Shipping Problems Prevent Some Gifts From Making It Under The Tree In Time
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- UPS may not be getting many Christmas cards from customers. For the first time, the world's largest package delivery service says they were swamped by overwhelming demand.
FedEx also had some delays getting gifts under the tree in time.
Meghan McCorkell has more from frustrated customers.
UPS and FedEx are not saying how many packages are delayed, but the problem has been reported nationwide.
Blake Johnson is waiting for a Christmas gift from his parents--scheduled to arrive by UPS last weekend.
"Monday came around... no notice. Tuesday came around... no notice," he said.
When he tried calling:
"Nobody picked up the phone or got back to me," said Johnson.
He's not alone. Customers are tense in Texas.
"It's terribly disappointing because we ordered these things on December 1," said Jeff Hayes of Dallas.
They're frustrated in Florida... and cranky in California.
"I waited around for hours and hours for it to show up and it never did," said Julie Strachan of San Francisco.
UPS says they were overwhelmed by a surge in online sales and an ice storm in the southeast.
The company issued a statement, saying: "The volume or air packages in our system exceeded the capacity of our network immediately preceding Christmas so some shipments were delayed."
And it's not just UPS. FedEx also informed some of their customers that packages wouldn't arrive in time.
FedEx says between Thanksgiving and Christmas they handled 275 million packages. Drivers have been working overtime.
"I saw UPS and Federal Express drivers out there until 10, 11 o'clock at night doing the best they could," said Gary Zafron. "So I'm just grateful for those guys."
As for Blake Johnson, he's hoping his gift arrives soon.
"Just got to cross your fingers and hope for the best," he said.
UPS says most of the delayed packages are expected to arrive sometime Thursday.
Amazon has emailed customers who failed to receive packages by Christmas Day, waiving shipping fees and offering gift cards.
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