Regarding Music Direct, best to just arrange to pick it up at the Bryn Mawr facility if you are in the Chicago region.
I have had a rather expensive tube amp delivered to an honest neighbor several blocks away. He contacted me straight up, be a friend and neighbor, so he suspected it was another audio component. The delivery was UPS. Most recently an item destined for my wifeās condo was dropped off at the office for the sales and management office of a nearby apartment complex. UPS yet again. We just assume stuff happens.
I should add Amazon delivered an item, and left it in our driveway in a section sheltered by a stand of pines. Being a shared U-shaped driveway with the neighbor, a visitor drove in to see the neighbor and drove over the package, destroying it. Yes the Amazon delivery person. We suspended all deliveries with Amazon for 90 days as a result.
Thatās very dismal performance when FedEx canāt even deliver on time locally. I wonder what retailers are saying to FedEx about their contractual obligations to pick-up and deliver on time, especially if the retailer gives their customers a delivery-by date. Agree with @weedeewop - Chicagoans in the greater Loop and North areas may as well pick it up themselves 
Signature was probably required. Same thing happened with my P3. PS Audio REQUIRES a signature. FedEx driver just left it on the porch.
Could have been a mix-up and instead of ādirect signature required,ā someone at FedEx marked it as āindirect signature required.ā The later means ANYONE could have signed for you instrument.
This is what they have to say about their obligations to anyone, business or otherwise. A screen shot from the latest FedEx .pdf about the matter:
My guess is a signature was not required as it was not noted on any of the delivery updates from UPS. Plus, I physically took the package from the driver having walked out to meet the truck.
In any event, a perfect delivery.
Many of us who live in the downtown area do not own cars, for good reason. I could go on about what a liability car ownership in urban Chicago is, but those who have added up the cost know what Iām talking about. Trust me, the trek on foot from the nearest train station to the Bryn Mawr office/warehouse is not conducive to in person pickup. Iāve done it twice. Simply not feasible for picking up anything beyond an LP. Shipment is a matter of necessity. It sucks right now.
Might want to have a talk with the music retailer. In my experience, a professional level horn could easily be $4K in value ā not a good idea for a business not to insure the shipment as well as require delivery confirmation and/or signature. Heck, Iāve had wine from a local winery delivered by FedEx that requires a signature with a value of less than $125.
Despite my complaints of yesterday, above, my FedEx (UPS and USPS) experiences have almost always been good, especially the local folks. But recently FedEx has been having trouble showing honest and realistic delivers dates, often changing them several times a day for several days. We receive a lot of wine, signature required, and never had any troubleāāexcept for recent delivery date changes.
I was surprised I did not need to sign for the horn.
It was shipped directly from a long established manufacturer. I am comfortable they know what they are doing, even if I might do it differently. But I agree with you, signature required would be wise.
Well, I wasnāt suggesting to retrieve any packages on foot - and yeah, as a native Chicagoan, we know all about automobile ownership costs. Cost of living in Chicago is high enough without adding vehicle maintenance, insurance, etc. etc. Parking is a luxury if you can find it and then there are the winter snow parking restrictions. Gee - I love living in Northern California 
Never understood why car owners are hit with a license fee by the city of Chicago AND the State of Illinois. Iām assuming Chicago still requires the owner to buy that sticker that goes inside the windshield.
I recall getting an email from FedEx some 5-6 weeks ago, announcing the end of indirect signatures that had been established during peak Covid (pre vax) times. Our delivery folk used to ask āOK, to sign for you, Nickā whenever they dropped off valuable stuff.
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In the future should you need pick-up delivery assistance Iād be more than happy to assist, assuming it fits in my vehicle. No charge either. I am fully aware of the downside of a vehicle in a large metro area, having lived in Lincoln Park some time a go and with two daughters in Logan Square.
The FedEx will deliver my AQ Dragon on Thursday, Iāll have my 
. They better donāt miss my Christmas gift.
Iāve been having surprisingly good luck with them and UPS lately.
Best of luck. I didnāt finish my story from December 3rd. After 3 days of delayed status with no new delivery date scheduled I got fed up and called. I demanded a trace. My package which originated from Music Direct in Bryn Mawr wound up in, get this, Syracuse NY. NIne calendar days to cover the 8 miles I cited in my previous post. Now I have a $2k cartridge just purchased from MD hung up somewhere, supposedly at the Niles IL distribution center (that was where my LP presumably was, but wasnāt) with exactly the same nonsense. Delayed with no new scheduled delivery date. Thatās two shipments in a row, guys. This time Iām not messing around. Not waiting for a date. I jumped on the phone immediately and initiated a trace to force FedEx to act. Iām not prone to conspiracy theories, but bitten precisely the same way twice. Cāmon. Everyone needs to get in the face of the carriers. We are the paying consumer. Enough is enough.
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Thatās a real bad one and sorry you have to go through that. I am going to track my package closely!
Bleh.
Ghastly story.
Music Direct has my Degritter and my money. They wanted me to send back everything, not just the faulty extra reservoir. FedEx shows they received it 10 days ago, I was told my replacement was on hold for me with my name on it.10 days laterā¦and nothing. Called and they just seemed annoyed that I was calling, really.
I have had really good luck with them. Your situation seems unusual. Sad!
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