Wine shipping, because it’s just that aggravating, part II

One man’s travails with FedEx, because don’t we all?

This is the second of two parts looking at wine shipping and how far we still have to go until we can legally buy what we want. Today, Part II: How a FedEx driver gummed up the system. Part I: Bring on the lawsuits

I got a phone call last month from a friend who subscribes to the blog. He said he had a story for me about yet another wine delivery screw up, a common topic on the blog. He also said I wouldn’t believe it.

And, despite all that I have written about this and all the foolishness I have seen, I didn’t.

My friend said I could use his name, but discretion being the better part of valor, let’s call him Rich from Dallas. He had legally ordered wine from an out-of-state retailer and had it shipped to a FedEx office near his home, which is what FedEx says it prefers. Rich has done this many times and never had any trouble; the driver leaves the wine, Rich drives to the office, signs for the wine, and drives home.

But not this time.

The driver refused to leave the wine unless someone of legal age at the office signed for it. Stop for a moment and consider this: A FedEx employee wouldn’t deliver a package to a FedEx facility, staffed by other FedEx employees.

What the driver did do was to report this as a missed delivery, and the wine stayed on the truck for another couple of days in 100-degree heat as the farce played out. Rich, confused as to what was going on, couldn’t figure out how he had missed a delivery at a FedEx office. Then, and perhaps even more astounding, the wine was returned to the retailer as undeliverable.

“I called the FedEx store and talked to the manager, and she said she had never had that happen before,” says Rich. “The driver is supposed to leave the package at the store, without a signature, if the package is direct from the original shipper. Which it was. It’s supposed to be company-wide policy.”

A FedEx spokesman told me yes, that’s the company policy, and that “I can tell you there have not been any changes to processes or procedures related to alcohol shipments.” So the driver should have left the package.

I also checked with the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, on the off chance the agency had launched some kind of enforcement action and the driver had been told to get a signature at the office — or else. But that wasn’t the case, either, said a spokesman: “There are no new requirements.”

So what happened? My best guess is that the driver had his own reasons, which we’ve seen documented on the blog often enough. It was hot and he was cranky, or he had been reprimanded for not getting a signature on previous deliveries. Or maybe a mistaken delivery to a minor? Which is why the driver wanted to see the ID of the FexEx employee signing for the package.

In the end, the retailer refunded Rich’s wine and the FedEx manager told him she would sign if this happens again. But it does seem like a lot of trouble to go to buy a couple of bottles of wine – legally – over the Internet.