to Lodi from Texas must first pass through Stockton, and preceeded by Oakland, CA, after Los Angeles, CA. At least that was supposed to be the routing for this one.

Greyhound national number is 800-231-2222
Greyhound customer complaint # 214-849-8966

Greyhound Package Express (GPX) number can be obtained from the national 800 number.

Pat

jonkoppisch

My Feedback: (162)

That's great!!! I can see the phone ringing all day long asking about this package Their going to start wondering if there's really just a model airplane in the box [sm=lol.gif] The girl running the office will probably go home early today because she's being overworked, lol

Dr1Driver

My time is more valuable than you can imagine for reasons I can't disclose.
This is getting good. What are you, an Interpol spy or something?

there's 50 bucks cash it it for them
MY time is more valuable than that, and I'll gladly disclose the reason. Because I say it is.

Dr.1
PS Sometimes you just gotta push buttons...

RCKen

My Feedback: (9)

Ken

Tired Old Man

My Feedback: (1)

So far one of the searchers is down with no joy.

Dr1, you really don't want to know. That said, it's now been 9 days since a 35% plane was shipped from Texas to California and nobody in the system has a clue where it is, and it hasn't just been me that's been informed it can't be tarcked or located. Wouldn't you be a bit frustrated?

Tired Old Man

My Feedback: (1)

Have now been informed by Greyhound local and Greyhound Package Express national that there has been no reply to any of the "tracers" initiated by them. The shipment has a high probability of having been stolen and that an insurance claim for a "lost shipment" should be filed with Greyhound. Their words, not mine.

Dr1Driver

Then file the claim and at least get the money for it. IMO, Greyhound isn't lying about the situation. If they can't find it, then it must have been stolen. Possibly picked up by the wrong party at the terminal destination? Simply hijacked at a waystop?

Sorry you lost the plane, but your condemnation of Greyhound won't fly in the face of all the good reports concerning shipping by bus. ANY common carrier can, and does, lose shipments or have them stolen. It happens all the time. Your plane just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Dr.1

Tired Old Man

My Feedback: (1)

BTW, were you aware that Greyhound will not insure any package or freight travelling more than 300 miles for more than $300.00? If it's worth more than that you'd better be able to break the plane up into a lot of pieces and ship it in separate boxes. If you're shipping a $4,000.00 plane and it's lost you're going to be out a lot of money, so just keep placing your trust there. I don't think you would be quite so cavalier if it was to happen to you.

I'm not out anything as far as funds are concerned, so in that respect it's no big deal. However, the shipper IS out some dough. Again, no big deal, he'll just raise the price of the production kits so everyone that did not suffer the loss will have to pay for it. Personally, I don't believe in laying down and taking what everyone wants to dish out with a smile. I guess a more inportant question is whether those that will and do prefer Vaseline or dry?

RTK

My Feedback: (1)

Oh, Vaseline please.... All kidding aside, This particular plane was a prototype that was to be reviewed and modifications suggested prior to production.
Silversurfer is now out of time to complete this task, he well be deployed out of the country very soon.
The manufacturer will not receive valuable information on this product along with assembly manuals and pictures that would have been included.
If it were me and Greyhound would not insure over $300, I would not use this method either. I doubt I would anyway.

LSF2298

My Feedback: (4)

As my Grand Daddy used to say, if you want a good grade of hay, you are going to have to pay a fair price for it. If you want the hay once it's been thru the horse, you can get that a little cheaper.

Tired Old Man

My Feedback: (1)

Roger that!!


I'll take the third cut alfalfa please, before the first pass through

davewallace

My Feedback: (29)

Pat,
It's good to hear that you personaly aren't out any money.

Dave

Tired Old Man

My Feedback: (1)

Dave, thank you.

No, there was no money lost. Some additional products that had been charged for that were in the shipment were simply back credited via the CC company.

It was the time lost that was so frustrating. For me that's more valuable than cash since I have so little of it to spend at home. All in all on my side alone there were probably 25 to 30 hours expended in researching the location status and driving back and forth to another town to see why the phone was not being answered at the Greyhound destination office during business hours. The answer to that was pretty easy after the trips. They didn't go to work that day! I won't begin to try counting the number of phone calls made to local, regional, and national Greyhound and GPX offices, or the number of people that I spoke with that seemed barely qualified to hold a phone.

The lesson learned is that any Greyhound shipping you want to do MUST be done as priority and that you need to be absolutely certain that the employee logs the shipment into the computer before you leave him or her. Get any needed tracking information that may be required before you leave the counter. Break the shipment up into numerous boxes for insurance purposes if it's valuable, and then pray.

Thanks to those that tried to locate the lost shipment as well. I'm pretty certain that you experienced the same things the shipper and I did, and that further effort would be useless. I'm sure the effort was educational, though. The end result of this one is that it appears that the shipment never even made it to the first bus and was stolen at the customer drop off point.

The up side (or down depending on your perspective) is that the manufacturer had a couple more of this prototype and is sending me another one UPS. I don't know if he is paying the shipping or I am and I don't care. I know that it will at least arrive expeditiously, probably in 24 hours. The downside is the 10 days that were lost waiting for the product to arrive, plus the time shipping a second unit, and all the associated productivity that was lost with it. There will not be enough time available to complete the construction and flight review process before it's time to leave again. With any luck I'll be able to get back by the house for a few days and fly it for that part of the review.

P-51B

My Feedback: (5)

I am no lawyer, but they accepted a fee for service then lost the item. Whether they insure or not I would say they are still liable for the costs associated with the loss.

If I was the shipper, I would be talking to a lawyer. $4k, plus your time, plus his time, plus lost data, etc....adds up.



p.s. I don't care for lawyers or the sue happy society, but sometimes it appears to be necessary.