![[Screenshot of Saturday FedEx.com]](/images/fedex-saturday-2005-09-10-562x426.png)
Ok, so now this morning there’s an update. But it’s just as useless as always.
Note the estimated delivery date line is gone. Why is that important? Well, because it also says “On vehicle for delivery” … but does that mean that they are going to try and deliver it today?
My guess is that the answer is no. Based on my previous experiences with FedEx.com, I know that what this really means is “Your package has been loaded onto the delivery vehicle, but it won’t go anywhere until Monday.”
How could this be improved? It’s so simple I don’t understand why I have to explain it.
- Keep the “Estimated Delivery” line. If it said either ”Sep 10, 2005” or ”Sep 12, 2005” that would be helpful.
- Give a more truthful status line. “on FedEx vehicle for delivery” is probably technically true but is misleading. As it is, they have provided (probably) accurate-but-unhelpful information.
FedEx.com needs a link under the “Status” line “What does this mean?” If someone clicked on that link it would explain all the various lines in the “Activity” column. The explanation for “On FedEx vehicle for delivery” would explain that does not necessarily mean that the package will be delivered today.
The page would also explain what other updates to expect, and the last status line before delivery should be clear and unambiguous: “Left FedEx facility for delivery.”
Update: As Bill noted below, I was wrong about my guess and I did receive it on Saturday. I’ve meant to post a followup, so I’m glad that he reminded me. I would have posted a comment instead of editing the post, but I wanted to include the screenshot of the delivery notice:![[ ]](/images/fedex-saturday-2005-09-10-b-555x455.png)
And here’s something that FedEx did really well: you’ll notice that the time of delivery is 6:06 p.m. At approximately 6:10 p.m. I had received a text message that the package arrived.
I had signed up for their package status subscription and it worked perfectly and in a very timely manner (the sign up information is right below the tracking information, so once you have tracked a package there are the fields you need to fill in to track, it asks for format (HTML, Text, or Wireless) and gives it to you all on the same page. (If you click on the image just above you will be taken to the tracking page and can see for yourself. Note: link will open in a new window.)
So they did deliver on Saturday, which surprised me…. which underscores the problem with the site: “On vehicle for delivery” has, in the past, meant “but not today”… they need a status update of “Out for delivery” or some such to make it more clear.
Here’s something a little strange… the contents of the package were damaged (I do not think it was FedEx, I think it was shipped that way) and the company gave me a return label… using UPS. So the story continues… I guess now I’ll have a chance to test their tracking from the other direction.