UPS and FedEx are apologizing for failing to deliver thousands of packages in time for Christmas, but many customers are not satisfied with the explanations of bad weather and high demand.

Those customers include people like Jennifer Lincoln of Edgewater, New Jersey, and her two-year-old Jack Russell terrier Kyle McLaughlin (named for the actor). 

Late on Christmas eve, Lincoln learned that Kyle's new travel crate would not arrive in time for the drive to her brother's house in Connecticut for Christmas dinner. So she had to improvise.

"I just had to restrain him with a leash. I tied him to the backseat," Lincoln said with a laugh. "He wants to ride up front with me, but that's not going to happen."

Lincoln, a supply chain manager with Avon, called the delivery snafu "unacceptable." She also said she hopes Amazon — the e-tailer she ordered the dog crate from — will stop using UPS as a carrier, a comment that others echoed on Twitter.

"Let's try to get Amazon to quit using UPS for their shipping. Write to customer support," wrote Tim Bambrough of Manhattan. "I know that I will not use UPS unless I have no choice in the matter. If they messed up your Christmas with broken promises join me."

Many disappointed customers adopted the hashtags #UPSFail and #FedExFail on social media to lodge complaints or just find a sympathetic ear. 

Terrence Liverpool of Flushing, Queens, spent several days waiting for a box of mugs his mother was planning to give to her best friends. As of Thursday morning, he was still waiting for FedEx to show up.

"It's frustrating," he said. "Obviously the package is important or you wouldn't set aside your whole day to receive it."