Why do UPS packages always dented?

I was talking to the CanPar driver at work and he was saying that it doesn't matter what the box says they treat all of them the same fragile or not. He said if you want your stuff to get there in 1 piece you better pack it like you're packing your first born.
 
Mr_Elusive said:
I was talking to the CanPar driver at work and he was saying that it doesn't matter what the box says they treat all of them the same fragile or not. He said if you want your stuff to get there in 1 piece you better pack it like you're packing your first born.
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My girlfriend's dad carries mail and he said the same thing. "FRAGILE" means you toss it more gently, if you're in a good mood, harder if you're pissed.
 
That's nothing compared with what happens at the distribution warehouse. I worked there as an unloader for about 3 weeks before I quit due to getting bruised and cut and basically abused constantly.



The unloader goes through the semi-trailer (usually 100+ degrees) and faces a wall of boxes. You start at the top and throw them down to the floor, then shuffle them over to the coveyer rollers. Those top boxes drop about 8 feet, but worse than that, the boxes in the upper middle (which are ALWAYS heavier as that's the way the loaders are trained) are let to fall directly on top of them.



Every hour or so a supervisor will come by with a clipboard and check that you are moving at least 650 boxes an hour. It is impossible to do 650 without using gravity, and you never get graded on box damage. Damaged boxes are set to the side and picked up by a guy with a cart who takes them to a repair area (a cherry job).



The "bulk" area in the trucks is the worst. Raw steel stock, tires with steel wires that cut your hands, etc.



This is all from my experience in 1990, but I doubt it has changed. Actually they probably want 900 boxes an hour now.
 
I saw USPS employees lunging boxes that said "FRAGILE" in them. Is it me or are Americans just getting more and more lazy?
 
This is exactly why I pack my shipments up as best I can, packing peanutes, newspaper, box within a box, anything that helps. After hearing all these stories I am surprised I have never recieved a box damaged? All mine come perfectly fine not a dent or rip in them.



Boxes from FedEx however are a different story, along with their ridiculous shipping prices and *slow* ship times. I refuse to order from companies who use FedEx only!
 
actually when i order from FedEX the pkg either looks like it was delivered on a pillow of air, OR it looks like it was driven over the truck.

UPS packages are usually medium condition and not really great or really bad.
 
Luckily all my UPS packages come in fine and the local driver is cool.



FedEX on the other hand...I opened the front door just as the driver threw my Poorboy's package onto the doorstep. Yeah, the one with FRAGILE stickers on ALL SIDES OF THE BOX!! :eek: :eek:
 
a.k.a. Patrick said:
Great, so much for American work ethics...................
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tustah said:
…Is it me or are Americans just getting more and more lazy?
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They’re working hard. They’re just doing what they’re getting paid to do:



BoxsterCharlie said:
…Every hour or so a supervisor will come by with a clipboard and check that you are moving at least 650 boxes an hour. It is impossible to do 650 without using gravity, and you never get graded on box damage. ….
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If the company rewarded employees for safe handling rather than speed and gave them the tools to move boxes without having to toss them it would be a different story.





PC.
 
i guess when i accept a job i understand what i'm signing up for...so if they take a job that will pay them to haul boxes, then that is what they should do. not that they should be babying each box, but blatantly throwing them with disregard is careless and ignorant. to say that they need proper tools and more rewards doesn't make that much sense since they, um, took a job to carry boxes around. that's the problem w/ the work ethic that everyone mentioned above. if you don't like the job, don't take it. accepting it and then doing it poorly and/or making excuses as to why you perform poorly is unprofessional and immature.



this would apply to any job, not just the UPS.



.02
 
I have had less trouble with FedEx then UPS.

From my understanding, if UPS damages a box, its the companies responsibility. If FedEx damages one, its the drivers........
 
paradigm said:
i guess when i accept a job i understand what i'm signing up for...so if they take a job that will pay them to haul boxes, then that is what they should do…
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They’re doing exactly what they signed up for. They are hauling boxes. Their job (what they get paid for) is to haul them quickly not gently.



paradigm said:
…not that they should be babying each box, but blatantly throwing them with disregard is careless and ignorant….
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Ignorant? They know they get paid to do it. They know they aren’t admonished for doing it. They know they pay their rent and feed their families doing it. They know their bosses are happy when they do it. There are millions of people in this world who’d love to be that ignorant.



paradigm said:
…to say that they need proper tools and more rewards doesn't make that much sense since they, um, took a job to carry boxes around…
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If you give people 300ft-lb impact wrenches a thousand #6 bolts to install and fifteen minutes to do it in you can’t complain about broken bolt heads. These people are given boxes piled high, cramped space, minimal time and no material handling equipment. Of course they’re going to toss boxes. Anybody who doesn’t won’t be there long. Give somebody enough time to handle each box gently, encouragement and reward for doing so and a material handler that makes it natural and efficient to do it and they will. Of course the cost of shipping will go up.



paradigm said:
… if you don't like the job, don't take it. accepting it and then doing it poorly and/or making excuses as to why you perform poorly is unprofessional and immature….
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Who says they don’t like the job or they're performing poorly? Their employer’s happy with their work and they’re paying their bills. That is their job. They aren’t making any excuses. They’re doing what they company wants, moving boxes quickly and cheaply, and they're being rewarded. If you or I don’t like it that’s between us and the company. As far as the employees are concerned they’re doing it right because the company is telling them they are and rewarding them for it.





PC.
 
well, i can't argue work ethic and responsibility then...simply saying you "are doing what you're paid to do" is not right. i say ignorant because it is common sense that you may break something when you throw it. i don't care if it is "ok" in the eyes of the boss...but to each his own. no big deal...i don't use UPS unless i have to anyway, due to too many damaged boxes. the last time i used them they destroyed a full zaino kit that was sent to me from the vendor.



i guess it's just a personal thing to think you should treat others' property with respect, not just "get 'er done". BUT, i do agree that this is rooted higher up in the UPS management that pushes the people to do too much too fast. still doesn't make it "right" though.
 
I remember touring the local UPS facility prior to applying for a job as a package unloader. A lot of what has been said so far is correct. During the summer those trailers are extremely hot because they've been sitting outside all day, and in the winter they are freezing cold because it isn't easy to keep a large warehouse nice and toasty. Workers are required to wear steel toe shoes, but attire is whatever you have that you don't mind getting dusty and dirty. It seemed like the unloading jobs required 2 guys working out of a trailer; one guy moves the boxes towards the end of the trailer while the second stacks them up to fit. Lots of bending, lots of Dell boxes, lots of DirecTV boxes, lots of dusty conditions. I don't blame these guys for wanting to get the job done ASAP because after 5 hours of lifting heavy boxes in a hot trailer, I'd just want to go home for a shower and a nap.
 
Just a word about the workers, a reality check here. These are not the guys that you see driving the trucks...those are the cream of the crop. A more realistic description is prison workers.



That's about about as close to a prison yard as I've run into. I remember my last night very clearly. I worked the 9:30 - 2:30 AM shift (or something close to that). I quit just because the guy I was working with the most decided to quit on that night. I thought about it for about twenty minutes, and then I quit too! Three weeks was all I lasted, though I had a friend who stuck it out for a couple years.
 
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