Help explain FedEx holiday deadlines to me
October 23, 2017 8:56 PM Subscribe
FedEx has published their holiday shipping deadlines and I have a question about FedEx Home vs. Ground.
The last day to ship FedEx Ground is Friday the 15th, but the last day for Home is Monday the 18th. Why are they different days? I was under the impression that they were the same service and only delivered Tuesday through Saturday, but maybe they're not? If I'm shipping to a residence using Home, am I safe to use the later date?
After a sad episode where, despite not even shipping coast-to-coast, I met the deadline only to be left without gifts on Christmas, I am gun shy about shipping on the last date. (To be fair, the place I was shipping to is on the far outskirts of an urban area, just a few miles from where houses give way to grain silos, so it's understandable that it would be the one to get skipped.) And yes, I'm aware that if I really, absolutely, want them to get there on time, the best time to ship is, say, the first week of December. But realistically I will be up to my eyeballs in Thanksgiving and won't be in the Christmas spirit until after then.
The last day to ship FedEx Ground is Friday the 15th, but the last day for Home is Monday the 18th. Why are they different days? I was under the impression that they were the same service and only delivered Tuesday through Saturday, but maybe they're not? If I'm shipping to a residence using Home, am I safe to use the later date?
After a sad episode where, despite not even shipping coast-to-coast, I met the deadline only to be left without gifts on Christmas, I am gun shy about shipping on the last date. (To be fair, the place I was shipping to is on the far outskirts of an urban area, just a few miles from where houses give way to grain silos, so it's understandable that it would be the one to get skipped.) And yes, I'm aware that if I really, absolutely, want them to get there on time, the best time to ship is, say, the first week of December. But realistically I will be up to my eyeballs in Thanksgiving and won't be in the Christmas spirit until after then.
Best answer: Another thing to note: If for some reason a Home Delivery package is not delivered on Saturday, as expected, the next possible delivery day is a Tuesday. In other words, the package won't be changed to a truck that does Monday deliveries.
posted by freezer cake at 9:09 AM on October 24, 2017
posted by freezer cake at 9:09 AM on October 24, 2017
Response by poster: Together your comments explain almost all the puzzling behavior I've seen from FedEx Home, thank you! I have experienced packages dropped off on Monday start transiting, and packages dropped off Saturday not move over the weekend, but that makes sense given the M-F of the normal FedEx Ground backhaul. They also explain why, when I had a much-anticipated Home package go out for delivery but fail to arrive on a Saturday, it was not possible to get it delivered on Monday, no matter whom I talked to. (It also wasn't possible to get a refund based on their "guarantee", which is conveniently void during the last weeks of December.)
One more thing, please remember that starting December 1st, all delivery drivers take on temporary North Pole citizenship. They are not required to observe stop signs or speed limits, traveling as they are with full diplomatic immunity, so give them a little extra consideration on the road, as they deliver their important cargo.
posted by wnissen at 8:23 AM on October 29, 2017
One more thing, please remember that starting December 1st, all delivery drivers take on temporary North Pole citizenship. They are not required to observe stop signs or speed limits, traveling as they are with full diplomatic immunity, so give them a little extra consideration on the road, as they deliver their important cargo.
posted by wnissen at 8:23 AM on October 29, 2017
This thread is closed to new comments.
The local delivery routes are where the services diverge: FedEx Ground delivers to businesses Monday-Friday, and FedEx Home Delivery delivers to homes Tuesday-Saturday.
So in the case where a package might reach a city on a Friday (after the FedEx Ground business deliveries are already underway), the business recipient could expect it to be delivered on Monday, and the residential recipient could expect it to be delivered Saturday.
One thing to note: Saturday is not always a delivery day for Home Delivery. I suspect that in some smaller markets (perhaps the super rural area you described?) a single contractor will handle both Ground and Home Delivery packages, on weekdays only.
If you create a FedEx account and prepare the shipment with a specific future date, you can verify the transit estimate, in case it's different than the general cut-off.
posted by reeddavid at 10:35 PM on October 23, 2017