Quick fix to add pins to nearby Fedex Locations while driving

A Place to Talk Technology
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If you’ve ever finished a signing at 5:30–6:30 PM and panic-searched Google Maps for a FedEx, you know the problem: store hours ≠ , Express pickup cutoff, OnSite locations are inconsistent, and Google Maps doesn’t tell you what’s actually safe. I built a custom Google Map that shows FedEx Offices, Ship Centers, and FedEx OnSite locations, color-coded by late-day pickup safety, and it updates automatically every week. It answers the only question that matters late at night: where can I still safely drop off docs tonight?

What it does

• Overlays FedEx locations on Google Maps (200 km radius of Cthe hicago Metro Area)

• Separates Offices / Ship Centers / On-Site retail

• Color-codes locations: :green_circle: late-safe, :yellow_circle: depends, :red_circle: risky

• Uses real pickup cutoff info from local.fedex.com (not Google hours)

• Auto-refreshes weekly

• Usable while driving (CarPlay-friendly)

I’ve been using AI and chatbots for coding, a skill I’m still learning. They’ve helped me turn my ideas into real processes. I used chatbots to create a Google Sheets Appscript and debug until all my features were live.

r/Notary - Quick fix to add pins to nearby Fedex Location|750xauto

Tools used (all free)

Google Sheets · Google My Maps · Google Apps Script · Google Places API · Apple Shortcuts (optional)

Of course, I have access to both ChatGPT and Gemini, so the AppScript part was mostly done by the AI Agent, and I just need to QA.

High-level setup

  1. Create a Google Sheet as the single source of truth (carrier, type, reference link, lat/long, risk, last checked).

  2. Use Google Places API + Apps Script to pull FedEx Offices, Ship Centers, and OnSite locations (run quarterly).- This is much easier and reliable than you actually think of lol

  3. Link each location to its local.fedex.com page and auto-parse “Latest Express drop-off” to assign risk (weekly).

  4. Import the sheet into Google My Maps and style pins by the Risk column.

  5. Add a one-tap shortcut (or Siri command) to open the map before navigation.

Refresh trigger

• Weekly: refresh pickup cutoffs

• Quarterly: refresh location list

• Manual: holidays or odd cutoffs

If anyone wants more details or a customized script, feel free to DM me — happy to share.

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In rural areas shipping isn’t available at multiple places at multiple times.

I simply communicate what the cut off is in my town and that’s that.

1 Like
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@bardnotary :tada: Thank You :tada:

Excellent tool to utilize.

Also, know that in some towns/cities the UPS & FedEx Plane Gates at the Airport MAY have a Desk that receives packages from the General Public at a much later time than the individual store locations.

:swan: