News

UPS Fails to Deliver On The Most Important Day

by Adrienne Vogt

You had one job, UPS and FedEx. To deliver millions of Christmas presents to people all over the country who waited until the absolute last minute to buy gifts for their loved ones. But you failed — and people got ANGRY. Americans took to social media, mostly using the Twitter hashtag #UPSfail, to express outrage over UPS and FedEx "ruining Christmas" after the companies neglected to meet their promised delivery times.

“We had our peak projections, and the volume has exceeded our projection," said United Parcel Service spokeswoman Natalie Black. "We are sorry."

UPS had guaranteed next-day delivery if orders were placed by Dec. 23. Even though the cause of delays were not specifically outlined, dangerous icy weather and a smaller shopping window between Thanksgiving and Christmas most likely contributed to the mess.

"This has been the worst Christmas ever," said UPS driver Larry Ledet, 55, of Houston. He's been a driver for 27 years, according to USA Today, and he made 337 stops and delivered 505 packages Monday.

This year, 40 percent of holiday shopping was projected to be done online. UPS delivers 300 packages per minute during peak season. An estimated 132 million parcels were delivered Christmas week, with logistics planning for peak season beginning each January. Even though UPS says that just "a small percentage" of customers were affected this year, that's still a huge amount of people.

It seems that not just last-minute shoppers were affected. Even after repeatedly calling customer service, some customers who had tracked their orders for nearly two weeks still didn't receive them in time for the holiday. "My kids and the rest of my extended family have no presents," one woman told NBC News.

Amazon is giving a $20 gift card and free delivery to customers who didn't receive their presents on time. And Amazon spokeswoman Mary Osako made it clear that the delivery hiccups were not Amazon's fault.

Some on Twitter vowed to never use UPS again, which — come on, people — is highly unlikely.

I have a little hint for you all. Next year, when Dec. 23 rolls around and you smack your head and realize Christmas is in two days because, I don't know, you don't have a calendar or something: There's this little place called CVS. You might've heard of it. It has an entire wall of gift cards. You can even pick up a sparkly Christmas card while you're there. And a 6-pack of cupcakes. Boom, problem solved.

If all else fails, don't worry — it's only a matter of time before Amazon Drones take over.