Just Numbers
Retired
Just wondering, did you ever finish those English courses in school?
A way for UPS, to generate additional revenue.
- Thread starter ups1990
- Start date
Just wondering, did you ever finish those English courses in school?
slantnosechevy
Well-Known Member
Had the same thing happen to me some years back with the 3 box Nordic Trac. Good leave. Left on front porch of older house with 3ft. high kneewalls. Neighbor across the street saw me deliver them and saw customer carry them in the garage. The said they never received. When I showed up with the tracer they signed that they didn't get it and said they just wanted their money and NO replacement. Two weeks later the empty boxes were in the trash. I called a supe. and he said he was on the way. Never showed up. I've made 'em sign for years. They whine all the time about signing. Always having to explain to new supes as to why. When I tell them they say ok and finally put it in the board. One thing for sure they don't use the thing. They both look like Mr. and Mrs. Fat Ba$tard
packshipandmore
New Member
Yes, UPS should watch for this and bill back the difference in weight. We see it everyday, ebayers being prime offenders, with some big companies sending out RS labels showing 1 lb when it is really substantially more.
The dim weight adjustments are done by laser and are subject to machine/operator error, The machines do not measure as the service guides instruct and sometimes seem to measure too packages together as one, the differences can be that extreme. Other times it seems the package comes down the belt at an angle and the laser is going point to point and actually measuring a diagonal distance. A box that measure 12 1/4" on the sides may bulge slightly in the middle getting picked up as 12 1/2" rounded to 13" and resulting in huge differences in dim wt.
Prime example - ground package 24" x 18" x 12" (a very common box size)
the cube comes to 5,184 cubic inches which is at, not over 3 cubic feet.
Sometimes these boxes contain light weight items and may weigh as little as 5 pounds. The laser rounds it up to 24 x 18 x 13 which dims out at 29 pounds, suddenly the cost to ship triples.
Many UPS Stores get around this by automatically adding one inch to each dimensionto protect themselves, we feel this is as dishonest as a thumb on the scale.
I have had many instances of this problem, UPS adjusts upwards, but in ten years has never adjusted one of my packages downwards. It would seem if we were not weighing and measuring accurately, it would occasionally go the other way.
The dim weight adjustments are done by laser and are subject to machine/operator error, The machines do not measure as the service guides instruct and sometimes seem to measure too packages together as one, the differences can be that extreme. Other times it seems the package comes down the belt at an angle and the laser is going point to point and actually measuring a diagonal distance. A box that measure 12 1/4" on the sides may bulge slightly in the middle getting picked up as 12 1/2" rounded to 13" and resulting in huge differences in dim wt.
Prime example - ground package 24" x 18" x 12" (a very common box size)
the cube comes to 5,184 cubic inches which is at, not over 3 cubic feet.
Sometimes these boxes contain light weight items and may weigh as little as 5 pounds. The laser rounds it up to 24 x 18 x 13 which dims out at 29 pounds, suddenly the cost to ship triples.
Many UPS Stores get around this by automatically adding one inch to each dimensionto protect themselves, we feel this is as dishonest as a thumb on the scale.
I have had many instances of this problem, UPS adjusts upwards, but in ten years has never adjusted one of my packages downwards. It would seem if we were not weighing and measuring accurately, it would occasionally go the other way.
ORLY!?!
Master Loader
The day before the 4th they had about 120 packages come to me for one address.
I noticed they were very heavey. On the package it read 45 pounds. I knew that they werent.
Some time during the night someone was writting 75, 118 pounds on them. These were coming down a belt and shoot to a house. Of course UPS states that everything too large or above 70 pounds would be considered eregs.
I believe a lot makes it through as its weighted.
People also have been cutting the P off of the 1P mail. I've been putting them to the front for only the driver telling me it was a 1p instead of an overnight.
Of course better safe then sorry at UPS.
Lastly, yes there should be more awarness about size weight and issued priority.
I noticed they were very heavey. On the package it read 45 pounds. I knew that they werent.
Some time during the night someone was writting 75, 118 pounds on them. These were coming down a belt and shoot to a house. Of course UPS states that everything too large or above 70 pounds would be considered eregs.
I believe a lot makes it through as its weighted.
People also have been cutting the P off of the 1P mail. I've been putting them to the front for only the driver telling me it was a 1p instead of an overnight.
