1800$ to deliver a package

I've worked with FedEx for years and while they've always been a shoddy company I've never seen anything this bad.

Here's the full story: We were commissioned to create a mascot costume for an event, due to the short deadline we shipped the costume overnight express for 783.16$ directly to the event venue paying the aforementioned price. We had shipped it overnight despite being 3-4 days from the event itself just so our clients would have enough time to prepare and get accustomed to the suit. The following morning we checked on the parcel's status and noticed it hadn't moved anywhere significant so we immediately called to investigate and were reassured the parcel would arrive in the morning. We called several hours later the same day just to check on the parcel and were told it had been seized for customs clearance and that it would take a few hours and should arrive tomorrow afternoon. Fine no biggie. Come the following day we checked on the parcel and saw it still hadn't moved and so we called immediately to inquire, we were then told that the border service was missing information for customs clearance, why they never bothered to call and ask us for it is beyond me but I digress. We filled out the required forms and sent off the information only to be told they didn't need it anymore and the parcel should ship throughout the night and we should see movement of some kind come the morning. Come the following day it still hadn't left the city and after being led around in a wild goose chase for several hours trying to find anyone high enough in the chain who could answer our questions and do something about parcel we finally found an off duty manager and left a message. Several hours later we received a phone call saying they had no clue why this was happening and advised me to open a claim when I do receive the parcel. I asked what our options were stating the urgency of the delivery and she said there was nothing to do but wait and hope. I asked at that point if we could intercept the package and come pick it up ourselves because the event was already in progress and it needed to be there for the show at 10 am the following morning. After some back and forth we managed to chase down the parcel and get it intercepted - funny how they had to work so hard to"intercept" a package that hadn't moved since the day we shipped it. >-> Once we received the all-clear we drove to Woodbridge where it was being held (a good 5hr drive) picked up the parcel and were disturbed to see that it had been damaged. We inspected it carefully but found the contents fine thanks to the packaging our suits come in, but I am still disturbed to see that amount of damage for a package that never went ****her than a stone throw. The lack of care is disturbing especially for a parcel labeled as fragile, insured, and valued at 15,000$.

After picking up the parcel I drove to Toronto, took a covid test, and boarded the first flight for Chicago. I delivered the parcel to the distressed and very grateful clients took a nap then immediately boarded a flight back to Canada. Upon arrival in Canada, I took a nap in my car for 4 hrs then drove home. This entire trip cost us nearly 1000$ after flight, gas, parking and covid test but I got the package there. Naturally, when I got home we immediately filed a dispute demanding to be reimbursed for the shipping, cause we knew they would never reimburse us for the travel expenses even though they are to blame. Within 48hrs we received an email saying that the claim was denied because the parcel was intercepted, completely ignoring the events that led up to us having to intercept it. We called several times and tried escalating and reopening the claim and were denied each time. To say I'm done with FedEx and tired of being ignored would be an understatement so we've taken to social media to share our story.

If you need something for an event, do yourselves a favour and just fly it there yourself, it'll probably be cheaper and it'll definitely be faster.

Note: due to a non-disclosure agreement I cannot say what the event was, nor release any information about the costume in question. Sorry folks.