Access Points

[DOK]

I honestly don't think that this ranks up there among the multitude of pressing issues that need addressing, like SurePost and subcontracting.

Anything that can be done to make receiving a package easier for the customer is good for business, and in turn, good the Teamsters.

Wouldn't resisting this program be the equivalent of promoting send agains?
I personally don't worry about send agains and follow the company's prescribed methods when delivering, but I understand why the company institutes measures to reduce them.

Why not give our customers a quicker, closer and easier alternative to receive packages that cannot be released by the driver?
Isn't this just an extension to the will call option?

Does the pkg automatically get rerouted to the access point or only if a customer requests it to be?

 

[Fragile]

Interesting comments.

75% of your customers don't want their pkgs sent to Access Points? How many total customers do you have?

There are several 3rd party industry white papers posted that indicate just the opposite of what you have posted. Customers want MORE options regarding their deliveries. It's no coincidence that UPS MyChoice has more than 11 million people signed up and the service is only about two years old. Customers want choices and UPS has introduced those choices and the market has accepted them.

Not sure what would be gained by the owner of an Access Point stealing packages since they sign an agreement with UPS taking responsibility for the packages. Once they sign accepting delivery, they are responsible for its safe keeping. If it goes missing, they are on the hook for it.

"Plenty" of customers threatening AP owners? How many is "plenty" across the world with the more than? There are more than 20,000 AP locations in the world and they have been in place for 10+ years in Europe (under the Kiala name) and have worked just fine.

Regarding Infonotice - customer can simply go online or call UPS to get name and address of where the package was left. If the Infonotice falls off or is take off the door then the customer will not know about the shipment, regardless of if its an AP package or not. Of course, if the receiver is a MyChoice customer, they already know about the package.

The bottom line is that every shipper wants their customer to get their product on the first delivery attempt and every customer wants their package on the first delivery attempt. Access Point addresses that need.

Do you have a recommendation that improves the current process for the shipper & receiver?

Give me a break and stop drinking the kool aid. You tell that to the 80 year old woman who lives on the 11th floor of the housing project I deliver to that needs to sign for her QVC because the entire building and the buildings surrounding it are NON DR. Now the board is telling me to send her packages to access point she won't be able to get to because she's old and disabled. And no she's not going online!

You know what the problem is with you guys and your great ideas? You never ask the service providers. Access point is a good idea, but not for almost every send again in the damn truck. Guess what, I've been alternating to convenience stores for years for residential customers that aren't home... this isn't some brilliant idea UPS came up with, but the difference is the customer told me it was okay to do so. Every driver in a urban area has.

Oh... and "they're on the hook for it?" What's UPS going to do, sue them in small claims or call the police? That would be some great PR. They know they can take anything they want and worst case scenario UPS will cut them off and worst case scenario they loose their 50 cents a box. Give me a break.

Bottom line... the route drivers know who's old or disabled, we know who calls in a concern for everything, we know who steals and lies, the redirect to access point should be our option that we should be able to over ride (and not get threatened with discipline by our management team for over riding "too much" and "sabotaging") or the customer should be able to opt in. That's it.

 

[DOK]

Give me a break and stop drinking the kool aid. You tell that to the 80 year old woman who lives on the 11th floor of the housing project I deliver to that needs to sign for her QVC because the entire building and the buildings surrounding it are NON DR. Now the board is telling me to send her packages to access point she won't be able to get to because she's old and disabled. And no she's not going online!

You know what the problem is with you guys and your great ideas? You never ask the service providers. Access point is a good idea, but not for almost every send again in the damn truck. Guess what, I've been alternating to convenience stores for years for residential customers that aren't home... this isn't some brilliant idea UPS came up with, but the difference is the customer told me it was okay to do so. Every driver in a urban area has.

