# Ever wonder why some of your stuff delivered by FedEx is busted up? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 27, 2005, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-wonder-why-some-of-your-stuff-delivered-by-fedex-is-busted-up/314404 "2005-07-27T13:40:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2005, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-wonder-why-some-of-your-stuff-delivered-by-fedex-is-busted-up/314404/61 "2005-07-28T17:27:37Z")
> [@D.E.S.K.Top668](#): > > I’ve been in various areas of shipping/receiving/supply logistics for 15 years. I’m sitting here not 25 feet from $85,000 worth of Television production equipment. I got it in today, UPS Ground. The boxes are a little ragged, but the equipment is in perfect shape. When I turn them around and ship them out (UPS Ground), they’ll most likely be in perfect shape at my customers. Why? Because they’re packaged like they’re worth $85,000. Almost every damaged item (not box, but the contents) I’ve had come in has been because of poor packaging. Fed/UPS both do a good job, if you understand their limitations. With their volume and pricing, it’s absurd to think that they can also hand carry and gently place the packages during every part of its journey. My policy in packaging is “package it like it’s your mother’s ashes.” > > My $.02, DESK Gently place? I don’t think anybody would expect them to gently place anything, but treating your TVs as shotputs and long items as javelins is hardly reasonable either. ---
**Author:** ![TVeblen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4bbf92/32.png) [@TVeblen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TVeblen)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2005, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-wonder-why-some-of-your-stuff-delivered-by-fedex-is-busted-up/314404/62 "2005-07-28T17:33:53Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > However, it’s okay to call him a vandal and an extremely poor employee because he has admitted, nay, gloried in those things, but we dasn’t call him a troll. :rolleyes: Yep. Deliberate carelessness at his job is his employer’s problem. Deliberate shit-for-shit’s sake posting here is our problem. Opinions about **brickbacon’s** work ethic aside, AFAIK he hasn’t posted just to rile people up. It’s a bit scary, but he seems completely sincere, not to mention self-righteous, about mishandling packages just because he wants to. Offensive opinions? Fine. Flame at will. Posting offensive crap just to torque off posters? Not fine. There is a difference. Veb ---
**Author:** ![Shayna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shayna/32/17976_2.png) [@Shayna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shayna)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2005, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-wonder-why-some-of-your-stuff-delivered-by-fedex-is-busted-up/314404/63 "2005-07-28T17:34:17Z")
> [@TokyoPlayer](#): > > On the last trip back to the States, I was watching out the window then they threw my (and the others’) suitcases onto the belt. Not set, but tossed. I’ve always assumed so, but it was interesting to watch it happen. Ha! Be glad it was only suitcases you saw being tossed. A friend of mine wrote a complaint letter to an airline (I know because she had me proofread it) about how she sat on the plane and watched as the baggage handlers tossed, UPSIDEDOWN, a box that was very clearly marked (obviously, as it could be read from the inside the plane) FRAGILE, HANDLE WITH CARE. LIVE, TROPICAL FISH. ^ THIS SIDE UP ^ ---
**Author:** ![SlyFrog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a3d4f5/32.png) [@SlyFrog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlyFrog)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2005, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-wonder-why-some-of-your-stuff-delivered-by-fedex-is-busted-up/314404/64 "2005-07-28T18:51:45Z")
I’m a fan of the concept of shipping insurance. So far as I can figure out, what that basically means is you’re paying postage for them to _tell_ you that they will ship your package to destination X. If you want them to actually guarantee that it will get there in one piece (or hell, even get there at all), it costs extra. Yeah yeah, I get it, risk management, some goods are extremely costly and they should not be required to insure that loss, etc. Nonetheless, as they are not even held to a negligence standard (to my knowledge) in showing that the loss was not their fault if you didn’t buy insurance, it is an interesting commentary. ---
**Author:** ![D.E.S.K.Top668](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f07891/32.png) [@D.E.S.K.Top668](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D.E.S.K.Top668)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2005, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-wonder-why-some-of-your-stuff-delivered-by-fedex-is-busted-up/314404/65 "2005-07-28T20:59:41Z")
> [@Airman Doors](#): > > Gently place? I don’t think anybody would expect them to gently place anything, but treating your TVs as shotputs and long items as javelins is hardly reasonable either. You are correct that they shouldn’t be, but the reality is that they most likely will be. Dispite **brickbacon** ’s attitude, most of my co-workers (when I was on the bottom of the dock food chain) actually didn’t intentionally go around shot-putting TVs, but a lot of throwing was involved in hand-loading. (I was at Ripoff Parcel Service also.) For those who haven’t done dockwork, if you handload 500 boxes and the stacker caught 490 of them, that was pretty good. The amount it would cost to replace those 10, _if_ they were damaged, was more then made up for in the man-hours saved by loading that way. The assnugget depicted in the OP was a jerk who probably has a mad on at his job…totally inexcusable ,IMHO, to let that affect his work ethic. My$.02, DESK ---