Of course better safe then sorry at UPS.
Lastly, yes there should be more awarness about size weight and issued priority.
Last edited:
I must admit I have been a lurker on these boards for some time, but I finally needed to put my 2 cents in.
I deal with customer complaints on a daily basis and I can tell you UPS is auditing pkgs!!! In the center I work in we have at least 3 revenue recovery auditors on our local sort, but in addition every pkg that leaves our center goes on to a HUB where the pkgs are automatically audited by the camera equipment in these HUBs. That is one complaint I hear pretty often from shippers is a dispute over a charge that they claim was more than it should have been. BD is then involved in the process to followup with the shipper, your OMS/PCS (as they are now called) fills out an ISP (Improper Shipper Procedure) and submits it so it can be reviewed with the shipper and they can be charged accordingly. The automated HUBs catch way more than a few people auditing a pkg every few minutes. You may not believe me, but it is happening... you may feel that your management team is ignoring you, and I cannot comment on that because I don't work in your centers, but I can tell you that there are checks and balances in place that help to regulate this process, is it perfect? Not by any means, but then who of us are? So I'm not discouraging you from bringing matters like this to your mgmnt att, because it should continue to be brought to their att so we can continue working on it to improve the process.
As for the comment about 8 hour shifts, the funny thing about that is while I would say every driver in our center would love to work only 8 hours, they wouldn't love the effect it would have on their paycheck!! UPS drivers are some of the hardest working people I know, but how many companies pay as well as UPS? In our center we have numerous drivers that have college degrees in fields such as computers, where they could make good money in a job that is way less physical, but when you ask them what made them stay with UPS as a driver every single one of them will say it is because the money is better than what they could make in their field of study....doesn't that say something?
So while UPS continues to make cutbacks in mgmnt each year, with many mgmnt not getting raises at all, hourly continue to get a raise each year in a declining economy and complain about it. Has anyone realized that this ecomony is the worst that it has been in years? Maybe worst it has been ever? and yet we still complain about our jobs...Do you know what it is like to be worried that you are going to come in to work and be told your job is no longer there? I'm not talking about your route cut out for the day, I'm talking about gone entirely! Many mgmnt people in our area faced that earlier this year and some who had been with the company for 10, 15, 20 years or more lost their jobs...one lady that now works in our center had to go from full time down to a part time job at a different center which is 45 miles from where she orig worked...how would like to come into work and be told that you have now been changed to a part time loader and transferred so you have to drive 45 miles each way to work each day? And then on top of it she has to listen to drivers complain each day about how much overtime they work, when her family is down to a part-time income....But you know what amazes me about her so much? She never once has complained about her job!! She is thankful to still be working and doing what she can! and she is a hard worker as many of the people who had have been laid off were.
I'm sure that many of you will not like this post and it isn't meant to offend anyone, but just to remind everyone we are all in difficult times right now. Who knows when or if the economy will bounce back, but rather than complain about our lot in life, maybe we should be thankful for a change and realize how fortunate we are to have a job period!
So that is my little rant....also going back to the auditing of pkgs, keep bringing them to att of mgmnt, your OMS/PCS is a great person to t/w because likely they are familiar with the ISP and can get one filled out on a pkg that is brought to their attention, if they don't know ask them if they can have an auditor check the pkg if you have one in your building, or ask if they can at least get the account rep involved to investigate further, many times they can copy the label and note the actual weight and let the rep know so that they can followup....so that is my 2 cents....
I deal with customer complaints on a daily basis and I can tell you UPS is auditing pkgs!!! In the center I work in we have at least 3 revenue recovery auditors on our local sort, but in addition every pkg that leaves our center goes on to a HUB where the pkgs are automatically audited by the camera equipment in these HUBs. That is one complaint I hear pretty often from shippers is a dispute over a charge that they claim was more than it should have been. BD is then involved in the process to followup with the shipper, your OMS/PCS (as they are now called) fills out an ISP (Improper Shipper Procedure) and submits it so it can be reviewed with the shipper and they can be charged accordingly. The automated HUBs catch way more than a few people auditing a pkg every few minutes. You may not believe me, but it is happening... you may feel that your management team is ignoring you, and I cannot comment on that because I don't work in your centers, but I can tell you that there are checks and balances in place that help to regulate this process, is it perfect? Not by any means, but then who of us are? So I'm not discouraging you from bringing matters like this to your mgmnt att, because it should continue to be brought to their att so we can continue working on it to improve the process.
