Do customers call in and complain about you ?

[barnyard]

I get a couple calls a year. Usually I know they are coming and I call in and let them know that it is coming. By calling in, my boss already has my side and has been able to diffuse several situations.

 

[dilligaf]

​I have done the same Barn. I think 2 or 3 times over the last 6 years. It's always easier to let the boss know ahead of time if at all possible. 1 to give the boss a chance to plan ahead but also it's easier toget him to listen to your side before he has a predisposed opinion.

 

[Cementups]

What bothers me the most about complaints ............................their name on the box, I'm sorry. Yep, it's Christmas time, yep it's busy.

You better show up early tomorrow because I'm actually going to call in a complaint to your center manager early tomorrow morning and complain about your venting here on BC.

What I really hate is the customers who call in and accuse me of parking in front of their house, carrying the package up the steps, and leaving a delivery notice on their door....without knocking or ringing the bell.

If they would call in and just be honest and say "I really need that package, I must have been in the bathroom or something when he knocked, could he pretty please make another delivery attempt today?" I would usually be more than happy to go back there. But when they accuse me of intentionally refusing to knock or ring the bell when I have already gone through the entire process of trying to deliver their package, it is both dishonest and an insult to my intelligence.

I just had this happen the other day. Lady never answered the door after I rang the bell three separate times driving the dog ape****e and was pounding on the door to get her attention. I then left a delivery notice right on the glass window next to the door at eye level. Sure enough, the next morning I got a complaint say that the driver never knocked or rang the bell and that the driver left the notice in a place that she could not see it. From here on out, for the people I suspect may be a problem or ones that I know are home but don't answer the door, I am going to take a picture with my phone of where I leave the delivery notice since every time they have stated that I hid it or didn't leave one at all.

 

[barnyard]

​I have done the same Barn. I think 2 or 3 times over the last 6 years. It's always easier to let the boss know ahead of time if at all possible. 1 to give the boss a chance to plan ahead but also it's easier toget him to listen to your side before he has a predisposed opinion.

I follow up during ride alongs and point out where calls came from and if I have done anything to avoid them in the future. Sometimes there is not a thing a person can do, but there are certainly times when I need an attitude correction or where I did not do something correctly.

 

[barnyard]

I just had this happen the other day. Lady never answered the door after I rang the bell three separate times

I do not even worry about those calls.

This summer when I was on TAW I was in the office when the center manager replied to concerns from people that said drivers never knocked. He called them back and explained how all that did was make more work for the driver and how every driver wanted to get rid of a package the 1st time and not bring it back.

He did a great job defending the drivers in what everyone knows is a bogus complaint.

 

[old levi's]

I've had several women call in and complain that I was way too good looking, thereby creating a serious disruption in their normal boring day. What are you going to do; I can't un-hot myself.

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

There will always be those customers who misinterpret our sense of urgency as being curt; however, if the OP is getting concerns on every route that he covers he may need to take a long look in the mirror. The only thing that we as drivers have to sell is service.

I was having a really bad day Friday and this consignee didn't help matters at all. I had a residential delivery of a flat screen TV--this thing had to weigh 80-90 llbs. I normally DR FD but this thing was too big for that so I took the time to carry it around to the back door, up the ice-covered sidewalk, up the stairs to his covered porch. I knocked on the door and then propped the TV against the railing. It was out of sight/out of weather (it was raining) but the porch was wet. As I was making my way down his stairs the consignee comes out and asks "Aren't you supposed to wait until the customer answers the door?" I began explaining how DR works and told him that the pkg was out of sight/out of weather and he said "Yeah, well the porch is wet". Rather than continue down this road I simply walked up to him, put my hand out and apologized, offering to help him bring it in to the house. There was nothing wrong with the DR---the porch was wet but not to the point where the edge of the box would be damaged. He declined my offer but did accept my apology.

Sometimes it is just better to cut your losses.

To the OP--while you are clearly not a BSer it wouldn't kill you to spend a few moments while making the delivery to make small talk with the customer.

 

[Indecisi0n]

Haters are my motivators.

 

[menotyou]

Haters are my motivators.

Another t-shirt saying! Thank you!

 

[YesYouDidPushAButton]

You get a couple complaints on every route you cover? Time to look in the mirror. I can count my complaints from 23 years driving on my Weenis.

That's why I'm here, why I made the thread and why I'm asking. I'm in the middle of a multi week vacation at the moment. Gives me a little time to sit back, relax and think about things like this.