**Author:** ![UncleBeer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/977dab/32.png) [@UncleBeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBeer)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2005, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-wonder-why-some-of-your-stuff-delivered-by-fedex-is-busted-up/314404/66 "2005-07-28T21:08:06Z")
> [@](#): > > But, people have to understand how stressful the job is, and how liberating it is kicking the shit out of a box. The job really sucks. The trucks aren’t air conditioned, the warehouse is like an oven, everything needs to be on time, and the packages keep coming in. It’s a never ending pile of packages and paper work, each with a deadline and a bunch of meaningless related tasks. Hellooo, _ **New** man_. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2005, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-wonder-why-some-of-your-stuff-delivered-by-fedex-is-busted-up/314404/67 "2005-07-28T21:25:33Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > You’re never going to get me to understand why it’s ok for you to crush a package I PAID you to transport somewhere. I just paid part of your goddamn salary, putting food on your table, keeping you employed… If there’s anything more unattractive than **brickbacon** ’s wanton destruction of property, it’s the self-righteous “I pay your salary” whine. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2005, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-wonder-why-some-of-your-stuff-delivered-by-fedex-is-busted-up/314404/68 "2005-07-28T21:34:50Z")
You know, I’m not exactly saying brickbacon needs to kiss my ass because I “pay his salary”. All I’m asking for is that he not deliberately destroy my stuff because I hired him (through his company) to do some work for me. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2005, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-wonder-why-some-of-your-stuff-delivered-by-fedex-is-busted-up/314404/69 "2005-07-28T21:44:24Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > If there’s anything more unattractive than **brickbacon** ’s wanton destruction of property, it’s the self-righteous “I pay your salary” whine. It may or may not be attractive, but it’s accurate. **brickbacon** is being paid to do a job, and should do it to the best of his ability. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2005, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-wonder-why-some-of-your-stuff-delivered-by-fedex-is-busted-up/314404/70 "2005-07-28T21:45:07Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > You know, I’m not exactly saying brickbacon needs to kiss my ass because I “pay his salary”. All I’m asking for is that he not deliberately destroy my stuff because I hired him (through his company) to do some work for me. I’m not saying you’re factually incorrect. And i tend to agree with your overall position. Maybe i’m being unfair to you, but that particular phrase really grates on me. As i said in another thread recently, in my experience a person whose first resort is to the “I pay your salary” argument is often “a selfish fool who can’t look past his or her own self-interest in any given situation.” It’s one of those phrases that, for me, immediately indicates “asshole.” whether or not the person’s argument actually has any merit. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2005, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-wonder-why-some-of-your-stuff-delivered-by-fedex-is-busted-up/314404/71 "2005-07-28T22:04:35Z")
That’s true, the phrase is usually accompanied by some unreasonable request by a customer. I just couldn’t come up with a better way to state my feelings on it. ---
**Author:** ![brickbacon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@brickbacon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brickbacon)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2005, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-wonder-why-some-of-your-stuff-delivered-by-fedex-is-busted-up/314404/72 "2005-07-28T23:38:39Z")
> [@RobuSensei](#): > > It may be the truth, but it sure as hell doesn’t make it _right._ When did I say it was right? It is what it is. > [@RobuSensei](#): > > You wanna work out your frustration by beating and kicking the hell out of something of your own, go right ahead. But deliberately doing that to a package that doesn’t belong to you, and indeed you have been trusted to _deliver_ that package to its rightful owner? IANAL, but to me that sounds like you could be sued for “willful destruction of property” or “vandalism” or another one of those pesky little laws… You’re right, you’re not a lawyer. Stick to being a joyless prick, you are better at