There's something about this specific Sylmar UPS shipping hub where I've always had issues with them. They must be incredibly disorganized/mismanaged because whenever I track shipping, my packages always seem to move smoothly and promptly until they get to this Sylmar depot. And then miraculously they often end up delayed or worse LOST when they get to this Sylmar shipping depot.
I'll give you the most recent example. I paid $200 for international express shipping of some extremely valuable, completely irreplaceable documents from Europe that were supposed to be delivered over two days.
(You can skip this timeline)
Start:
Castle Donnington, UK (9 PM GMT) Arrival Scan (Time Elapsed 0:00) | 3AM GMT (~6:00hrs) Departure scan out of United Kingdom.
Philadelphia, PA: 6:30AM EST Arrival Scan (Elapsed ~14:00hrs) | 10:47 AM EST Departure Scan (Elapsed 18:00hrs)
NOTE: Distance traveled from previous destination 5,373 miles (in 14 hours)
Louisville, KY: 12:40PM EST Arrival Scan | Import Scan 2:31 PM EST |5:22 EST Departure Scan (Elapsed 20:00hrs)
Day 2 - Ontario, CA: 6:45 PM PST Arrival Scan | 5:16am Departure Scan
Distance from last point 1730 miles in 15 hrs (Elapsed 35:00 hrs)
Sylmar, CA: 7:25AM PST Arrival Scan
Note: At this point the parcel has managed to move 6000+ miles in just over 35 hours. It went through 3 different shipping hubs and never spent more than 6 hours in one single place. Sylmar is 11 miles from destination address and package is set to be delivered that day.
....14 hours later....
No update on tracking. Just a "destination scan" earlier that morning at 8am. Package not delivered, no update on delivery date. I'm thinking do they even have it at this point? Call UPS customer service, wait on hold for 54 MINUTES just to speak to a representative. Explain the important nature of the parcel and how there's several thousand dollars worth of documents from the UK government that can't be replaced if lost. Speak to a customer service manager that assures me they'll make a note to have the Sylmar manager call me at 9AM in the morning to explain where this extremely important package is and why it's delayed.
Morning comes, no call from Sylmar manager. Customer service manager calls instead. Apparently the parcel is still in Sylmar, "didn't the depot Sylmar manager call you?" No. "Okay, well the package is in Sylmar, would you like for me to arrange to hold it there so you can pick it up?" Yes at this point I don't trust your guys' incompetence and at least if you hold the package for role call in Sylmar, there's less chance of something going wrong between here and the delivery when the driver takes it. "Okay I'll make a note on this item to be held for role call, you'll need a photo ID with the shipping address on it to pick it up." Fine...
2 hours later - Checking Shipping Status Online "Out For Delivery" Are you f%@king kidding me? I just told you to hold it there and now it's out for delivery.
Anyway, this extremely valuable parcel eventually gets let on my front porch at around 5PM. No knock on the door. NO SIGNATURE CONFIRMATION WHICH I PAID FOR. Just a silent ninja stealth drop of a parcel that travel 7000+ miles with thousands of dollars worth of documents inside.
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TL;DR: International parcel with $$$$ documents inside travels 7000 miles in 30hrs from Europe, only to get delayed at Sylmar depot (11 miles from final destination) with no tracking updates after arriving. Then after contacting UPS and asking them to hold the package at the Sylmar depot it manages to go out for delivery and delivered left out, without promised signature confirmation 34 hours after arriving in Sylmar shipping depot.
How the heck does an express international parcel go 7000 miles in the same amount of time it takes to go 11 miles between Sylmar and destination???? How does it get process in less than 6 hours at every other UPS shipping depot, but take 30 hrs in Sylmar???? What's going on at this Sylmar location?!?!?!
Also, after being promised a phone call update from the Sylmar manager no call ever happened. And I talked to them twice to file a complaint specifically about this location and they promised me someone would call me back to log my complaint and they never did.
Now, if I ever need anything delivered to the address in this area I always avoid UPS. There's way too much risk having your package pass through their Sylmar shipping depot! read more