As for the comment about 8 hour shifts, the funny thing about that is while I would say every driver in our center would love to work only 8 hours, they wouldn't love the effect it would have on their paycheck!! UPS drivers are some of the hardest working people I know, but how many companies pay as well as UPS? In our center we have numerous drivers that have college degrees in fields such as computers, where they could make good money in a job that is way less physical, but when you ask them what made them stay with UPS as a driver every single one of them will say it is because the money is better than what they could make in their field of study....doesn't that say something?
So while UPS continues to make cutbacks in mgmnt each year, with many mgmnt not getting raises at all, hourly continue to get a raise each year in a declining economy and complain about it. Has anyone realized that this ecomony is the worst that it has been in years? Maybe worst it has been ever? and yet we still complain about our jobs...Do you know what it is like to be worried that you are going to come in to work and be told your job is no longer there? I'm not talking about your route cut out for the day, I'm talking about gone entirely! Many mgmnt people in our area faced that earlier this year and some who had been with the company for 10, 15, 20 years or more lost their jobs...one lady that now works in our center had to go from full time down to a part time job at a different center which is 45 miles from where she orig worked...how would like to come into work and be told that you have now been changed to a part time loader and transferred so you have to drive 45 miles each way to work each day? And then on top of it she has to listen to drivers complain each day about how much overtime they work, when her family is down to a part-time income....But you know what amazes me about her so much? She never once has complained about her job!! She is thankful to still be working and doing what she can! and she is a hard worker as many of the people who had have been laid off were.
I'm sure that many of you will not like this post and it isn't meant to offend anyone, but just to remind everyone we are all in difficult times right now. Who knows when or if the economy will bounce back, but rather than complain about our lot in life, maybe we should be thankful for a change and realize how fortunate we are to have a job period!
So that is my little rant....also going back to the auditing of pkgs, keep bringing them to att of mgmnt, your OMS/PCS is a great person to t/w because likely they are familiar with the ISP and can get one filled out on a pkg that is brought to their attention, if they don't know ask them if they can have an auditor check the pkg if you have one in your building, or ask if they can at least get the account rep involved to investigate further, many times they can copy the label and note the actual weight and let the rep know so that they can followup....so that is my 2 cents....
ups1990
Well-Known Member
Brown09, I wish that all of us drivers had to only worry about going out and perform our duties and be done with it. The reality is, we are forced to work overtime and everything the day entails is scrutinized. These are not major details like an accident or missed pick up that are being watched for, but the minimal most trivial ones as well. A five minute "dead time" can be seen as stealing from the company. I see management every morning standing around and stealing time from UPS.
Yes, we are paid well but not overpaid. No one should blame drivers for not getting a raise. Those in management decided to be one and now must live with UPS mandates.
Yes, we are paid well but not overpaid. No one should blame drivers for not getting a raise. Those in management decided to be one and now must live with UPS mandates.
Thanks upsgrunt and 1989 you said:
Yes, they are doing something....But (as far as I know at this point) this is one that needs to be brought to someone's attention. I know the newer scanning equipment/cameras at some of the automated HUBs can pull up the info from a 1Z such as address, weight, etc so that it can route it to the correct trailer within the building, but I don't know for sure if it can catch a dup 1Z. It is possible that it could....but I'm not an expert....
But if you do catch one you should bring it to the attention of the OMS and they can use the same form I referred to earlier (ISP) to make sure it is corrected. They can also recreate a new tracking# for the pkg if necessary and note that in the ISP to avoid any complaints about extra charges that are unaccounted for....the info in the ISP is then reviewed with the shipper to prevent it from happening in the future. Hope this helps!
Yes, they are doing something....But (as far as I know at this point) this is one that needs to be brought to someone's attention. I know the newer scanning equipment/cameras at some of the automated HUBs can pull up the info from a 1Z such as address, weight, etc so that it can route it to the correct trailer within the building, but I don't know for sure if it can catch a dup 1Z. It is possible that it could....but I'm not an expert....
