Real-time UPS/FEDEX tracking with GPS

Here's an email...
Date: Wed, 8 Apr 2009 17:26:16 -0400
Subject: Re: amazon
From: Chris Nolan <...>
To: Will Entriken <...>

Why don't fedex, ups, usps provide up to the minute tracking info upon
request? My stuff "shipped" But fedex just say "received shipping
information", UPS can't even find my tracking number, but Amazon has
more up to date info and USPS only updates daily.

Presumably they know what planes this stuff is on, why not allow live
flight tracking? and truck GPS and what not. Clearly expensive, but I
feel like they should already have GPS in all their trucks and planes
already, just a matter of aggregating and internetifying. Even if it
interpolates via java script, something like at 11am the plane took
off, given a landing time of 2pm, it is now noon, the plane is 1/3 of
the way to landing, and so on. Would be awesome.

Either way, my stuff should arrive on Friday now. I am impressed with
Amazon Prime, and I would like to find 4 other people to split it with
me.

Given how demanding people are, I can only imagine the eventual conclusion:


Operator: Hello
Teenager: Hi, I was using your website to track the status of my new XBox delivery. I see the truck has been driving towards my house... but it stopped. It's stopped in the middle of the road and hasn't moved.
Operator: Oh my, let me check this out...
Operator: I just called the driver, he stopped to go to the bathroom.
Teenager: That's bullshit, I can see he just stopped 20 minutes ago.
Operator: The driver tells me he has diarrhea.
Teenager: Oh...
Post in the comments if you just don't care and STILL want GPS tracking of your package.

Comments

Anonymous said…
i work for ups and they already have gps on each truck they have a monitoring system that can tell when the driver is idling or if the driver is on his cell phone while driving this is in orlando florida hub some of the main hubs have this system already they can pin point the exact cordination of the truck maybe off by a couple of feet just like any gps
12:26 AM
William Entriken said…
Thanks for the heads up. I would have never thought about tracking cell phone usage.

But now we're on the subject. Here's a feature request. Let the customer sign up for a txt notification when the package is within $X miles from their house. This could allow them to prepare to receive the package. Or in my case, living in an apartment where I can't hear a knock on the front door, this would prevent UPS from making 3 failed delivery attempts for anything I order. In fact, this info could be put on the "we missed you" card.
7:31 AM
Anonymous said…
You could always place a note on the door asking the UPS guy to call you when he gets there and offering a tip in exchange.
9:20 AM
Anonymous said…
Fuck yes Will E., I agree with you 100% even if it would cost a customer an extra fee to get the gps tracking, it would well be wrth it. ive been waiting three days for a new pair of sktes from Ohio and i live in PA so its not such a long way but my package whent down to pitsburg and only now is coming up my way, i would feel much more content about waiting if i knew where exactly this truck is, but over all ups is a prety dependable postal service, just could use some improvments... Peace out from PA :D
10:20 PM
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