I'm not a cover either, these are my bid routes. And out of a couple thousand delivery stops (on the route, obviously not a day) I have 2 or 3 of these stops on every route. 3 on my route now, I've got a vets office that says I'm a complete dick, a woman that bitches about me parking in front of her house when it's something for across the street every day. She wants me to turn around at the end of the block and park on the other side of the street, than turn around again to keep moving. She's a once per week complainer. Than I've got a print shop that wants to be the first stop every day (which I help them with, I deliver them with airs) and wants me there for pickup at 4:30, not 4:40 not even 4:35, and then they have me wait 5+ minutes for them to finish every day. He tells me I'm impatient, and "a couple minutes isnt going to kill me".

These are also heavy commercial routes, with few resis, I drive a slammed p12 that leaves full and comes back full. Aside from the woman who doesnt want me to park in front of her house, I've never had a resi complaint, aside from all these doors that I "forget" to knock on. And to be honest if they dont hate me, they love me. They love that I'm quick, always take care of them. I have alot of generous tippers, Some laugh when I walk in and go "heres smiley". I take care of everything they need with a professional appearance. I never complain, accomodate their needs. Anyone that asks has my phone number. Also being only 30 years old (I look like I'm 18), I feel like I'm not taken very seriously by alot of my customers. As neutral as I try to stay I feel completely disrespected by many of the people on my route who are convinced I'm still some high school punk.

There will always be those customers who misinterpret our sense of urgency as being curt; however, if the OP is getting concerns on every route that he covers he may need to take a long look in the mirror. The only thing that we as drivers have to sell is service.

I was having a really bad day Friday and this consignee didn't help matters at all. I had a residential delivery of a flat screen TV--this thing had to weigh 80-90 llbs. I normally DR FD but this thing was too big for that so I took the time to carry it around to the back door, up the ice-covered sidewalk, up the stairs to his covered porch. I knocked on the door and then propped the TV against the railing. It was out of sight/out of weather (it was raining) but the porch was wet. As I was making my way down his stairs the consignee comes out and asks "Aren't you supposed to wait until the customer answers the door?" I began explaining how DR works and told him that the pkg was out of sight/out of weather and he said "Yeah, well the porch is wet". Rather than continue down this road I simply walked up to him, put my hand out and apologized, offering to help him bring it in to the house. There was nothing wrong with the DR---the porch was wet but not to the point where the edge of the box would be damaged. He declined my offer but did accept my apology.

Sometimes it is just better to cut your losses.

To the OP--while you are clearly not a BSer it wouldn't kill you to spend a few moments while making the delivery to make small talk with the customer.

Again thanks, and thats why I'm here asking. I'm looking for a "do-over" this year. I took a few weeks off and I want to try and walk back in there with a new outlook and perspective. I'll be completely up front, I'm not the most pleasant person, I just never have been. I wont blame up bringing completely but I wasnt fortunate enough to have parents around for many years. School was tough and I've had UPS since 18, probably the most organized and disciplined thing I've ever had.

 

[barnyard]

Than I've got a print shop that wants to be the first stop every day (which I help them with, I deliver them with airs) and wants me there for pickup at 4:30, not 4:40 not even 4:35, and then they have me wait 5+ minutes for them to finish every day. He tells me I'm impatient, and "a couple minutes isnt going to kill me".

The route I had been covering had a stop like that. The route next to it did also. We talked to our driver supe and explained the issues. During ride-alongs he talked to the people at the accounts and the next week, we were told not to wait. It was kind of tense the 1st week, but we got both accounts to understand that if they wanted prompt service, they had to be ready at the time they agreed to. The key was getting our driver supe to go in and point out that waiting meant we could miss another pickup due to them closing.

 

[dilligaf]

There will always be those customers who misinterpret our sense of urgency as being curt; however, if the OP is getting concerns on every route that he covers he may need to take a long look in the mirror. The only thing that we as drivers have to sell is service.

