New study analyzes which couriers are most likely to provide poor customer service or lose, or damage parcels based on Twitter data
With Christmas fast approaching, many of us will be trying to get the best deals online. According to research, 48 percent of consumers begin their Christmas shopping early, before Thanksgiving.
Considering this, experts at US Packaging and Wrapping analyzed over 7,000 tweets to assess the positive and negative sentiments towards the biggest U.S. couriers.
Using a custom API, the tweets were scraped from the Twitter handles of 5 of the most popular U.S. couriers. MeaningCloud was then used to analyze all tweets and provide sentiment data. *
| Rank | Company | Negative | Positive |
| 1 | LaserShip | 70% | 11% |
| 2 | FedEx | 42% | 31% |
| 3 | UPS | 42% | 28% |
| 4 | DHL | 41% | 26% |
| 5 | USPS | 36% | 30% |
The U.S. courier with the most negative Twitter sentiment is LaserShip. 70 percent of Tweets about the brand contain a negative sentiment.
Most of its negative Tweets are about its drivers (11%) and its customer service (14%). It’s not been the best year for the company, with recent news announcing LaserShip’s financial outlook has been revised to negative from stable. LaserShip’s weak credit metrics indicate the company’s unsatisfactory 2021 peak season when it struggled to handle excess package volume.
LaserShip has also accrued a swarm of more than 2,000 complaints, filed with the Better Business Bureau. Those complaints range from orders not being delivered to delayed shipping issues. A recent investigation revealed a pattern with North Carolina consumers reporting missing games consoles.
In second position is FedEx, with 42 percent of its Tweets containing a negative sentiment. The largest percentage of its negative tweets were for ‘lateness’ (17%).
FedEx recently announced a peak-season suspension, so the length of time consumers are expecting to wait for deliveries over Christmas is only set to increase. This is the third consecutive year FedEx has suspended some air express shipments during peak annual demand.
FedEx receives the most negative score across all couriers in the study for the term ‘stolen’, with 3 percent of its Tweets relating to this topic. A recent study announced that missing package reports had increased by 128 percent across all four major U.S. carriers: USPS, Amazon, FedEx, and UPS.
UPS completes the top three couriers with the most negative Twitter sentiment, narrowly avoiding second place because its positive sentiment score is 3 percent lower than FedEx.
The courier with the highest percentage of negative tweets about its drivers is DHL, with a score of 12 percent. Consumer complaints on this topic have been covered by news outlets too, for example, reports of a driver delivering a Christmas scooter by hurling it over an eight-foot wall!
The couriers with the most Tweets about ‘lost’ deliveries are USPS, UPS, and DHL, with 7 percent of all their negative Tweets focused on this topic. From the original Loch Ness Monster footage to $1,000 iPhones and even beloved relatives’ ashes, the list of valuables that these couriers have lost over the past year, continues to shock consumers.
Commenting on the results, packaging expert Charles Haverfield at U.S. Packaging and Wrapping said:
“This past year has, once again, proven to be difficult for parcel delivery firms, but sadly, we continue to hear of missing, late, and damaged deliveries.
“When consumers place their orders, they don’t get a choice on which firms deliver them. However, if you experience issues you should complain to the retailer, as that’s who your contract is with. It’s their responsibility to put things right.
“The more retailers know about courier issues and complaints, the more likely they are to swap to another supplier or ensure their current couriers enhance their performance”.
You can view the full study findings here
ENDS
Notes to editors
Methodology:
*Using a custom API, the tweets were scraped from the Twitter handles of 5 of the most popular U.S. couriers. MeaningCloud was then used to analyze all tweets and provide sentiment data. To find the number of mentions for each complaint, keywords were used to search both the overall data and each company.
Enquiries:
Georgina Radford, Senior PR Consultant
georgina.radford@screamingfrog.co.uk
Bex Stirling, Head of PR
bex.stirling@screamingfrog.co.uk
01491 415070
About U.S. Packaging and Wrapping:
U.S. Packaging & Wrapping is a full-service, customer-driven packaging supply company. We are dedicated to providing superior products and services at an affordable price. Our staff takes pride in the ability to inform customers about various packaging options. Headquartered in Central Arkansas with shipping warehouses on the east and west coast, we strive for fast and affordable shipping.