Oh... and "they're on the hook for it?" What's UPS going to do, sue them in small claims or call the police? That would be some great PR. They know they can take anything they want and worst case scenario UPS will cut them off and worst case scenario they loose their 50 cents a box. Give me a break.

Bottom line... the route drivers know who's old or disabled, we know who calls in a concern for everything, we know who steals and lies, the redirect to access point should be our option that we should be able to over ride (and not get threatened with discipline by our management team for over riding "too much" and "sabotaging") or the customer should be able to opt in. That's it.

Is this service offered as just another service option for customers, like if they know they won't be home to sign for a package and they can hop on mychoice and have it rerouted to the access point?
Or is this a case where ups will pick and choose which stops get sent to the access points in order to cut costs and the customer has no say in the matter, or possibly could be charged an extra fee to have it delivered to their door?

Kind of reminds me of the idea behind "remote deliver" back in the early '90's, which was an epic fail.

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

Kind of reminds me of the idea behind "remote deliver" back in the early '90's, which was an epic fail.

"Rural remote" was anything but an epic fail until management began to use it as a dispatch tool.

 

[worldwide]

Is this service offered as just another service option for customers, like if they know they won't be home to sign for a package and they can hop on mychoice and have it rerouted to the access point?
Or is this a case where ups will pick and choose which stops get sent to the access points in order to cut costs and the customer has no say in the matter, or possibly could be charged an extra fee to have it delivered to their door?

Kind of reminds me of the idea behind "remote deliver" back in the early '90's, which was an epic fail.

Customers enrolled in MyChoice can reroute their package to an AccessPoint location at no extra charge.

UPS has also designated some ZIP codes in densely populated areas as ones that get one delivery attempt. If no one is home to receive the package and there is no where to safely leave the package, it gets delivered to a nearby AccessPoint. This works out much better for the customer as their only option until AccessPoint was to have their package held at the UPS Customer Center and then make the trek there to pick up the package. AccessPoint locations are typically within a 10-15 walk from the consignee and are open late and on the weekends (unlike the UPS Customer Center).

BTW, this service has been tested for a couple years in Europe and was tested in Chicago and Brooklyn last year. Believe it or not, customers actually like to get their packages on the same day delivery is attempted!

Are there any drivers reading this thread that deliver to the designated ZIP codes in Chicago or Brooklyn that can give some first-person feedback on how this service is rolling out and being received by customers?

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

Customers enrolled in MyChoice can reroute their package to an AccessPoint location at no extra charge.

UPS has also designated some ZIP codes in densely populated areas as ones that get one delivery attempt. If no one is home to receive the package and there is no where to safely leave the package, it gets delivered to a nearby AccessPoint. This works out much better for the customer as their only option until AccessPoint was to have their package held at the UPS Customer Center and then make the trek there to pick up the package. AccessPoint locations are typically within a 10-15 walk from the consignee and are open late and on the weekends (unlike the UPS Customer Center).

BTW, this service has been tested for a couple years in Europe and was tested in Chicago and Brooklyn last year. Believe it or not, customers actually like to get their packages on the same day delivery is attempted!

Are there any drivers reading this thread that deliver to the designated ZIP codes in Chicago or Brooklyn that can give some first-person feedback on how this service is rolling out and being received by customers?

Packages that are being diverted to a nearby Access Point will be delivered the following day, most likely by a different driver.

 

[worldwide]

Packages that are being diverted to a nearby Access Point will be delivered the following day, most likely by a different driver.

That is not entirely accurate.

In many instances, the packages will be delivered to the AccessPoint location the same day of the first delivery attempt. Keep in mind that the AccessPoint location is designed to be close to the receiver (within a 10-15 minute walk) and the AccessPoint location selected is often located on the same drivers route. Sometimes it will be a same-day delivery to the AccessPoint, sometimes it will be the next day - the customer can always call or go online to check the tracking number and get an update. Either way, the customer can get the package more quickly than if it was sent to the Customer Center for will-call/stop & hold.

