It’s funny how some people complain about job security. It’s like customer service reps who complain about “stupid” customers. Without the packages and “stupid” customers, those people would be out of a job.
No matter how carefully the people in the process handle something, that’s all gonna go to hell if the cargo plane hits some nasty turbulence, or if someone cuts off your driver and they get in an accident. For god’s sake, please package items securely and with plenty of padding.
My mother used to send my sis and I care packages in college, and between her experience seeing other customers at the UPS depot and my postal worker husband, you wouldn’t believe the stories what some people consider adequate packaging. No, lady, you cannot ship a crystal punch bowl merely in the box it came in from the store…
Most of my large packages have been amazon (co.uk) things and have been transported and delivered jointly by parcel force then the manx post office… the latter being a friendly dude who knocks and hands over the package politely.
I’ve never in all my years and many many parcels got a ‘busted’ one.
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.
brickbacon, I understand the “we don’t have time to handle your package with kid gloves” concept. You’re on a deadline, packages need to move NOW or you’re going to overflow, and things get tossed or stacked haphazardly. That’s ducky, all is cool.
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.
Who is galt?
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!
Is someone called brickbacon being a tool? That guy was a tool last time I saw the name too. Perhaps he’s a deliberate tool… aka a troll.
I am a seriously addicted internet shopper. I receive at least one package a week from either FedEx or UPS. Both of my drivers are excellent and know exactly what to do and when to do it. I’ve NEVER had anything arrived damaged. Maybe they just give me special treatment! 
And yes, my UPS guy is a hunk. Dated a UPS guy decades ago…he had the most amazing forearms! Must be from all the physical work. Mmmmmm…hunk!
Lordy. One could write a ynovel.
Having once spent a year working the mines at a UPS facility doing ‘pick and load’ (sorting packages and loading them into trailers going to other cities), I can state that the local saying was:
“Fra’gil’lay - That’s Italian for tough-as-nails, right?”
The management made a point of telling us that nothing got special handling regardless of how it was labeled and light bulbs were exempt from their standard insurance on packages, so the 4’ long boxes of flurescent bulbs got stacked whereever they wound up in order coming down the belt. Even if that meant at the bottom of the pile, under big heavy items.
They deliberatly worked people as hard as they could just to burn through them. There were always other stupid college kids looking for part time work at better than minimum wage pay that could replace you in a heartbeat. (this was in the late 80’s) By the time I left, after 1 year, I was half way up the seniority list of over 200 people.
I think you have to assume that however you send your package, be prepared for the worst. Usually what I received broken is Computer cases. They are packaged very badly and easy to dent or break. This is really more the fault of the vendor not the Trucking Company.
On the other hand UPS left a large well packaged print that was supposed to be signed for at the wrong address unsigned for. This was an exception, my current UPS driver is very good and my Fedex driver is great. We have a front porch that is far from the driveway compared to our garage door. He leaves all the packages in this protected area. I think it is on a driver by driver basis. UPS & USPS both leave packages by garage, so I prefer to use Fedex when possible.
On the bad UPS driver & the print, his supervisor actually apologized profusely, refunded the shipping and told me this guy was on his last warning anyway and just didn’t seem to care, but they are like any other corporation and cannot fire people for 1 incident but need a string of incidents.
Or at least a bumper sticker.
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.
You know better than this, Lobsang. Knock it off with the troll accusations.
Veb
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:
I’m all for my stuff being manhandled if it means shipping is cheaper. I can’t imagine how much more it’d cost if they wanted everyone to act slowly and deliberately and treated everything like an egg crate. If they opened a “kid gloves” shipping service where pains were taken that packages wern’t subject to too much stress, would any of you actually pay more for it?
I would if it meant not having my fragile stuff damaged. Sometimes “cheaper” isn’t, especially if it means going through the hassle of filing an insurance/damage claim to get my money back, or having to pay to replace whatever it was that arrived broken.
Robin
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
A motto soon to be replaced by: “Package it as if it’s going through brickbacon’s hands. And feet.”
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.