that. > [@Cheesesteak](#): > > Kicking or squashing a package on purpose because your “stressed”, that’s bullshit. Get a bop bag with Bush’s face on it, or just deal with package handling like an adult. You’re never going to get me to understand why it’s ok for you to crush a package I PAID you to transport somewhere. I just paid part of your goddamn salary, putting food on your table, keeping your employed, and you show your appreciation by deliberately destroying my stuff? No, I don’t think I’ll be understanding that anytime soon. I never said it was OK. To be honest, I usually don’t work in the area where packages are loaded anymore. It’s not me doing it (not that it really matters). Your argument that you pay part of my salary is bullshit. You pay the shipping company, they pay me. You have nothing to do with my me, or my salary. That’s a hollow argument. > [@BwanaBob](#): > > You are a tool. > > Too bad there’s no way to find out who you are and report you to your superiors. > Oh, I forget, they’re probably throwing boxes from the stress too. :rolleyes: > > Get a new job if this one sucks so much, or do your fucking job properly! Another whining asshole. It’s common knowledge that this happens, deal with it. > [@dropzone](#): > > **brickbacon** , as I said earlier I once had that crappy job, too, so I know about the endless stream of packages, but you know what? You are an asshole who deserves to be fired and then arrested. Quit the job now. You don’t deserve it. This is really funny. > [@featherlou](#): > > Just wanted to add to the pile-on, because I think this one might actually be salvageable. **Brickbacon** , taking your frustrations out on the packages might be considered acceptable by you and co-workers, but it really isn’t. Every job has its frustrations and annoyances; if you leave this job and move to another one, you’ll have frustrations there too, and it more than likely _won’t_ be acceptable to take them out on _anything_. I’m working on learning to just let go of my frustrations. That is the ultimate power - to be able to not let things bother you. I think all of you missed the point I was making. I was trying to give some people insight as to why they see delivery men treat their packages like shit. I know it’s wrong, they know it’s wrong, but handling the boxes the way they should be handled takes too much time and energy. Especially when it’s 95 degrees outside and you want to go home. Say what you will, but our warehouse has an impeccable record, and our packages arrive intact far more than most other companies. If we didn’t, they would have closed the place. It really boils down to a cost-benefit analysis. Most people aren’t deliberately trying to destroy people’s stuff, they just don’t take the time to do the right thing. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2005, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-wonder-why-some-of-your-stuff-delivered-by-fedex-is-busted-up/314404/73 "2005-07-28T23:55:53Z")
> [@brickbacon](#): > > Your argument that you pay part of my salary is bullshit. You pay the shipping company, they pay me. You have nothing to do with my me, or my salary. That’s a hollow argument. If we do not pay your company to do a job for us, where precisely do you think that money that they use to pay you will come from? Just curious. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2005, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-wonder-why-some-of-your-stuff-delivered-by-fedex-is-busted-up/314404/74 "2005-07-29T00:13:42Z")
> [@brickbacon](#): > > I think all of you missed the point I was making. I was trying to give some people insight as to why they see delivery men treat their packages like shit. I know it’s wrong, they know it’s wrong, but handling the boxes the way they should be handled takes too much time and energy. Especially when it’s 95 degrees outside and you want to go home. I don’t think anyone is asking for white glove treatment. Just don’t treat your customers like a guy who kicked your dog. Toss our packages to save time, stack them in whatever order is convenient, that’s cool, that’s how you keep prices down. Kicking a box to see if it breaks, or roughing it up because it’s “liberating”? Come on. We paid you to take our packages safely from place to place, and you deliberately destroy them. It’s just not cool, and no level of explanation will make it ok. ---
**Author:** ![brickbacon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@brickbacon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brickbacon)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2005, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-wonder-why-some-of-your-stuff-delivered-by-fedex-is-busted-up/314404/75 "2005-07-29T00:39:49Z")
> [@This Year's Model](#): > > If we do not pay your company to do a job for us, where precisely do you think that money that they use to pay you will come from? > > Just curious. If you stopped using our services, it wouldn’t affect anyone in the slightest. Of course the money the company makes comes from customers, but the same is true for everyone. The argument that you pay someone’s salary because you use a service that pays them is bogus. You would be paying everyone’s salary under that logic. > [@Cheesesteak](#): > > I don’t think anyone is asking for white glove treatment. Just don’t treat your customers like a guy who kicked your dog. > > Toss our packages to save time, stack them in whatever order is convenient, that’s cool, that’s how you keep prices down. Kicking a box to see if it breaks, or roughing it up because it’s “liberating”? Come on. We paid you to take our packages safely from place to place, and you deliberately destroy them. It’s just not cool, and no level of explanation will make it ok. I was partially joking when I said it was liberating. I wouldn’t have a job if I deliberately destroyed packages. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2005, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-wonder-why-some-of-your-stuff-delivered-by-fedex-is-busted-up/314404/76 "2005-07-29T01:25:44Z")
