DEAR FED EX
“I will make every FedEx experience outstanding.”
It rained today. The kind of rain with no end as it had been raining all night long. This was no light rain as most of Texas experienced a torrential downpour of rain due to Hurricane Patricia. I was expecting a package I had ordered last Saturday but was not sure when it would arrive. Because of the flooding around town, I decided to stay home today.
Your company motto promises an outstanding experience which is something we all want from a company. 'Outstanding' was certainly my experience this morning as I made the 15 hurried steps to the front door from the kitchen in the back of the house.
I can only imagine what would have happened to my son's Christmas surprise had I decided to go to the gym instead of staying home. In the five seconds it took me to walk to the front door after I heard the doorbell ring, the large box was covered with large droplets of water. Five seconds.
Disbelief crossed my face as I stood there with the wet box and opened it to see if the contents inside were wet. Thankfully they were not but I can only imagine what could have happened had I waited 60 seconds or if I was upstairs in the shower and did not hear the doorbell at all.
I then wondered what went on through the mind of the FedEx delivery guy. He sees it is raining and thinks 'Oh, there is no covered porch and it is pouring rain and the package will get wet but at least I rang the doorbell. I don't care because I did my job so I'm off to deliver the next package.'
This was yet another example of poor customer service. My second experience this week after the one with the cottages in Killarney. We seem to have lost all sense of what it means to take care of a customer's needs.
What happened to your ad campaigns of the late 80s and early 90s? "It's not Just a Package, It's Your Business" – 1987–1988 and "Our Most Important Package is Yours" – 1991–1994. My package was not treated as 'most important' rather as 'just a package'.
My package seemed to be an inconvenience as the delivery guy gave no thought as to what would happen if he left it standing in the rain. Is this how you would want your son's gift to arrive to your doorstep?
Sincerely, someone who wishes your company would start to give a damn about its customers, to hire drivers who took pride in their work, and to take your promise of an 'outstanding experience' to heart.