But if you do catch one you should bring it to the attention of the OMS and they can use the same form I referred to earlier (ISP) to make sure it is corrected. They can also recreate a new tracking# for the pkg if necessary and note that in the ISP to avoid any complaints about extra charges that are unaccounted for....the info in the ISP is then reviewed with the shipper to prevent it from happening in the future. Hope this helps!
DS
Fenderbender
Well my friend I agree ,great first post.Glad to have ya.
Now I won't bother questioning the shippers about the weight.
I can relax in the knowledge that that shipment I pick up every week that would fill a p60 trailer that has a weight of 7 lbs will actuallly be billed accurately.Thanks! From now on I will not question anything,I'll just follow the methods and do my job.I feel relieved that I don't have to worry about this anymore,I should've known that mngmt was on top of this all along.
As far as them not getting raises goes,well they will most likley be compensated from all the extra revenue gained from the weight audits.
ups1990,
I never meant to imply that any driver is overpaid...in reality I have the highest respect for drivers, I think what you do out there each day is amazing!! Like I said UPS drivers are probably the hardest working people I know... And I never meant to blame anyone for management not getting a raise...But I must say what you said about management also applies to drivers....they "decided to be one and now must live with UPS mandates"....
I'm not trying to be pro-management or pro-union here but my whole point was simply that we have all made choices in our careers at UPS and we must live with those choices, it isn't the fault of a driver if a management person gets laid off by any means, but I think sometimes when we start taking on the views of us against them attitude it is counterproductive....Are there mgmnt people at UPS that don't carry out their job they way they should? I am not denying it by any means, but on the flip are there hourly employees that do the same? We can't generalize it into a management vs hourly debate because let's face it were all human and in any place of employment there are going to be ppl that take advantange of the system...and unfortunately the rest of us pay for those few people's actions....My whole point was are we focusing on the negative all the time or do we try to be thankful for what we do have?
....
1989
Well-Known Member
Hi All,
I was a Revenue Auditor for over 5 years in the Scranton,PA center until.....3 weeks ago when they got rid of the Revenue Recovery Dept. at my building, along with my part-time sup. (sup got put in another position)
The center I work at is small compared to a hub, but I myself made the company over $17,000 (a new audit record) in 1 week last year with dimentional and weight corrections.
The NDA paks are almost always marked as LTR. FYI a NDA LTR cost about $25 to ship. Just a 1 lb weight correction on these Paks is just under $2...and I used to get a ton of them every night.
As for the laser scanners at the hubs..they do override some of my scans but I myself was still consistently getting the company about $900 to $1800 a week, depending on what belt I was auditing. The problem with the laser scanners is that they don't scan irregs. Over 70's and oversize pkgs are taken off the belt and if a revenue auditor doesn't check/scan it for a correction it gets by.
At my center we get a trailer full of pkgs from Mazda..about 500 pieces a night. Mostly air pkgs and huge..bumpers and such. These things measure 65 x 37 x 13 which is 165"(total size) right at the max size you can ship a pkg. It comes out to be 161 lbs in dimensional weight. These things only weigh about 20 lbs. That is a huge $$$$$$$ amount in audits that will never get scanned by the laser scanners, because they never get on the belt. Not to mention the 1-3 pkgs a night that are Over the max size that would be a size DWT correction plus a $50 Over Max Size charge per pkg. The ones that are over 108" long get the $50 Over Max Length charge. Also, the ones that are over 150 lbs get that $50 charge too.
I just can't believe they would get rid of auditors who are making the company money.
Just thought i'd share this info in case some of the [EVIL]big shots in Harrisburg[/EVIL]
who are making a ton of cash and not really working all that hard are reading.
I was a Revenue Auditor for over 5 years in the Scranton,PA center until.....3 weeks ago when they got rid of the Revenue Recovery Dept. at my building, along with my part-time sup. (sup got put in another position)
The center I work at is small compared to a hub, but I myself made the company over $17,000 (a new audit record) in 1 week last year with dimentional and weight corrections.
The NDA paks are almost always marked as LTR. FYI a NDA LTR cost about $25 to ship. Just a 1 lb weight correction on these Paks is just under $2...and I used to get a ton of them every night.
