A Letter To FedEx

 

 

To Whom This Concerns,
 

I have a little story to share with you.  It is just a little story, but you might find some interest in this story since it is the story about how FedEx lost my business on one particular day and has further ensured that they have lost my business forever (not that it's going to make any real difference to you, anyway).
 

My father and I needed to ship an item each.  Now my dad is much of a FedEx man himself, whereas I am partial to USPS.  Still, we were both shipping an item on the same day and I suggested that we just go together.  I figured that, since we were going together, it made little sense to use two separate shipping businesses and I would happily ship by FedEx.
 

We walked into the FedEx office and the clerk took one look at the package that I had for shipping, which was wrapped in plain, brown packaging paper, and asked what kind of box it was that I was shipping.  An odd question, I thought, but he wanted to know so I explained that it was rather like a shoe box, but thicker, and that it didn't really make much of a difference since the goods it held were all paper and no harm could really come to the item.
 

He said, "We don't ship wrapped packages."
 

Being the irascible sort that I am, I told him that I wasn't bothered by such a policy because there were plenty of folks who wanted my money and I would simply ship it elsewhere.  I was mildly amused by the fact that in such a competitive business anyone would snub their nose to a sale that was right there, in their hands, no questions asked.  I simply cannot understand why, when you are not the only game in town, you would make rules that amount to a financial loss.

 

 

Well, that is neither here nor there.
 

Off to the Post Office we went where the package was taken, quickly processed, and I was on my way.  I told my father, "Now you see why I don't like to use anyone other than USPS."  He agreed and, guess what?  You've lost his business, too.
 

I hope that you've enjoyed my little story - I tried to make it as entertaining for you as I could.  Mainly, though, I hope that this little story will help you to understand that when you aren't the only choice for shipping packages that it makes little sense to alienate your prospective customer base with silly rules.

 

 

You lost not one, but two customers on that day - not just for that day, but forever.

 

I am sincerely yours,
 

Michael Jay