08/30/2026
FedEx
Dear Mr. Subramaniam,
I am writing to you from the kitchen of my restaurant, not just as a frustrated customer, but as a small business owner who has just witnessed the stark difference between a corporation that values small businesses and one that treats them as invisible statistics.
Last week, our commercial dishwasher broke down right before the heavy weekend rush. In the food service industry, this is an absolute operational emergency. Missing a weekend of service threatens devastating revenue loss and forces a heartbreaking reality: laying off hourly staff who rely on those weekend shifts to survive. To protect my business, I ordered a replacement part from Grainger, to be shipped via FedEx Ground for next-day delivery.
Your company is now five days late delivering that package (Tracking #534455073494).
When it became clear that FedEx Ground had lost the part, I contacted your customer service team. Instead of receiving help, I was met with an unhelpful, automated runaround. Since then, your tracking system shows my critical package being shipped aimlessly to hubs all over the country, with still no answer as to when—or if—it will ever arrive. To FedEx, my package is an insignificant barcode. To my business, it was a chokehold.
When FedEx refused to help, I called Grainger back in desperation. Their response was immediate: "We will help you."
Grainger did not quote a policy or tell me to file a claim. Instead, their staff manually located a second part, loaded it into a van, and personally drove it to their closest local branch so I could pick it up immediately. They bypassed automated networks to solve a human problem. Because Grainger went above and beyond, our dishwasher was fixed, our doors stayed open, and my staff kept their jobs.
Grainger proved they understand what it means to be a partner to small businesses. FedEx Ground proved the exact opposite.
Your corporate marketing frequently claims that FedEx is the backbone of local commerce. But when an actual emergency hit, your network failed, your staff refused to assist, and your logistics loop ran in circles. I urge you to look closely at this operational failure. A small business shouldn't have to rely on the heroism of its supplier to survive the complete breakdown of its carrier.
Sincerely,
Reenie Van Buren, Owner
BACK IN TIME CAFE
615 MAIN ST.
BRADLEY BEACH, NJ 07720
You can edit the text in this area, and change where the contact form on the right submits to, by entering edit mode using the modes on the bottom right.
