Steam Deck Stolen by FedEx Employee in Transit

[ThePooMonster]

Hello all, I'm looking for some help here, today I spoke with FedEx regarding the Steam Deck I ordered which was in shipment only to be told as some point during transit it was opened and the contents were removed, leaving behind a package with no contents. I'm still waiting on Steam Support to respond but I'm wondering if there was any other avenue I could pursue to find help? I'm very sad this was a birthday present for me. I just want to know if someone can help or if anyone else has had this happen to them? Thank you for your time reading this I hope your day is well

[Start_Running]

Crystal Sharrd a écrit :

Start_Running a écrit :

Worked with my shipping company. THey are very very through...They also charge based on the weight/volume so you best believe they make note of that shipping weight at every turn.



Figured that'd be the case. And best believe that someone at FEDEX is gonna get raked over the coals for this.

It's possible they might be able to track the stolen Steam Deck too when the thief logs in.

They might but there's probably nothing they can do that'd be worth the trouble. Fedex will have already compensated Steam for the lost Item (they have insurance for such things) So as far as Valve is concerned, They haven't lost money on the lost product. Persuing litigation prosecution in another country. Probably not worth the call to the lawyers. What you get back will be less than what you spend.

Same for Fedex, if it was one of their employees they'll have likely already fired the POS.

[WhatZit]

Here's a Reddit link that clearly shows the type of "STEAL ME!" shipping label used by Valve:

https://www.reddit.com/r/SteamDeck/comments/umtgcx/i_want_to_show_you_all_what_the_shipping_label/?sort=old

[Start_Running]

WhatZit a écrit :

Here's a Reddit link that clearly shows the type of "STEAL ME!" shipping label used by Valve:

https://www.reddit.com/r/SteamDeck/comments/umtgcx/i_want_to_show_you_all_what_the_shipping_label/?sort=old

Not surprising. Most companies do that, especially when shipping across borders.
Not having it plainly visible and readable increases the likelihood iof the package being detained by customs Has happened to me a couple times.

[Thermal Lance]

Start_Running a écrit :

Thermal Lance a écrit :

That wont work.

Worked with my shipping company. THey are very very through...They also charge based on the weight/volume so you best believe they make note of that shipping weight at every turn.

ThePooMonster a écrit :

Well I just got an update from Steam! They're going to send me a new Steam Deck!! This time they're sending it to a local pickup center to ensure successful delivery. Wish me luck guys!!!!

Figured that'd be the case. And best believe that someone at FEDEX is gonna get raked over the coals for this.

The weight of a deck means absolutely nothing during mass shipping. AFTER they are extremely throught and BEFORE too. But, during that time, especially if using balances on lift or in case of a broken pallet. Small disparities will not cause defcon 1. The weight of that parcel is the very reason why. The smaller the weight the most likely it might be missed during the mass transit. Also, that box was filled with crap so its even less than that.

edit: and also the whole thing is weighted before its even shipped. We know how heavy it is. The parcels are tracked and everything. Individually scanned when the pallet is put together. The weight is for the manifest of the trucks first and for all. Yes, im kinda wondering why it wasnt noticed after this part but during that part it is entirely possible to miss such a small weight. This is why this is the moment most theft happen.

If the shipping company you worked at could afford a tighter system. That's great. But the reality is that we speak of company getting a load no other company under it could manage. I've seen the dock of one fedex "crossdock". There's barely space for lifts to move and there is pellets absolutely everywhere. Thats the reason I went to work at puro who had less international deliveries (we were next to airport) because the dock was less filled up. I'm a decent forklift driver and able to empty and weight a whole truck including measurement of each pellet. Then carry it to the designated spot for the destination within about an hour. That was day one. But, im not good when theres crap everywhere and I need to zip zag with my load half over the sky. XD

Yeah, do remember I'm speaking of a cross-dock. Were not talking splitting pellets here. Just switch them from one truck to another depending on destinations.

[Thermal Lance]

Smaller shipping companies might not have a crossdock depending on the size of their operation and the way they are organized.

Lets say your truck starts up north. You wont send a truck for each city on that route. You will use that one truck to take all the pellet from each location. Then they bring it to a crossdock who will split all of it to the right trucks for the right destination. The problem with fedex is that there is no way in hell given how tight schedules are that they can go mental over the weight of a deck that can have dozens of explanations. With the number of times it happens over nothing. They would never be able to operate. That's why finding trustworthy staff is their number one priority and they prioritize hiring via recommendations of existing staff. ESPECIALLY at this stage. Because it is the only moment where anyone can be alone with a parcel and have the opportunity to to do that in a way that is very hard to pin down. But, they eventually always solve the riddle because ultimately. If it keeps happening it can be narrowed down.

Small shipping companies, "medium" ones, and ludicrously large ones don't and cant operate the same way.

[Thermal Lance]

Oh yeah, the good thing about it is that it's probably the first place they are going to look at after they are done with the whole tracking thing, talking to delivery guy and all the jazz.