> [@brickbacon](#): > > If you stopped using our services, it wouldn’t affect anyone in the slightest. Of course the money the company makes comes from customers, but the same is true for everyone. The argument that you pay someone’s salary because you use a service that pays them is bogus. You would be paying everyone’s salary under that logic. To a large extent, that logic is good. By myself, no, your company won’t notice. The next person that goes to a different company, no, they won’t notice that either. The 100th, or the 1000th, or the 10,000th - at some point it’s going to be noticed. I’ve never understood your attitude, and frankly, when I was a retail manager, employees with your attitude drove me batshit insane. Just because a customer’s money is filtered through your employer does not mean that the customer is not the source of your paycheck. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2005, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-wonder-why-some-of-your-stuff-delivered-by-fedex-is-busted-up/314404/77 "2005-07-29T01:45:33Z")
Not that I support kicking boxes or other extreme behaivor, the onus to provide good service _is_ on the company, not on the peons. The company has full control of who they hire, how they attract and retain their employees, and when they fire them. If a company thinks it is profitable to provide good service and not to hire jackasses, they will do it. If not, they arn’t going to spend the money out of the goodness of their hearts. ---
**Author:** ![Tragically\_Dip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/aeb1de/32.png) [@Tragically\_Dip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tragically_Dip)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2005, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-wonder-why-some-of-your-stuff-delivered-by-fedex-is-busted-up/314404/78 "2005-07-29T02:12:16Z")
There is a rediculous amount of misinformation in this thread concerning delivery companies. To be fair, there are also a few well-reasoned arguments. I have spent many years in management at FedEx. I’ve spent the last several years as a contracted delivery driver for FedEx. I’ve also thought about starting an “Ask the Fedex Driver” thread to combat ignorance, but it would probably end up in the Pit anyway. It boils down to being pragmatic; if you want your package to arrive in mint condition, overpack it. Then pack it some more. Then put that package in an overpacked package. We’ll never purposely abuse a package, but it is a long hard ride… ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2005, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-wonder-why-some-of-your-stuff-delivered-by-fedex-is-busted-up/314404/79 "2005-07-29T02:37:06Z")
> [@Tragically Dip](#): > > We’ll never purposely abuse a package… Well, how would you describe the behavior recounted in the OP? Literally throwing boxes out of the truck may be ostensibly designed merely to save you some time in your busy day, but the fact is that the driver must know that this is likely to lead to breakage, and yet does it anyway. That sounds like purposely abusing a package to me. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2005, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-wonder-why-some-of-your-stuff-delivered-by-fedex-is-busted-up/314404/80 "2005-07-29T02:41:04Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > Well, how would you describe the behavior recounted in the OP? > > Literally throwing boxes out of the truck may be ostensibly designed merely to save you some time in your busy day, but the fact is that the driver must know that this is likely to lead to breakage, and yet does it anyway. That sounds like purposely abusing a package to me. Forgot to add: And it especially sounds like intentional abuse of a package if said package has “Fragile” written in big letters on the side, as in the case of the OP. Now, in my experience, people generally only place the word “Fragile” on packages that actually contain fragile goods. I’ve never, for example, placed the word on a box containing books or clothing or documents. If you see the word “Fragile” on the side of the box, it’s understandable that you don’t have time to treat it with kid gloves, but the least you could do is not launch the fucking thing out of your truck onto the pavement. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-wonder-why-some-of-your-stuff-delivered-by-fedex-is-busted-up/314404.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-wonder-why-some-of-your-stuff-delivered-by-fedex-is-busted-up/314404.md?page=5)