I just had parts go from Michigan to Minneapolis, then to Texas, back to Minneapolis and up here to me in ND. I think the holidays just overwhelm them.
I used to have the issue with not being able to pick up my package with UPS all the time. I even had to chase down their driver once before he could send it back after the third delivery attempt. That was when you used to be able to call the local dispatch directly. When I lived in an apartment they would refuse to leave the package at the security door, so they would just leave a slip. Their package pickup was only open for an hour weekday evenings, so I would have to bring the slip there and ask them to hold the package because the driver hadn't returned from his route yet, then go back the next evening to pick it up. I once tried to just have the package held at the local dispatch and avoid the failed delivery attempts, but was told they have to make an attempt at delivery before they could hold the package. These days I dread whenever I have to deal with UPS.