[thelist] Warning to shippers: UPS doesn't like Firefox was: UPS or Fedex?

[Steve Lewis]

Ken Moore wrote:
> This is a little bit off the usual track. I will be shipping 5 to 20 boxes 
> of computers and/or peripherals per day. Insurance and priority shipping are 
> not an issue. Packing materials, shipping costs, and pick are. All will be 
> inside the USA.

Somewhat related, and I don't know how many of you care, but the 
following was a report from someone I know on an unrelated mailing 
list (not computer or technology oriented).  This may or may not 
impact your feelings about shipping with particular parties, and is 
not intended as a political or religious statement about browser 
choices.  I am only including it so that folks who do use Firefox do 
not suffer the same problems.

The original report:
> I wrote to UPS because their Website doesn't work with Firefox (if
> you're trying to print your own UPS labels from home -- which I do
> fairly often).  Here's their reply:
> 
> "I apologize for any inconvenience.  Unfortunately, Mozilla Firefox is not
> currently a supported browser.  I can only forward your request to our
> development group for future updates to the web site.  Although I cannot
> guarantee any future functionality, your request is being read by the
> appropriate applications group.  In the meantime, I can only suggest that
> you continue to use Internet Explorer."
> 
> I wrote 'em back and said "No, thanks, but I'll just keep using Firefox
> and stop using your Website until you make it so that browsers other
> than IE can use it".

In a follow-up he reports:
> You have to have an "account" with them and actually try to print a
> label.  The bad part is, that you get all the way to the end, having
> presumably already had your credit card charged.  Instead of the label
> popping up in it's own window (you have to tell Firefox to let UPS do
> pop-ups, of course), you get a little window with about 1/2 a line of
> ASP code, indicating some sort of error.
> 
> I had to *assume* it was the fact that I was using Firefox.  Their tech
> support confirmed that.  I didn't even ding them about not simply
> checking for browser type first and telling me it wasn't going to work,
> instead of just failing.  Failing, I might point out, in a situation
> where my credit card may or may not have been charged, and where I was
> going to have to try again (with a different browser, or physically by
> going to a UPS desk somewhere) and thus would be justifiably concerned
> that I might be billed twice.  Or more.

YMMV
-- 
Steve Lewis