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

...or they could be home when we make the attempt...or have it sent to their work...

 

[worldwide]

...or they could be home when we make the attempt...or have it sent to their work...

Many people work during the day and can't be home waiting on a package. Many businesses do not let employee's ship their personal packages to work. An alternative was needed. UPS saw a need in the market for a service, tested it and then introduced it.

Customers want options when it comes to receiving their shipments. What's the downside to offering options customers want and in some cases, will pay extra for?

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

I have no problem with options as long as the consignee is also given the option of the 2nd and 3rd attempt that he/she paid for.

 

[DOK]

"Rural remote" was anything but an epic fail until management began to use it as a dispatch tool.

It was used as a dispatch tool in our building. The timing of the remote idea was bad as well, it was just around the time Al Gore was inventing the internet and consumers order products began to increase. When people order stuff they want it as quick as possible, not held by ups for a couple of days. Can you imagine the marketing campaign by the competitors against us? I'm glad we abandoned the idea.

 

[DOK]

That is not entirely accurate.

In many instances, the packages will be delivered to the AccessPoint location the same day of the first delivery attempt. Keep in mind that the AccessPoint location is designed to be close to the receiver (within a 10-15 minute walk) and the AccessPoint location selected is often located on the same drivers route. Sometimes it will be a same-day delivery to the AccessPoint, sometimes it will be the next day - the customer can always call or go online to check the tracking number and get an update. Either way, the customer can get the package more quickly than if it was sent to the Customer Center for will-call/stop & hold.

I hope you're correct about the walking distance criteria.

 

[oldngray]

It is all about saving UPS money by not having send agains.

 

[FrigidAdCorrector]

Anybody catch the article on UPSers talking about a guy who didn't have send agains for 120 days? They must be in love with the dude.

 

[oldngray]

Anybody catch the article on UPSers talking about a guy who didn't have send agains for 120 days? They must be in love with the dude.

I wonder how many follow ups he had. Sounds like someone who DR'ed everything whether it was safe or not.

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

It was used as a dispatch tool in our building. The timing of the remote idea was bad as well, it was just around the time Al Gore was inventing the internet and consumers order products began to increase. When people order stuff they want it as quick as possible, not held by ups for a couple of days. Can you imagine the marketing campaign by the competitors against us? I'm glad we abandoned the idea.

Not me. It worked well on our rural routes until management started taking entire towns off of the cars and putting them under the belt. If they would have just left it alone....

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

I wonder how many follow ups he had. Sounds like someone who DR'ed everything whether it was safe or not.

Nope-----he would make an attempt and then do everything that he could to contact the consignee, including calling them to either set up a meet point or making a second attempt.

I don't like send agains either and do all that I can within the methods to get rid of them on the first try but this guy took it to the next level. I have to wonder if his time would have been better spent elsewhere.

 

[oldngray]

Nope-----he would make an attempt and then do everything that he could to contact the consignee, including calling them to either set up a meet point or making a second attempt.

I don't like send agains either and do all that I can within the methods to get rid of them on the first try but this guy took it to the next level. I have to wonder if his time would have been better spent elsewhere.

He may have made extra effort like that to contact customers but I also would not be surprised about UPS glossing over his claims picture. Present the best image possible as a PR showpiece. Some routes you can have hardly any send agains but that is a function of composition of the route and not the driver.

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

Some routes you can have hardly any send agains but that is a function of composition of the route and not the driver.

Not necessarily. A driver who works wholely within the methods tends to have more paid send agains than a driver who adjusts as the situation indicates.

 

[oldngray]

Not necessarily. A driver who works wholely within the methods tends to have more paid send agains than a driver who adjusts as the situation indicates.

Exactly my point. That driver had 0 send agains over a long period of time. Which probably indicates he had more claims getting rid of packages that should have been send agains. As to send agains on a route some routes will always have more send agains no matter who the driver is. And other routes will have less.