As for the laser scanners at the hubs..they do override some of my scans but I myself was still consistently getting the company about $900 to $1800 a week, depending on what belt I was auditing. The problem with the laser scanners is that they don't scan irregs. Over 70's and oversize pkgs are taken off the belt and if a revenue auditor doesn't check/scan it for a correction it gets by.
At my center we get a trailer full of pkgs from Mazda..about 500 pieces a night. Mostly air pkgs and huge..bumpers and such. These things measure 65 x 37 x 13 which is 165"(total size) right at the max size you can ship a pkg. It comes out to be 161 lbs in dimensional weight. These things only weigh about 20 lbs. That is a huge $$$$$$$ amount in audits that will never get scanned by the laser scanners, because they never get on the belt. Not to mention the 1-3 pkgs a night that are Over the max size that would be a size DWT correction plus a $50 Over Max Size charge per pkg. The ones that are over 108" long get the $50 Over Max Length charge. Also, the ones that are over 150 lbs get that $50 charge too.
I just can't believe they would get rid of auditors who are making the company money.
Just thought i'd share this info in case some of the [EVIL]big shots in Harrisburg[/EVIL]
who are making a ton of cash and not really working all that hard are reading.
UnconTROLLed
perfection
The additional charge for over 108" was far less than 50$, though I do not remember the exact number. It may have gone up in the last year or so? I could have sworn it was $10 around here anyway.
IMO Any over 70 or irregular package that a driver picks up that has incorrect weight or dim weight should be denied. When the cu gets the label correct and pays the correct amount for the service, the package will be picked up. I know this would never fly, just 'sayin.
Another thing to mention - not sure about this, but are revenue auditiors not seen as a big mosquito to shippers? I wonder if UPS lost quite a bit of volume because of their packages being marked up all the time and the shippers went elsewhere. Might seem strange or stupid, but this may be something to impress shareholders (numbers)
I have seen more ridiculous things by the company!
IMO Any over 70 or irregular package that a driver picks up that has incorrect weight or dim weight should be denied. When the cu gets the label correct and pays the correct amount for the service, the package will be picked up. I know this would never fly, just 'sayin.
Another thing to mention - not sure about this, but are revenue auditiors not seen as a big mosquito to shippers? I wonder if UPS lost quite a bit of volume because of their packages being marked up all the time and the shippers went elsewhere. Might seem strange or stupid, but this may be something to impress shareholders (numbers)
I have seen more ridiculous things by the company!
An additional handling charge is $11...this is only for irregs, such as barrels,pails,anything not in a cardboard box,over 70 lbs,pkgs over 60" long and ones that are over 30" x 30".
-The $50 charge is only for pkgs that exceed the maximum lenght of 108" or if they weigh more than 150 lbs. It's like a penalty fee for people trying to ship things that UPS says is over the maximum size and weight allowed to be shipped through the system.
Yes, you are right about the "big mosquito" thing. I found that only people that don't actually use a scale or don't measure their pkgs they ship have a problem with auditors.
I was out a few times wearing a UPS t-shirt and I got asked what I do at UPS.When I said I was a revenue auditor he bitched at me for always making him pay more at the end of the month with all the corrections.I tried to tell him it's my job and there wouldn't be a problem if he didn't mark everything 20 lbs even when they are all over 45 lbs.I told him UPS would even give him a scale to use for free, but he was too busy being stupid and making an ass out of himself to realize that he is the problem...not me.I don't make the shipping rates and rules.If people don't want to pay the price for the actual weight or DWT that UPS charges they should go with another shipper.
I personally pay more to have stuff shipped to me via UPS when I have the option.I have to say the level of service over the other shippers is great.
Just an example,I bought some stuff from amazon.com and for some reason they shipped 1 box with UPS and 1 with FedEx....I swear I am telling the truth about this...both pks weighed the same and were in identical boxes shipped on the same day from the same place.
The one I got in 2 days from UPS...
the one FedEx delivered took 5 days
I don't care about the cost, when it comes down to it the price is worth the service.
They're are many instances when servicing an account like Madza, these big shippers have many "exceptions" especially when it comes to dim wt. You may look like you'll be making all this extra rev for the company, but if the contract says dim wt to be waived, the shipper will charged actual wt no matter what you do.
I'm sure a BD rep can confirm this. The bigger the shipper, the more discounts it wants.
UnconTROLLed
perfection
Ahh right. I thought you meant 108" cubed.
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