I was having a really bad day Friday and this consignee didn't help matters at all. I had a residential delivery of a flat screen TV--this thing had to weigh 80-90 llbs. I normally DR FD but this thing was too big for that so I took the time to carry it around to the back door, up the ice-covered sidewalk, up the stairs to his covered porch. I knocked on the door and then propped the TV against the railing. It was out of sight/out of weather (it was raining) but the porch was wet. As I was making my way down his stairs the consignee comes out and asks "Aren't you supposed to wait until the customer answers the door?" I began explaining how DR works and told him that the pkg was out of sight/out of weather and he said "Yeah, well the porch is wet". Rather than continue down this road I simply walked up to him, put my hand out and apologized, offering to help him bring it in to the house. There was nothing wrong with the DR---the porch was wet but not to the point where the edge of the box would be damaged. He declined my offer but did accept my apology.

Sometimes it is just better to cut your losses.

To the OP--while you are clearly not a BSer it wouldn't kill you to spend a few moments while making the delivery to make small talk with the customer.

A smile will go a long way. Even if you are thinking whatever on the inside, always try and portray a happy go lucky personality on the outside. It makes a huge difference to the customer but it's NOT an easy thing to do 100% of the time. It is very easy to see when a smile is genuine or not. A genuine smile can be seen in the face and eyes. I've had customers complain to me that I knock to hard and scare the crap out of them. They don't understand the reasons behind it. Can't win them all.

 

[dilligaf]

That's why I'm here, why I made the thread and why I'm asking. I'm in the middle of a multi week vacation at the moment. Gives me a little time to sit back, relax and think about things like this.

I'm not a cover either, these are my bid routes. And out of a couple thousand delivery stops (on the route, obviously not a day) I have 2 or 3 of these stops on every route. 3 on my route now, I've got a vets office that says I'm a complete dick,


a woman that bitches about me parking in front of her house when it's something for across the street every day. She wants me to turn around at the end of the block and park on the other side of the street, than turn around again to keep moving. She's a once per week complainer. This one is a NO WIN situation. Ignore it. Let her call and complain. Or park next door and walk back. You can't win this one.


Than I've got a print shop that wants to be the first stop every day (which I help them with, I deliver them with airs) and wants me there for pickup at 4:30, not 4:40 not even 4:35, and then they have me wait 5+ minutes for them to finish every day. He tells me I'm impatient, and "a couple minutes isnt going to kill me".This one you can't win either. If you are there within your 30 min window, ignore them. If it were me and their pickup time is 4:30, I would get there at 4:44. Everyday. Have your OR talk to their acct rep.



These are also heavy commercial routes, with few resis, I drive a slammed p12 that leaves full and comes back full. Aside from the woman who doesnt want me to park in front of her house, I've never had a resi complaint, aside from all these doors that I "forget" to knock on. And to be honest if they dont hate me, they love me. They love that I'm quick, always take care of them. I have alot of generous tippers, Some laugh when I walk in and go "heres smiley". I take care of everything they need with a professional appearance. I never complain, accomodate their needs. Anyone that asks has my phone number. Also being only 30 years old (I look like I'm 18), I feel like I'm not taken very seriously by alot of my customers. As neutral as I try to stay I feel completely disrespected by many of the people on my route who are convinced I'm still some high school punk.




Again thanks, and thats why I'm here asking. I'm looking for a "do-over" this year. I took a few weeks off and I want to try and walk back in there with a new outlook and perspective. I'll be completely up front, I'm not the most pleasant person, I just never have been. I wont blame up bringing completely but I wasnt fortunate enough to have parents around for many years. School was tough and I've had UPS since 18, probably the most organized and disciplined thing I've ever had.

Sometimes we have to eat a little crow and it's not an easy thing to swallow. Sometimes we have to draw a line in the sand and stand our ground. The trick is determining which is more important. Your 2 'hilited' examples are lines that I would draw. The woman and the print shop are being unrealistic. Talk to your OR/Ctr mgr and ask them what you should do about them. If you have to, have your OR meet you at the shipper and have the OR explain to the shipper what is what.

 

[thessalonian13]

What bothers me the most about complaints is our 800 number is such a royal pain, they pushed buttons through the whole ordeal to get ahold of someone just to bitch.