[Start_Running]

Thermal Lance a écrit :

Start_Running a écrit :

Worked with my shipping company. THey are very very through...They also charge based on the weight/volume so you best believe they make note of that shipping weight at every turn.



Figured that'd be the case. And best believe that someone at FEDEX is gonna get raked over the coals for this.

The weight of a deck means absolutely nothing during mass shipping. AFTER they are extremely throught and BEFORE too. But, during that time, especially if using balances on lift or in case of a broken pallet. Small disparities will not cause defcon 1. The weight of that parcel is the very reason why. The smaller the weight the most likely it might be missed during the mass transit. Also, that box was filled with crap so its even less than that.

The company I use for the shipping weighs the stuff at depot. Basically reconfirming the shipping weight at their delivery pickup.

I suspect to basically charge you as much as possible.

[Thermal Lance]

Start_Running a écrit :

Thermal Lance a écrit :

The weight of a deck means absolutely nothing during mass shipping. AFTER they are extremely throught and BEFORE too. But, during that time, especially if using balances on lift or in case of a broken pallet. Small disparities will not cause defcon 1. The weight of that parcel is the very reason why. The smaller the weight the most likely it might be missed during the mass transit. Also, that box was filled with crap so its even less than that.

The company I use for the shipping weighs the stuff at depot. Basically reconfirming the shipping weight at their delivery pickup.

I suspect to basically charge you as much as possible.

That's why I added the detail for you that I speak of a cross dock. Time becomes crucial at this stage. Deliveries keep coming in and the dock is full to the brim. You cant constantly hold trucks and shipments. Thats impossible unless you have an infinite number of doors.

The one moment where it can happen is when the pellet is in a truck. Because getting off our lifts there is NOT unusual. Because since things move during shipping. It occasionally happen that one box has either fallen or risk to. Or a large item like a pipe is on the way. Obviously I wont run my lift over that. Usually the pallet number is on the package. But if it isnt I have to go see my supervisor to know where it goes.

Remember, no, there is no supervisor in every single van with an eagle eye over the shoulders of the drivers. Not only that would be ridiculous but extremely dangerous as well.

EDIT: You can't have extra personel that is unnecessary 98% of the time next to forklift drivers that works the whole day with the pedal floored. That would be extremely stupid and a disaster waiting to happen.

[Thermal Lance]

Bottom line, if they could. Lift drivers would work in pairs with a helper and a second set of eyes. But the risks are simply unacceptable.

That said remember regulations might differ from country to country when it comes to safety. Maybe we are both right in our own corner of the world. That’s pretty cool.

[Start_Running]

Thermal Lance a écrit :

Bottom line, if they could. Lift drivers would work in pairs with a helper and a second set of eyes. But the risks are simply unacceptable.

That said remember regulations might differ from country to country when it comes to safety. Maybe we are both right in our own corner of the world. That’s pretty cool.

I suspect we are both right universally to some degrees. The ideal isn't always realistic.
Of course its sthese things why insurance is a thing on these shipments. Ideally you don't want to rely on it, but they have coverage for it.

[Thermal Lance]

Start_Running a écrit :

Thermal Lance a écrit :

Bottom line, if they could. Lift drivers would work in pairs with a helper and a second set of eyes. But the risks are simply unacceptable.

That said remember regulations might differ from country to country when it comes to safety. Maybe we are both right in our own corner of the world. That’s pretty cool.

I suspect we are both right universally to some degrees. The ideal isn't always realistic.
Of course its sthese things why insurance is a thing on these shipments. Ideally you don't want to rely on it, but they have coverage for it.

Exactly. So they take the bet to trust their most hand picked drivers. But unfortunately, as no system is perfect, some crooks manage to find their way in. Mainly because those are actually good at what they do…

Often happens when they can’t have new employees internally and they need the staff for replacement or unusual spikes in load. They need to hire people unrelated entirely to the company. It ain’t an absolute rule but it’s usually what happens.

Their hiring process is very high tier but a thief that has never been caught is hard to « see ».

[Thermal Lance]

Oh yeah, to clarify. It's very rare. As I said, the hiring process is top tier. It makes it so theft is very rare. Missing package is way more common and most of the time its discovered later that it was an honest mistake and it was put somewhere else. Like, a box fell from the pallet for Ottawa but the guy mistakenly put it on the wrong pallet. They do all in their power for this to not happen but, since no system is perfect, it still happens from time to time. Hell, I even heard of cases where a small box fell from a pallet into another while the lift was moving pallets from a double-stacked setup.

[0kLoopTTV]

damn

[ThePooMonster]

0kLoop a écrit :

damn

Well said friend

[HistoricKombat]

ThePooMonster a écrit :

You'd think by now Valve would find a more reliable carrier. I've heard that FedEx uses contractors for ground delivery and that essentially allows them to distance themselves from responsibility from situations such as this. And I also heard that FedEx has the lowest bar for entry for drivers than their competitors so that's why you get more sticky fingers with FedEx

All three big carriers the U.S. are terrible. We use them because we have no choice, not many other options. All three are guilty of unsafe working conditions, crunch time and low pay. Sure, these things are no excuse for theft but that is why theft happens at these businesses.