If there were a 0 star option, I would use it. If any Northbrook employee ever reads this page, NEWS FLASH: ALL Northwestern University student mail MUST go through the package center. No, the address on the package should NOT be the address of the package center. Literally every other mail carrier in the area trains their employees to do this and I have never had problems with any mail carrier but UPS.
My mini fridge broke last week and I had to order a new one online from BestBuy. My parents placed the order on 9/22 and it was due to be delivered on Friday, but obviously I needed it ASAP. UPS "attempted" to deliver the fridge to my dorm on Thursday when I was out, did not leave any kind of note or send any notifications, and left me to look at the tracking and figure it out on my own. I called the main UPS customer service center on Friday and gave instructions for the driver to take the package to the mail center, gave them the address and thought that would be the end of it. Someone I assumed was the driver called me mid-afternoon and assured me it was under control.
But no! I never received an email from the mail center telling me it had arrived, and when I checked the tracking, the note said "the receiving business was closed". This was at 6:47 PM. The mail center closes at 8 PM, and when I spoke to someone who works there, he informed me that they were open until 10 that day. I don't know if it's just that there are only certain codes you can use, but this guy literally lied because he clearly just couldn't find it or didn't look. Let me just note that it is NOT difficult to find the mailroom if you go to the correct address and go in the front door, and that at least one delivery person had my cell number, but apparently not the correct delivery person.
I then called customer service AGAIN on Saturday, gave incredibly specific instructions on where to go and what to do, and again gave my cell number. The driver called while I was in class Monday--the customer service rep I talked to repeatedly ignored my saying not to call after 9--and left a voicemail, and I received the fridge that day.
Fast forward to today. One day later. My parents had sent some things from home with one-day shipping, which is obviously expensive. I go to class, come back through the back door, go to run some errands and come through the front, only to see that there is (for once) a note from UPS with only my last name and the date. None of the handy checkboxes are checked. Again, this is the THIRD time that this has happened since Thursday.
When I checked the tracking it said that the delivery attempt had been made at 9:45. I was in my room at 9:45. If the doorbell had been rung I presumably would have heard it, or someone would have heard it and come to get me. We have a small entryway and a second door so it's pretty hard to hear a knock if you aren't right downstairs, and I doubt that anyone was downstairs at that time. So basically, he didn't even try.
I called customer service for the third time, they had someone from Northbrook call me, but he had absolutely no idea what I was talking about and repeatedly (and pretty condescendingly) asked if the person in NY who sent it had just put the wrong address. No matter how many times I explained the issue, he did not seem to understand. I plan to call them again tomorrow morning and reiterate the, again, needlessly specific instructions and once again give the driver my cell number.
YOU NEED TO TRAIN YOUR EMPLOYEES SO THAT THEY ALL KNOW THIS. This information is NOT hard to find. Two seconds of googling Northwestern mail services will give you a result. We are told not to have senders put Northwestern on the address because the mail will be rerouted through a different office before reaching the mailroom, but if you don't know at first glance whether something is a dorm, Google Maps is your friend! And if you go there and it's clearly a dorm, you should know where to bring the package!
I will not be using UPS again if I can help it. Unfortunately many online businesses use them, but I will take the more expensive option before I have this happen again. It's a needless waste of time and incredibly frustrating and for such a small-seeming establishment, they don't seem to have much communication between employees or general coherence. read more