A couple customers on every route I've ever done insist to management that I'm an ***hole.... I'm known for not being a super smiley, pleasant person but I'm not rude. I show up to places around the same time every day. Every customer is Good afternoon, or good morning. I just need you to sign here please. Thank you and I'll see you tomrrow. If a customer needs something early, or late pickup or something put in a different area I gladly help them with it. I'm never consciencely rude. I have a heavy commercial route with 5 vets offices. Vets offices hate me for some reason :/

They all get dogfood which is 8-10 50lb boxes per day. 3 of the offices get 15-20 packages every single day. I split the heavy dog food boxes up from the rest of the stuff to help the girl in the front, take a signature, say thank you and leave. Typically holding the door for someone on the way out. Their management calls from time to time to complain about my shortness and rudeness when I'm in there. These are all stops around 1 in the afternoon in 100* heat with humidity and i'm soaked and fighting 250lbs of **** every day up their front stairs. I dont have a bad attitude I'm just very hot and exhausted. One of my pickups is a print shop, he's never ready at the scheduled time but bitches if I'm 5 minutes later than the sched time. I sit and wait, loading his 40+ boxes of paper and books and he has the nerve to bitch when I'm a little short with him, signing the end of day and getting the hell out of there. I've got a Mercedes dealer that complains about me being short tempered or aggrivated with them when I pickup their boxes every day.

I'm truely a neutral guy, I show up, work, speak politely, just trying to finish up and get home to my family. Come in the next day to hear someone has bitched can ruin my whole morning. This is peoples livelyhood they're messing with over nonsense. I go above and beyond to not speak to anyone, I'm polite but I dont give a damn outside of me moving on with my day. I NEVER EVER bitch about my job, nobody wants to hear someone else complain about their job and I know this. Some people want to carry on a conversation. Yep my weekend was great thank you. I'll see you tomorrow. Yep it's hot out there. Yep I am all wet, yep it's raining today. No I dont know whats in the package and the shipper didnt put their name on the box, I'm sorry. Yep, it's Christmas time, yep it's busy.

My supervisor brings me up to the office many times to complain about me to my shop steward.

 

[menotyou]

If you aren't getting a warning letter, just smile. You are getting paid very well to sit and listen to the drivel.

 

[YesYouDidPushAButton]

If you aren't getting a warning letter, just smile. You are getting paid very well to sit and listen to the drivel.

Yeah, no warning letters. And yes, alot of times I sit back and look at it like I'm getting 10/hr to deliver boxes, and 22/hr to put up with nonsense and deal with customers. Makes me feel better

My on road will give me a look, but I'm pretty sure he knows it's not serious to give me a hard time. He's ridden with me, he knows I'm a no non sense kind of driver. I get it done by the book for the most part, and stay out of the cross hairs a bit

 

[cachsux]

I had people who would move onto my route and automatically want to be the first stop of the day. I explained that air (at the time 93-95) was the only guaranteed by a certain time. Ship all his stuff air I told him and it was no problem. Otherwise the route was set up in a specific order,occasionally affected by volume, and that was how I delivered it. He still wanted to be #1 so I gave him the name and number of the business that actually was #1 and said if he could get the ok from them then I would change the order. But I pointed out that someone always gets to be #1 and someone always has to be last. Plus I pointed out that the next week someone new will come on route and want to be #1 and bump him down. Expect a call from that person I told him when they want your spot.

He then explained that occasionally he has important shipments coming that he would like to turn around and get right back out. I told him to let me know on those days and I would make my best effort to get the shipment to him early and maybe even bump him to last pickup to give him more time to ship. We reached a understanding and I never had trouble with him again.

 

[BigBrown3605]

Yeah. I got complained on today. I had 14 NDA with a 40 window, spread out through my lovely area.1 air was at an apartment complex so I left it at office, and asked them if they could call. The customer complained that I didn't deliver it to them. Oh well. Better than having late air.

 

[UPSguy]

oh ya, all the time, if i dont want to hear about little timmy making the cheer squad, im rude and getting a complaint

 

[brownmonster]

I had people who would move onto my route and automatically want to be the first stop of the day. I explained that air (at the time 93-95) was the only guaranteed by a certain time. Ship all his stuff air I told him and it was no problem. Otherwise the route was set up in a specific order,occasionally affected by volume, and that was how I delivered it. He still wanted to be #1 so I gave him the name and number of the business that actually was #1 and said if he could get the ok from them then I would change the order. But I pointed out that someone always gets to be #1 and someone always has to be last. Plus I pointed out that the next week someone new will come on route and want to be #1 and bump him down. Expect a call from that person I told him when they want your spot.

He then explained that occasionally he has important shipments coming that he would like to turn around and get right back out. I told him to let me know on those days and I would make my best effort to get the shipment to him early and maybe even bump him to last pickup to give him more time to ship. We reached a understanding and I never had trouble with him again.

I just ask them if they called UPS to get the delivery schedule before they moved onto my route. It's called research.